Community Question

If you could spend a week on a Jiu Jitsu retreat anywhere in the world, where would you go, and which instructor would you want to learn from?

Go beyond simply naming a destination or instructor, tell us what makes them your choice. Is it their teaching style, technical approach, academy culture, or something else that inspires you?

What’s one odd habit you’ve picked up because of jiu jitsu that you carry off the mats?

For me I’m always looking at people’s finger nails. I’ve been cut and scratched more times than I should, especially by higher belts over the years. 

Why jiu jitsu? We can all give simular reasons why we keep coming back, but what made you walk through the door? 

What is your goal when you go into sparring and how often does it change? Every round/session? Every week? Monthly? Person-to-person? 

How does teaching improve a persons Jiu-Jitsu, and should teaching be a requirement for promotion to black belt? 

I believe teaching, especially the fundamentals, has greatly enhanced my Jiu-Jitsu. Teaching forces me not only to present the technique, but to demonstrate it in a way that I would want to learn it myself. It makes me focus on the subtleties, the simplicity, and the key components that make a technique work. 

By teaching and repeating those techniques over and over, they become ingrained. The technique stops being something I memorized and becomes something I truly understand-something that becomes part of me. 

That said, I don’t believe teaching is for everyone, nor do I think it should be a requirement for earning a black belt. There are many outstanding practitioners who may not have the desire or aptitude to teach. However, I do believe that spending some time teaching can only help a persons development and deepen their understanding of Jiu-Jitsu. 

How do you balance BJJ training with everything else in life:  work, family, recovery? Has your approach changed over the years? 

For me, I use to have more time to train.  With my son getting older and sports taking a much larger time commitment, it has eaten up training time.  For me, I supplement the missed training time with off the mat study once or twice a week for a short time.  It keeps your mind actively thinking about BJJ and gives me something to focus on when I get back on the mats.  

So Jiu Jitsu feels like it’s pretty main stream now a days with a lot of famous people joining the ranks. 

Who is someone famous that you would like to roll with? 

While not possible due to his untimely death I’d love for the chance to roll with Anthony Bordain. How cool would it be to hang out getting some rounds in  and then go out and grab dinner?! 

Hey everyone, what concept helped your guard retention to improve the fastest?

What’s the best advice a coach or training partner ever gave you?

It could be technical, mental, or something about training that stuck with you over the years.

Maybe it changed how you roll. Maybe it changed how you think about Jiu Jitsu altogether.

Share it below and if you remember who said it, give them a shoutout.

If you could never get caught in a particular submission ever again what would it be? 

I'd pick the arm triangle. Getting caught in them was a long time problem.