Inverted Gear Blog
Tag: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Meet the Pandas – The Panda from Paris – Claire-France Thévenon
In Meet the Pandas we explore what drives the many members of the Panda Nation. In the previous episode we introduced Javier Palomo: walking encyclopedia of the grappling arts, host of the Grapper Union Podcast and combat wrestling world champion. Now, we put the spotlight on BJJ black belt Claire-France Thévenon of MK Team, multiple time IBJJF medalist, 4th degree judo black belt, half guard sweeping machine and French panda. After Claire-France Thévenon discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it took a while for her to let go of her judo instincts, ingrained by years of competition. Now, she teaches and trains full time at her academy MK Team Paris, adding visualizations and mental conditioning to her already powerful hybrid judo & BJJ...
Jiu-Jitsu Strategy: The Persistent Threat Concept
Marshal’s new blog discusses the strategic concept of establishing a persistent threat in every position. Learn more in his new blog!
Ten Exercises for Guard Players
Upgrade the power of your guard with these 10 exercises from Panda Nation’s Alexander Sterner.
The Unimportance of Competition
Marshal has a competition-neutral stance with his students, leaving it up to them to decide if competition is a path they want to take. In this article, he breaks down that philosophy, its benefits, and its challenges.
Concept-Based Learning in BJJ
Learning to see the concepts behind techniques accelerates your learning by leaps and bounds. In his latest blog post, Matt talks about how to shift into this concept-based mindset.
The Revenge of the Plateau, Episode 75
The dreaded training plateau. Marshal talks about this longest plateau ever and how he beat it.
Smaller Circles
When my mom tells me the story of my time in kindergarten, first there’s the mandatory prelude of the battle to get me into the building. As soon as we parked, I would turn into a spider monkey and get a hold of anything that would keep me in the vehicle. I was not big fan of the whole schooling thing it turns out.Another story she loves to tell is how I would get an classroom activity to draw as many circles as I could on a sheet a paper. My first attempt was to draw one giant circle the size of the sheet of paper and turn it in. When I was told I needed to try again and...
Why I Am Better Than You
In his newest article, Marshal writes about why his jiu-jitsu is better than yours (and what you can do to improve).
Dad-Level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
My life has gone through a lot of changes in the last few months, becoming a dad being the biggest one. Looking back at the amount of hours I have spent on the mat this year, it is a fraction of years prior. I have been averaging two BJJ sessions a week when I used to train more in a week than I now do in a month. Somehow, though, I feel I am in the best shape I have been in a long time. So here is what has been working for me: More no-gi training with no-gi specialists after years of heavy gi training Cardio work on a rower, ski erg, and bike erg Ongoing mobility training and exercises...
The White Belt Struggle: How to Push Through It
Are you struggling as a white belt? The good news is you’re not alone and you’re not unique in your challenges. In this article, I’m going to lay out many of the struggles white belts experience, including ones that get less mention, like social anxieties, and how to overcome them. Some relief can come from simply knowing that you’re not alone in your experiences, what you’re feeling is not even unusual, and that many people -- including the black belts you now look up to -- went through many of the same problems. Common Issues for New Students: Knots in your stomach and anxiety before class. To be honest, for my first six months as a white belt, as it...