We like to give some insight in what drives our sponsored athletes, and why we are proud to support them. Previously, we talked to Eric Sian, Guam’s first world champion grappler. For this installment of Meet the Pandas we speak to Reilly Bodycomb: sambo champion, leglock wizard and all-round badass grappler. Reilly Bodycomb (32) has been leglocking people into submission since 2005. He became famous for his own dynamic, take-no-prisoners grappling style – honed by his instructor ‘Sambo’ Steve Koepfer at New York Combat Sambo, his excellent coaching ability, and his willingness to share his leglock knowledge in various instructionals. Reilly’s been on a tear this year, winning gold at the Sambo Nationals, the Sambo Pan-Ams and the Dutch Sambo...

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  The jiu-jitsu world is rich with instructionals, and in the early years, swapping bootleg VHS tapes and tattered magazine techniques—many of which were in Japanese or Portuguese—was the only way schools in remote locations could get new techniques. In those years, remote meant any non-major city that doesn’t have a beach. Today, instructionals are readily available—books, DVDs, magazines, YouTube, webinars, and subscription sites. At the same time, instruction in schools has vastly improved. Seminars are far more accessible. Most schools are run by black belts. Finding an instructor with a large breadth of knowledge isn’t as hard as it used to be, but the instructional industry is still booming. The formats might be different, but we are still seeing...

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It’s that time of the year. A few weeks ago in the United States, families gathered on a special Thursday to celebrate each other and what their thankful for in their lives. But the Friday that follows is just as important. No, I’m not talking about Black Friday shopping. The day after Thanksgiving marks the start of winter sports for high schoolers in the US. For me, that means one thing: Wrestling season. I wrestled for two years in high school. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t very good. I somehow managed to have an above .500 record and make it out of our district to compete in regionals. Even though I didn’t walk away from high school wrestling with a bunch...

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The holidays are upon us! This time of year can often be stressful, and this is true for grapplers as well. The holidays often mean travel and thus a disruption of our favorite method of stress relief: training. While I look forward to seeing far-flung family members on Christmas, I often find myself dreading missing out on training. The solution to this problem is simple: Pack your gi and visit a local jiu jitsu school. Visiting other schools is a great experience that every jiu jitsu student should indulge in, but this can also be a stressful experience, so here are few tips to make visiting schools as smooth and enjoyable process as possible. Know the Rules of the Academy:...

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is tough -- physically, mentally, emotionally. Most people quit, and those that don’t can still spend years feeling clueless. If you feel that way, I have good news for you: You’re learning even on those days where nothing seems to go right and you mess up every move you try. We learn a lot from frustrating failures, even when we don’t realize we are. Our brain is chewing on problems, often outside of our awareness, until one day when we have an “a ha!” moment, seemingly out of nowhere. To explain this, let’s talk about your brain and how it learns new skills. First, let me introduce you to two terms: procedural learning and implicit learning. Procedural learning...

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When I was coming up through the ranks in jiu-jitsu, I was routinely the only woman or one of maybe two or three women in class. I trained with anyone who was willing to train with me: man-mountains, scrawny kids, and everyone in between. I was a curiosity in those days, and the male students who ended up having to pair with me were rarely happy about it, at least at first. I felt stupid and awkward when I stopped to notice, so I tried not to. And the high I got from training—the pure joy and flow, which lasted for hours after I finished a training session—was more than worth the challenges. It was even worth the casually sexist...

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When jiu-jitsu tourism was sort of my job, I was in Hawaii training at the BJ Penn Academy. I was still new to the sport, working on getting a blue belt, which meant that I was simply too fresh to understand some of the sport’s biggest challenges. As a white belt, I thought that the hardest parts of jiu-jitsu were things like training consistently, or getting in shape, or having to get used to upper belts beating up on you. Then I met Sam (not his real name). Sam was a local, late 30s, and barely taller than five feet. He was comically round and almost always laughed, mostly at himself. Technically, Sam was a blue belt, but he had...

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I learned how to play Magic the Gathering in 5th grade. It fascinated me then and almost 20 years later it still does today. Recently I realized the same thing that keeps me going back to Magic the Gathering is the same thing that fascinates me about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.For the uninitiated, Magic The Gathering is a trading card game, the first one ever produced. Yes, it’s similar to Yu Gi Oh or Pokemon (but don’t judge it based on that). Magic has been around since 1993 and as of 2015 it has 20 million players worldwide. Magic can be played different ways, but one of the most popular ways to play involves the players creating a 60-card deck that represents...

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Val Worthington is taking questions about jiu-jitsu and life. Submit yours here and it could be featured in the next installment!Question: Can you please discuss how you deal with the peaks and valleys of passion with BJJ? I don't think I have lost my passion but for a few months I have noticed that the mats are not my happy place. Changes in the school, life challenges, new students...all may be reasons. I am not giving up but I am fearful at times, unhappy sometimes, and not sure how much I am learning. Thanks!!!Thank you for this question, though I am sorry to hear you need to ask it. I can guarantee that you are not alone in feeling this way, because...

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When you first start BJJ, most of your progress comes from simply showing up to class and doing what you’re told to do. While you never get away from that basic formula, as you rise up that ranks, it is common to feel like you’re not making as much progress by just showing up. Purple belts in particular can feel like they are just going through the motions, but not really being driven in any particular direction any more. If you feel this way, then these 5 tips are for you. 1. Don’t waste time while you wait for class to start What do you do while waiting for class to start? Is it awkwardly standing around and pretending to...

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