I know a lot of my students own at least Six  BJJ Gis (Uniforms) .  They are always buying the latest and coolest gi they can find.  To be honest I like it.  I think being fashionable in Jiu-Jitsu is ok.  I personally have around nine gis of my own and lately I have been...

I think one of the most difficult things for a human being to do is admit that they have fear in a given situation or for an upcoming event.  American Male Culture seems to act like the absence of fear is a good thing and it makes one a tough person.  I think of MMA  most when I...

I have been to and trained at a lot of BJJ schools and I have noticed that in some Jiu-Jitsu schools they don’t give stripes on student belts. I had trained at the Las Vegas Combat for a couple years when I lived in Las Vegas and they didn’t give stripes to students...

In my early days as a Jiu-Jitsu student I was told that to be good at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu that I shouldn’t lift weights. I was told it adversely effects your technique because you want to use the proper angle instead of muscling through a position to be most effective.

I don’t know if I...

I am regularly asked how often you should wash your gi. The obvious answer is after each session, however; I am not naive enough to think that every person washes their gi after EACH and EVERY training.

I admit that I have gone several classes without washing my gi before and the world...

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is well known for its instructors giving belts to their students without a testing process. In many schools a student shows up one day and gets a surprise in front of the class by being awarded his next belt. I should know, I used to do this with my students. I now test each...

We often talk about Helio and Carlos Gracie and all that they have done for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but a person who I think deserves a great deal of credit for the popularization of Jiu-Jitsu is Helio’s son Rorion Gracie. Rorion is the one who really helped popularize Gracie Jiu-Jitsu thru...

I often get asked if I personally watch Jiu-Jitsu videos. I must admit that I have watched my share of videos and produced a few of my own. Jiu-Jitsu is evolving at a rapid rate and to keep up students and instructors should watch videos and see what others are doing.

Videos should not be a...

I JUST RETURNED FROM A GREAT SEMINAR IN PORTLAND with my instructor Professor Pedro Sauer hosted by 3rd degree Black Belt Anibal Lobo. I just want to say I love seminars! I think that after having a great instructor, going to seminars is the best way to learn Jiu-Jitsu! Instructors will pull out...

I think it's time!  It’s time to take Throws and Take-downs (T. N. T) to a new level!  My friend, Pedro Sauer Black Belt Ricky Lundell has been preaching for some time the need to improve the throwing and take-down ability of BJJ students. It took me a while to pay attention but...

You want to get better fast you say?  Well here is a sure-fire way.  Take Private Lessons!  Private lessons are a way to get to the bottom of the problems you have.  It is often difficult for your instructor to give you the individual attention that you might need in a regular...

You have probably heard the old martial arts adage that you should never wash your belt because you will wash the knowledge out of it.  The guy who said that is a dumbass!  

What you are really washing out of a dirty belt is dirt, sweat, blood, hair, snot, bacteria, viruses,...

Here is a huge enemy of your school,  Brazilian Time.  “Brazilian Time” is a humorous term used to denote starting the martial arts class up to 15 minutes late in many cases.  

This is made famous by Brazilian BJJ Instructors (and many American Instructors) who are...

For this article I’m narrowing my focus to ground punching for a "grappling/BJJ" school, nothing stand-up oriented.  So, don’t go emailing me about how I should be standing or this is how MMA does it. I got it.

There is a funny saying about BJJ Black Belts that goes, “If...