Well, this is about BJJ and osteoarthritis, if we want to get specific. To provide some context, let’s start back at (sort of) the beginning: My right hip has been bothering me for years: it’s always come and gone, or something stupid would happen while training and I would hobble around a bit – the pain would go away, until it took longer and longer to go away, and then it stopped going away. I told myself that it had something to do with my right hip flexor, or it was a muscle strain, literally for years – just that nagging injury that just wouldn’t seem to quit. I was still fairly active, b ..read more

I would write something about how I’m shocked and appalled that I haven’t posted anything here since March, but admittedly my posting has been pretty sporadic for a while now. I think I mentioned this before, but I switched jobs a while back and the transition, its new responsibilities and workload have just taken a lot of my time, in addition to some larger projects that need my attention (and thankfully have a definitive end). And to be honest, it’s taken a lot of my training time as well, which I’m sure some jiu jitsu person read and then gasped in horror. Sorry, but it’s true. Which leads ..read more

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but there are a bunch of fighters who claim they are retiring, and then…. well, don’t. I could have sworn Gordon Ryan mentioned retirement at one point, but he’s recently competed (and then of course we all heard about the argument and slap afterwards) and I just had to look up how many times Conor McGregor retired, because it was certainly more than once. So what gives? You could argue that they have a change of heart, I guess. I’m not totally sold on that explanation though: I have to wonder if more grapplers and fighters are “retiring” simply be ..read more

I’ve heard this a couple of times by now, and I imagine you have as well: someone will bring up jiu jitsu’s violent, sometimes thuggish past, along with some variation of ” I’m tired of people pretending that we are following an honorable samurai code or something…”. It’s interesting, because I find usually when people bring up jiu jitsu’s violent past, it’s typically to justify bad behavior in the here and now. It’s sort of like personality tests where someone will justify their (whatever undesirable trait) as a part of that personality classification- whether it’s Myers Briggs Test, Enneagra ..read more

So for a while now I have been making an effort to lift weights around 5am. And for the most part I’m successful in this endeavor…. and occasionally I’m not. While I usually try to head to my local weight lifting/all the cardio things gym to work out, thanks to recent lockdowns I do have a few pieces of equipment in my basement for what I call “creepy basement workouts”. Because my basement is creepy- it’s dusty with an uneven and cracked floor, the walls are pointy rock foundation for the house, the ceiling just the beams to support the first floor along with some random wires, and for some r ..read more

Growth and an evolving mindset do happen though: it’s part of what makes us human. You don’t believe the exact same things you did say 8 to 10 years ago: you’ve been presented with facts and other pieces of information that were not available to you before then, and you have taken the time to digest and come up with your own conclusion. Side note, we like to think that our minds will be changed when presented with enough compelling evidence, but more often than not we shy away from the cognitive dissonance and dig our heels in, especially when someone presents information to us in what would b ..read more

Happy Friday everyone! If you follow me on instagram, you may have noticed that a lot of my stories have revolved around dogs- and one dog in particular, our adopted mutt that we named Jimmy. He was found as a stray in Mississippi (which, I thought was Minnesota for a while because I clearly can’t read state abbreviations) that was shipped up to our area through a rescue network. He’s been getting comfortable with us, and we’ve grown to spoiling him over the past few months- lots of treats and things to chew on, sleeping on all the furniture (and sometimes the humans sitting on them) and trips ..read more

I was talking with a former teammate about bjj gyms, and we touched on the topic of aesthetic in gyms and how it can potentially appeal to different students/audiences. Just like the intentional actions and unintentional culture that take place at a gym, the aesthetic of a gym does play a (albeit minor) part in attracting students to an academy. While most of us could not literally care less about how a gym looks- just needs some clear space and a mat or two to roll, for someone just starting out it sets a tone for what to expect. Think about your more traditional weightlifting gyms, let’s say ..read more

A few weeks ago John Danaher posted a long, but interesting take on instagram regarding rolling or sparring when you’re tired: “Tell yourself – I’m exhausted – but I will keep going with a lowered set of expectations.” Whether it’s drilling or rolling, I think it’s an important mindset to adopt. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, etc. In addition to training yourself to push through when it’s time for competition, it proves to yourself that you are capable of more than you think, and really if you think about it a form of conditioning, if you do this often enough. The ..read more

I know, I know- it’s that time of year that consistent gym goers hate: when all of the “resolutioners” come in and do…. whatever it is that they are doing, in hopes to meet their New Year’s resolution to go to the gym more. I’m pretty sure I’m just repeating my self, but my hope is that especially this year, you are a little more compassionate than usual with these resolutioners. One thing I think we can all agree on is that last year was rough, and I’m fully anticipating that we experience a lot more turbulence before we can get to any kind of smooth sailing in 2021. For now gyms (with proper ..read more