On the internet, a lot of people philosophize about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That’s all well and good, but I’m impressed by Chewjitsu’s straightforward talk here about how BJJ combats depression. After all, depression is not just something that happens to clinically depressed people – it’s an unfortunate part of life, and if you’re not prepared to […]

Check out this short, recent article and video from jiujitsutimes.com. Basically, it raises an important issue that is asked in some form by everyone who wants to go beyond the first level of their field of study: Why isn’t this technique working in THIS kind of situation? Now, you may be able to relate better […]

Lately I’ve had conversations with some Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu white belt students about belt ranks. They’ve all been legitimate questions, and they usually run along the lines of: What do you think the toughest belt is in BJJ? What about the funnest belt? I feel totally stuck at white/blue/purple belt. What do I do? How’d you […]

Yesterday I was on bjjfanatics.com, and I read this cool article titled BJJ for the Small Guys. It rang true with me because I hover around 145lbs. Thus my ‘cross to bear’ in my grappling career has been simply not being particularly big or strong. When I first started training, I sure had my share […]

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, […]

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. […]