Thinking Through Jiu-Jitsu

Welcome. I just want to lay out some expectations as to what this blog is about and how I got here. I don't know about you, but I've heard the advice on the mats that has something to do with not thinking so much. But, there's a lot to think about. So I started jotting things down as they came to me off the mats. Usually, these were just quick notes, something that relates to bot Jiu-Jitsu and to life. Other times I was processing through something, like my first competition or something that just irked me during class, etc. It's simply my Thinking Through Jiu-Jitsu.

What I don't want this to be is a technical guide, or advice blog. As you will read, I am humble to admit that I'm in no position to write such topics. You will hear me reference techniques and some of my thought process about them, but it will not be a "how to..." or "5 best..." technique blog. At the time of writing this, I'm a mere white belt with a couple years experience. I, in no way, have the knowledge or expertise to be coaching anyone.

I also don't want this to be a one way street. Please comment or send me a DM. Tell me I'm wrong or misdirected, but let's keep it civil. If there's something you want me to think through or something you think I should be thinking about, let me know. If there's something you've thought through and would like a place to long-form share it, hit me up, I'm open to sharing this space. One of my favorite parts of Jiu-Jitsu is the community, and I don't see why we can recreate that culture online.

Connect with me here or on Instagram at thinking.through.jiujitsu

Thanks for reading.

I’ve heard quite a bit of discussion around some titles that are given to various Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. The biggest divide was between the “Hobbyist” and the “Competitor.” While I think that differentiation is legitimate, I don’t know if you can truly categorize all BJJ practitioners into these two groups. I think there is something about the “Hobbyist” category that just doesn’t completely…

The other night our head coach handed out some stripes. He’s also been talking about promotions more and more recently. This typically happens when a seminar/belt promotion ceremony combo is coming up, and sure enough there’s one around the corner. I used to see the strips of tape lining the wall and I would start to wonder if my time has come for that next stripe. Actually, the only two times I…

I was listening to a podcast recently and the guest said something that really got me thinking about my game and how I’ve been playing Jiu-Jitsu for my entire Jiu-Jitsu life. What really hit me was when he said something to the effect of, ‘you don’t need to know how to wrestle to move like a wrestler.’ The conversation continued, but I distinctly remember my ears perking up and my focus honing in…

So here it is. One hundred blogs written and posted. Besides this one, there has been 99 topics, 99 thoughts that have come to mind when I think through Jiu-Jitsu. For a moment, I’d like to remind you of my beginnings. My first post was an introduction to what this blog was going to be about. It all started with me thinking about how you frequently get the advice to not over think Jiu-Jitsu, but…

Recently I’ve been invited to drill with some of the kids in our kids program. I had mentioned to the coach that I thought it may benefit the kids to have some trusted blue belts and higher come and roll with them every once in a while. I had noticed that the kids moving from this class to the adult program kind of didn’t know how to act, and many fizzled out and stopping coming all together. I…

Last week when I wrote about Intensity vs. Consistency, it really got me thinking about the whole longevity thing. It’s a word I’ve heard thrown around a bunch in Jiu-Jitsu circles, and it is actually one of the goals I set with my coach when we first sat down to talk about stuff like that. I wanted to participate in the lifelong journey of Jiu-Jitsu, rather than have it be some fitness fad I’d…

I was scrolling through LinkedIn the other day and I saw this graphic someone had put out there. It was a comparison between intensity and consistency, much like the one I recreated as the imaged attached to this post. It got me thinking about the Jiu-Jitsu journey. Like most sports, especially combat sports, Jiu-Jitsu takes a toll on your body. Actually, Jiu-Jitsu may take a bit more of a toll…

It’s a statement of fact. In just a short 72 hours this blog will turn two. It’ll be a toddler. Now, when I hit my one year mark, I did a recap of that first year. Shared some stats and thoughts on writing a blog for a year. Instead of reflecting on the last two years of blog writing, I figure I might take some time and reflect on the first two years of my Jiu-Jitsu journey. There were a lot of…

Here we are again. Another blog inspired by a recent conversation that took place at Jiu-Jitsu. The comment was a brief one, and I didn’t think much of it until much later. Let me give you some context first. Currently, our academy has three levels of Jiu-Jitsu classes. We have a fundamentals class, a nogi class, and we have an advanced class. The fundamentals and nogi classes are open to anyone…

A few weeks ago, I wrote about remembering and retaining Jiu-Jitsu knowledge. One of the techniques I mentioned was visualization. This topic came up in a recent conversation, but not quite in the same context. The conversation was with a white belt who is likely on the cusp of being promoted to blue belt. I remember how I felt at this point in my journey, and many of the feelings were mutual. I…

I saw this post come about from a few different channels. The title was ’10 Things That Require Zero Talent in Jiu-Jitsu.’ And I don’t know about you, but I like the idea of finding things in Jiu-Jitsu that require zero talent. SHOWING UP TO CLASS – This is a simple concept, but it can be at times not terribly easy. Skipping out on a class can be an easy thing to do. We can find hundreds of…

So, currently at this point, I’ve been training for just about 3 years. I want to share something I wish I had heard about way earlier on. It’s this learning method called spaced repetition. The gist of it is that you make a flash card, and you recall it at certain timeframes. The more you are able to recall the information accurately the more you increase the time in between reviewing that…

I stumbled across an Instagram post a while back. The post simply said: Belts don’t matter and people who care about them need to grow tf up (I am a 7 year white belt who never trains Gi) With the explosion with the No Gi Jiu-Jitsu popularity, I feel like those who train strictly No Gi look upon those who don the Kimono as if we are participating in some archaic tradition. Like we are…

There is this saying that “It is easier to obtain forgiveness than it is permission!” It was thrown around a lot when I was in the military, usually in reference to unclear orders or questions in the rules of engagement, or when we’d need to tactically acquire some piece of equipment or gear. I recently came across it in a list of “Rules” that the Naval War College compiled in the 80’s and it…

If you remember back to last year, I’m not a fan of this “New Year, New You” crap I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. If I had to boil down my thoughts on all of it, I think I’d have to just quote the Jedi Master Yoda and say, “Do or do not, there is no try.” And I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go out and try something. Go for it. But when it comes to doing something… do it. Stop making…

It was around Christmas a few years ago, shortly after I started my Jiu-Jitsu journey that I got my first stripe on my white belt. I remember the feeling. I remember how it happened. I remember a lot of the details, which seems funny, as a small strip of tape seems so… little. And it’s not like I spent hours upon hours committing the event to memory. It’s just something I remember. But thinking…