Tag Archives: The Mental Aspect
BJJ Lessons from a Sushi Master
I just watched a really cool documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi (available on Netflix, iTunes, etc.). This 2011 film paints a fascinating portrait of Jiro Ono, an 85 year old master chef who’s been making sushi for 75 years.
Jiro – the protagonist – is a single-minded perfectionist workaholic who hates national holidays because they keep him away from his obsession, which is working on creating the perfect sushi experience for his customers. (more…)
Keenan Cornelius on Training, BJJ Competition, MMA Goals and More
Keenan Cornelius is a BJJ phenomenon. Known for his exciting guardwork and movement-oriented game, he won double gold medals in four of the biggest BJJ tournament in the world as a purple belt, which is a HUGE accomplishment. Here’s my recent interview with Keenan
Ronda Rousey and the Power of Gameplans
In case you were hiding under a rock, Ronda Rousey fought Liz Carmouche last night at UFC 157. She both validated her UFC Women’s Bantamweight title, and made history by being in the first-ever women’s match in the the UFC.
And just in case you were under that aforementioned rock, despite a very spirited fight by Liz Carmouche, Ronda won the match with an armbar at 4:49 of the first round. (more…)
20,000 lbs of snow and the true meaning of self defense...
This is a rather rambling post; in the words of Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
First, and most importantly, I really hope that you had a great Christmas (or alternate celebration of your choice). And that you got to spend time with friends, family and loved ones.
Next, congratulations on surviving the Mayan Calendar Apocalypse! (more…)
What Champion Bodybuilder Kai Greene Can Teach You About BJJ
An old training partner sent me a short email yesterday. Here’s what it said:
What a Spider Guard Fail Teaches You About How to Train Any Technique!
Today’s tip comes was inspired from some training I did with a smaller grappler, let’s call him ‘Stu.’
Stu wanted to learn some sweeps from the Spider Guard (an open guard position where you control both of your opponent’s sleeves and have one or both feet on his biceps). (more…)
BJJ Competition and Training Strategies with Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins
In this interview 2 x World No Gi Champion Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins shares his best competition and training advice. The questions come from my newsletter readership, who I polled to see if they had any questions for Brandon, especially about training, competing or holding their own against bigger opponents. Boy, did they ever!
We then sifted and sorted hundreds of emails to pick out the very best questions for him, and this in-depth conversation was the result. Maybe one of my best interviews ever! (more…)
The Secret Subversive Power of BJJ
by Valerie Worthington, Emily Kwok, and Lola Newsom
Groundswell Grappling Concepts
We have a hypothesis about some women who grapple. We may be projecting, but our wholly unscientific data collection and analysis supports it. Namely, Brazilian jiu jitsu affords women who are looking for such things a mechanism for subversion. (more…)
Ryan Hall Interview Transcript
Stephan’s note: This is the transcript of an interview I did with noted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, über-competitor and teacher Ryan Hall.
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Several years ago I was discussing the sports psychology and Jiu-jitsu with a friend. We were debating what makes grapplers like Rickson Gracie truly great – what is it that sets him apart from the rest of us? (more…)
Tips for training when training partners are hard to find
Maybe you travel a lot. Maybe you live in a really small town. Maybe the club you used to train at closed down. Maybe it’s just too far to go to train regularly. In any case, training partners or good training environments are sometimes hard to find. So what do you do? (more…)
Rickson Gracie - Exploring Genius
by Eddie Edmunds (Fusion BJJ)
Eddie Edmunds is the head instructor at Fusion Academy of Martial Arts in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is a BJJ Brown belt under Pedro Sauer with over 10 years teaching experience in Kali, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Jeet Kune Do. (more…)
Action vs. Reaction in Grappling (or why Yogi Berra was right)
An article by Jeff ‘Wombat’ Meszaros
When Yogi Berra said, “half of this game is ninety percent mental”, he was talking about hitting a ball with a stick and running around an empty field. He wasn’t talking about rolling around with some sweaty dude who’s trying to tear your arms off. (more…)
This article was written by Nathan Leverton, who teaches submission grappling at his club in Leicester England.
Enjoy The Training (more…)
Gracie Magazine Jiu-Jitsu manual
20 tips to enhance your play
If you only read and keep the teachings presented here, you’re not going anywhere with your ground techniques. The following advices – useful in tournaments with gi, grappling, MMA and for the athletes personal evolution – ought to be studied between trainings. (more…)
Why Should Women Grapple?
Most Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission grappling students are male, and in most grappling schools females are the exception, not the rule. My foundation in the martial arts was self-defense oriented, not competition oriented. (more…)
Grappling with Claustrophobia in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
This article grew out of an email conversation I had with a reader of the Grapplearts newsletter about his problems with claustrophobia while grappling (read about the initial conversation here). How could he possibly control this awful feeling? (more…)
An article by Jason Scully
Yesterday I was rolling with one of my students in class who has about 3 years experience and when we were rolling I noticed something, and I realized that this is actually an issue with many grapplers out there. (more…)
The Way to Train
The Way to Train – Jiu-jitsu Idealism
An article by Tal Williams of Elite Martial Arts.
I was put to task to write something about Brazilian jiu jitsu. I’m not going to teach you any bad ass moves that will ensure metaphoric death to your foes because I don’t know them, and it also doesn’t go with the title. (more…)
18 Tips To Help You In BJJ & Grappling Competition (and Why Competitions Are a Good Idea)
by Jason Scully
Jason Scully (in the green shirt) is a teacher and competitor with more than 12 years of grappling experience. He is a BJJ brown belt and owns The Grapplers Guide Academy in Central New Jersey and also operates The Grapplers Guide.
Four Reasons You Might Be Getting Tired in BJJ
by Guest Author, Mark Mullen (BJJ Brown Belt, Judo Brown Belt)
I’ve been grappling for many years, and here’s a situation that comes up all the time…
I often spar younger, heavier, beginners. At the end of the round they’re usually fighting for breath, arms trembling from fatigue. (more…)
Starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Sixty Years of Age! by Ormond Morford
My name is Ormond Morford and my friends thought I was crazy to try jiu-jitsu at my age… Too old, too fat and too inflexible. This is a young man’s game and walking through the dojo door that first day, I thought maybe I was a little nuts too. (more…)
The First-Ever Grapplearts Q & A Podcast!
Hey guys!
Here’s something different: in November of 2011 I answered questions from my newsletter readers (sign up for free here) on the first ever Grapplearts Q & A Podcast. (more…)
The 3 Most Common First-Time Competition Errors
I was recently asked “what are the most common mistakes that first-time competitors make?”
BJJ tournaments in general, and ESPECIALLY your first competition, are likely to be a little bit chaotic. (more…)
Best Interview Ever? Ryan Hall Speaks his Mind
The Ryan Hall interview is ready, and it might be my best interrogation ever!
With more than 200 tournaments, countless superfights, and solid performances in the Mundials and ADCC Ryan is one of North America’s most successful and prolific grapplers. (more…)
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