I think having a lot of trust in my training partners allows me not to panic. Talking to my partner about a position I have a lot of difficulty with is a big help too. In the past couple days I have been working on mount escapes with some larger gents. I know it's not going to be easy, so I ask them to let me work on thinking my way through the escape, and giving me technical challenges rather than just smashing me. 

One takeaway I would want to leave our students with is to not let perfect be the enemy of good. Instead of getting frustrated about not understanding a technique or not executing it flawlessly the first time, I would like them to understand that mastery is a process and that showing up and giving it their true best is half of the battle. From there, we can break the trickiest parts into manageable pieces until things begin to fall into place. I believe our students are capable of handling everything we throw at them. 

Yes! I look for good connection off the jump. Either from the first call I make to the gym or my first interaction there. Good experiences all around so far!

I’m excited to talk about guard retention in the teens class this week! Using the legs as a tool to manage the distance between you and another person is a great tool in competition and for self-defense. This will help lay the foundation for the future study of more complex guard types like the things we explored with Professor Simplicio last night! 

It does suck losing good training partners. Unfortunately it's a reality of life. Sometimes it takes us in different directions. For me, it gives me peace to let those people know that the door is always open for them to make a return if they ever feel inspired to do so. The beautiful thing is that there will always be new people and perhaps another awesome connection just waiting around the corner. We can always honor those memories in how we approach our relationships with our training partners moving forward. I really try to temper my expectations when working with new people but also remain open to developing a relationship off the mat if it seems like something we both want to do. 

Meet me at 7pm on Thursdays to go over any of your WBMK techniques! Graduation is coming up sooner than you think. Get it out of the way now! You have nothing to lose, but much to gain when it comes to testing for your stripes.

Sydney Samoska I think this is a really interesting point. We do have a number of resources and tools for tackling the physical aspects of training, but the mental part is something that we hesitate to share. https://www.bjjmentalmodels.com/database

There is a section on the social models of BJJ training that delve into the psychological side of our sport. There is also further reading for each point. Perhaps it may be worth our time to bring some of these ideas to the mat so we can all be more cognizant of this invisible hurdle we are all trying to pass. After all, the mental part does not discriminate with age, body type, or identity.

I’m looking forward to working on key details with the teens getting from side to top control! I feel that it is such a huge opportunity for them to learn how to transition to more dominant positions seamlessly—very important for our competitors. 

I think there's a lot to be said about the timing and having a person in your life make that introduction. I wanted to try my first class as a teen, but I was way too self-conscious to go through with it. I'm glad I circled back around, and Leticia (Meadow's mom) definitely helped in putting ROL on my radar.