April 12, 2010
Tips for Female Grapplers
Recently I've received a flood of emails from women and smaller men, wanting to know how to deal with larger, stronger opponents.
The thing is that - at 200+ lbs myself - I'm NOT the best person to address these questions. Of course I've had to deal with a few huge steroid monsters who outweighed me by 100+ lbs, but those were the exception, not the rule.
So my solution was to draft the ever-eloquent grappler Krista Scott-Dixon from Stumptuous.com. Weighing in at a massive 113 lbs Krista deals with larger stronger opponents almost every time she steps onto the mat. And to figure out how to survive and thrive on the mats despite this inequality she's picked the brains of some of the best smaller grapplers in the business!
Over the last couple of days Krista has put together a really good piece called Tips for Female Grapplers for you. It's got tips, techniques, principles and lots of practical advice for the smaller grapplers among us. I really enjoyed it, and I'm sure you will too!
Labels: bjj, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling, women
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January 11, 2010
Successfully Dealing with Claustrophobia in Grappling
Once upon a time I had an MRI.For those of you who've never had this diagnostic procedure, you start by lying down on a narrow board. Then they slide you into a narrow hole within a gigantic donut-shaped machine. And then you lie there, very still, for a long time while the machine scans your body using a gigantic magnet.
Have you seen the movie Avatar? It's like the little pod from which the hero pilots his alien. Except the space inside the MRI is even smaller, and nobody has any furry blue tails.
After the procedure I chatted with the MRI technician. One thing she mentioned was that about 3 in 10 people have problems with claustrophobia in this machine, and about 1 in 10 people freak out and are unable to complete the procedure.
So if somewhere between 10% and 30% have problems with an MRI, then how many people have problems with claustrophobia in grappling? I'd guess it's roughly the same number...
I'm not claustrophobic myself, and so this topic was largely off my radar until I found out that a friend and fellow grappler used to struggle with claustrophobia on the mats. And then a reader contacted me with the the same problem. And then I found out that I had a SECOND training partner who was also claustrophobic.
I did a bit of googling, and found out that there wasn't too much sport specific advice on the topic. So I asked the Grapplearts readership for tips and advice on dealing with grappling-induced claustrophobia, and was stunned by how many other people face the same challenge (read the whole article on how to deal with claustrophobia in BJJ and grappling here).
But here's the cool part: BOTH of my claustrophobic training partners have tackled this problem head on. And mostly dealt with it. And both of them have done very well in high level grappling competition. And both of them competed successfully in MMA, each with 10 fights or more!
From all accounts, claustrophobia is a horrible feeling. But I've seen first-hand that it CAN be overcome.
Not everyone is claustrophobic, but it's fair to say that we ALL have our fears, challenges and perceived limitations. I'm proud to know these grapplers. They're an inspiration to me.
Labels: bjj, claustrophobia, submission grappling
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October 09, 2009
The Chimpass, aka the Sao Paulo, Tozi, or Wilson Reis Pass
There's a relatively new, somewhat unorthodox guard pass that's become popular in the last year or so. Depending on who you talk to, it's called the "Sao Paulo Pass", the "Wilson Reis Pass", or the "Roberto Tozi pass".
The bad news is that I'm NOT an expert at this guard pass (yet). This means that I'm not the best person to break it down for you.
Heres's part 1 of the Chimpass (www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMfKdjf0A2g)
and here's part 2 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQxCVjyVjlQ)
The funny thing is that I actually came across a complaint on the internet about the two videos I recommended above. Specifically, the person was complaining that it took Justin 17 and a half minutes to explain a single technique.
I hope that the complainant is a beginner, because that'd be a pretty silly statement if he or she had more than a couple of months of actual training...
To master a technique you have to rip it apart. You've got to understand all the little steps, adjustments and details that makes the technique work. Then you have to be able to verbalize and articulate what you do and why you do it.
From that perspective, taking 17 and a half minutes to teach a single technique is a GREAT thing. I wish that every technique I learned was shown to me with that level of detail.
P.S. If you want a different perspective on the same guard pass, check out this post on the dutchassasinbjj blog.
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The bad news is that I'm NOT an expert at this guard pass (yet). This means that I'm not the best person to break it down for you.
The good news is that there's a great explanation of this pass online by Justin 'ChimChim' Garcia. With tongue firmly planted in cheek he calls it the "ChimPass," but it's the exact same pass, with a few of his own adjustments:
Heres's part 1 of the Chimpass (www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMfKdjf0A2g)
and here's part 2 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQxCVjyVjlQ)
The funny thing is that I actually came across a complaint on the internet about the two videos I recommended above. Specifically, the person was complaining that it took Justin 17 and a half minutes to explain a single technique.
I hope that the complainant is a beginner, because that'd be a pretty silly statement if he or she had more than a couple of months of actual training...
To master a technique you have to rip it apart. You've got to understand all the little steps, adjustments and details that makes the technique work. Then you have to be able to verbalize and articulate what you do and why you do it.
From that perspective, taking 17 and a half minutes to teach a single technique is a GREAT thing. I wish that every technique I learned was shown to me with that level of detail.
P.S. If you want a different perspective on the same guard pass, check out this post on the dutchassasinbjj blog.
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, ChimChim, guard passes, Sao Paulo guard pass, submission grappling
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September 28, 2009
The Most Important Thing For Improving Your Grappling
You know, I used to think that if I just learned enough ways to pass the guard, mastered enough submissions, memorized enough pin escapes, pick up enough guard sweeps, received enough tactics and just had enough techniques at my fingertips, then... someday... I would master the art of grappling.
Techniques, techniques, techniques! I was pretty sure that these were the critical things to learn. Well, guess what? When I look back on my grappling journey it's obvious that my greatest successes and most exciting breakthroughs all had one thing in common.
And it was never about learning a new technique.
Instead the biggest leaps forward were those suddent insights when, all of a sudden, you see that a whole bunch of different and seemingly unconnected techniques are just different expressions of the same underlying principle.
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Techniques, techniques, techniques! I was pretty sure that these were the critical things to learn. Well, guess what? When I look back on my grappling journey it's obvious that my greatest successes and most exciting breakthroughs all had one thing in common.
And it was never about learning a new technique.
Instead the biggest leaps forward were those suddent insights when, all of a sudden, you see that a whole bunch of different and seemingly unconnected techniques are just different expressions of the same underlying principle.
Some people call these 'ah ha' moments. The light goes on, something falls into place, and you can never look at something in quite the same way ever again.
Breakthrough moments like these have been on my mind a lot recently. (In fact this is the main reason I put together my online Grappling Concepts course. What I'm doing in that course is distilling my most important 'ah ha' moments in grappling, and passing them on to you.)
But regardless of whether you sign up for that course or not, today I want to talk to you about the power of concepts.
By the end of this email I want you to be convinced that concepts and principles are FAR more powerful than individual techniques. And that figuring out these concepts is the single best thing you can do to become a better grappler.
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If a picture is worth a thousand words, then
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then
A concept is worth a thousand techniques.
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Why is concept-based learning so great when it comes to submission grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu? Here are five good reasons:
REASON #1: There are LOTS of techniques in grappling. Hundreds and hundreds of techniques.
You've got your bread and butter techniques. Then there are the techniques that are you use once in a while. And then there are the techniques that you'll never use yourself but that your opponents will try to use on you. There's no getting around it: you've GOT to learn a lot of techniques to get good at this grappling stuff. And that can seem overwhelming at times - memorizing all this can be hard work.
But guess what? Those hundreds and hundreds of techniques I was talking about - they're made up of thousands of little steps that make the difference between success and failure for each technique
But the good news is that there are a lot fewer concepts than techniques in grappling.
And it's much easier to remember a few core concepts than it is to remember hundreds of techniques with thousands of steps and details. Techniques are just applied concepts. A single concept can be applied to many different techniques, in different situations, and using different parts of your body.
REASON #2: A concept makes you understand WHY you have to do certain things in a specific order for a given technique to work properly. Concepts make sense of a technique, and it's a million times easier to remember things that makes sense.
But the good news is that there are a lot fewer concepts than techniques in grappling.
And it's much easier to remember a few core concepts than it is to remember hundreds of techniques with thousands of steps and details. Techniques are just applied concepts. A single concept can be applied to many different techniques, in different situations, and using different parts of your body.
REASON #2: A concept makes you understand WHY you have to do certain things in a specific order for a given technique to work properly. Concepts make sense of a technique, and it's a million times easier to remember things that makes sense.
A concept also makes the techniques you already know more powerful. Once you understand the underlying principles of the armbar, for example, then you'll also know how to tweak and adjust that submission for maximum effectiveness.
REASON #3: Another limitation of technique-based learning is that a specific technique applies only to a specific situation. And it's completely unreasonable to expect to know a different technique to deal with each and every situation you might end up in on the mats.
If you've done any sparring at all, then you know that two determined grapplers can end up in some downright weird situations. In these tangled positions each grappler will be wondering what the heck they should do next.
Unfortunately the 'dial-a-friend' option ISN'T available when you're in the middle of a grappling match. But most of the time you can figure out the right thing to do by apply the correct concepts. I know this, because going back to 'first principles' has saved my butt many times in sparring.
REASON #4: You can use the same concept in many different grappling arts.
Rules can change from art to art, but the laws of physics, anatomy and psychology stay the same. That means that the concepts you'll discover when you did a little deeper are much more universal than the techniques of any given art.
The same concept can apply in Brazilian jiu-jitsu AND submission grappling, With the gi AND in no-gi. In mixed martial arts AND in self defense. In Judo AND Sambo AND wrestling
REASON #5: Understanding the concepts of grappling allows you to adapt and even invent techniques on the fly.
Just think about music for a second. Understanding the principles and underlying rules of music allows a musician to improvise and create great sounding music. In exactly the same way, knowing the principles and underlying concepts of grappling allows you to adapt and innovate new techniques as needed, and even 'on the fly.'
This approach to the martial arts also frees you up to continue learning when your instructor isn't around. The most important thing my instructors did was TEACH ME HOW TO LEARN!
REASON #4: You can use the same concept in many different grappling arts.
Rules can change from art to art, but the laws of physics, anatomy and psychology stay the same. That means that the concepts you'll discover when you did a little deeper are much more universal than the techniques of any given art.
The same concept can apply in Brazilian jiu-jitsu AND submission grappling, With the gi AND in no-gi. In mixed martial arts AND in self defense. In Judo AND Sambo AND wrestling
REASON #5: Understanding the concepts of grappling allows you to adapt and even invent techniques on the fly.
Just think about music for a second. Understanding the principles and underlying rules of music allows a musician to improvise and create great sounding music. In exactly the same way, knowing the principles and underlying concepts of grappling allows you to adapt and innovate new techniques as needed, and even 'on the fly.'
This approach to the martial arts also frees you up to continue learning when your instructor isn't around. The most important thing my instructors did was TEACH ME HOW TO LEARN!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him HOW to fish and you feed him for his whole life.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach him HOW to fish and you feed him for his whole life.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can probably tell that I really believe the number one thing you can do to improve your overall grappling is develop a 'conceptual' game.
So take a look at the vast number of grappling techniques and get serious about finding the universal themes, the underlying principles and the most important concepts that make those techniques 'tick'.
Eventually I hope you'll agree that a concept is worth a thousand techniques.
P.S. For a few more days only, a two week free trial of the Grappling Concepts course, plus a free DVD for all signups, is available at
So take a look at the vast number of grappling techniques and get serious about finding the universal themes, the underlying principles and the most important concepts that make those techniques 'tick'.
Eventually I hope you'll agree that a concept is worth a thousand techniques.
P.S. For a few more days only, a two week free trial of the Grappling Concepts course, plus a free DVD for all signups, is available at
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, concepts, submission grappling, techniques, the mental aspect, training
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September 18, 2009
The Grappling Concepts Online Course
I've been hard at work in 'the lab' cooking something up something new...
And now it's finally ready: the online 'Grappling Concepts' course.
This is a 26 week web-based course. Every week I'm sending participants a 15 minute to 30 minute video lesson tackling a fundamental grappling concept. The motto of the course is "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a concept is worth a thousand techniques." (I toyed with the idea of calling the course '26,000 Techniques" but then came to my senses...)
The course material is very different from the regular old deluge-of-techniques type of DVD. And I'm also doing the marketing very differently as well.
In this era of over-hyped products I think the next evolution might be seeing exactly what you're getting, BEFORE you pay for it. I don't want to 'trick' anybody into joining the course - I'd much rather you try it out and see if it's for you.
If you like the material - great, I'll be glad to have you onboard! There's a very cool 'ethical bribe' waiting for you at the end of the course.
If you don't like it then that's also cool. Just let me know and I'll cancel your subscription right away. That's why the course billing doesn't start for 14 days (i.e. there's a free trial) and everybody gets a free DVD just for signing up. If you cancel, no problem, you still get to keep the DVD as my gift.
Here's the initial free DVD:
And here's the 'ethical bribe' you get if you complete the 26 weeks: the "Advanced Techniques and Tactics" 4 DVD Set.
For more information about the free DVD and the 14 day free trial please visit www.grapplearts.tv
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And now it's finally ready: the online 'Grappling Concepts' course.
This is a 26 week web-based course. Every week I'm sending participants a 15 minute to 30 minute video lesson tackling a fundamental grappling concept. The motto of the course is "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a concept is worth a thousand techniques." (I toyed with the idea of calling the course '26,000 Techniques" but then came to my senses...)The course material is very different from the regular old deluge-of-techniques type of DVD. And I'm also doing the marketing very differently as well.
In this era of over-hyped products I think the next evolution might be seeing exactly what you're getting, BEFORE you pay for it. I don't want to 'trick' anybody into joining the course - I'd much rather you try it out and see if it's for you.
If you like the material - great, I'll be glad to have you onboard! There's a very cool 'ethical bribe' waiting for you at the end of the course.
If you don't like it then that's also cool. Just let me know and I'll cancel your subscription right away. That's why the course billing doesn't start for 14 days (i.e. there's a free trial) and everybody gets a free DVD just for signing up. If you cancel, no problem, you still get to keep the DVD as my gift.
Here's the initial free DVD:
And here's the 'ethical bribe' you get if you complete the 26 weeks: the "Advanced Techniques and Tactics" 4 DVD Set.
For more information about the free DVD and the 14 day free trial please visit www.grapplearts.tv
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, concepts, grapplearts, Grapplearts DVDs, submission grappling, the mental aspect
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August 26, 2009
BJJ & Submission Grappling Competition: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know!
"Everything you ever wanted to know about Brazilian Jiu-jitsu competition but were afraid to ask!"
That's a strong statement, but it's almost even true. In my latest podcast I talk extensively with David Meyer, author of Training for Competition: Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Submission Grappling.
We cover a TON of ground in this interview, ranging from why you might want to compete at all, to physical conditioning for competition, to specific strategies you can use against certain types of opponents.
This is one of the best interviews I've ever done. There is so much good information here that it'll be very useful for anyone who trains in BJJ or another grappling art, even if they don't compete.
And you can listen to the whole interview right here using the player embedded at the bottom of this post.
If you want to download future episodes of my podcasts and interviews automatically then click here to sign up for Grapplearts Radio in iTunes - it's completely free and totally simple.
Click the player below to listen to the whole 1 hour, 20 minute interview on BJJ and Submission Grappling Competition (or right click this link: http://media.libsyn.com/media/kesting/BJJ_Competition.mp3 and select "Save Link As..." to save the mp3 file to your computer)
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That's a strong statement, but it's almost even true. In my latest podcast I talk extensively with David Meyer, author of Training for Competition: Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Submission Grappling.
We cover a TON of ground in this interview, ranging from why you might want to compete at all, to physical conditioning for competition, to specific strategies you can use against certain types of opponents.
This is one of the best interviews I've ever done. There is so much good information here that it'll be very useful for anyone who trains in BJJ or another grappling art, even if they don't compete.
And you can listen to the whole interview right here using the player embedded at the bottom of this post.
If you want to download future episodes of my podcasts and interviews automatically then click here to sign up for Grapplearts Radio in iTunes - it's completely free and totally simple.
Click the player below to listen to the whole 1 hour, 20 minute interview on BJJ and Submission Grappling Competition (or right click this link: http://media.libsyn.com/media/kesting/BJJ_Competition.mp3 and select "Save Link As..." to save the mp3 file to your computer)
Labels: Brazilian jiu-jitsu, competition, podcasts, self defense, submission grappling, the mental aspect, training
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