My biggest requirement is cleanliness. I you walk into somewhere and can tell it is dirty etc., it is hard to be engaged and you can't learn if you catch some type of skin infection and are off the mats. 

Aside from that I think the people both instructors and students really make the gym over all. You have to find somewhere that matches what you want or you won't be happy. If you just want to learn and have fun, going somewhere driven by competition will not ultimately be a great fit, and the opposite is true. Having similar aged training partners too! 

One of the biggest things I have come to appreciate is somewhere that encourages you to be yourself and make things your own. I think this applies to both teaching and learning. The more we are encouraged to explore our interests and find those in the gym that want to explore them too the more fun you'll have, the more positively challenged you'll be and the more you enjoy and be engaged.

Advanced GI will be a good one this week. Let's make our partner uncomfortable while we open their closed guard, then let's attack the legs.

Maybe it's because ADCC was this weekend, but the time seems right to target some legs!

Have I ever hit a baseball bat choke on you when you thought you were safe? 

Come learn one of my favorite set ups in advanced gi this week as we look at some closed guard chokes. 

It's hard finding people who want to drill sometimes, but this because very interesting as techniques become more complex. I feel like with the more complex techniques a lot of exploration and growth can occur as it leads you down a different path sometimes. But I agree with Gary Pond sparring with intent always seems engaging!

Advanced gi will focus on using the gi as an offensive weapon.

If you haven't had anyone trap and really lock in your arm with your own gi, you are in for a treat!

I think anytime during childhood would have been awesome. However, I sort of feel I found it at the perfect time. If life turned out relatively the same, I think it would have derailed training at some point. However, what would like look like now if I started say at 12 years old? Butterfly effect! 🦋

Last week we took advantage of a smaller class size to not just troubleshoot the problems I've seen people having with triangles but to really dig into the issues each person was having.

Sound interesting? Well this week we are going to look at the escapes and defense. Might want to check out advance gi this week since there are going to be a few guys who really dialed in their triangles last week! 🔥

Exciting - obvious I was excited to try it out, or why would I have been there.

Exhausting - everyone feels this way but I think it is underappreciated. I felt I was in good shape but remember thinking, how are we not done with warm ups.

Awkward - aside from the warm ups everything felt foreign, but as I always tell new students, give it 3 to 6 months and it'll be so much better. Think of it like learning to walk again.

This week we work on trouble shooting our triangles! I've been seeing a lot of the same issues so let's really break them down an make them tight!

Can't make it or want to get a jump start, might just want to watch this workshop!

https://rolacademy.tv/programs/2023-09-30-russ-usauskas-workshop?category_id=198222

I need to learn your ways 🤣