Stoic philosophy has been gaining popularity over the last few years, with books like The Ego is the Enemy and The Obstacle is the Way conquering the New York Times bestseller list renewing interest in the works of stoic philosophers like Epictetus, Seneca, and Marcus Aurelius (among others). What is stoic philosophy you may ask? Before I tell you, you may be surprised to find out you are already a stoic. Do you endure hardship without feeling or complaint? Do you avoid worrying about things outside your control, and concern yourself only with the things that you can? If the answer is yes—even if you only manage this thinking on the mat—you are well on your way to following stoic...

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In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a few major countries occupy the spotlight. Brazil, of course, tops the list, but the U.S. receives a lot of attention as well. Japan is often in the conversation for obvious reasons, but it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the first two. And recently, we’ve started to see a little bit more love for Russia’s contributions to grappling, but that is still relatively small. For the rest of the world? Well, they often become footnotes in the culture of BJJ. Designers and gym owners are quick to reference the major BJJ countries in artwork and in products, but the smaller scenes, where jiu-jitsu has just recently started to blossom and make a difference in the...

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My first grappling love was wrestling. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo soon followed, and in the last few years I have added Sambo. I watch most jiu-jitsu PPVs (can’t wait for Polaris 5) and most major IBJJF tournaments. I live in North Eastern Pennsylvania, so we get to see great wrestling at Lehigh University and at local high schools. On the Sambo front, I watch my friend Reilly Bodycomb compete, and a year ago I was in Paraguay as the unofficial translator for the U.S. team for the Pan American games. For Judo, I still follow the career of a few of my old training partners from my time at Cranford Judo, both of which are national team members. So you...

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Due to an injury to one of my friends, I have found myself pitching in covering the fundamentals classes at his academy. Even though at one point I would teach about 4 fundamental classes a week, it’s been a long time since I taught a class of mostly fresh white belts. Most of my time teaching has been the odd advanced class at my home gym or mixed groups at camps or seminars. Thinking about what is best to teach raw beginners is a welcome change of pace. I went back and thought through what my favorite moves were at lower belts and also recalled what approaches worked best when I had my own beginner’s program. I created a list...

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After realizing that I had neglected my mount escapes, I’ve dedicated the last several weeks revisiting and refining how I deal with this position. My escapes weren’t terrible, but my preference for guard meant that I was rarely forced to fight out of mount. As I forced myself to let people mount me, I had flashbacks to being a white belt stuck under the giant blue belts I used to train with. The horror. Sweat dripping on me. My chest crunching. The steady inch toward a higher and tighter mount. Even though it’s been years since I’ve felt that desperate under mount, part of my desire to work on the position is driven by those memories: I know how bad...

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When I started BJJ I was 185 pounds. I have drifted upward since then (I don’t regret a single taco), and for the most part I have been considered one of the big guys in the room. As someone that has spent most of his BJJ career on the 200+ pounds range, these are some of the rules I follow in order to train in a way I can both develop my game and keep my training partners happy.1. As someone blessed with extra gravitational powers, you can apply more pressure than most of your training partners. This does not mean you need to roll like a maniacal steamroller, flattening anything in your path. If there is a big weight...

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A few weeks ago I was talking with my friend Christian Graugart to coordinate details about a BJJ Globetrotter camp in Italy, on the Island of Sardinia. I was looking forward to some sun and to working on my surfing skills. As is typical for Christian, he had a completely different idea. “I am taking a group of guys to Greenland, you should totally come,” he said. “I'll get you to wrestle a polar bear. It will be great for your brand.” I’m not sure if Christian knows that pandas are different from polar bears, but the invitation struck a chord anyway. I have been somewhat fascinated by Greenland and Iceland since I learned about early settlements in that region...

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