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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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Redefining a Good Roll
Redefining a Good Roll
By: Joe HannanI am a spaz — an uncoordinated tangled jumble of lanky limbs that don’t listen to my brain. They have a knack for finding soft, vulnerable places on my training partners, even though my brain does all it can to prevent it. It’s pretty easy to pick me out of […]
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Dear White Belt, I Promise You, We All Suck…
Dear white belt, I promise you, we all suck…
By: Emily KwokIt’s not uncommon after I finish teaching a class to see a short queue of students waiting to ask a question or express their frustration.
Last week a student stopped me to tell me that they didn’t think they were cut out for BJJ. They felt […]
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Getting Comfortable With Discomfort
Getting Comfortable with Discomfort
By: Joe HannanIt’s enough to make some panic: the first time a much larger partner has you in mount, their chest driving into your face. You cock your head to the side and gasp for air like you’re doing your 12th lap in an olympic pool. You can’t maintain your cool. You […]
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You Are How You Train
You are how you train
By: Emily KwokIt’s very common for even the best of us to get locked up when it comes to personal expression. This is true of life in general, but the mats give us the rare opportunity to see where we are literally challenged and liberated.
At the beginning of our BJJ career, […]
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You Will Alienate Some
You will alienate some.
By: Joe Hannan
Your dedication might alienate those closest to you. Some people will never appreciate Jiu Jitsu. They’re probably not reading this post. But should someone close to you need convincing that your newfound practice is worthwhile, this entry is a good place to start.
Family, friends and significant others, for the most part, […]
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The Sound of Sweeping
The Sound of Sweeping
By: Val WorthingtonTeaching jiu-jitsu is a complex task, and the necessary skills extend beyond the actual exchange of information and assessment of performance, each of which is complex in and of itself. There are interpersonal interactions, which involve making people feel comfortable and welcome. There is logistics, which includes planning a good […]
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Dedicated, not Obsessed
Dedicated, not obsessed.
By: Joe HannanI see Jiu Jitsu everywhere I go, especially in the movements and play of animals. I think about Jiu Jitsu all day, a constant narrative of if he does this, then I do that, running through my head. Sometimes, I mix it up, and the narrative gets switched to, if I […]
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Friends Fight Together… La La La La: The Main Line United In-House Tournament
Friends Fight Together…La La La La: The Main Line United In-House Tournament
By: Val WorthingtonI love Flight of the Conchords. They sing a song called Friends, in which they talk about all the things friends do together. When you train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, one of the things you do is fight together, sometimes in the academy and […]
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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 […]
