• To Win or Learn? Competing Commitments

    All students oscillate between being the hammer and the nail. Idealistically, we aim to be the hammer any time we choose against anyone we choose, but few ever arrive in that place without strain. 

    When we are the nail, it often feels like we are desperately fighting to survive, which makes it difficult to build technical […]

  • How fatherhood is transforming my Jiu Jitsu

    Everything changed, and nothing changed. When people ask me what it’s like being a new father, the best answer I can offer is a paradox. In some ways, it feels like I’ve always been a father. That’s not to say that I was born to be a father, and every moment leading up to this […]

  • Do you need Jiu Jitsu anymore?

    The last year and a half  has been a slog. 

    Ask anyone who owns a brick-and-mortar business that depends on patrons to walk through their doors and they’ll tell you it was a year of dragging a dead horse toward a fake horizon. And while dragging a dead horse around for a year, the sun kept […]

  • Knowing Your ‘Why’: Warming Up to Warmups

    “Why am I doing leg circles … again?”

    We all find ourselves asking this question at some point during Jiu Jitsu. Newly minted white belts ask this question when their hip adductors are burning and their core is screaming for relief. Their bodies are unfamiliar with this essential movement for grappling. The advanced students have done […]

  • Follow Me Down the Rabbit Hole: A Jiu Jitsu Workshop Series

    There are 15 seconds left on the clock. I frantically work to finish my transition to the back. My partner’s hips hit the floor and I invert to enter the basic bolo position. Ten seconds left. My partner defends by going stiff as a board, shoulders and hips to the mat, preventing any possible avenue […]

  • A highly unconventional lesson on closed guard

    If I had to sum up the past 12 months in a word, that word would be transition. Neck deep in the uncertainties of the pandemic, we were all stuck in one place wanting to be in another, like beleaguered passengers in some crowded airport terminal. Many BJJ players found themselves in a state of […]

  • Home-Based Training for the Week of June 29, 2020

    Dear Students,

    Please take a moment to watch this week’s update from Emily regarding plans to re-open. Also, if you’re a member of team HKB, please take a moment to watch this important update from Coach Mike.

    Stay tuned to your email this week for additional updates on re-opening plans as we sort through the latest regulations […]

  • Glutes, Grip, and Core Strength for BJJ

    If you are questioning the strength of your glutes, grip, or the stability of your core, then you have some work to do. These three points are what define a resilient body, especially for sports like BJJ. After this training session you should know exactly where you should put more of your strength and conditioning […]

  • Home-Based Training for the Week of June 22, 2020

    This Week’s Schedule
    Please review the material in this post before attending Zoom classes.

    MONDAY

    All-Level Adult BJJ: 12 p.m.
    Kids BJJ: 5 p.m.

    TUESDAY

    Beginners Adult BJJ: 6 p.m.
    Hybrid Kickboxing (HKB): 6:45 p.m.

    WEDNESDAY

    All-Level Adult BJJ: 12 p.m.
    Kids BJJ: 5 p.m.
    Yoga: 6 p.m.

    THURSDAY

    Functional Stretch: 12 p.m.
    Advanced BJJ: 6 p.m.
    HKB: 6:45 p.m.

    FRIDAY

    […]

  • Ascending Strength Workout for BJJ

    For this workout, you’ll need a dumbbell or kettlebell. Movements will include the swing, clean, and lunge. This complex will increase in difficulty as the number of reps climb. The great part: There is no rush to get it done. Work at your own pace.

    After your warm-up, before you begin the complex, focus on tension […]