Blog - Dirty White Belt

March 22, 2015

Life is one long training session

Why does it matter if you win or lose?

This is a semi-rhetorical question. I want to acknowledge right up front that I am a competitive person, and so it matters very much to me whether I win or lose. By offering up the question I hope to provoke a thought experiment rather than to imply that it doesn’t matter.

For most of us, the answer is that competition is a measuring stick. It matters whether we win or lose because we are testing ourselves. This is, incidentally, why it’s important that we take on opponents for whom we have respect: if we win over competition that is sorely lacking, we have failed to challenge ourselves. Our achievement, such as it is, is much less valuable against lesser competition.

Simply put, we want to win because it means we’re on the right track, and we want to beat good competition because it means more than beating easy competition.

But let’s go a level deeper. Let’s say you achieve a primary goal, whether it be to take gold at a US Grappling tournament or beat a specific opponent. You’re not going to retire from jiu-jitsu. Presumably you’ll set new goals: you will ask yourself, “What now?” This is exactly what you should do. You’re also not going to quit after a disappointing loss. You’re going to analyze where you need to improve and aim at another goal.

7583_10152114288938483_89135892876952373_n — The best I’ve ever prepared for a tournament was for last year’s worlds. I lost in the first round.

When I was playing poker regularly, the best players all advised me to treat your poker experience as one long playing session.

The bad players chase losses during single sessions: if they have a bad run of cards, they’ll stay at the table all night trying to get even. This is a terrible idea, since your sharpness will suffer and you’ll play worse than you would have otherwise. The good players realize that over the long run, the cards even out. The better players will get more money over the long run, and the worse players will lose it.

Instead of pushing to get even if you’re down money, you should play for as long as you planned on, stop, and start fresh during the next session. That way you’ll play your best, and if you really have an edge against your opponents, that will come out the longer you play. The bigger sample size will show you the way. Instead of viewing Saturday as one session and Monday as another, the best viewed all their time spent at the poker table as one long session.

Life is like that. Life is one long training session.

A win doesn’t matter if I stop training. A loss doesn’t matter if I keep training. My answer to the semi-rhetorical question “Why does it matter if I win or lose?” is this: my goal is to have the best possible jiu-jitsu I can have over the long term. I’m less concerned with one big win or one big loss that I am with constantly working to improve and refine my skills. I want to keep my focus on the Jeff of 2025, not the Jeff of Wednesday, March 25.

Getting triangled as a no-stripe white belt. — Getting triangled as a no-stripe white belt in 2011. Experience is the best teacher: if you get frustrated after losing, you don’t learn as well.

It matters if I win or lose because if I keep training, I keep improving, and if I keep improving, the wins will come more than they would have otherwise. Again, I believe strongly in the value of competition: competition is a system that we use to provide motivation and focus, and by and large it works. I know it works to motivate me.

I’m thinking about this lately because I have a gi match against Ze Grapplez at this Friday’s Bull City Brawl. I’m looking forward to it for many reasons: he’s a great competitor, it’ll be a good, tough test for me, and it’s a cool opportunity to compete in the cage in front of an audience. Tim’s someone I respect a lot for his approach — he trains all the time, competes regularly, and whatever outcome happens, he’s back on the grind the next day. (I also share his antipathy for the term “superfight” as applied to jiu-jitsu matches, by the way).

This is a terrific opportunity for me, and I’m training hard to take advantage of it. Generally speaking, I train like crazy for tournaments. I’ll never cop out and tell you I wasn’t giving it my all. If you’ve beaten me in a tournament, you got the best I had to offer on that day, so congratulations. I’m always glad I put myself out there, win or lose.

Winning is affirmation and losing is information, as my instructor likes to say, so both competitors get something out of the experience. Ideally, you win and learn, but no matter what happens, you’re better off than the timid souls.

Won a gi division at no-stripe white belt. Was never tempted to "retire undefeated." — Won a gi division at no-stripe white belt. Was never tempted to “retire undefeated.” Also, yes, I am as tired as I look.

Jiu-jitsu is like life. It’s one long session. However important one day is to us, to focus too much on the results of any one competition is a mistake. If your goal is to win the worlds and you fall short, of course you’ll be disappointed. That’s normal. Such luminaries as Saulo Ribeiro, Felipe Costa and Caio Terra had far less success early in their careers at lower belts. All became black belt world champions.

It’s not the short-term disappointment. It’s what you do with it over the length of the long session. You can win every competition you enter, but if you’re not challenging yourself, you’re losing the long session.

The Bull City Brawl match with me and Ze Grapplez is this Friday. One of us is going to win and one of us is going to lose. And we’re both going to be back in the gym the next day training, because we’re both going to be better in 2025 than we were in 2015.

March 16, 2015

Ask a Stupid Question

I asked a stupid question the other day.

I knew it was stupid a few short minutes after I’d asked it, as the patient upper belt’s explanation kept going over things that I really should have known or at least guessed.

We’ve all done this, I imagine: had an unexplored thought, blurted it out in the form of an ignorant query, and quickly felt the hot red blush of embarrassment

Here’s the thing, though: I don’t regret it.

I don’t regret asking any of the litany of dumb, addled, ridiculous and flatly absurd questions that I’ve asked Seth Shamp, Jake Whitfield and Roy Marsh over the years. (Those guys might regret it, I don’t know: I haven’t asked them, since I don’t really want to know the answer). I’ve probably asked two or three dumb questions today already, and I plan on asking more tomorrow.

Seth and Detroit aren't reacting to the fight decision, they're reacting to a dumb question I asked. — Seth and Detroit aren’t reacting to the fight decision, they’re reacting to a dumb question I asked.

Questions — and the answering of questions — are among our most powerful tools for learning.

If questions come from a place of ignorance, then answers help dispel that ignorance. (“Hey, why do I need an underhook when I do that guard pass?” “Well, you don’t, if you enjoy having your back taken”). If questions come from a place of some knowledge, then answers and dialogue can help flesh out our understanding. (“If I want to improve my self defense, how should I approach tournaments?” “… well, let’s talk about that.”)

The learning doesn’t just go one way, either. I’ve learned a lot from having to explain seemingly basic concepts and techniques.

Magic Johnson was a legendary basketball player, but a terrible coach. I believe this was because he never really had to think about basketball strategy: it was just so deeply embedded in him that shockingly perfect passes happened whenever he had the ball. I’m sure you can think of an incredible jiujitsu practitioner whose idea of technical instruction is “the arm is right there: just take it. … OK, let’s drill it, guys.”

When someone asks you about a fundamental technique, it forces you to go back to that original position and see it from their perspective. Drilling reinforces the right movements, helping our bodies learn how to react correctly. Answering questions does something similar for our minds.

Having to answer “why do you do this when you’re in guard?” makes me think “… yeah, why *do* I do that?” I might have a good reason or I might not. Thinking about it helps me figure that out. Because of conversations like this, I’ve fixed some of my mistakes and also deepened my understanding of why the correct things I do are correct.

Americans’ biggest fear, outranking all others, is public speaking. This is because people are afraid of saying things that will get them laughed at.

This impulse is as understandable as it is counterproductive. Nobody likes to embarrass themselves in public. Even if putting yourself out there is the best way to improve your skills, it can be difficult. Which just makes it more important.

One of the great things about being a nerdy guy who was on the debate team is that I’m used to both public speaking and getting ritually mocked. Due to this early conditioning, it’s easier for me to laugh at myself. There’s an Amanda Palmer song with the line “I still get laughed at, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m just so glad to hear laughter around me.” That’s basically how I feel.

Or, as pop-punk band Jawbreaker said in a different context, there are times for being dumb.

The people I ask the most questions are the people I respect the most. Because their time is valuable, I always try to be conscious of not overstaying that welcome. But I know I gain a lot from it, and that courtesy is something I want to pay forward.

So I never want to discourage people from asking me questions. I love talking about jiujitsu and I love helping people who I have the ability to help. Questions, discussions and even disagreements are productive, as long as we keep an eye on the outcome we want — which is deepening our knowledge base. As the philosopher Karl Popper said of debates, “I may be wrong and you may be right and, by an effort, we may get nearer the truth.”

There’s a reason this blog is named what it is: it’s important for me to keep that white belt mind. We need to keep learning and re-learning to develop a full understanding of anything, but especially something as vast as jiujitsu.

When Dave Camarillo signed Roy Marsh‘s copy of “Submit Everyone,” he added an inscription that I thought was revealing: “To Roy: Never Stop Learning.”

Dave is a legend, and both he and Roy have done far more in martial arts than I ever expect to. But after 30-plus years of training, this is the message Dave chose to convey to another accomplished black belt.

Think about that. And maybe even ask somebody you respect a question about it.

March 12, 2015

The 20 Good Ones Challenge

You should drill more. You should. You know it, I know it, and the American people know it.

I should, too. To inspire us both, here’s a challenge.

The next US Grappling tournament in North Carolina is April 19, which is not quite 40 days from now. If your school is anything like ours, we have several people competing — including many who are competing for the first time. It’s important for everyone to drill, but it’s especially important for those who don’t already have a slate of options from every position.

When I did my first tournament, I set a goal to have at least two moves that I could try from every position with some confidence. This helped me focus and prepare, and it’s something I’d recommend. For my first tournament, I certainly didn’t have more than 20 techniques at my disposal. And now that I’m trying to be more focused, I want to whittle down the things I do as well. Picking a set of moves and working on them is good for everyone, regardless of experience level.

Hence, the 20 Good Ones Challenge:

Let me explain. If we’re trying to become proficient at a discrete array of techniques, a little extra drilling can go a long way. But that drilling should be precise: I don’t want to bang out sloppy reps of a move I’m going to rely on.

That’s why I want to set a very realistic goal: picking a series of moves I’m likely to use and then doing 20 high-quality repetitions of them for at least 20 of the next 40 days. If you train with me, let’s do this together. (If you don’t, feel free to glom onto this idea anyway).

Of course we need to be going to class during this time as well, so this should take place before class, or after, or at a time and place of your convenience. I lead a 6 a.m. class twice a week, so perhaps we can add a day or two of drilling in the lead-up to the tournament.

The steps are easy:

Make a list of 10-20 moves
Set a time to drill those moves
Don’t let yourself off the hook for drilling those moves
If you mess up a few of the reps, do extra reps until you can’t get the move wrong.

Your armbars will thank you. Your guard passes will thank you. If you let me drill with you as a partner, I will thank you.

Here, I made a ransom note:

The upshot: if you’re competing at this tournament, you have 38 or 39 days to train. Every other day, get a little extra work in. Show up a little early or stay a little late and get 20 good reps in of the techniques you need. If you’re not competing at this tournament, surely there are many ways in which you’d benefit from a little extra drilling.

It’s just 20 reps. Once a day for 20 days. You should drill more. I should drill more. Let’s do this.

March 11, 2015

Four Ways To Get Better At Purple Belt

It is sometimes said that if you ask 10 different black belts to show you the same technique, you’ll learn 10 different ways to do that technique — and they will all be correct.

That’s why it’s important to learn from multiple sources. Different people have different perspectives, and we all process information in different ways. While the fundamental principles that make a move work will never change, the details about how best to execute that move can vary from instructor to instructor.

This also holds true for concepts and approach. Just as travel offers you access to other points of view, tapping into sources of training knowledge can help you answer the big questions.

When I got my purple belt, I started to think about whether I should approach training differently. To answer this question, I did what I’ve done at every belt level: ask a black belt, or in this case, four of them.

When you take that next step, getting good advice from black belts is gold.

I asked four different Royce Gracie black belts variations on the question, “how should I alter my training at this new belt level?” I got four valuable, distinct and related answers. I’m going to tell you what those answers were.

My bet is that, whatever your belt rank or goals, you find something to think about here.

1. Let Them Get Further

Jiu-jitsu is fundamentally about survival. Because our art is designed to give smaller, weaker people a chance to defend themselves against larger, stronger and more aggressive attackers, it’s essential that we have a top-notch foundation in surviving, defending and escaping from bad positions.

One of the great things about training consistently is that you get better. One of the only bad things about getting better is that you find yourself in these bad positions less often: when you start, you’re in danger all the time. As you improve, and as new white belts join the gym, getting put into dangerous spots is more likely to be a choice than a necessity.

So make that choice, and don’t just make it against the white belts who present minimal threat of submission even from dominant spots. You’re not getting better letting them crawl all over you, and if you get tapped, it’s clear you were letting the white belt work.

Instead, let mid-level and high-level blue belts get further toward putting you in danger than they have before. In fact, let them pass your guard and engage their attacks sometimes. If you get submitted, you know what to work on.

This requires you to check your ego, too: when you get promoted, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of thinking that you should never “lose” to lower ranks even in training.

But this is silly. Training is meant to help everyone improve, and no one improves if we keep having the same old rolls in the same old positions. The only way you lose at training is if you don’t use the time to get better.

My instructor says that getting better after purple belt is an art unto itself, and making sure you maximize training benefits is a good start.

2. Focus on Timing

So you know some techniques. That means you understand the component parts of, say, an armbar. You can go step-by-step and identify each of the dozen or so details that are necessary to complete the armlock.

Now take those dozen details and improve your timing so they blend into one motion. By and large, you won’t be armbarring purple belts if you go one step at a time.

The scissor sweep used to be one of my highest-percentage moves. I’d painstakingly work my setups and hit it regularly. Lately my success rate has decreased, and class last night showed me why: I have to drill until what used to be three moves becomes one fluid motion.

(I’ve never understood people who don’t want to drill, either, but that’s another story.)

3. Sharpen Your Sword

At blue belt, your job is to see and learn techniques. Focus on the fundamentals, but absorb and learn everything, including the stuff you don’t have a natural affinity for.

At purple belt, you start to have a game. There are things you excel at, things that come naturally to you. These are the techniques that serve you best in rolling, or in tournaments if you compete.

The advice: take the stuff you’re good at and make it deadly. Really define your strategy, tactics and setups. Make yourself complete (which we’ll get to in #4), but focus on the techniques that make you most dangerous.

A quote from this piece of advice: “Your instructor gave you a sword: now it’s time to sharpen it.”

One of my training partners won one of these NAGA swords. It's pretty boss. — One of my training partners won one of these NAGA swords. It’s pretty boss.

4. Address Your Weaknesses

Full disclosure: this is the only bit of advice that was modified by a follow-up question. Typically, I try to ask black belts questions and then shut up while they answer me.

When I posed this question, though, I was met with the quite valid response: “Well, what are your goals?”

My answer was that I want to be well-rounded, to learn all aspects of jiujitsu. I enjoy competing, but I enjoy learning most of all. With that in mind, here was the counsel I got.

Take this list and rank your proficiency at them from best to worst: unarmed self defense, weapons defense, striking, takedowns, bottom mount, top mount, back defense, back offense, bottom side control, top side control, guard bottom, guard passing, and leg locks.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a very easy time separating out the things you feel good about from the things you need to work on.

When you have this information, you can combine your list of A-game techniques from #3 and your list of things you need to work on. That way you can ensure your top-level game is as refined as possible — while the rest of your knowledge lacks major holes.

To take a step back, I’d like to extend on the travel analogy from earlier. When you’re planning a trip, you consult with experienced travelers who have been to that area. When you get to the area and want to understand the culture, it’s helpful to ask locals.

If you want to learn anything, it’s best to ask the experts. That’s why, when I try to understand something about jiujitsu, I ask the black belts I know.

Jiujitsu is a long journey. It helps to have good guides. I know that the answers I got were useful for me, and I hope they were for you, too.

February 23, 2015

The Worth of a Degree

Education is important. Nelson Mandela called it the most powerful weapon people can use to change the world, Abraham Lincoln said it was the most important task we could engage in as a people, and I say it’s the most important tool I’ve seen to improve the lives we all live.

Investing in education almost always pays off, for individuals and nations.

By the way, I use the term “education” broadly: some of the smartest people I know didn’t graduate from high school, and some of the dumbest have Ph.D degrees. If this sounds like a poetic exaggeration, I assure you I mean it literally. There are many ways to educate and improve yourself, with academic work being just one of them.

This month, after almost exactly four years of hard and consistent training. I earned my purple belt. I have a long way to go in my jiujitsu journey, but I’m so happy to have taken this step. The four-year mark is a nice coincidence, since it coincides with the amount of time it takes most people to complete something most people identify more clearly with education, an undergraduate college degree.

I have one of those, and believe me, I worked way harder to get the purple belt than I did to get my Bachelor of Arts. Sorry, professors, but it’s true.

My mom always valued education, so she made sure I finished my undergrad degree. Later, I went on and got a Master’s, and earned an honor or two along the way. I don’t talk about that stuff a lot, and the only reason I’m doing so now is to put it into context.

This is the context: it’s no exaggeration to say that I’m as proud of this belt as any of that academic work. It took that much work and that much sacrifice.

In order to obtain an education in jiujitsu, I had to make several investments: a lot of time, a ton of sweat and pain, and of course some money.

When I graduated from college in 1998, in-state students attending public four-year colleges paid $3,243 on average in tuition and fees. It’s a lot more now (and frankly, I think college should be free, as it is in many other countries).

That investment has paid for itself many times over in life experiences, in jobs I couldn’t have gotten without the degree. As the great musical philosopher Tom Lehrer once said, “Life is like a sewer: what you get out of it depends on what you put into it.”

I already told you that I had to work harder to get my purple belt than I did to get a college degree. Factoring in gym dues, seminars, privates, instructional materials and expenses from competing at tournaments, I’m fairly sure I spent more money along my path to purple belt, too.

(If anyone is really interested, I can break out those calculations. I frankly never even thought about it until now: when you’re doing something you love, you just kind of do it.)

Getting a black belt takes more than 10 years in most cases, time that’s roughly equivalent to getting a Ph.D. To me, the comparison between jiujitsu education and advanced degrees just illustrates the value of learning jiujitsu: the achievements we’re proudest of are the ones that are hardest to accomplish.

For students, we have to accept early on that getting where we want to go requires commitment. Why, then, do so many jiujitsu students shortchange themselves — and try to shortchange their instructors — on their martial arts education?

There are two parts to what I’m trying to say: the part that involves us as students of jiujitsu and the part that involves the way we relate to our instructors.

Primarily, what I want to say is this: as students, we should be maximizing our return on the investments we *do* make. If you’re paying dues to your school, why not take advantage of all the classes that are offered? It costs as much to train twice a week as it does five in most schools. Training as much as you can maximizes your return on investment.

Everyone has their own path to walk, and we all have different resources at our disposal. I’m not just talking about spending money here. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the disposable income to go to every seminar, buy every DVD set or take privates consistently.

That’s why it’s important to acknowledge that there are different types of investments. Can’t afford seminars, but have time to stay after class? Get extra drilling in. Time is the most important investment you can make. Don’t have access to the gym? Do a spreadsheet or a mind map of the techniques you know. Jiujitsu is a long journey, but the more time you’re able to put in, the quicker and more rewarding it is.

The second part of this involves our instructors. This is a little trickier, as it always is when art and commerce intersect.

If we value a college education enough that we’re willing to spend tens of thousands of dollars on it, though, why wouldn’t we place a similar value on our continuing education in jiujitsu?

It’s tough to make a living running a jiujitsu school, and I’m always surprised when people do things like get out of paying gym dues. To a certain extent, I understand — everybody’s trying to get by, and since your instructor loves jiujitsu, he probably wants people to train.

Keep in mind that your instructor has to make a living, and your school has to stay open. If you like training, that’s a shared interest that’s well worth preserving.

Invest in your education, whatever path that takes. And invest in the people that help you keep learning. We all get better that way.

February 15, 2015

Toro Cup Preview

For the first time, I’m playing an unfamiliar role with a jiujitsu event: matchmaker.

While incredibly fun, it has definitely given me a new appreciation for the people in the jiujitsu and mixed martial arts community who do this all the time. Hence, let me start by saying “thank you” to the local folks who make great cards happen all the time.

As I write this, we’re two weeks out from the Toro Cup, and much of the hard work has been done. During this calm before the storm, I wanted to do a quick preview post explaining where the idea came from and previewing the matches. I’m not going to make predictions, but I would like to say something about why I’m interested in each match.

The idea for the event came during the last Metamoris card. I love watching high-level matches, but I also love gi jiujitsu — and it seemed like too few superfights were happening in the gi. So we at Toro BJJ decided to do a day focused on matches taking place in the kimono. My goal for the event was to make matches that would be exciting for people, would represent a wide array of schools, and would give folks that haven’t had a chance to compete against each other the opportunity to do so. At the core of this event are some huge jiujitsu fans (me and Boomer from Cageside MMA) wanting to see certain great matches happen.

I’m confident we’ve done so — and I hope everyone enjoys the day. 13 different schools are represented among the 11 matches! (Let me also say we got very close to making two black belt matches that would make people say “wow,” and we’ll hopefully do both of those for Toro Cup 2). If you’re interested in checking the event out live or online, here’s all you need to know.

Now, the fun part: the matches.

Unfortunately, one of the matches I was most excited about — Jason Jelen vs. Adam Jetton — isn’t happening. Both competitors unfortunately sustained injuries. I’ve been watching Adam since I was a white belt, and he’s a fierce and mentally tough competitor. Jason Jelen is a black belt instructor at Gracie Raleigh, and he’s tremendous: he’s got a great grasp of both old and new school technique, and I can’t wait to see him compete at black belt. Hopefully they have speedy and successful recoveries: I know I’m not not the only one who really wanted to see this match.

We kick off the event with this one:

JOHN “BAGELS” TELFORD VS. JOSEPH CARROLL

Because we wanted to start the show with an exciting match, we’re offering this one. John Telford has been tearing up the competition circuit at purple belt — and with a style that’s entertaining to watch. Joseph Carroll earned his black belt in January, is a regular competitor and has a reputation for exciting matches as well. I acknowledge that it’s unconventional to have a match with this belt discrepancy, but both guys wanted to do it, and neither guy cared about weight. It should be a fun contest.

ADAM SONG VS. MATT MESSER

This is an interesting match in the gi between two brown belts with lots of cage experience. Matt “The Masher” Messer is one of the state’s most popular MMA fighters for good reason: his aggressive style and his ability to always push forward. Adam “Soul Horse” Song of Ring Lords Vale Tudo has been training MMA since 1999. But both of them also love gi technique. Messer just had a brown belt superfight in Charlotte that went to a draw: I know Song has been training hard for this, and I’m looking forward to it.

JAKE WHITFIELD VS. NEAL WEAVER
This is the only no-gi match on the card. I wanted to have a card full of entirely gi matches, but when the opportunity came to see these two compete, we had to make it happen. Both are prominent local instructors, Jake at Triangle Jiu-Jitsu in Goldsboro, Neal at TFTC Academy. Besides his accomplishments in gi and no-gi jiujitsu, Jake is also one of North Carolina’s most successful MMA fighters. These two have never competed against each other, and this is probably the match I get the most messages about from other fans of grappling. Don’t miss it.

BRAD WOLF MCDONALD VS. BRAD ACOSTA
A purple belt match, this contest has the makings of a good one. Brad Acosta is an active competitor who performed very well in a recent gi superfight at the Bull City Brawl: Brad McDonald has been a well-respected practitioner for a long time, but hasn’t competed recently. Both of these guys are fun to watch, so it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up against each other.

JOSEPH LEE VS. GUY PENDERGRASS

Coast to coast! Joseph Lee is coming out from Los Angeles for this one, and it should be great. Both Guy and Joseph have excellent transitions. I think there will be a lot of movement, a lot of flow between positions, and a lot of great technique. As someone roughly their size, I feel fortunate to have been able to roll with both of these guys: I’ve learned a lot from each of them, and this is one of the matches I’m anticipating most personally.

ASHLEY MCCLELLAND VS. CHRISTY “MACHINE” CHERREY
This is one of those matchups that worked out perfectly: two purple belts of similar size who have tons of competitive success in different tournament environments. I’ve trained quite a bit with Ashley McClelland, who has an excellent, well-rounded game, and competes regularly with US Grappling. Christy Cherrey does very well at NAGA tournaments and comes from a well-respected school at Team ROC Southern Pines, where she trains with Royce Gracie black belt Larry Hughes. Part of the reason for Toro Cup is to match up solid competitors who haven’t had the chance to compete against each other yet, and this is a good example. (I wanted to have half the card be composed of women’s matches, but it didn’t work out this time: there were some scheduling issues and some injury issues. But I’ve made a lot of contacts for next time, and I think it’s a reasonable goal.)

TIM MCNAMARA VS. STEVEN THIGPEN
This purple belt match should be both technical and action-packed. Tim McNamara is a very active competitor and a judo black belt who has great technique. (He also has a blog that is way better than mine). Steven Thigpen is a beast at both gi and no-gi grappling, is tough on top and from guard, and has excellent takedowns to boot. (He’s also one of my favorite training partners, although I don’t get to train with him as much as I’d like and he always beats me).

BRIAN MILLER V. DANIEL FRANK

Among the black belts I’ve talked to, this is a much-anticipated match. From Revolution BJJ in Richmond, Daniel Frank is one of the most dedicated practitioners and competitors out there. I love watching him compete and he was, actually, the very first person I approached to be on the card — so I’m glad we found him a tough and interesting match. Besides his considerable skills, Brian Miller has a unique style and unconventional approach that is somewhat reflected in the promo poster above. Oh, and I have a feeling you shouldn’t be late and miss the introductions.

JAY YOVANOVICH V. TRAVIS WHEELER

Of all the matches on the card, this is right at the top of my list to watch. I’ve trained with both Travis and Jay a lot, and both are very good — but what a contrast in styles. That’s what makes this intriguing to me: Jay’s approach features a lot of movement and judicious transitions. Travis’ forte, though, is preventing you from doing what you want to do while he methodically advances his position, trapping you into his game. One of these guys is going to force the other guy into his world, or adapt to what the other guy does best if he’s the one who gets forced.

JASON “BUMPKIN” WINGATE V. SEAN ZORIO
I’m also looking forward this contest between two very technical brown belts, one of whom (Jason Wingate from Gracie Raleigh) just got his fourth stripe. Since the Pendergrass Academy’s Sean Zorio got his brown belt last year, he’s competed quite a bit: it seemed fitting to match these two friends against each other for the Bumpkin Train’s return to competition.

C.J. MURDOCK V. ROGER CARROLL

CJ Murdock doesn’t have boring matches or fights. Roger Carroll doesn’t have boring matches or fights. This match will feature two tough competitors who love jiu-jitsu going at it to cap off the day, and I can’t think of a better way to end the first Toro Cup.

February 3, 2015

Why I Love My Blue Belt

Every belt has a different meaning. As I’ve said before, a jiu-jitsu belt is literally just a piece of cloth — but symbolically a whole lot more. The piece of cloth just keeps your gi closed. It’s the work you put in on your journey, the time you spend with your instructor and training partners, that really gives a belt its meaning.

For that reason, every belt has a story. Today I want to talk about my blue belt and why I love it.

My blue belt is a Dom belt. One of my closest friends and training partners bought it as a surprise. He got the belt at the Mundials without me knowing it and gave it to my instructor to keep for when the time was right. That alone makes this belt special for me. My instructor, Seth Shamp, was a brown belt then, so he asked Billy Dowey — an excellent instructor at Forged Fitness — to come to our school for the promotion.

This is the belt I missed out on for a long while, the one I thought I’d I never get. I don’t have a natural aptitude for jiu-jitsu — it took me three classes to learn the basic hip movement we call shrimping. I just kept showing up to every class.

Every class, that is, except the one night that black belt Mazi Heydary visited us. I was picking up my girlfriend’s sister at the airport. It was the one class I missed for months.

Later, I found out I was supposed to get my blue belt that night. I probably don’t have to describe to you the feeling in my stomach after I discovered this.

But I did get it eventually, and with it, my ritual train. Yes, this is the belt I got my train in. It probably still has sweat and blood in it from 18 minutes of my best friends beating on me.

Don’t let the crazy smile fool you. Or do.

Because of its distinctive deep blue color, it’s a nice-looking belt. It’s thick and tough and fades into a really cool hue the more you train. That’s mostly good.

It’s also bad, because it has also gotten my ass kicked at two gyms I’ve visited. Some guys thought it was purple and they sent some killers after me to test the visiting “purple belt.”

This is the belt they disqualified at the Atlanta Open because it was too worn and faded. I had to run and borrow a belt from my friend Braxton. It was a little inconvenient, but I was also really proud. It was that faded because I had trained so much.

In this belt, I’ve rolled with Rafa Mendes, Gui Mendes, Murilo Santana, Vicente Junior, Samir Chantre, Osvaldo Quiexinho and a bunch of amazing black belts who did me the courtesy of showing me how much I have to learn. In this belt, I’ve taken classes and seminars from instructors like Murilo Bustamante, Dave Camarillo, Gui and Pedro Valente — and of course the legendary Royce Gracie.

Rickson Gracie has touched this blue belt.

I did all eight divisions at a US Grappling tournament in this belt. I sweated through 13 blue belt matches. I’ll never have another belt that I’ll do that in, because you can no longer do any more than four divisions at a US Grappling tournament. I’m truly sorry that I delayed those tournaments, but grateful for those experiences.

This is the belt I wore at the world championships (Mundials) last year. I lost in the first round. I hate losing. But I don’t regret anything: I trained and dieted and sweat and bled with my friends for weeks. I shocked myself with what I was capable of, and I never would have found that out without my friends pushing me until I collapsed. I made a mistake that cost me the match, but the work I put in taught me powerful things. I’ll always have that inside me. My belt is a reminder.

This is also the belt I took double gold in at the New York Open (for some reason, New York showed it more love than Atlanta). It had always been a goal of mine to win absolute at an IBJJF tournament, and I did it, and then I went out and ate everything in sight with some great people. I’ll remember that day for the rest of my life.

A belt is just a belt. But you could also say that a life is just a life. You get out of things what you put into them. I look down at my blue belt and I see a lot of great memories with great people. I see hard work and frustration and commitment and pain and fun and love.

Yeah, I said love. I’ll always love my blue belt.

That being said, I’m pretty fond of this new one too.

That’s right, my white belt got a little dirtier tonight. I want to thank my instructor and all my training partners for helping me achieve this goal. If you’re reading this, though, you’re probably a friend who has contributed in some way to this as well, so thank you too.

I had my first roll in it with Seth, and then a bunch of rolls with some of my favorite folks. I can’t wait to put some more memories into it, starting with 6 a.m. class tomorrow.

January 23, 2015

New shirt and rashguard for Toro

Hi folks! A couple of longer posts are in the works, but for now I just want to do a quick one announcing a couple of new offerings from Toro BJJ.

I haven’t been doing a ton of design work lately, since I’m organizing Toro’s first card of local BJJ superfights (more on that later). There’s a new shirt out today, though, and it hearkens back to those innocent days of getting up early to eat cereal and train:

I’ve been leading a 6 a.m. drilling group for a while that has now morphed into an early morning fundamentals class, and I firmly believe training is the best way to start the day — hence the shirt.

You can buy it here, and if you use the discount code “free15” you’ll get free shipping.

I’m also really excited about a forthcoming rashguard. You can’t buy this yet, but it’ll be available soon and I can’t wait to share it. (If you’re really psyched to get early previews of new gear, you can always follow me or Toro BJJ on Instagram: most of the works in progress get shared there first).

This one was inspired by the era where, in the words of Vast Aire, “when every video game was 8-bit / and you get popped in your mouth for …” … well, you know the rest.

There are some details I want to tweak, but here’s the gist:

And the close-up view, featuring inside jokes about the De La Riva guard:

Thank you for putting up with these commercial messages. We now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming.

December 22, 2014

A Case Study In Fudoshin

In martial arts and in Zen Buddhism, we talk about fudoshin. Roughly translated as “immovable mind,” fudoshin can be described as a state of emotional balance. This type of composure is of particular value in times of crisis, which is one reason it was a virtue prized by the samurai.

This can be a struggle for all of us. Fortunately, we have some good examples to follow.

Murilo Bustamante is one of the best and most well-respected jiu-jitsu fighters ever. We were fortunate enough to bring him in for a seminar last year. Wherever I visit to train, no matter what the school’s affiliation or focus, I find deep respect for Bustamante.

He even choked me, and how many people can say that? ... OK, a lot of people. — He even choked me, and how many people can say that? … OK, a lot of people.

I was stuck home sick all day today, and I decided to spend some time watching several of the dozen or so Bustamante fights available on UFC Fight Pass, After watching some of his later bouts — and by the way, the next time I’m tempted to make excuses based on my age, I’m going to remember watching a 39-year-old Bustamante in Pride — I moved on to a fight I’d seen before.

That famous fight is his UFC 37 clash with Matt Lindland.

I first learned about this fight from Royce Gracie black belt Jake Whitfield. When I first watched the fight, I considered it part of my education in jiu-jitsu history. Since then, I’ve watched it several times, and taken something new from it with each watching.

This time, I took this from it: this fight is an object lesson in fudoshin.

You can pretty much feel safe if any one of these guys is with you, nevermind five of them. — You can pretty much feel safe if any one of these guys is with you, never mind five of them.

To understand why, you have to understand the context. Bustamante was the UFC’s middleweight champion, having taken the belt from Dave Menne.

Despite being the defending champ, though, he was the betting underdog. Oddsmakers and observers of MMA favored Lindland, who had earned an Olympic silver medal in wrestling. He was also younger and undefeated in seven fights. That is to say, despite Bustamante’s achievements, most people were expecting Lindland to win.

It didn’t go that way. Using fundamental jiu-jitsu, Bustamante took down the Olympic wrestler with just over a minute gone in the first round. Two minutes later, Bustamante secured a tight armbar and Lindland was tapping.

But Lindland claimed he hadn’t tapped, and in what he would later call his biggest mistake, referee John McCarthy informed the combatants that he would let the fight continue.

Commentator Jeff Osborne said immediately after the first tap was disallowed: “That may have cost Murilo this fight.”

Imagine that: you’re the champion. People expect you to lose, which you have to see as a slight. Then you execute perfectly, surprise the critics by taking down a Greco-Roman wrestling expert, get the submission, the referee stops the match …

… and then tells you you have to do it all over again? Now that the opponent has seen what you want to do? How would you react? To say that this would throw most people off would be an understatement of epic proportions.

Would you be able to shake that off and perform immediately? Would you be able to calmly go about your business and secure another submission?

Because that’s exactly what Murilo Bustamante did, hurting Lindland with punches in the third round and securing a fight-ending guillotine.

It’s not just responding with grace under pressure and continuing to fight well that impressed me. Frank Mir, another commentator on the broadcast, pointed out that if you deny tapping the first time, you might not get a chance to tap the second time. More than one black belt I’ve talked to about the fight has said the same.

Not Bustamante. He briefly protested the mistaken decision to re-start the fight, but shortly thereafter put his mouthpiece in and went to work. He used his technique to dominate and finish the match. And when McCarthy stopped the fight a second time, he let go and celebrated with an admirable level of restraint, respect and dignity.

Ignoring the understandable frustration — even anger — that Bustamante must have felt at the time takes incredible emotional control. That’s fudoshin.

Murilo Bustamante should be universally acknowledged as one of the greatest representatives of jiu-jitsu. When you remember his fighting skills, don’t forget his immovable mind.

December 1, 2014

Gifts For Grapplers: 2014 Holiday Edition

It’s that time of year again: when the grappling tights come out, everyone wears rash guards under their gi tops and I write a gift guide post.

While you might assume that these posts are thinly-veiled ways of showing people what *I* want — and you wouldn’t be wrong — this time I solicited opinions from BJJ gear groups on Facebook, friends and other people obsessed with jiu-jitsu. And I’m recommending some items I already own and like — just to benefit you, the reader.

Show this to people that want to buy you things. Hopefully, this helps you get what you want under the tree this year.

For people looking to buy gifts for grapplers, you might want to take a gander at the 2012 and 2013 versions of the Gift Guide. The first one has general advice that’s still applicable, even if the specific product information is outdated.

Let me repeat a few suggestions from the first gift guide. You could get your grappler a private lesson with their instructor or with another great teacher; you could purchase a tournament entry for them, since tournaments are great training; or you could donate to a charity like the George Pendergrass Foundation or Tap Cancer Out.

If you’d like something tangible to stuff a stocking with other than a certificate, though, read on.

GIS, SHIRTS AND OTHER APPAREL

As most everyone who reads the blog knows, I do some design work for Toro BJJ. That’s full disclosure. But I am also an ethical shill, and I’m not going to recommend anything I don’t believe in. So let me get the Toro promo right out front:

We have a killer new gi out right now, the Toro “Dark Horse” black and gold gi. I didn’t design it, so I can’t take credit for it, but this thing is comfortable, light and looks great. I get compliments on it everywhere I train. It’s one of my regular training gis, and despite many washings, the color has held up really well. And I don’t even usually like black gis! You won’t regret it: pull the trigger on this one.

For your off-the-mat wear, we have grey hoodies and thermal t-shirts that I think turned out really cool. And always be watching for the limited edition rashguards we put out! I don’t know if the Toro spats will be out by Christmas or not, but look for those too.

Non-self-promotion category: I own a good deal of E Nois gear, and I’m really pleased with it. Their gis are comfortable and stylish, and their designs are original. Scope out their t-shirts and sweatshirts: I like the “choke from mount” one myself, but maybe that’s because one of their other design is printed on a gi that I already rock on the regular. Have a gander, I practically guarantee you find something you like there.

As for other gis, I’m intrigued by Tatami’s The Tank. Tatami is a longstanding company with a good reputation, and this is a heavyweight double weave gi that comes in at 950 GSM (compared to 450 for the Toro). Not an everyday use gi, at least here in North Carolina, but you can bet that this thing is going to last — and it’ll be tough to choke you in it.

Maybe you want to give something that isn’t necessarily wearable, but will help someone improve their jiu-jitsu. Well, consider …

DVDS AND ONLINE SITES

Look, jiu-jitsu players love to watch videos. One of my training partners just told me that whenever he looks at my instructional collection, this is what he sees:

As for DVD sets and apps out now: Ryan Hall is an elite competitor and a tremendous instructor. I’ve bought each of his DVD sets and never been disappointed. It’s too late for someone to buy his Defensive Guard and Open Elbow set for me — they’re already on the way — but if you’re looking for a great DVD set, I’m sure you can’t go wrong here.

I can also personally endorse Roy Marsh’s guillotine seminar instructional. I was at this seminar, and Roy put together an amazing set of principles, concepts and techniques. At $20, it’s a steal. This might be the best value for the money instructional available.

As for something I don’t own but am intrigued by: Shawn Williams has a Williams Guard DVD set that’s also available as an app and on BudoVideos On Demand site. This looks awesome and I’m excited to learn it.

One warning: I wouldn’t buy the On Demand stuff again. I bought the Michael Langhi material On Demand, and Budo Videos did a site upgrade which has cut off my ability to watch it for several weeks. This is a huge bummer, and I wish I’d bought the DVDs.

Grumbles aside, online sites can be excellent resources. The two online membership sites I always recommend are MendesBros.com and the Marcelo Garcia site, MGInAction. But Braulio Estima and Rafael Lovato Jr. also have membership sites now, and while I haven’t checked those out, I’d be really excited if someone got me a membership.
ART

I’m talking to you, people who date martial artists: don’t you want to brighten up your living space with a little artwork? If you are, just bypass the usual quibbling about whether the Dogs Playing Poker are funny (spoiler alert: they are). Go straight to the martial arts themed artwork.

Redbubble.com will let you buy one of the many awesome Meerkatsu artworks in print and other forms. John Smalls also has some cool paintings and prints with various subject matter centered around a jiu-jitsu theme.

If you wanted to make me squeal with delight, though, you’d get me this incredible Bruce Lee print by one of my favorite artists, Phil Hansen. Phil karate-chopped the paint onto the canvas to create the work. Don’t take my word for it, either:

This thing hanging on the wall would annoy my girlfriend, of course. But isn’t annoying the ones you love what the holidays all about? Between that and open mats, I think we have it covered.

Happy shopping!

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