Communication is super important. It’s not uncommon for me to end up in a an unfamiliar position when rolling with an upper belt. If that happens, I say “stop! I’m not sure what to do from here.” 100% of the time my partner has stopped and explained what they were doing, what battle I need to fight, and then we safely resume the roll. 

I just do what it says on the sign in our living room: 

Frame. Breathe. Pray. 

I think Kimmie bought it at a craft fair…. 🤔

“Would Coach Scott ask you to do something you can’t do? Of course not! It is hard to do and I know you can do it because you can do hard things.”

I tell them it’s a great way to build a positive relationship with physical fitness and have some level of competence in self defense. 

Then I usually talk about Russ! I tell them jiujitsu is awesome because it forces you to be physical, but it’s really about the technicality of the sport. Because it is so mentally demanding, you can never judge who is going to beat you up. “Russ is one of our black belts. He’s a pharmacist by day and he looks like it. Genuinely nice guy….doesnt give off any sort of negative or dangerous vibe…  But he could turn you inside out and wear you like a boot and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING you could do about it.”

Come check out our new class: nogi fundamentals!  I’ll be teaching it on Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6-7. We will be teaching the opposite curriculum of gi fundamentals, so if you stay for Gi fundamentals with Coach Pete from 7-8 you will practice all 6 of the weeks techniques. See you on the mat!

First it was “are your elbows in? Or are your elbows out?” That really solidified my defense and put me in a position to advance my position and start going for sweeps and subs. Now the key concept has moved to “are you on your back or in your side?” This has defensive applications and has made my submissions more effective and available. 

I’ll drink coffee anywhere, but where do you practice archery around here?