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1a. Nothing to the back
1b. 1c. Double leg 1d. Defend without disconnecting 2a. Half Dressed triangle 2b. Pass/ both in or both out 2c. Swing, Scissor, Heist 2d. BHK 3a. DLR-RDLR 3b. Float 3c. Balloon Animal 3d. BHK 4a. Down-Get DQd 4b. Up- Get DQd 4c. Cliffhanger 4d. Exit danger 5a. Arm Triangle, anaconda, darce 5b. 5c. Armbar, Triangle, plata 5d. 6a. Sliding collar, kata hajime, bow and arrow 6b. 6c. Straight ankle, toe hold, heel hook 6d. 7a. Jason’s Rules 7b. 7c. Choose your adventure 7d. 8a. Dealers choice 8b. 8c. F2F 8d. The friends you meet through grappling are a different kind of friend. To me there’s a deeper connection with someone you trust with your safety and has been physically closer to you from the day you met than almost any other person you meet outside the room. Two of my closest grappling friends happen to be named Jason. On 3/13/26 I lost Jason Cockrell to pancreatic cancer. There’s not a lot of people or places that I feel accepted with or in. Both Jasons make me feel that way. No matter how many times I got a little or (a lot) chippy, they didn’t hold it against me. I can speak freely and they just go along with it. To a certain extent we were all forged in the same fire even though they’ve never met. So, to all the Jasons or whoever that person is for you, you are loved, appreciated, and never forgotten.
At a base level you know both what you have to do and what your opposition has to do. Let’s use being the guard player as an example. Percentage wise they will pass, or they will leg lock you. Now you know what they’re doing. So, what are you doing? Most likely you are trying to sweep or submit. Now you know what you have to be aware of, all you need to do is put yourself in the best position to impose your will. It doesn’t really matter what that is as long as you keep them in front of your legs. This is not a mindless activity; you have all the tools to be prepared for class. Make it simple and do the things you need to do.
With the increasing popularity of Jiu Jitsu, people who don’t really understand what they’re getting into walk through the doors of academies across the world. What I would ask of people is to think about what your level of commitment is and what your physical state is. If you just started grappling, you’re not in shape. If you start the class at 100 you will die. If you’re not going to show up that often you won’t progress much. If you don’t want to be sore, this is not the activity for you. We don’t operate the way the karate school of your childhood did, what we do is complicated and difficult. Nothing is given and everything is earned. The grappling is the most important part of what we do, the other benefits are secondary.
I know I’ve talked about this before, but getting beat up is good for you. It’s how you get better at Jiu Jitsu, and it’s sort of how you get better at anything. Doing something poorly is the first step to doing something well. Catching a controlled, technical beating is just as critical for your improvement as beating other people up. Testing what you can do on lower skilled people is nice, but you only know if what you do actually works when it doesn’t get crushed out of the gate. Don’t just seek the easy rolls but also get beat up sometimes.
1a. FHL, RBL, SL
1b. 1c. Grip and sit 1d. 2a. Split legs- pass 2b. 2c. Danger zone-pass 2d. 3a. Saddle triangle- exit danger 3b. 3c. Bráulio triangle- exit danger 3d. 4a. Omoplata-C2B 4b. 4c. Arm saddle C2B 4d. 5a. Back figure 4- sub 5b. 5c. Spiderweb- sub 5d. 6a. Monoplata- sub 6b. 6c. Saddle - sub 6d. 7a. Bear trap- sub 7b. 7c. Choose your adventure 7d. 8a. Dealers choice 8b. 8c. F2F 8d. If you can’t do simple things, then there’s no point in looking at complex things. Simple things are things that you don’t even need a Jiu Jitsu coach for. Knowing your left and right, knowing the conventional names of your body parts, realizing that you’re in danger when someone is twisting your arm the wrong way, letting go when someone tells you to let go, and basic common courtesy and public behavior are all things within your control. We’ve talked about how your success has significantly more to do with you than your coach, these are things that if you don’t have them already you can gain them without much effort and having them in the bag will lead to a much easier time for everyone.
As an older grappler, most of the time I don’t feel like fighting to the death. Usually, I just want to play the game. I want to see how what you do matches up against what I do. As a black belt and gym owner, when I roll, there’s a target on my back. The problem is I’m a crabby asshole with just enough piss and vinegar left to make those who come for me regret that decision. My advice is if you don’t want to have a bad day, try to turn down the turbo when you roll with people who have more experience. It makes it far less likely they will try to kill you and they might even try to help you. Play the game for improvement, because victories in the gym mean very little in an activity no one cares about.
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AuthorThis is the blog page of Chuva BJJ. It's where you will find information that seems pertinent to the academy. Archives
April 2026
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