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Preparing for BJJ Competition, Four-Part Framework
Jiu Jitsu is in its awkward teenage phase. One of Jiu Jitsu’s hallmarks of awkwardness is the way it approaches competition preparation.
Many schools and competitors remain stuck in a trial-by-fire paradigm to prepare competitors. While this approach may help cultivate some mental resilience (and even that’s debatable), it more often decreases preparedness, diminishes recovery, and […]
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Ode to Masters: What it Has Meant to Me
By: Emily Kwok
As I help some of my students in their last week of preparation before the IBJJF Masters Worlds in Vegas next week, I sit and slightly lament my inability to compete this year due to pregnancy, and I also reflect on why I feel this way. It’s not like I haven’t had to […]
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Should You Compete?
By: Emily Kwok
“Should I compete?”
I am asked this question a lot.I often respond, I’m not sure if you should, but here’s why I do.
In the beginning it had more to do with curiosity than anything else. There were so few women in jiu jitsu that I just wanted to know how I would fare against […]
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How to Bring the Best Version of Yourself to Competition
By: Joe Hannan
The man who would try to break my arm made idle conversation in the bullpen. He wasn’t nervous, but rather was sizing me up. Conducting recon. Scrutinizing what I knew and what I didn’t know about Jiu Jitsu and how he could use the knowledge to break me. He walked with the assured […]
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My Child Won’t Break and Neither Will Yours: The Insight of a BJJ Parent
By: Emily Kwok
This past weekend I got to experience being a mother to a brave little girl who decided she wanted to fight her own battles. A few months ago, one of our instructors approached us about wanting to run a small kids tournament to help familiarize them with sport rules and share a deeper […]
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Becoming the Conscious Competitor: Master’s Seniors Worlds 2018
By: Emily Kwok
“The fact of the matter is that there will be nothing learned from any challenge in which we don’t try our hardest. Growth comes at the point of resistance. We learn by pushing ourselves and finding what really lies at the outer reaches of our abilities.” – Josh Waitzkin, The Art of Learning
Fully […]
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Preparing for Competition: What is Enough?
Preparing for Competition: What is enough?
By: Emily Kwok
‘Don’t live down to expectation. Go out there and do something remarkable.’ – Wendy Wesserstein
I’m well into my training camp for Master’s Seniors Worlds and many people have asked, ‘How is your training going?’.Great question. Loaded question. Where do I begin…
Competition is not new to me, so in […]
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Returning to Competition: Finding My Heart Again
Returning to Competition: Finding my heart again
By: Emily KwokI recently made the decision and announcement that I would compete at this year’s IBJJF Master’s Seniors Worlds.
It’s been 6 years since I have competed and in the typical timeframe that a purple belt is born, I opened a school, birthed 2 children, concentrated on building […]
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Competition: Finding Your Why
Competition: Finding Your WHY
By: Emily KwokCompetition isn’t for everyone. For many, it stirs up all the awkward feelings we humans generally don’t like to feel: confrontation, stress, fear, anxiety, self-doubt. I think any athlete, professional or otherwise would be lying if they didn’t admit to feeling one or all prior to a fight. The nerves […]
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What to Expect When You’re Expecting to Compete
What To Expect When You’re Expecting to Compete
By: Joe HannanCompetition is a an experience every grappler should have. It crystallizes the form and function of BJJ as a martial art more than any number of rolls or lessons ever could. Perhaps just as important, if not more so, is preparation for competition.
I write this from […]
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