This week we talk about your BJJ coach. This is probably the most important relationship in most of our jiu-jitsu journeys.
We talk about:
The business relationship with your coach
The personal relationship with your coach
What we look for in a coach
Joe wins the internet again
Telling your coach your goals
How to help your coach
Quote of the week: “Show respect even to people who don’t deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours.” Dave Willis
Article of the week: https://bjjbrick.com/how-to-put-your-rabbits-in-a-pen/
This week we are excited to have Emily Kwok back on the BjjBrick Podcast. This interview by Joe covers a wide range of topics that are useful to all grapplers.
We talk about:
Her background in BJJ
Her time in Japan
Fighting as a life skill
Kids doing BJJ
Dealing with parents and kids doing jiu-jitsu
Women doing BJJ
Finding the right gym for you
Tips for women doing
Business and Jiu-Jitsu
https://www.princetonbjj.com/
Quote of the week: “Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind” Rudyard Kipling
One of my favorite quotes (it’s actually from an ancient text) is: Iron Sharpens Iron. Those tough battles with your favorite training partners make you a better fighter.
But a leather strap will also sharpen iron. A stone wheel will also sharpen iron. The reality is, many things can sharpen an ax.
Value your lower ranked and less experienced training partners. They too, can sharpen your game.
If you’re an experienced grappler and you’re not getting better when you roll with less experienced people…that’s on you.
Just like you have to learn how to use a leather strap to sharpen an ax; you have to learn how to roll with less experienced training partners so that both their game, and yours, improves.
If you’ve stopped by the BJJBrick Facebook page you may know I like to post an inspirational quote a couple times a week. I usually leave a few lines sharing how the quote relates to jiu jitsu from my perspective. Recently I posted the following ancient proverb: “If you chase two rabbits you will catch neither”. I was busy so I didn’t elaborate. Immediately one of our listeners responded “I don’t think this relates to jiu jitsu at all”.
I don’t think we had a difference of opinion, we were just looking the
quote through different lenses. I was considering the technique of the month club students who are always chasing the
latest technique that went viral on youtube and has no focus to their training.
Our friend was considering grapplers who chase only one move at a time as
opposed to creating options. He summed up his thoughts this way “the easiest
way to catch a rabbit would be to put 3-4 in a small pen and then go for the
easiest one”. When trying to escape one of those rabbits will be slower or make
a mistake or freeze and bam there’s
the one you catch.
As it relates to jiu jitsu: what does it actually look like to put 3 or
4 rabbits in a small pen and see which ones easiest to catch? I could start a
match on my feet with the idea that “I’m going to take him down and pass guard,
or I’m going to pull and submit from closed guard, or I’m going to throw a
flying arm bar up”. Those three options might represent “three rabbits”, but
that’s not a very small pen. If I pull, secure closed guard, and then look at
three options from that position, that’s better. But even from closed guard it’s
a pretty big pen. But what if, from closed guard, I sit up and connect to my
opponent with my left arm over his left shoulder isolating and dominating his left
arm for a kimura set up? Now, I’ve got the kimura available as well as the
sit-up/hip bump sweep and a left-handed guillotine. How he reacts will
determine which one of those “rabbits” is easiest to catch.
In conclusion: Thanks Chris. This is a great concept for all grapplers
to spend some time thinking about. Having multiple attacks from a single
position where you are not required to change a lot of things makes it easy to
seamlessly transition from one of those attacks to another. Do this enough and
you will eventually get a step ahead succeed with one of those attacks.
Train hard. Train smart. Get better. Happy hunting.
We had a great time meeting and training with many listeners last year we are looking forward to doing it again. Special guests include Samir Chantre and Gina Franssen.
This week we have an interview with brown belt Amanda Leve. Amanda recently won the ADCC West Coast Trials for the +60kg division. This is a great opportunity to learn about Amanda before she competes in ADCC this year.