I’m going to tell you something a gym owner probably shouldn’t say. I hate the gym. When I go to the gym, I’m bored. I lose focus. I watch the clock, I count reps, I wait for it to be over. But at Jiu Jitsu? I was the last person training. Twenty years in, I […]

Let’s talk about tapping. The first time somebody catches you in something, your brain is going to tell you to fight it. Hold on a little longer. Be tough. Don’t be the one who taps. I want you to let that voice go. It means well, but it’s wrong. I’ve been training Jiu Jitsu for […]

Most people walk into a gym for the first time and they think the scariest partner in the room is the big experienced guy with the dark belt. I’m gonna tell you the truth. He’s the safest person in the room. Ironically, the more experienced, advanced athletes are actually the safer people to train with. […]

I’m gonna tell you the most boring secret in Jiu Jitsu. The belt doesn’t go to the person who tries hardest in month three. It goes to the person who is still on the mat in year three. That’s it. That’s the whole thing. Twenty years in, I can tell you, I have watched hundreds […]

Somebody half your size is going to catch you. Probably in your first month. Maybe in your first week. I want you to know what that actually means before it happens. The first time somebody who is forty pounds lighter than you puts you in a position where the only honest answer is to tap, […]

If you’ve read the first four of these, you’ve probably noticed something. I haven’t taught you a single technique. That’s on purpose. Here’s the realest way I have to put it. New students chase moves. They see something on Instagram, they want to learn that. They see a guy win a match with a heel […]