Later on that week I talked a little about the second lie that helped shape my view on this amazing martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that lie is:
Today I will give you my opinion on the thrid lie in BJJ that, ever since understanding it, changed my outlook and enjoyment of the sport and art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:
- Training in no gi will help your gi jiu jitsu.
While this may not be a total lie, the transfer is much less than you think. Let me propose a scenario and see what you think:
A person walks in thru the door and tells you they have done 2-3 years of no-gi jiu jitsu, free style wrestling, greco roman wrestling...etc. and you put them in a gi and pair them up with one of the following three people:
a. No jiu jitsu (gi or no gi) before
b. 2-3 years of gi jiu jitsu
c. 2-3 years of rock climbing or rowing
Later on that week I talked a little about the second lie that helped shape my view on this amazing martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that lie is:
Today I will give you my opinion on the third lie in BJJ that, ever since understanding it, changed my outlook and enjoyment of the sport and art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu:
-You don't have to compete to learn, enjoy and improve in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling!
Prize Podium at the Eurpoean BJJ Championships. Age division? Senior III (46-50 years old)
Most BJJ instructors will tell you that you don't have to enter public competitions to learn, enjoy, improve in and get good at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission grappling. I beg to differ.
LUTA Fightwear is an amazing company that creates fantastic products for all combat sport enthusiasts. They are a for-profit company, but they are unique in that they share their profits with the charity "Fight For Peace"
When Fergus Dullaghan - whom The Part Time Grappler interviewed in two parts here and here - sent me this training top to review, I couldn't resist to make this silly video for it. I am not sponsored by them, but I love their products and the concept they put behind it and think Fergus is a really sound fella. Please visit the fantastically detailed reviews that my good friend Meerkatsu did off the items on his awesome blog for more real information presented in a professional format. Seymour is the man. For silliness, please watch this highly un-informative video :)
I thank my brother Mr Sam Wandi for his excellent acting skillz and support in any crazy endeavour I brew in my weird head.
I was doing some research for my next BJJ lie and I came across this video of Renzo and Ryan Gracie rolling with John Danaher. One of the comments advises it's from Renzo's documentary "Legacy".
Today, I want to talk a little about the second lie that helped shape my view on this amazing martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and that lie is:
-BJJ / Grappling is for everyone!
Three circles need to intersect for the above to be true:
The Instructor
The Material
The Learner
The instructor:
How many BJJ instructors and coaches out there are qualified to coach, i.e. have had any formal training in how to teach a skill (instruction) or improve performance (coaching)? How many grappling coaches out there can adjust their delivery method to suit a visual learner vs. a tactile learner or (more commonly) a mixed group of learners? Many? A few? Any? Heck, most BJJ instructors outside Brazil have to teach in a language they haven't even mastered yet!
The Material:
BJJ, or Gracie Jiu Jitsu as some prefer to call it, is a huge art (a full post on that later!) and naturally not everyone will be equally interested in all the parts that encompass the art. Some people want to learn the best self defence system in the world, get fitter and maybe make some new friends, some want to learn a competitive sport and win countless BJJ & grappling (or even MMA) medals and trophies while others (like myself) see all the above as fantastic fringe benefits but really see the arte suave as a wonderful life long vehicle of self discovery. Is the instructor prepared to create BJJ / grappling / MMA programmes and courses that cater to all these needs? Does he or she even want to cater or all these people? If not then they definitely shouldn't be claiming to do so.
The Learner:
Are you patient? Do you know why you would want to devote hours a week to toiling on the mats with strangers (at least to begin with)? Are you honest to your instructor, your co-learners and (most importantly) yourself about your goals, resources and (ever-changing) drive & motivation to gear the latter towards achieving the former?
I will never forget years and years ago, I was learning Ayengar Yoga (AY) from an instructor in my home town Gothenburg, Sweden and she said to me:
-"in AY we believe that the body stores memories of events, sad and happy, in muscles, joints and ligaments and thru yoga we help the body confront these and achieve freedom and bring forth a unity between mind, body and soul" -"that's amazing", I said. "I wish everybody knew that!" -"many do", she replied, "but not all are strong enough to go thru the process of change it involves".
BJJ is only for those, instructors AND learners alike, who are ready and strong enough to go thru the process of change and that, most certainly, is not everyone.
I love checking which countries have readers of this blog The Part Time grappler as I truely believe that the Part Time Grappler concept is huge and that we are the absolute majority of grapplers and BJJ players out there. Below is last week's pie chart representation.
Mmm. Pie!
Anyway. Another one of my favourite blog stats to check is which terms people around the world googled to get to the Part Time Grappler. Most of the time, these are grappling, BJJ or even time-management related but every now and again, you get some pure gold ones. I've highlighted my favourite ones for this week:
Stay tuned for my next post which picks up the theme of lies in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The last one was a HUGE discussion topic on Facebook (over 35 comments!)
I've wanted to write this post for a long time. We are told many lies from the first day we start training in the martial arts, and the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not exempt. I decided to focus on the five lies that have really shaped my outlook on the journey on the mats. Initially, this was going to be one post, but I had so much to say about each lie, I decided to release it in 5 separate posts.
BJJ Lie number 1- To avoid pain, just tap when you get caught!
This is one of the earliest lies you are told in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Your instructor, your fellow BJJ students and even your mom will tell you to "Just tap!". When you get caught in something, simply tap and you get to start again. Simples
What no one tells you, but you discover very quickly, is that tapping hurts. It leaves no scars on your skin and it definitely saves you from broken bones and loss of consciousness, and you should, most definitely should, tap when caught, but be under no illusion. Tapping to another person hurts your ego. It's not a male thing either.
It's a slap in the face for your ego and the bigger the ego, the louder and more humiliating the slap.
So what they hell do we do? How can we overcome the pain of tapping?
We can't and so we don't. That's the beauty of Jiu Jitsu and the essence of it's purity. You can't overcome the pain of tapping. I don't care who you are and how long you have trained, when you get caught and you tap, it always hurts. Just look at the top players on the mundial or Abu Dhabi scene when they lose. They look like they are ready to cry like babies, and many do.
The only thing to do is to accept the pain of tapping as part of the catharsis process of evolution that we go thru when we train Jiu Jitsu. Tap, and tap often. Focus on the pain and you will see that it is not you who is hurt. It's the ego. Hopefully, with enough tapping, the ego will be dissolved and we will understand that there is no opponent. There is no self. We are all one and all that separates us is a fear based on an illusion.
The day I realised this lie, I got angry at first (at being lied to and for believing it) and then I felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Believe me it still hurts when I tap and I still do all I can on the mat to not get tapped, but at least now I understand that the hurt is not mine and I don't have to carry it. It's the ego that gets slapped in the face and I don't have to identify with that. That's one of the biggest reasons I'm so happy just to be on the BJJ mat.
Next lie I will talk about: -BJJ / Grappling is for everyone.
I've been thinking about a slogan for the blog. I want it to encapsulate the spirit of grappling as a healthy part of a life-style, accessible to all and not just for the lucky few who can dedicate hours a day. I am playing with ideas but welcome suggestions for the readers all over the world. Drop me a line with your ideas.
In the meantime, as an avid proponent of time management, I stumbled upon an excellent and brief time management article that I want to share with all you Part Time Grapplers out there :)
Stephan Kesting recently sent out an email advising he will be interviewing Ryan Hall of 50/50 BJJ() and asked if we had any questions we'd want him to ask at the interview. Ryan, a black belt from Brasa, has become a known BJJ household name in the BJJ community both during his rise to fame as a student of Lloyd Irvine Jr and also in more recent years as he has grown with his grappling journey, training with Bruno Fazzato, Marcelo Garcia and others.
I've always liked Ryan Hall, not because of all the amazing things he can do on the mat, but because his success never seemed to faze him. He always came across as very humble and centred young man.
The question I sent in, I am quite sure I was one of many who sent this in, was about the ratio Ryan Hall employs between drilling and sparring. Luckily, Stephan does manage to squeeze the question in and the answer was actually a little surprising. The whole interview is really awesome and I recommend it highly.
Here is a link to Stephan Kesting's interview with ADCC 2011 competitor Ryan Hall:
Composed: Free from agitation. Calm, cool and smooth.
Composure: A calm or tranquil state of mind; self-possession.
To compose: to make or form by combining things, parts, or elements, (ART) to organize the parts or elements of (a picture or the like).
How do great martial artists, in particular jiu jitsu fighters, maintain their composure when fighting? I no longer train martial arts for the purpose of self-defence. Sport? A little bit. I do compete in BJJ (gi) and submission wrestling (no-gi) every now and again but mainly because I feel it's part of my duty as a coach to know what competing feels like but I also realise that there will come a time when I no longer will compete and I'm fine with that. I will most likely continue to train past the end of my humble competition career.
I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu because I fell in love with that composure-under-stress that great exponents of this art exude. Just look at Rickson Gracie in the clip above or indeed in any thing he features in.
Think about "com/cum" meaning together or with.
Think about "pose" meaning to stand with reason or intent.
To compose oneself is really to pull together your all and focus it on one reason or intent. Composition is a huge part of every art, martial arts no less so. How brilliant your individual components (colours, brush strokes and martial arts techniques alike) are individually is only as important as your ability to pull them (and stay/keep) together.
Here is a simple exercise you can do before you step on the mat tonight:
1. Mentally: arrive at your BJJ academy a little early and take your time to change into your rash guard and gi. Take your time to tie your belt around your waist. Do it mindfully and remember why you are there and how lucky and privileged you are to have the time, the health and resources to do this (not to mention access to a facility, a team and a knowledgeable instructor!). Align your mind with your purpose of training. Com-pose yourself.
2. Physically: do your warm-up mindfully. Work on all aspects of your physical body (cardio, agility, eye-hand-&-foot coordination, spatial awareness..e.tc.) as part of your warm-up. If the warm-up is instructor lead, all the better; you should still aim to do it mindfully and use the opportunity to bring your physical body (and brain) into readiness. Com-pose yourself.
3. Spiritually: touchy area here! BJJ players love saying that they are not martial artists in the traditional sense, often rejecting/disliking bowing, meditation and compliant training) and defining and discussing that is a whole separate topic. In the meantime, I would like to propose that clearing your mind of any issues that do not relate to BJJ before stepping onto the mat will result in a better grappling session, irrespective of how you view yourself and your BJJ practice. I work full time, study, have a wife I love and a number of other matters that demand my attention. When I train BJJ, I don't think about bills, I don't think about what my managers need me to do and I don't think about all the preparation that needs to be done ahead of our upcoming holiday. When I ever catch myself drifting (if you've ever found yourself complaining silently that your failing performance is due to a missed lunch/scattered mind/dehydration/opponent weight...etc. you know what I mean) I smile (Buddhist thing) and remind myself that shit happens!: Com-pose yourself.
My enjoyment of the hard and physical art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skyrockets when I attend my sessions as a composed, together person. Maybe one day I will be able to take some of that into my daily life too.
