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Thoughts on ADCC 2017

September 30, 2017

1. A solid understanding of the positional leg locking game is no longer a magic bullet to get the win but it is required if you don’t want to quickly lose.

Last year the Danaher Death Squad burst onto the scene dominating various submission only events with an impressive array of leg locks and entanglements. Their repeated successes, often against much more experienced grapplers, demonstrated the efficiency and effectiveness that a positional and control based approach to leg locking can achieve. At the time the DDS, and those that choose to emulate them, looked unstoppable.

Fast forward 18 months and you could instantly tell which athletes had done their homework and which had not. Leg locking continued to play a significant role but typically only resulted in a finish against those who had clearly not made a significant study of the game. Those who had were able to use the threat of the leg attack in order to work for positional advantage or even initiate upper body submissions.

2. The clinch and takedown skills on display were lightyears ahead of where they were in 2015.

At ADCC Beijing the majority of athletes could competently execute various throws and takedowns but no one really displayed fully integrated stand up and ground games. This year however nearly all the champions – particularly JT Torres, Andre Galvao and Cobrinha – demonstrated tight, technical wrestling which they used to great effect in achieving victory.

3. Holy shit – Craig Jones everyone.

Seriously.

Hole.

Li.

Sheet.

4. Xandes still got it.

Before this year’s ADCC there were rumours that Xande might be retiring from competition after the tournament finished. If that’s true he may be rethinking after his performance. He locked up three armbars against highly dangerous wrestlers using traditional set ups from closed guard, fought Gordon Ryan to what was essentially a draw and took a much heavier Buchecha into overtime wearing him out so much that he became easy pickings in his following match.

5. Gordon Ryan’s game was exceptionally well rounded and on point.

Gone are the days of being able to accuse Gordon Ryan – or any other member of the Danaher Death Squad for that matter – as being a one trick pony. In addition to his usual spectacular leg locking skills Gordon demonstrated a series of solid takedowns, passes and upper body submissions to leave no doubt that, at least without the gi, he is the complete package.

6. Nicky Ryan is going to be terrifying.

At 16 years old he’s taking on grown men who have a minimum of ten kilos weight advantage, are world class competitors in their own right and he’s making them work. In six years this kid will be making his brother look like an amateur by comparison.

7. Galvao continues to be able to reinvent his game and dominate.

Andre Galvao’s victory over Claudio Calasans makes him the first three time ADCC Superfight champion and brings his total of ADCC titles to five overall. Even more impressive is Galvao’s ability to reconfigure his game to take advantage of rulesets or particular opponents. Andre pulled guard throughout the majority of his matches this year but for his match against Calasans – a highly ranked Judoka – he scored the majority of his points via takedowns from the clinch.

8. Cobrinha is simply amazing.

At 37 years old Cobrinha became the first person to win a Super Grand slam as he secures his fifth major title this year when he took out the ADCC under 66kg division without a single point scored against him. It’s weird that this level of domination is now just expected of Cobrinha – so much so that practically no one is talking about it.

9. Please add another women’s weight division.

Being limited to over and under 60kg is just ridiculous. There are more than enough elite female grapplers in the world to add at least a sub 80kg division. Create more opportunities for highly skilled women to compete results in more highly skilled women competitors.

How to Care for your Grappler

May 23, 2017

So you’ve got yourself a grappler – congratulations, you’ve just started a relationship that is equal parts rewarding, mystifying and washing training clothes. Having a grappler of your own can be a challenging experience introducing you to new cultures, foods, smells and doctor’s waiting rooms. Knowing how to properly care for your grappler – cause they sure as hell aren’t going to care for themselves – is a key part of having a happy and healthy relationship.

The following guide should help you through those first tricky weeks.

Grooming
The grooming needs of a grappler vary greatly. The short haired breeds need little more than a reminder to bath regularly but the longer haired breeds, and the breeds that depend upon their plumage to attract a mate, could require various oils, gels, clips and ties as well as your direct assistance to achieve the desired look.

Regardless of the type of grappler you own there two must have items: Nail clippers, which should be used weekly, and Anti bacterial soap, which should be used daily.

Socialising
Grapplers are social animals that don’t cope well if they become isolated from others of their own kind. Failure to properly socialise your grappler can lead to them becoming listless, confused, pain free and likely to start exhibiting inappropriate behaviour towards non grapplers usually prefaced by the phrase “hey, come here…. I want to try something”.

Depending on the age and breed you will need to socialise your grappler anywhere between twice a week to twice a day.

Medical care
Determining the appropriate level of medical care for your grappler can often be confusing. Typically a grappler will either be visibly maimed while insisting that nothing is wrong and that they will definitely be going to training tonight or exhibit no signs of distress whatsoever but constantly regale you with predictions of their impending death before saying that they will definitely be going to training tonight.

That said, a medical cabinet that is well stocked with the following items should take care of most situations.

Tape
Aspirin
Tape
Ice packs
Tiger balm
Compression sleeves
More tape

Communication
Communicating with your grappler can be tricky at first but a few simple tips will see you conversing in no time.

1. Begin all conversations by saying “ok guys”.

2. Pronounce all “r”s like “h”. All of them. Even when saying words that aren’t Brazilian Portuguese.

3. Instead of using full stops to end your sentences start saying “Porra” instead.

4. Finally you can indicate approval, disagreement, indifference or the need to pass wind by extending your thumb and pinky finger like you’re about to answer the gadget phone and shaking your hand around.

Occasionally your grappler may attempt to talk to you about grappling. Now it’s not actually necessary to understand what your grappler is saying – let’s face it, how could you? – but appearing to listen to their incoherent ramblings can be a bonding experience. To participate all you need to do is insert one of these handy phrases whenever your grappler has to pause to draw breath:

“That guy just muscles everything. No technique at all.”

“The knee reaping rule is stupid.”

“They really need to learn some takedowns.”

“Rickson is the best.”

In some sad cases your grappler may begin responding to all questions, statements, gestures and light operettas with the sound “oos”. If your grappler starts demonstrating this tendency it needs to cracked down upon immediately – I suggest a rolled copy of the script of Hamilton to the nose for each infraction – as the only options for long term abusers is to be put down or enrolled in a karate club.

Diet
When feeding your grappler it’s important to understand that their diet consists primarily of fads, poorly backed up popular science and what Rick from the gym told them.

You also need to realise that your grappler is never the right weight. Depending on various factors – how their last training session went, how close they are to competition, the phase of the moon – your grappler will either be desperately trying to strip fat or pack on muscle but, regardless of which, self sabotaging their efforts the entire time.

Acai also plays a prominent role for some reason. Don’t ask.

Misery Guard: Defence and Pass

April 26, 2017

Getting stuck in collar sleeve can be quite a difficult situation to deal with and being stretched out and controlled so well only leads to being submitted quickly.

In situations where earlier efforts to better your position have failed we have to start risking more to get out or just stay safe. In the case of the featured video we risk a sweep after giving up the top position to try break grips.

It’s important to recognise the risk you are taking in these situations and try to minimise it if at all possible. However, after you achieve your goal of either escaping or taking pressure off, it is even more important that you capitalise on the moment and go back to attacking and imposing your game on the other person.

In most cases where you have been in a bad position and successfully recovered to a better position, your opponent will try to attack again. If you reward yourself with a rest after a recovery action then you are setting yourself up to be back in a bad situation – keep fighting until you’ve reached a point like top side control or back where you can take a bit more of a calculated rest and control the fight at the same time.

The Domoplata: Developing the Position to get the Submission.

April 21, 2017

The ‘Domoplata’ is a mounted shin choke (Gogoplata) named after Marcelo Garcia black belt Dominyka Obelenyte, the 2015 female black belt world champion (weight & absolute) who is well known for her use of this attack.

At first glance the Domoplata may appear to be unnecessarily complicated when compared to other mounted submissions due to the numerous positional adjustments involved in its setup. This relatively high level of intricacy can seem overwhelming and may even lead one to the conclusion that the attack is impractical or unrealistic.

However, given the fact that one of the world’s best female grapplers is frequently able to apply this technique against male and female opponents of the highest calibre, as students of BJJ it is important that we look deeper into the details of the technique so that we can begin to understand why it is so effective despite its complexity.

One of the most common mistakes committed by lower belts when in an attacking position such as mount is to rush to the submission attempt before first negating their opponent’s ability to escape. For example, they will attempt an Ezekiel choke without first establishing a grapevine to control their opponent’s hips and be easily reversed by a basic bridge and roll; Or they will recklessly fall back for an armbar without first dominating the armpit, and find themselves on their back with nothing but an unsubmittable forearm in their crotch and a relieved opponent on top of them.

In contrast, advanced grapplers understand that although attacking positions generally guarantee our safety from the risk of submission, against skilled opponents these positions must typically be further developed in order for us to safely attack our opponent without the risk of allowing an escape or reversal.

With this concept in mind we should observe that, in isolation, every step of the Domoplata setup stands as a relatively achievable and maintainable development of our mounted position. Therefore, we should not view the Domoplata as one big exotic move but as a series of small conservative moves that will enable us to transition safely into a dominating finishing position.

The Kimura Trap & Positions of Transition

April 18, 2017

The Kimura Trap leads to an excellent series of transitions and submissions. It has been popularised by David Avellan and frequently utilised by such names as Andre Galvao, Keenan Cornelius, Andris Brunovskis and Dominick Cruz.

It is also an example of one of the most difficult positional concepts to understand in Jiu Jitsu: A Position of Transition.

Positions of Transition are positions where control is not exerted in a traditional pinning or riding fashion.

Pins are dominant positions in which control is exerted by restricting and controlling the opponent’s movement and Rides are dominant positions where control is exerted despite the opponent’s movement.

A Position of Transition’s primary method of control is the gateways it creates to other positions or submissions. However, unlike pins and rides, the ability to remain in these positions is comparatively limited and these gateways are created almost exclusively through the opponent’s choices.

In this example it is easy to see how the attacker’s options are essentially dictated by the choices of the defender and it is equally easy to see how the attacker has little means to force any particular choice upon the defender.

Why is any of this important?

Well, despite being easily entered into from a variety of situations and allowing a series of extremely powerful actions, Positions of Transition are comparatively under utilised. And they are not uncommon – Kimura Trap, Harness, Two on One and Seatbelt are all Positions of Transition if used correctly.

Secondly, realise that due to their action/reaction type nature, Positions of Transition take significantly more drilling than more conventional positions to make use if their full potential.

How to start training BJJ (or any martial art)

January 26, 2017

Training in a martial art can be one of the most rewarding and positive experiences you can have in your life providing benefits to you physically, mentally and emotionally. That said, getting started can be daunting and for a lot of people just walking through the doors of an academy for the first time is incredibly intimidating.

While taking a deep breath and simply turning up for a class will generally work out for the best there are still a few things you can do to ensure your early experiences lay the foundation for a rewarding martial arts adventure.

Before You Go to Your First Class

Do your research.

Not all BJJ academies are the same; some focus on sport jiu jitsu, some on MMA, some on self defence and others will cover the full spectrum of the martial art. There will also be significant differences in the gym cultures which is what will really determine whether or not you continue training.

We live in an age of information so it’s easy to check out the Facebook page, business reviews and website of anywhere you are considering training. If you are uncertain how to do this click —>here<—

Go to the website.

So you’ve found a place that looks good. Now go back to the website and actually read it.

Read the class descriptions, view the timetable, check out the cost and find out whether or not there is a free trial. You should also see if there are starting requirements as some places will have specific beginners courses or insist that you do a number of one on one sessions before jumping into the group class.

Email or call the academy.

It’s always a good idea to actually check in with the academy before you turn up; There may be a special event or some other unusual circumstance that would make it a less than ideal time for your first session.

Turn up about ten minutes early.

Not thirty.

If you turn up this early then, depending on how the academy in question is organised, the coach will either be busy or not there yet. Just give yourself enough time to find the place, introduce yourself and fill out a small amount of paperwork.

During Your First Class

Expect some culture shock.

Every martial art has its own culture, traditions and social expectations and they can seem totally unfathomable to a new student. To add to the confusion no two academies are exactly alike even within the same style. Jiu Jitsu, which is generally considered to be comparatively informal when it comes to martial arts, will still have a number of rules of etiquette including, but not limited to:

You might be expected to line up in rank order at the beginning and end of class

You might be expected to bow whenever you walk on or off the mat

You might be expected to refer to the instructor as “Professor”

You might be expected to slap hands and/or bump fists with your training partner

You might be expected to line up and shake everyone’s hand after training

You might be expected to say “Oos” way too often and in ways that make no grammatical sense

Or you might not.

Hopefully the coach or a senior student will explain to you ahead of time what’s going to happen and what is expected but there’s no guarantee so be prepared to just roll with whatever happens – people will understand that you are new and learning “how things are done”.

So to recap:

If you haven’t done a martial art before then there are many things that are going to seem unusual to you.

If you have done a martial art before then there are many things that are going to seem unusual to you.

Expect to feel unfit.

Unless you are transitioning from another kind of grappling art, expect to feel very unfit during your first few sessions of BJJ. Even if you run marathons and crossfit every day a typical BJJ training session will get you very tired. It’s not that jiu jitsu is unusually demanding, it’s that the physical demands of any martial art tend to be very specific and this, combined with your lack of knowledge on how and when to relax, will quickly wear you out. The plus side is that this feeling is short lived. A couple of weeks of regular attendance and you’ll feel like you’re back at your base level of fitness.

Expect to be terrible.

Martial arts are complicated and it can take many years of training to become highly skilled, but for some reason a decent number of people seem to assume that they know what they’re doing before even completing their first lesson.

Realise that you are a danger to yourself and others.

If you are doing any kind of full contact martial art, such as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the potential for minor and major injuries is present and, as a beginner, you won’t yet know how to take care of yourself.

This means that your training partner is doing all the work to make sure that neither one of you gets hurt. So rather than fighting as hard as you can “to win”, realise that your partner is fighting to keep you safe. Keep it light and remember that you are here to learn. This will have the added benefit that your higher ranked partner is less likely to decide that simply crushing you is the easier option.

If you come with a friend expect the coach to split you up.

There is no surer path to injury than having two beginners train with one another.

After Your First Class

Expect to be sore in ways you haven’t experienced before.

You’ve just used your body in ways it’s never been used before so expect a few new muscle aches to crop up the next day. After a few more classes your body will adapt and these new aches and pains will cease to occur. This would be exactly the same if you had just lifted weights for the first time or spent an hour trying to learn how to play squash despite never having picked up a racquet before.

If you did some kind of sparring then you’ve probably picked up a few bumps and bruises too. Like the aches, these are largely the result of experiencing something new – in this case significantly more body contact than you were previously used to – and these will also diminish as you begin training more regularly.

You will have questions. Many, many questions.

If your question starts with “What if” then please just stow that sucker in the back of your brain/write it down on a piece of paper and set it on fire. Understand that generally these kind of questions are answered with time and training and that the answer is frequently “It’s a fight, try not to let them do that”.

Other questions though – questions about the gym, the gear, the training, the coaches and the art itself – should be asked without hesitation. Common questions include

How do memberships work?

What kind of training gear do I need and where do I get it?

How do I tie my belt?

How do I care for my hair while training?

How hard should I go in sparring?

The Next Few Weeks

Start with two or three classes per week.

I know you’re excited and want to get as much out of this new experience as you can but you really need to ease into it. I’ve seen a number of people get started with BJJ and immediately jump into six classes a week and less than a month later they miss a class and I never see them again. Those who become long term students of the art start off with two or three classes per week and might, over time, build to more frequent training.

Expect to be corrected.

When you start training in any martial art there are two very common scenarios. Scenario one is that you feel like you are doing the technique or drill correctly but you are still being consistently corrected. Scenario two is that you feel like you are too uncoordinated to do the technique or drill correctly but you are still being consistently corrected. Neither scenario is correct.

You are not doing the movement correctly but you don’t know it yet because you are untrained.

You are not doing the movement correctly but you are not uncoordinated, you are untrained.

Accept the correction, continue training and never forget that, despite what movies and your mother tell you, it is statistically very unlikely that you are either amazing talented or particularly inept. You are paying a coach to teach you when you show up, help you when you want it and correct you when you need it.

The return of roadwork: Developing aerobic baseline capacity for athletes

October 11, 2016

A decade or so ago the phrase “roadwork” would have conjured up the image of a tracksuit clad athlete stoically jogging through the early morning mist and up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the inspirational tune “Gonna Fly Now’.

In recent times though, roadwork has fallen out of fashion in the athletic community; now we talk about “conditioning” and flog ourselves stupid with insane high paced workouts that leave us bathing in a puddle of our own puke and sweat.

While I think it is a good thing that we’ve come to understand that running for hours on end is detrimental to the strength, health, and performance of the majority of athletes, we’ve replaced it with something just as stupid.

The majority of “conditioning” training I see people do rarely results in any kind of improved sport performance and, in fact, usually actively interferes with it.

People forget that conditioning is specific. A boxer who is fully capable of doing ten rounds of intense sparring can be left gasping for air like a pack a day smoker after just ten minutes of wrestling practice, simply because they are not yet adapted to the specific conditioning demands of wrestling.

The best kind of sports conditioning is training or playing in the sport itself, and anything that interferes with an athlete’s ability to train or play is a hinderance. That said, it follows though that anything that can increase or enhance an athlete’s ability to train or play is beneficial.

So, aside from developing strength, if “conditioning” is out, what does that leave us with? Aerobic baseline capacity training. Roadwork 2.0 if you will.

Aerobic conditioning is not domain specific so, provided care is taken to keep the level of physical stress low, improvements made allow an athlete to train in their sport longer and more frequently.

The following three methods have each shown excellent results across a variety of sports and activities.

Barry Ross Baseline conditioning

This protocol is probably the easiest and most effective I have ever come across for developing an aerobic baseline for training. The fact that it is so simple and so undemanding is probably the main reason that almost nobody will start or stick with it.

The program was developed by Barry Ross, one of the best sprint coaches in the world, who needed to improve his athletes’ aerobic base without also further fatiguing them or impacting their ability to recover from their intense sprint training sessions.

The solution he came up with was to get his athletes to walk as fast as possible for 15 minutes three times a week with the goal of walking slightly further every week. This was to be repeated for four weeks followed by a two week break before repeating.

Tempo Running

The concept behind tempo running is that as there is little or no barrier to entry to running and only in the most extreme of circumstances do people become unable to take another step. As a result it is extremely easy for athletes (or anyone else for that matter) to run too far and run too fast damaging both sports performance and their bodies. We needed a method of limiting both the pace of the run and the quantity of running performed.

For years I called the following method “Tempo Running”, before I found out that it is essentially a low tech approach to the reasonably well known “Maffetone Running Method”.

This sounds easy, but the first session crushes egos on a regular basis. All the athlete has to do is run for 30 minutes twice a week maintaining a pace which allows them to breath only through their nose. If at any point during the run the athlete breathes through their mouth, they must walk the remaining time even once they are able to resume nose only breathing.

By restricting peoople to only breathing through their nose, it forces them to work at a pace that their body can easily handle.

I got the idea after watching Russian amateur boxers working the pads and even sparring with a mouthful of water, that they were then forced to spit out between rounds to prove they hadn’t swallowed the liquid.

Steady state after high intensity training

While none of these methods are onerous, this approach is the most easily integrated into an existing routine. All that is required is ten minutes of easy, steady state aerobics immediately after an intense sport training session, six days a week.

It is important to take note that in order for this protocol to be effective, it must be performed directly after a high intensity sports training session – not as a separate session, and not after something slower paced.

Interestingly, while it is probably the least effective of these three options for developing your aerobic baseline capacity (it’s still pretty good though) this is the only one that is even remotely likely to result in additional fat loss. While aerobic training is not particularly good at mobilising fat from adipose tissue stores, it is reasonably effective at making use of it once it enters the bloodstream. By performing some steady state aerobic training after high intensity training, which is amazing at mobilising fat from adipose tissue, you are essentially giving yourself some insurance that the fat that was mobilised gets burned.

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You might have noticed that none of the above training protocols are particularly exciting or sexy. That’s the thing about training in an effective, productive manner – sometimes it’s boring.

And that’s what makes this training genuinely hard for people to do.

The long runs and the puke inducing work outs feel hard but almost everybody will do them because they also feel exciting but it’s a willingness to do the rote work, the punch the clock style training sessions, that is the mark of a genuine athlete.

Photograph by Malcolm Murdoch

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Things you can say at BJJ, but not to your partner

October 1, 2016

I’d totally tap him.

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I love it when they submit.

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How much do you weigh?

Can I have a trial session?

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I prefer to start standing.

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I’m actually going with Simon next, but you and I will go first next time.

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Can you do that inverted?

Come here – I just saw this new move on YouTube.

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Senior grades get to go first.

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I usually try to come twice a day.

Boy Walking Down Misty Country Road 1400

Travelling with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

January 26, 2016

One of the nice things about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) is that you can travel practically anywhere in the world and find somewhere to train. Training in a new academy in a different city or even a different country from your own can be one of the most rewarding and revealing experiences you can have as every gym has its own culture, philosophy and technical emphasis. Here are six quick tips on how to get the most out of your trip and make sure that you are welcomed back.

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Do your research

Google the city you’re travelling to in conjuction with BJJ, and ask your coach and team mates if they’ve had any experience training at the destinations you’re keen on. Chances are that some of them have traveled to wherever you are going before and can suggest some good places to train. A personal recommendation is always a better bet than simply going with Google’s first page.

Once you’ve decided on a place, learn everything you can from their website. Find out the class schedule, the location, whether the sessions you plan to attend are gi or no gi, and what the mat fees are likely to be. This last point is especially important if you are planning on going somewhere famous. Places like Renzo’s or Marcelo’s academies in New York and the Mendes brother’s Art of Jiu Jitsu academy in California have significantly different mat fees for tourists and locals.

Call ahead

Apart from it simply being polite, it’s always an excellent idea to call the academy to let them know that you are coming. This is a chance for you to find out anything you couldn’t glean from their website, and for them to get an indication of who you are and how long you’ve been training. Ask which classes it would be appropriate for someone of your experience to attend, and whether they have any particular requirements regarding safety equipment or training gear.

Pack appropriately

Pack a standard white gi, and if you will be training enough to require a second gi then I would recommend bringing a white ultra light travel gi. You read that correctly – only pack white gis. Preferably ones unadorned with patches, although I do realise that’s not always possible.

Many gyms require all students to wear white gis, and many of those same gyms are not very good at communicating this requirement, so making your gi white by default is cheap insurance. Also wearing a white gi instead of your unicorn patched purple tiger striped gi is a small measure of respect for your host, which is often an under appreciated gesture. It’s the difference between attending a business lunch in a simple suit and tie, and attending that same lunch wearing a popped collar polo, tight white jeans and oversized aviators.

We all know that guy. Don’t be that guy.

Apart from that, I would also suggest packing a micro fibre towel and a notebook. It’s also a good idea to have your own sports tape, but if you are flying you should buy that once you arrive at your destination city, as airport security will confiscate any before you board the plane.

Arrive early

Make sure you arrive 15 minutes or so early so that you have time to sign any waivers, get shown around, meet the instructor and get changed. Seems obvious but many, many people fail to take these things into account and rock up expecting to be able to just jump on the mats.

Before class talk to a friendly looking blue belt

For some reason every academy assumes that all the little ceremonies and gestures of respect that make up “the way things are done” are the exact same at every gym world wide, but I have yet to visit two that are alike. So find yourself a blue belt, someone that knows what’s going on but who hasn’t been doing it for so long that it’s just a part of the background noise, and ask the following questions:

Do you bow before stepping on or off the mats?

Do you line up before or after class?

What do I call the instructor?

There’s bound to be a few more culture traps that will leave you wondering what the hell is going on, but the above should at least get you through the first 10 minutes.

Go to train

Remember the reason you are visiting this club in the first place; specifically, you are there to train. You are not there to teach – so hold back on offering your insights (unless asked specifically by the instructor of course). You are not there to show how good you are – so roll like you’re trying to improve and not like you’re in the final of the mundials. You are not there to deliver your one man comedy show – so do the drills and restrict chatting to the breaks and after class.

Thoughts About BJJ

January 8, 2016

To master Brazilian Jiu Jitsu the training must be severe

This doesn’t mean that the training must necessarily be physically demanding (although it often is), it means that your training must constantly remind you of the areas of your game that need improvement. Severe training shows you where you are weak and tests you where you are strong, it strips away the comfort of self delusion and replaces it with daunting truth. This kind of training is hardest on the mind and the ego.

Train for the short term

As self evident as this sounds, it apparently bears repeating: the goal of your training is to make you better at Jiu Jitsu. Not more mobile, or stronger or even ‘better’ in some esoteric kind of way. Better at BJJ in an immediate, concrete and measurable fashion. As such, 80 per cent plus of your training time should be spent doing the things that result in this kind of improvement. Modalities like positional work, isolation sparring, rotation training and rolling are your best bet here.

Train for the middle term

Middle term training requires both a time investment and a decent foundation built by short term training, before you see much of a pay off. It is important to begin developing this area early on though, as the actual techniques of Jiu Jitsu (submissions, sweeps, escapes, etc) belong to this category.

Train for the long term

Training for the long term is probably the trickiest to do well. It improves your ability to train for the short and middle term, and as a result it is at least one level removed from improving your actual fighting skill. Because of this, it can be hard to tell if what you’re doing is bullshit or actually useful. Movement drills and slow flow rolling are great options.

Position, position, position

In BJJ circles it’s a sadly frequent occurrence to hear an instructor say something like “position before submission” before teaching 16 omaplata variations and a flying armbar guard pass. The postures, pressures and objectives of positions are rarely explicitly taught. More often, these techniques are left to the athlete to develop via the traditional “time on the mat” route, which is stupid as the main difference between levels is ability and understanding of positional control. In short, work on achieving, maintaining and pressuring in every position and your abilities will sky rocket.

Train all the aspects of Jiu Jitsu

BJJ is an art made up of many aspects: gi, no gi, takedowns, ground work, self defence, Vale Tudo and sport. Developing each is important not just for its own sake, but for the many flow on effects that occur. For example, training takedowns improves your base, grip fighting, scrambling and power across the board and training Vale Tudo results in greater facilities in control, distance management and stress management.

Isolation sparring is the fastest route to a strong game

The quickest way to strengthen your game is to isolate a position, for example, side control, and a goal, such as a submission or escape. You then roll starting in that position with the express purpose of achieving that goal. As soon as either player reaches their goal, you reset and go again.

Early specialisation leads to short term wins and long term stagnation

An easy way to get a competitive advantage early on in your Jiu Jitsu career is to specialise to the exclusion of your other skills. Deep half, 50/50 and inverted guards are popular choices, but so are guillotine and triangle chokes. While this does tend to lead to some comparatively easy wins, whenever you encounter someone who can deal with or simply avoid your specialisation you have no recourse.

Focus on the process

The process is the only part of training that you have any influence over. You can’t change the past (successes or regrets), and you can’t control the future (outcomes), so you should focus on the present (the process) and get as much as you possibly can out of each and every moment.

Enjoy the results

When you do achieve something you’ve worked for, whether it’s the next rank or nailing that sweep you’ve been drilling, be sure to take a moment and enjoy your success. Too often achievements are passed over in the race to reach the next goal and after a while this can suck some of the passion out of your practice. So next time you achieve something, celebrate and then get back on the track to your next goal.

Play is the way

Animals, including humans, learn and discover best through play. You never see a pride of lions line up and work on their ‘paw swipe to throat rip’ combination; instead they swat and wrestle each other while quite clearly having fun. A play ethic allows creative and continuous development free from judgement or expectation.

Time on the mat makes up for a lot

Poor quality coaching, lousy training partners, bad attitudes to learning, and practically anything else that gets in the way of effective skill acquisition can be made up for with sufficient time on the mat.

Use your time on the mat wisely

Regardless of whether you train 3 times a day or just twice a week, you should strive to use your mat time wisely. Time is a non–renewable resource so you should train with that in mind. The more you can get out of every minute of training the greater your understanding, skill and enjoyment of this art will be.

Train with everyone

While it is important to have a regular instructor and training partners, it is equally important to expose yourself to a variety of styles and techniques. The best way to do that is to train with a large variety of people from different academies. Visit gyms when you travel, go to seminars, take advantage of open mats, and roll with people that have different grappling backgrounds.

Don’t train with douche bags

No matter how good they are or what they know, it’s never worth it. Training with or learning from douche bags is the fastest way to ruin your enjoyment of what should be a positive martial arts experience. The training partners you actually like will steadily leave, you’re way more likely to get hurt and the more time you spend with douche bags, the more likely it is that you will become one yourself.

Strength training helps but don’t let it get in the way

Strength training is a very useful accessory to BJJ. But if fatigue, soreness or even the time commitment begins to negatively impact your Jiu Jitsu training, you need to reevaluate. Ultimately you need to decide if you are a Jiu Jitsu athlete who lifts weights or a weight lifter who does some Jiu Jitsu, and then prioritise accordingly.

Consistent training is better than hard training

Consistency is the greatest determining factor in skill acquisition and in achieving high performance. As such it is much better to train 6 days a week at 70-80 per cent than three days a week at 100 per cent.

Rolling is about learning not winning

If every time you roll your main objective is to win, then you are significantly limiting your development. Rolling to learn allows you to explore new positions and scenarios, try different techniques, and experience all kinds of scenarios. Rolling to win on the other hand typically results in trying to impose the same game every time, and experiencing very little outside of that.

It’s all about hips, grips & trips

Correctly positioned hips are the keystone to good Jiu Jitsu, enabling you to apply superior leverage. Dominant grips let you use that leverage to maximum effect, and keeping your opponent off balance (trips), both physically and mentally, limits their ability to fight back.