Inverted Gear Blog
Tag: Matt Kirtley
Advice for Newbie White Belts and Anxious Blue Belts
Advice for White Belts You took the plunge and started jiu-jitsu! Everything is new and wonderful and strange and confusing. Looking back on it, my time as a white belt was probably the most fun. That’s when you’re experiencing so many things for the first time. You get to feel the excitement of seeing the basic techniques with fresh eyes. You won’t fully appreciate it at the time, but those fundamentals are going be the classics you return to again and again for as long as you train. Now is the time to really enjoy learning from trial and error. No one will look down on you for screwing up as a white belt. You may feel pressure to perform,...
The Black Belt Secret to Jiu-Jitsu Excuses
After a tough round of sparring, when nothing goes right and you feel embarrassed and discouraged, it’s tempting to make excuses: “They were bigger and just squashed me.” “They were stronger and just muscled me around.” “They were sweaty and it was no-gi and they just slipped out of everything.” “They went berserk and just powered out with zero technique.” “They were a higher belt and I was outmatched so of course I lost.” Don’t think that way! Even when it’s true. What do you gain from it? Those are dead ends. We’re not doing jiu-jitsu so we can beat smaller, weaker, clueless children (at least I hope not…). You will run into people who are bigger, stronger, crazier, smarter,...
Are you playing to win or just not lose?
Many years ago, I trained with a grappler whose plan seemed to be stalling in every position (and I mean every position), turtling up at all costs. He kept his arms glued to his side and his head tucked down at all times and worked hard to squash every movement, though not to any great success. Even when he slowly grinded his way to a good position, he wouldn’t take advantage of it, instead remaining defensive, almost paranoid of what could happen if he dared try. If his goal was to tap fewer times per round, I suppose he accomplished that by making everything as slow as molasses, but he wasn’t racking up many points on the invisible scoreboard in...