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Forget Winning and Losing
Forget Winning and Losing
By: Joe HannanI’m told there’s at least one in every gym. This person goes by many names, most of which aren’t suitable for prime time. If you’ve ever rolled with this person, you know what you’re in for the second you engage. Their rigid posture, desperate struggle for grips and tendency to […]
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Countering BJJ Frustration with Stoicism
Countering BJJ Frustration with Stoicism.
Bye: Joe HannanI let my sweaty head fall with a thud against the ocean blue mats that lined the walls of Performance Jiu Jitsu. I don’t remember the roll, but I’m sure it had been savage and swift, with multiple tapouts and lots of flailing around. I might have even let […]
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The Art of Learning the Cross Collar Choke
The Art of Learning the Cross Collar Choke
One of the most significant things I’ve learned about BJJ was the cross collar or lapel choke from closed guard. It’s the first submission I learned and on the rare occasion that I’m working with a newly minted white belt, the only submission I teach. The choke itself […] -
Women as Instructors
Women as Instructors
By: Val WorthingtonIn recent years, I have started to think about what I call Women’s Jiu-Jitsu 2.0. The 1.0 version was just getting women on the mat. Just getting them to believe they deserved to take up space and learn and avail themselves of all that jiu-jitsu has to offer. The community still […]
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Grapplers Are People Too
Grapplers Are People Too
Grapplers are people too. In the past, I have thought and said this many times, with the emphasis on the last word. For a long time, I felt the need to defend this passion of mine to people who found it violent or distasteful or otherwise something they did not want themselves […]
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Don’t Be the Smelly Kid: Your Complete Guide to BJJ Hygiene
Don’t be the smelly kid: Your complete guide to BJJ hygiene
Posted By: Joe HannanThe mats are hot, damp, sweaty places, making them fertile petri dishes for a host of nasty bacteria and fungi. One of the more common mat bugs you’ll encounter is staphylococcus aureus. Staph is everywhere — even on healthy, clean people. However, […]
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Behind the Steel Door
Behind the steel door.
As I made the half-hour drive to Performance Jiu Jitsu in Fairlawn, N.J., I wondered why I ever let Joe, my coworker, talk me into this. I parked and looked down at my phone, hoping there would be a message from him — a sturdy blue belt with a poet’s mind, a […]
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Always the Beginner
Always the beginner.
I was months away from becoming a married man when I first put on a gi and fumbled to tie the belt in the summer of 2015. It was two sizes too big and fit me like a garbage bag. To make matters worse, I was wearing running shorts that made me look […] -
Blogging and the Art of Jiu Jitsu
Why blog now?
I’ve spent over 16 years of my life entangled in some aspect of BJJ. I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into when I started, and I dare say that I still don’t know what I’m doing day to day. Diving into this art gave me a vehicle to explore, play and internalize […]
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