What has been the most difficult belt for you along your BJJ journey? Is it the belt you are currently at or a different one?

I think a newly promoted blue belt was the most difficult time period for me. You’re fighting your own expectations, white belts see you as an opportunity to prove themselves and you start to discover that many of the upper belts weren’t giving you their A game before… now they are and the taps don’t seem to stop! 

If you didn’t have to worry about work, family or any other personal obligations, how many times a week would be your ideal number of days to train? 

Question of the week. 

What are you doing off the mat that you think will help you with your training on the mat? Are you strength training, watching instructional videos, watching sparring film, managing your nutrition, or something else? 

Personally I’m a huge advocate of strength training. If you look at any of the big time tournaments, all the top practitioners look like superheroes. I feel that this can’t be ignored. I heard a quote somewhere that said “Jiu Jitsu is for the little guy… but then the big guys started learning Jiu Jitsu too”. 

Do you have a favorite Jiu Jitsu practitioner to watch? Is there a Jiu Jitsu practitioner’s game that you try to emulate? Are they the same or are they different?

For me, I really enjoy watching the Ruotolo brothers compete. They are both very aggressive and exciting. They push the pace and are always looking for a submission. Like a pair of Vipers. 

But the game I try to mimic more would be Gordon Ryan. A much slower and methodical approach to submission hunting. Trying to eliminate all variability while not assuming much risk. The excitement is in the details, not necessarily in the explosive nature.