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We aren’t just pushing or pulling. We aren’t just placing our connections and hoping. Our movements have intention, as grapplers we need counter pressure. We need to push with our feet and pull with our hands to keep our open guard; we need to elevate our adversary slightly while we drop our weight down to maintain pinning positions. It is how we can hold without squeezing for dear life. Our body works in concert using opposing forces to maintain those critical connections.
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We have made what we do into a sport so it’s more digestible, but martial arts lean more towards a necessity than being able to move a ball in various ways. Basketball will very rarely get you out of a life-or-death situation, but legitimate training in martial arts might. That being said, the most critical piece of being able to defend yourself is contact. Being able to do what you need to do under duress is more important than any technique. If you have set the goal of being able to defend yourself, it is a lifelong process and it requires consistent training. No one should tell you otherwise.
Let’s liken our journey in grappling to manifest destiny or the westward expansion of the United States. This may be a weird analogy, but I’m okay with that. To get the results you want, you must go into the unknown. You don’t really know where you’re going, but you have an abstract destination, and if you only live in theory and planning you never go anywhere. The goal to me is to reach Oregon, to be a black belt, to be good at Jiu Jitsu, and to use grappling as a vehicle to accomplish whatever other goals you might have. Drilling doesn’t get you there, we’ve seen it with the Moneyberg videos, he’s trained “everyday for 3.5 years” with some of the best people in the world and still looks like garbage on video. By working in the actuality of what you are trying to do, you improve your chances of reaching your destination, and if you die along the way, at least it was because you took action.
Above all else protect yourself. It will never make sense to me that people sign up for a martial art and just let people beat them up. It happens all the time in grappling because the consequences are less severe when you’re not getting punched in the face, but it shouldn’t. Why would you want to let someone choke you or twist your arm? Why would you want someone to exert immense pressure on you and restrict your breathing? Why would you let someone throw you to the ground without any response? You came to learn to protect yourself why not do that?
If I truly taught with ecological dynamics there would be even less direct instruction than there is now. That I answer questions after each game is actually antithetical to the methodology. There can be direct instruction in ecological dynamics, but it is much rarer than how I teach. That I name techniques is not part of the methodology. Overall, what I do is more tasked based games and reverse classroom. If I find a way that people don’t get angry with strict ecology, then maybe I will try that.
https://youtu.be/NuweBGC8xz8?si=C3XqtTV9vK2_AGKg
https://youtu.be/GgkNZeoVSG0?si=9XWhGy427hDoQNRh 1a. Standing- single collar, same side sleeve, cross sleeve
1b. 1c. Single, double, back exposure 1d. 2a. Dlr, spider, s2s 2b. Pass 2c. X, Slx, b-fly 2d. Pass 3a. 3 configurations of mount 3b. LIFR 3c. 1/4 mount- back take 3d. Lifr 4a. 1/2- 3 configurations 4b. Pass 4c. Mount- head and arm isolation to finish 4d. LIFR 5a. Closed guard 3x 5b. Pass 5c. Trinity 5d. Escape 6a. 3 configurations of leg entanglement- hold 6b. Escape 6c. 3 back pins- hold and submit 6d. Remove C2B 7a. 3x Turtle- hooks and finish 7b. Reverse or disengage 7c. Standing guard- bring to knees 7d. Pass w/out knee contacting floor 8a. Deep 1/2 8b. LIFR 8c. Double unders 8d. LIFR I get asked a lot if I’ll compete again. The answer is not in the foreseeable future. After the last time I competed I said I wouldn’t go out there unless I took it seriously, and I don’t have the ability to do what I need to do for that. I would need to be very selfish to compete and ensure that I was getting good quality rounds in with consistent training partners. One of the biggest barriers to me competing is I don’t know if I’ll get rounds in. You all know that at the very least I’ll be in the gym, I don’t have that luxury. There’s no guaranteed training partner for me. Maybe one day I’ll have a group of people I feel can deal with getting me ready to compete, but for now I’ll focus on having fun.
Being technically proficient at anything takes a really long time. I would say it took me eight years to feel like my body and brain were at a similar proficiency. That has nothing to do with the quality of coaching I had, it was probably some of the most technical classic Jiu Jitsu I’ve been around, but I couldn’t just know the information, I had to execute. That whole eight years before my body caught on, really all I was doing was building toughness, durability, grit, or whatever you want to call it. Grappling hurts even if you’re winning, so if you want to be able to use the skills you learn, first you have to build the perseverance to do so. Building toughness makes you more effective for when what you can execute catches up to what you know.
Whatever body weight you have should be used to your full advantage. Even if you are 140lbs, you can still be heavy. Pressure is technique. It’s how you move your hips, getting on your toes at appropriate times, being able to focus rather than distribute your weight, and so many other little details. It’s not mean to put pressure on someone, pinning is part of what you are supposed to do, and it also helps create submission opportunities. Smash people, it’s part of grappling.
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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
November 2025
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