One of the things I look for in Jiu Jitsu gyms I train at, and look to cultivate at Chuva is a family environment. People should feel respected, valued, and comfortable in our place. Sometimes there’s sacrifices that are made for the betterment of your training partners. I personally had to stop rolling hard with one of my favorite training partners, because our communal injury rate was escalating. Treat the gym like your family, make decisions that are in the best interest of everyone, and be the same person on the mat that you are off.

Being a World Champion is something that a lot of young people strive for when they start out doing BJJ, but what does it take to get there? I think the biggest thing is you have to surround yourself with people who want the same goal. You don’t have to come from a major team in a big city to be a world champion. You do have to have people that want to and can put in the work though. Atos, Alliance, Gracie Barra and the other big teams find their success because they are able to support their athletes. The cost of being a professional Jiu Jitsu competitor is high and the reward is comparatively low, when you can collect a group of people willing to make major sacrifices for success, you can make champions.

Having good training partners is a critical part of growing in BJJ. One of the ways you can benefit your team is by being a good uke. Finding the balance between being stiff as a board and a limp noodle can be difficult. However, with time, you can find that balance. That will both allow you to understand the techniques better, and benefit your training as a whole.

If you’re going to stick around in BJJ, you have to enjoy it. It’s not easy to put your body through multiple Jiu Jitsu workouts a week, and even harder if you aren’t having fun. Even for competitors, training should still be enjoyable. Yes, you will have frustrating and difficult days, it will still be hard, but don’t allow that to take away from what you’re gaining. Don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t understanding concepts in the beginning, if you get caught in a roll, or if you’re not capable of some movement. Enjoy the new skills, the new friends, and the challenge of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

As your Jiu Jitsu gets better, the improvements you make become smaller. That’s not to say they will be fewer in number, but that you will be making minute changes to increase your success rate. Flexing your feet, where you grab, what you grab, how you grab, all of these things face scrutiny and analysis as your BJJ improves. Oftentimes when I watch matches now, I’m looking at one grip, or leg placement to implement in training. The little adjustments and how they effect the abilities of your adversary are some of the most fascinating things about Jiu Jitsu as you level up.

In this post I’d like to break down my teaching philosophy, and what you can expect in a Chuva Brazilian Jiu Jitsu adult class. For a brand new student, I have set up twelve sequences that provide a basic overview of positions, submissions, sweeps, and guard passes. Once you have completed the chains, classes are based on a visual and rolling analysis of the group to see what skills can be improved upon. I feel this is the best approach, as it gives a solid foundation for beginners while being elastic in the day to day planning.

Grips are important to Jiu-Jitsu, as you probably know. It’s also something that is very nuanced. Where to grip, how to grip, and when to abort a grip are all pieces of knowledge gained in the BJJ journey. One of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten about gripping is a rule of three. By causing someone to regrip or break a grip three times, frustration has begun to set in. By continually applying a pressure for your opponent to address, the attacking momentum of the match shifts in your favor. An effective gripping sequence thwarts your adversary and opens attacking windows for you. Are you using gripping sequences to your full advantage?

Something I talk to people about frequently is you only have to understand one limb to be successful in joint locks. In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, you generally cannot attack fingers, toes, or the spine, so you are left with three breakable focuses.
Ball Joints- shoulders and hips
Hinge Joints- knees and elbows
Function Joints- wrists and ankles
Each joint has a partner in the four quadrants of the body and the attacks of one mimic the other. If you understand how to submit shoulders, elbows, and wrists, that can be translated to leg attacks. Having this information allows you to create more submission opportunities quickly, because you’re not rigidly seeking a perfect position. Focus on how the joints of one limb can be attacked and you can apply that to the other three.

Momentum is important to BJJ. Having momentum in being the first to score points in a match, or using momentum to mount attacks are some ways to use this concept. Much of the effectiveness of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is predicated on effective use of momentum, where understanding how to redirect allows for openings. Think about how the momentum you create is used to both your benefit and detriment to see what you can improve.