Too Much Knowledge Can Slow the Learning Process in BJJ

This may seem counterintuitive but stick with me for a bit.

Let’s step off the mats for just a second and look at learning a golf swing. The golf swing can be broken down into many parts. Let’s just look at the setup as outlined here 50 Best Swing Keys. You need to have your legs properly positioned with your feet outside your hips, and your toes pointed outward at a 25 degree angle. Now you need to have your upper left arm on the top of your chest, and your right arm needs to be slightly bent at the elbow. Then you need to have your right shoulder slightly lower than your left, and you need to be holding the shaft perpendicular to the ground.

That is a lot of stuff to do and you have not even started to move yet. The article goes into much more detail about how to properly smack the life out of the ball.

Even if I did have some knowledge of golf (I don’t) taking in a long list of different aspects all at once is a lot to ask of someone wanting a better swing.

The same thing can happen in BJJ if you are coaching to correct every little detail, the learning process can actually slow down. Instead fix one or two main things, and acknowledge one or two things that are done well. When the corrections have been made, build on that by fixing one or two more things.

Teaching too much can make students overwhelmed. Frustrated students are not in the state of mind to learn.

You might think that this coaching advice is mostly geared toward helping new students. I would argue that novice or expert will struggle to make more than one or two corrections at a time.

We can all improve, gaining knowledge needs to be at a rate that is conducive to learning.

Ideas for this article were inspired from the books Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better and Peak secrets for the new science of expertise 

Byron

Epi 245 Big vs Small BJJ

This week we discuss the issues that come up when training with people that have a significant size difference. If you are getting crushed by big people, we have some tips for you. Are you one of the bigger people on the mat and you struggle to find good rolls we offer our advice.

This poor artwork was made by byron with a sharpie.

We talk about:

  • When does the size difference become important
  • What positions we prefer with rolling with the larger grapplers
  • Working your best positions
  • The training advantage of the smaller grappler
  • Tips for getting good rolls when training will smaller people
  • A reminder to not judge a book by the cover when rolling with the big guys
  • Overcoming social hurdles on the mat

Quote of the week: “If you have committed a mistake in the day, make a note of it, learn about its cause and respond appropriately to resolve it and in turn boost your confidence.” Lenny Olsen

Article of the week: Coaching Tip- Critique vs Correct In BJJ

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Back to the Basics

My youngest kids are girls that are less than two years apart in age. The
older one was not too interested in driving so delayed taking drivers education
and getting her permit. By the time she did start the process her younger sister
was almost ready as well. This resulted in me doing a lot of driving and teaching
for almost a year straight. Whether they were driving, or I was behind the wheel,
every time we were on the road it was a lesson. I would say “we’re a few blocks
from the Jr. High and it’s 3:00 we should be keeping an eye out for kids, right?” or
“this is the first rain in a few weeks, be aware the roads could be slick” or “can
you see the mirrors on that 18-wheeler in front of us? If not, we’re following too
close” etc. etc. etc. These are all just basic safe driving practices that experienced
drivers follow without thinking about. But after a years’ worth of conscienceless
thinking about and actively discussing these issues I felt like a safer driver.

I’ve been driving for over 30 years with 2 tickets and zero accidents in the
last 20. After all that time of safe driving, if spending some time consciously
focusing on the basic principles of safe driving can make me a better driver, I’m
willing to bet the same logic applies to jiu jitsu? If you spend some time focusing
on the basic principles of good jiu jitsu your techniques will get tighter, you will
become more efficient, your defense will improve….in short, your grappling will
get better.

It’s tempting to make a list of “5 basic principles and concepts…..”, but the
reality is every person will be different. If your top game is weak or not
progressing the fundamentals you choose to focus on will be different than they
would be if your go-to guard game needed some improvement.
Focusing on the basics in general will help your jiu jitsu. Focusing on specific
basics that are directly relevant to your game will help you even more. In my
mind, this is an example of a time that paying your instructor for a private lesson,
will be worth every penny you spend. Tell your instructor you would like to
improve upon the foundation of your game – that you would like to make sure
your jiu jitsu is fundamentally sound and ask him for a private lesson, so you can
roll, and he can assess your game and make suggestions.

In conclusion, no matter how long you have been training jiu jitsu, there is
always value in getting back to the basics. No amount of slick moves and fancy
techniques will ever make up for a game that is not fundamentally sound. It’s
never too late to get back to the basics.

Train hard. Train smart. Get better.

Joe

Epi 244 Iron Axe Event Fabio Morescalchi and Steve Norwick

This week we have an interview with Fabio Morescalchi and Steve Norwick. Steve and Fabio are running the Twin Cities Invitational. It is an event that benefits the We Defy Foundation and Mission 22. The event will be held June 9, in Bloomington Minnesota.

We talk about:

  • Fabio’s early start to BJJ
  • What BJJ can do for you off the mat
  • Building a community with BJJ
  • Mission 22 and The We Defy Foundation
  • Superfights for the Iron Axe event
  • The meaning of The Iron Axe
  • Some of the benefits of BJJ

Links:

Quote of the week: “When you’re riding, only the race in which you’re riding is important.” Bill Shoemaker

We talked about this book Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Article of the week: 5 BJJ Tournament Tips You Must Know

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Properly Responding to Feedback to Get Better At BJJ

It happens all the time on the mats. One person gives the other person a bit of feedback, some information that they can use to help develop their game. If the person receiving the feedback is you I have a couple of things you should consider.

In my example the feedback is coming from a person who is qualified to give you help.

Let’s step on the mat for some nogi. I am working to pass your guard and you have one hand on my neck to help control posture. I tell you this bit of feedback “try moving your hand up a little bit closer to my head”. This grip sounds odd to you. When playing gi you control the posture with a collar grip. Your hand naturally slides a bit further back and to control the neck. In addition you are satisfied with your collar grip conversion to nogi and you do a pretty good job of controlling the posture. This feedback is probably ignored, and you keep on doing what you are doing.

When you get feedback apply it first, then consider if it is good advice. If it was intuitive for you to play your grip on the lower part of the head you would have already been doing it. Often times good feedback will seem counterintuitive. You might find that gripping on the back of the head gives you much more leverage. You are not just pulling the person down from their neck. Your energy is first pulling the head down, then the neck therefore the posture is broken much easier.

The point of this article is not to help you break your opponent’s posture more effectively. I want you to try the feedback you get and then judge its effectiveness.

Thank the person that took the time to give you the feedback. Your development on the mat will be more efficient if you continue to get more feedback and you should do all you can to encourage more. Using the feedback and thanking the person go a long way to helping you be a joy to coach.

Ideas for this article were inspired from the book Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better

Epi 243 Black Belt Ultra Heavyweight Joseph Moku Kahawai

This week we have an interview with Black Belt Ultra Heavyweight Joseph Moku Kahawai. Moku is a active competitor and he is happy to cover a wide range of topics from off the mat life to training to compete with the best in the world.

We talk about:

  • His start to BJJ in 2008 at BJ Penn’s school
  • Moving from Hawaii to California
  • Learning takedowns as a black belt
  • Why he was a guard player
  • His training schedule
  • Overcoming difficulties as a child
  • Tips for rolling with smaller teammates
  • Advice for traveling and doing bjj
  • The story of getting his black belt after winning double gold
  • Fighting in ACB

Links:

Quote of the week: “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.” Helen Keller

Article of the week: Creating an Environment for Success

Gary shares an off the mat lesson about setting goals Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Coaching Tip- Critique vs Correct In BJJ

These two things may seem to be the same, but they are actually significantly different. In this short article you will find out the difference and learn why I am such a fan of one over the other.

Let’s say we are rolling, and I have side control. You are doing a pretty good job to build a frame and you try to escape. Then your arm relaxes a bit and I isolate it and take the armbar. My critique would be that your should keep your arms in a safe position. That is good advice, and I hope you can put it to use next time someone has you in side control and tries to put your arm in danger.

Let’s look at the same scenario and use correction instead of critique. Now where were we? Oh yeah. Your arm relaxes a bit and I isolate it and start to take the armbar. I know you feel something bad is headed your way. Then I say “pause for a second, can you feel your arm is out of position?” You agree. “Let’s rewind and see what happened, to get you to this spot.” It turns out that as you attempting to get your legs in to recover guard your arm became a bit too loose “Let’s do it again but this time as you are working your legs in also pay attention to your arm, especially your left one.”

With the correction you get to try to fix the problem in the moment. You get to feel it working and make adjustments to your game in a more live setting.

If you tell me what mistakes I made after I tap, thanks for the critique. If you have me pause and rewind a few steps to show me my mistakes, thanks for the correction. They are both good learning tools but the correction allows me to practice what you are telling me. The correction allows both my body and mind to experience the practice together, and this greatly helps with long term retention.

Think of giving someone a critique as giving them a tip, and giving someone a correction as giving them a short pertinent lesson.

The words “pause” and “rewind” are becoming some the my best coaching words while I roll.

Ideas for this article were inspired from the book Practice Perfect: 42 Rules for Getting Better at Getting Better

Byron

Epi 242 BJJ Strength With Laurence Griffiths

This week we have an interview with Black Belt Laurence Griffiths. Laurence is a guy who looks at the fitness research and applies the information to helping you perform better on the mats.

We talk about:

  • Changing from rugby to BJJ
  • Starting BJJ with Roger Gracie
  • His first competition as a white belt
  • Some benefits of strength training for BJJ
  • How you can train off the mat like a world champion
  • How to schedule your off the mat training
  • Using kettlebells for BJJ and some recommended lifts
  • How to improve your grip strength
  • Common mistakes people make when starting a strength and conditioning program

Links:

Quote of the week: “Goal setting is a powerful tool and process for motivating you. When effective goals are set, a giant step towards the life you desire is taken.” K.C. Rowntree

Article of the week: Five tips to be welcomed in almost any gym on Earth!

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Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod

Epi 241 3rd Degree Black Belt Diego Gamonal

This episode we have an interview with 3rd degree black belt Diego Gamonal. Diego trains under Professor Ricardo Marques. You will find him training and teaching in San Antonio Texas.

We talk about:

  • His start with BJJ in 1998
  • The culture of Brazilian Top Team
  • His strategy for competing
  • Advice for your first tournament to help you keep it in perspetive
  • Why he likes to have a beginners class
  • How he does belt testing
  • Having a women’s only class
  • The importance of learning how to teach before you get a black belt
  • How to help kids discover BJJ
  • His new DVD The Invisible Armbar

Links:

Tip: Eat better the days you train.

Question: What are some things you can do to slow someone down?

Your-First-Year-Of-BJJ-artwork-1199

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunesStitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod