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 […]

Recently, I was considering what I should buy for a young relative of mine on her birthday. Now I’m already known for promoting martial arts frequently, so I didn’t get her a kimono or a pair of boxing gloves. After all, parents are ultimately the ones making the call on whether or not their children […]

Some people get cold feet shortly before committing to martial arts training. Whether they’re interested in a striking art like Muay Thai or a grappling art like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, people often hold themselves to some sort of gold standard. Maybe they’ve watched a lot of UFC events where everyone tangentially involved is a professional of […]

I’ve sometimes found that the more someone wants to do something, the more they’ll put-off doing it. Why? Well, sometimes people are reluctant to start a commitment, and other times they’re overly cautious about how they spend their money. There can be all sorts of motives for putting off the self-care that comes from martial […]

Big congrats to NJU white belt Steve Vega for taking silver at the NJBJJF Spring Challenge Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament yesterday! Steve fought hard and always had his poker-face on during his matches, never exerting unnecessary energy and always looking to pit the strongest parts of his game against the weakest parts of his opponent’s game. […]

I teach a lot of “BJJ 101” classes – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes designed for people newer to jiu-jitsu, yet important for upper belts as well. After all, you’re only as good as your basics! However, I find that a lot of white belts (and even some blue belts) have yet to get a grasp on […]

23 year-old Tom Coda is one of our most consistent and dedicated BJJ students, and his hard work paid off exponentially last Sunday at the 2019 IBJJF NY Spring Open tournament in New York, NY. He straight-up won his blue belt no-gi division, and he took silver in his gi division, coming up short in […]

This morning, I watched this rather interesting video from Youtube celebrity Chewjitsu. In recent history, he’s become something of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu counselor and e-therapist. He’s definitely good at what he does, and I think that’s partially because he answers questions while at the same time pointing his listeners in the direction of more important […]

In my last blog entry, I discussed the art of teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to young children, although I really only dealt with the tip of the iceberg. Yes, there’s a balance between discipline and play, and achieving it is critical to keep children coming back for more than one class. Discipline for the sake of […]

I have great respect for parents who regularly bring their young children in to our academy to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As a teacher of children’s martial arts, I’ve learned to be constantly aware of what type of instruction is right for what child at what point in time. In my early years of teaching, I […]