|
You can’t be pretty and grapple. You can be good looking, just not pretty. Being pretty comes with a daintiness that just doesn’t work for what we do. If you’re worried about your ears getting jacked up or having black eyes and bruises, contact sports may not be what you are best suited for. I get that a lot of people want Jiu Jitsu to be accessible to the masses, but effective martial arts are gritty, and they hurt. Not everyone is up to the task, and that’s okay, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past if we try to appeal to all in the same ways of tae kwon do and karate.
0 Comments
https://youtu.be/n2kfNdH6oo4?si=7_BEcjE86-EiI5vR
https://youtu.be/64z25NDWlQo?si=w6GqKdqeMcU46z9a 1a. Closed-gi chokes
1b. 1c. 1/2- Gi chokes 1d. 2a. Up/Down-gi chokes 2b. 2c. Standing- Gi chokes 2d. 3a. Closed- arm in strangles 3b. 3c. 1/2- arm in strangles 3d. 4a. Up/Down- arm in strangles only 4b. 4c. Standing- arm in strangles only 4d. 5a. Double Leg 5b. 5c. Tripod 5d. 6a. Dogfight single 6b. 6c. Dogfight double 6d. 7a. Covered hips 7b. 7c. FHL 7d. 8a. Chest wrap 8b. 8c. Switch 8d. Your coach is correcting you for your benefit, if you act like a turd when he tries to help you, he might not want to help you as much. You pay them to give you instructions on being a better grappler, so getting mad at them when they do that is weird. It doesn’t really matter if you’re frustrated with yourself, don’t take it out on your coach when they just want to make you better. Gratitude is really cool, and it will get you further than being a sourpuss. I understand that I too need to work on being grateful.
It is necessary to use as many senses as you can when learning Jiu Jitsu. Listen to what the coach is saying, look at what the coach is doing, and feel what is supposed to be happening. Martial arts places are called schools because they are learning facilities. You are paying to learn, if you are not actively doing your best to learn, that’s weird. It is not that difficult to at least arrive at an approximation of what you are supposed to be doing if you’re paying attention. Be present and use the tools at your disposal to make the best use of your time.
Simple things are the foundation of more complex things. There’s no algebra without addition and subtraction. One of the things that will make your life easier, is the ability to take simple instructions. Especially simple instructions that have no basis in Jiu Jitsu knowledge. If someone says sit up, you should be able to recognize that being prone on your back is probably not that. Knowing your right and left is also very helpful. There are words and things in the outside world that don’t change meaning, and you have the knowledge without walking through the door. As someone very recently said I’m pragmatic in the way I speak, so don’t make up alternate meanings to things you already know and work on being able to take simple instructions.
If I don’t train, I become unpleasant. Outside of it’s my job, that’s the major factor in why I keep doing this to myself. I can’t find another way to work out that is quite as good at keeping that part of me in check. I’m not saying that I’m a ray of sunshine, just that it could be worse. I say all of this to say, you have to have a motivation more than just being good at Jiu Jitsu. That doesn’t get you through the hard days the way you’d think it would. To get to black belt is more out of compulsion and addiction than I think people realize. At some point you start showing up to Jiu Jitsu, because you need it and most of the time you don’t know what you would be without it.
I think we get too locked into the picture-perfect version of a technique. I understand that those picture-perfect versions are an ideal we strive for and exist because they’ve been proven to work, but there’s a lot to be said for ugly and unconventional grappling. A sweep and a takedown are still two points no matter how pretty they are. If it looks like a choke, it’s a choke. Bending someone’s arm until they tap is still a submission. I realize not everyone has the power to makeup nonsense moves, but the base concepts of how things work open up more possibilities than the rigid structure of traditional BJJ.
One of my students said that the only thing that you can count on in Jiu Jitsu is that I will be there. I wish that wasn’t true, but he’s not wrong. I know it’s my job, but even when I didn’t get paid for it, you could count on me being there to train. Part of having people to train with is they need to feel like they can count on you, rely on you, and trust that you’ll do what you say. It doesn’t matter if I’m at the gym… nobody cares, but if you don’t show up for others why should or would they show up for you? To a certain extent it doesn’t matter if you want to go to class, sometimes you just go and you keep going until you start wanting to go again. Jiu Jitsu is one of the few activities where you still have no choice but to persevere if you want to get anywhere. Gain a reputation for being a constant in the journey of someone else.
I have been grappling for 22+ years, and I still feel like I know absolutely nothing about grappling. When I was a brown belt, I believed I had a decent understanding of Jiu Jitsu, then I got my black belt and realized I didn’t know anything. I’m not the only one who feels this way. Most quality black belts probably find some new detail weekly that flip turns their perspective on what they’ve spent too much of their life doing. Saying that, it doesn’t pay to get frustrated a month in because you’re not understanding what’s happening or winning every round. The amount of knowledge and information you don’t have is unfathomable. None of us actually know the destination, so being mad that you’re not there is a little silly. Just do the best you can otherwise you won’t make it.
|
AuthorThis is the blog page of Chuva BJJ. It's where you will find information that seems pertinent to the academy. Archives
January 2026
Categories |
