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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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You Are How You Train
By: Emily Kwok
It’s incredible how much training can reveal about the self.
It creeps up on you slowly after your obsession with training wears off a bit. When you are at ease with the notion of deliberate practice, when the hard work is no longer hard work and it just becomes habit. This is the […]
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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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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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10 Tips for Longevity in BJJ
By: Emily Kwok
Dear Reader,
This is not an article for “old people.” This is an article for people who want to feel happy and healthy as they train into old age. I might even be so bold as to suggest that if you are young, ambitious, and live and breathe jiu jitsu, then you should heed […]
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Faixa Preta
By: Emily Kwok
Faixa Preta: Black Belt
When I began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it was a good while before I’d ever encountered a real live Black Belt and it never occurred to me that I would ever become one or want one. The Black Belt was almost like a god or deity — holy, sacred and […] -
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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In it to Win it: 5 Ways to Develop your Technical Growth on the Mats
By: Emily Kwok
As a teacher, I generally see incredible enthusiasm and growth within the infancy of a new student’s journey in our sport. They are always empowered by what they discover their bodies can do and surprised at how effective certain lessons can be. Most of us are not conditioned to use our bodies to […]
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Progress and Purpose: Why do we Train?
By: Emily Kwok
If you asked me (almost) decades ago what I enjoyed about training BJJ and why I was doing it, I would have told you it was because it was different from anything I’d ever done and I liked the workout I got from it. Today, my reasons are largely the same, though I […]
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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 […]
