Recently, a Facebook friend of mine jokingly shared this National Post article entitled “Dodgeball isn’t just problematic, it’s an unethical tool of ‘oppression’” by Joseph Brean. The basic gist of Brean’s article is that competition is “unhelpful to the development of kind and gentle children,” and that the struggles of victory and defeat are not […]

The NJU crew sure has been working very smart, hard, and consistently lately, and they proved it last Saturday at the Grappling Industries tournament in Paterson, NJ! In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu culture, It’s been said in many ways that participating in a tournament is the equivalent of four months of regular training. But then again, you […]

While it’s natural to be discouraged sometimes, some of us have it a lot worse. That’s because clinical, chronic depression is more than just being “discouraged” sometimes. Its causes can be numerous, but it can also be as hard to get rid of as it is nebulous – in other words, people with depression aren’t […]

In my last blog entry, I discussed how the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle combats depression by setting the body AND the mind in motion. BJJ is called “human chess” for a reason. When you’re present in the moment of a drill or a sparring match, and when you know there’s a way for you to win […]

I’ll be honest – I was tired of seeing ads about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and weight loss. That was before I saw it happen twice (and in dramatic fashion) with my own eyes. And it wasn’t just the weight-loss issue that caught my attention – it was also a matter of watching a human body change […]

I’m the kind of person who wants the best version of whatever it is he’s aiming for. When I was a little kid, I could always tell the difference between Special K cereal and its knockoff competitors, so only the true Special K sufficed! When it came time for me to get my first car, […]

If you bring up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or “submission wrestling” at the water cooler, your listeners are going to have many different (and many false) impressions of what you’re talking about. They could imagine something like this suplex to flying armbar by Demetrius Johnson. But what you could be trying to communicate is something along the […]

When I was in college, I remember my favorite professor describing the creative writing process: “It’s hard to be simple, but it doesn’t have to be.” I think that’s true of any walk of life. Over-complicating things seems to come natural to us, and the first things we forget are the basics. That’s a lesson […]

. . . and honestly, even if you’re not an officer, a solid knowledge of grappling fundamentals can turn stressful situations into routine ones. Check out this recent video in which an officer tries to break-up a fight between two young men (one of whom is definitely under the influence of something). As you’ll see, […]

Ask any martial artist worth his or her salt, and they’ll tell you that it’s imperative for police officers to learn and regularly practice a solid martial art. This isn’t due to bias and preference; it’s due to the simple nature of what happens when a suspect resists arrest and, quite simply, puts you in […]