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Training Etiquette 101
By: Emily Kwok
“The first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.” – Rudyard Kipling
We all know the smell of a ripe BJJ gym.The smell might give us a clue about the school’s cleanliness, frequency of use, or characters at play. It can tell us a lot, but not everything. A school that’s […]
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What Warriors Are Made Of
By: Emily Kwok
2011 – IBJJF No Gi Worlds. Emily Kwok vs. Rachel Demara
The score was 9-0 with 30 seconds left on the clock. I was clinging to my opponent, both of us on our backs, with the seatbelt grip and one hook in, trying to sink in a choke before the buzzer sounded. I was […] -
My Real Life Juggling Act: Balancing Work, Life and BJJ
By: Emily Kwok
When I think back on 38 years of human existence, l feel that I’ve managed to cultivate an abundant life. I am blessed with a beautiful marriage and family, and have the time and resources to pursue personal interests and passions. I am fulfilled by my work on a multitude of levels and […]
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Purple Belt: The Middle of the Journey
By: Joe Hannan
One day you wake up and you go to train like you would any other day. You watch your friends get promoted and you clap your hands. You clap your hands more heartily for some more than others — the ones you know and love best. Then, all of a sudden, they’re clapping […]
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Are You a BJJ Control Freak or a Fatalist?
By: Joe Hannan
At its core, jiu jitsu is about imposing your will on another human. Your goal is to gain an advantageous position and put them in some type of submission hold. This can have some interesting psychological implications.
A work project has me thinking a lot about the psychological concept of locus of control. Generally […]
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Lessons from Matheus Diniz
By: Joe Hannan
When Matheus Diniz walks into a room, you start thinking he was assembled by an elite team of scientists in some grappling cyborg laboratory. The man was built to lock limbs, compress arteries and apply leverage.
Then Diniz smiles, and what you once thought was a cybernetic organism becomes a playful, gentle world-destroyer […]
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Faces of Princeton Brazilian Jiu JItsu Part I
Faces of Princeton Brazilian Jiu JItsu Part I
In June, Josh Smith (PBJJ purple belt) took photos of some students before both a kids class and an adult class. We then asked the participants to answer a series of questions about their experience with BJJ. Over the course of a few blog posts we will be […]
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Surfing for BJJ’s ‘Soft Zone’
By: Joe Hannan
Jiu Jitsu attracts an inordinate amount of surfers and surf culture, right down to grappling in board shorts and rash guards. Anyone who has done both is likely quick to identify the parallels. I stumbled across this one while talking to one of Princeton BJJ’s founders and master instructors, Art Keintz.
Prior to class, […]
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How to Find Happiness in Jiu Jitsu
By: Joe Hannan
Last week, I wrote about the pitfalls of seeking validation in jiu jitsu, something which I am guilty of doing. Looking back, I offered a critique without any alternatives. Hopefully this post will serve that purpose.
Eradicating validation-seeking behavior on the mats is accomplished when the grappler realizes that Jiu Jitsu is a process […]
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Showing Up
Showing Up
By: Joe Hannan2018 began with goals for my martial arts life, one of which was to compete three times. With the second behind me and the third at some undetermined point in the future, I’m a bit unmoored and dejected. The physical and metaphorical hunger lit a fire in me that I hadn’t felt […]
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