Thanks to Black Friday deals, I built a new PC and started playing Overwatch, the team-based competitive shooter. While I’m still a dirty scrub at that game, I have enjoyed looking into the world of professional play...
Posted on January 03, 2018
Matt Kirtley
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A meniscus (cartilage in the knee) repair, partial removal, or total removal may increase one’s risk of osteoarthritis and therefore likelihood of needing a total knee replacement.
The number of patient who will expe...
Posted on December 19, 2017
Marshal Carper
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For the longest time, I thought I had a good bottom half guard game. When I put people there, they had a very difficult time passing, even people who had significantly more experience in jiu-jitsu than I did. I consi...
Posted on December 13, 2017
Valerie Worthington
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Your progress in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be roughly measured by your development in these four stages:
Survival
Defense
Control
Offense
Like you can see in the diagram above, these stages are built one on top of th...
Posted on December 12, 2017
Matt Kirtley
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All triangle choke entries involve one of two mechanics: You either pin the arm close to the body to enter the triangle position, or you extend the arm away from the body so that you can thread your leg out of the ga...
Posted on December 05, 2017
Marshal Carper
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Question: Could you do a post on “pulling the trigger” when rolling? The most common feedback I’ve gotten (across multiple gyms) is that I think too much. I especially get told this when I roll with higher belts. For...
Posted on November 30, 2017
Valerie Worthington
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As you progress in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the burden of responsibility for your improvements shifts away from your instructor and onto you. It makes sense that a beginner should look to their teacher for guidance, but ...
Posted on November 28, 2017
Matt Kirtley
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When I was new to jiu-jitsu, a wide-eyed and bushy-tailed white belt, I struggled to grasp the idea of when to use a particular technique. I thought that if I mastered the series of steps that made up executing a mo...
Posted on November 14, 2017
Marshal Carper
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It’s no secret that many in the Panda Nation are big Magic: The Gathering players, including Nelson, Hillary, Reilly, and myself. The fantasy card game comes up almost every time we are on a podcast, and MTG terminol...
Posted on November 08, 2017
Matt Kirtley
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Question: I have been training jiu-jitsu for a while (I am a blue belt), since long before I met my current boyfriend. He is a black belt and runs an academy, and since we have been together, I have taken on an unint...
Posted on November 01, 2017
Valerie Worthington
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10 years ago, the jiu-jitsu scene in Pittsburgh was radically different. Where most cities—like New York or San Diego or Seattle—had attracted multiple black belts and sprouted thriving jiu-jitsu cultures, Pittsburgh...
Posted on October 31, 2017
Marshal Carper
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After being trounced by upper belts, beginners often make remarks like "You were setting me up the whole time" and "You were thinking 99 moves ahead." While those have a hint of truth to them, the reality is differen...
Posted on October 24, 2017
Matt Kirtley
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