Brazilian Jiu Jitsu began as a male-dominated sport. In many ways it still is. But every year, more and more women are practicing and competing in BJJ. But why? How is this even possible? Similar to other sports, there was one woman (or maybe a few) to pave the way for the future, and honestly it’s frustrating when blue and purple belts today do not know their roots. Last weekend I had the opportunity to learn from living legends and attend the Groundswell Grappling Concepts Women’s Camp with special guest instructor Leka Vieira. The GGC is a community and resource guide for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners on and off the mat. The principal members of the GGC are Emily Kwok,...

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Question I am a male blue belt, 5’10” and 165lbs. I’m not small, but I’m also not the largest person in my gym. I try to be a good training partner, and I want to keep myself safe during training too. I’m sure you’ve heard my question before: How do you deal with people who say want to go light during live training but then come at you super hard? It gets frustrating, and I’m worried I might get injured. Answer “Let’s Just Go Light” guy or gal is one of the most long-standing jiu-jitsu archetypes, though not one of the most beloved. In the typical situation, one person asks a partner to “just go light,” but then comes out...

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Grappling trends come and go, and new techniques pop up every season. When I started training, everyone was trying to figure out x-guard and arm drags. Now it is leglocks and heel hooks. Eventually, the best elements of these techniques get folded into “standard” jiu-jitsu but not before the initial rush of grapplers scrambling to learn the secrets of the new hotness. This guide will help you be one of those early adopters. Here are my 10 tips for adding new or unorthodox techniques to your game: Do your homework. Before you launch into learning that cool technique you saw in a GIF on Reddit, let’s make sure it is worth the effort. Gather up the answers to these questions:...

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Five years ago, I started Inverted Gear. It seems like yesterday I was ordering polybags and halfsheet labels on Amazon so I could ship the first batch of panda gis from my mom’s basement. A lot has changed since then. First of all, I met my wife and business partner, Hillary. I didn’t know how much I needed her until she saw our original design files that were sent to the factory. Here is a side by side for comparison, so you can perhaps get a sense of the potential she saw on the brand. vs With Hillary’s help, Inverted Gear has grown into something incredible.I’m still amazed when I scroll through social media and get to experience panda sightings....

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In Meet the Pandas, we introduce the many members of Panda Nation to the BJJ world. Previously, we took a closer look at Hillary Witt, mastermind of the Inverted Gear designs and daily operations. In this episode, we focus on the freshly promoted black belt Frederico Silva, who is taking the BJJ-scene by storm with his super-dynamic style. Frederico Silva (27) grew up admiring his cousin, the multiple-time world champion and all-round badass Lucas Lepri (of Alliance fame). After leaving his hometown Brasília for a life in the States, and getting promoted to black belt by his cousin, Frederico has been tearing up the competition scene. He’s also a very committed instructor at Lepri’s dojo in Charlotte, NC. Did your...

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Jason C. Brown is back with a new episode of Chalk Talk. In this installment, he talks about what motor learning has to say about working your off-side into your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu drilling routine. Watch the video to learn more:

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Around 2010 or so, the training fad of the day was “mind maps,” which were essentially decision trees for jiu-jitsu positions in part popularized by the flowchart in Eddie Bravo’s Mastering the Rubber Guard and championed by a few dozen BJJ bloggers. The instructional value of seeing a gameplan mapped out with “if this then that” logic was clear. It makes the progression of positions and counters easier to follow by condensing dozens of techniques and tactical decisions into a singular diagram. The mind map champions took this idea and applied it to their own games. By creating a flowchart of your preferred options—what you do when someone postures with grip A versus grip B and on and on—you give...

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I got to visit a lot of schools over the last 10 years. While every school is different, I feel they all tend to fall into three categories: traditional, formal, and informal. Before I go into my criteria for these categories or why I'm even making these distinctions, I want to point out how interesting it is that the same sport—we all do the same thing, wrestle in pajamas—can produce a wide spectrum of school and teaching styles. The amount of rules and customs some schools choose to follow can be completely foreign to a student from an informal school, and a student who has known nothing but the structure of a formal school can be equally as lost at...

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Question: I am a brown belt, and I love jiu-jitsu. I am in it for the long haul—there is no question about that—but sometimes I find myself feeling ambivalent. I look at some of my teammates, particularly ones who have not been training for as long as I have, and they seem so excited. I know I used to feel that way, but nowadays it feels more like a slog. Lately I go to class, get in my reps and my rounds, and am out the door at the end while some people are still tinkering and asking questions, or even just chatting. These are all things I used to do, but no more. I do not feel enthusiastic or...

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Over my career as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor, I have decided on a set of self-imposed rules for how I run classes and how I manage my relationship with students. If you’re not an instructor, you might slowly become one unofficially as you rise through the ranks. Sure, you might not have your own class, but you will probably mentor a few white belts in your time, and these rules can help you too. Here are the top 6: 1. Students are free to train wherever they want with whoever they want All of my students are free to seek out the best instruction and training available to them. I don’t believe in the old school “creonte” culture. I do...

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