Inverted Gear Blog
Tag: Jiu-Jitsu Advice
Chasing the Good Ol’ Days Magic
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 was still clawing its way to relevancy. When I started, there were no black belt instructors available, and it would be several years before there was more than one gym within driving distance to choose from. In those days, with so few training options available, many of us pooled our resources and our knowledge to make the most of our training time and to learn as much as we could. Back then, my blue belt was a hot commodity. A local professional fighter invited me to join him and...
The "Thinking 99 Moves Ahead" Myth
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 different, and understanding how high level grapplers actually operate will help you develop your game in a similar fashion. This idea of setting elaborate traps is reinforced by the popular notion that BJJ black belts are like chess grandmasters who see the entire game from start to finish before ever moving a piece. But even chess grandmasters do not do this. From the novice's perspective, it feels like every move you made was wrong and only led to worse and worse problems until you finally lost. So from...
Say, Say, Say: Talk It Out
Even after all the time I have spent in the jiu-jitsu world, I still find myself surprised sometimes at the things we do and do not say to our instructors and training partners. Often, we say things that can be unhelpful and do not say things that would be helpful. There are probably numerous reasons for this, including: the inherent status hierarchy, such that people who are lower ranked do not always feel comfortable making their needs known; the fact that so much of our communication in the jiu-jitsu world is non-verbal; and even the fact that effective verbal communication is difficult in any circumstance. Read on for some common areas where we might hit communication snags, as well as...
Pros and Cons of Gym Hopping
Over the course of the last ten years, jiu-jitsu schools and individual jiu-jiteiros have largely accepted that cross-training is a good thing. An instructor who salts the earth for students who dare visit a neighboring academy is typically viewed as unreasonable and perhaps even toxic. Thus, the pendulum has swung away from Creonte culture and into a new jiu-jitsu world where students with time and resources train at multiple gyms in a single week.In the denser cities where academies are plentiful, I have met grapplers who will teach at one school, drop in to two other schools, and then meet up with a bunch of friends for an open mat (or a varying blend of those options). This level of...
The Right and Wrong Way to Think About Belts
In the drama filled world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, few topics create more drama than belt ranks and promotions. Let’s talk about the good and bad aspects of belts, starting with the negatives:MISTAKE #1: Focusing on belt rank instead of personal developmentHow often have you heard talk like this? “Can you believe that purple belt got tapped out by that white belt? Did you hear that a new blue belt tapped out a brown belt? Can you believe that guy got his stripe before me? I’ve been training for a full 3 weeks longer!”The belt hierarchy can bring out this pettiness in people. Gossiping about who deserves what belt, and who taps who, creates a negative environment that is not ideal....
BJJ Pet Peeves
Training jiu-jitsu makes me happy, and generally being around jiu-jitsu people makes me happy. Of course, sometimes people do silly things, and jiu-jitsu people (present company included) are no exception. Over the years I have borne witness to and, unfortunately, done many such things, and, and when I thought about it, I was able to come up with a pretty long list. I offer them here, in a vaguely chronological order, such that the first ones are more characteristic of newer practitioners and the latter ones of more seasoned practitioners.Of course, these are biased toward the things that give me pique, and I have a blind spot about what I do that is irritating, so if you have other ideas...
The Bully Factor
These days, a good bit of my professional life is spent off the mat. I go to client meetings with construction contractors, lawyers, designers, and so on. And it seems like 1 out of 5 meetings involve someone striking a Karate pose when they hear that I train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.“I won’t mess with you!”Or“Do you think you could take me?”Recently, though, while waiting for a meeting to begin, someone asked me why I had started training in the first place. They were surprised to hear that I was bullied growing up and that training was a way for me to come to terms with those experiences. After all, I am no longer the scrawny kid with a bowl cut, lugging...
How to Evaluate a New Technique
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has hundreds of techniques, if not thousands, and new variations are being developed all the time. Especially in the internet age, we are all struggling to keep up with the hot new moves, let alone refine the classic ones. Instructors usually adopt a “monkey see, monkey do” approach, hoping just copying the moves enough times will give the students proficiency in them. As BJJ students, you can benefit from developing your ability to evaluate new techniques, determining if they are even worth learning, and troubleshooting the problems you run into. Let’s start by defining a “good technique.” Most will agree on this criteria: Hallmarks of a good technique: All fours limbs are always in use. Hips and core...
Sartorial Choices in Jiu-Jitsu
I have made many changes in my life because of my participation in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I have quit jobs, moved across the U.S. and back, traveled widely, and revised my life priorities. With all this, though, the most unexpected impact jiu-jitsu has had on my life has been the havoc it has wrought with my clothing choices. Due to the domino effect of me being on the mat for a lot of my life, changing my life around so I can spend more of it on the mat, and finding ways to make a living that do not require me to be face-to-face with anyone (thereby increasing the amount of time I can spend on the mat) or that do...
A Jiu-Jitsu Journey Without Gold Medals
Many jiu-jiteiros begin training with aspirations of being a world champion, and I was no exception. So many of our heroes in the sport have incredible competition stories, and perhaps since we aspire to someday acquire their mythic abilities on the mat, we too begin to dream of gold medals and towering podiums. The reality, however, is ruthless. The vast majority of grapplers will never be world champions, and the numbers don’t even look that great for being the best grappler at your gym.That can be hard to accept, and it’s certainly been difficult for me. In my case, the interest in being the best is less about who I can beat and more about how good I can become.I...