At some point you will encounter fear. If you get involved in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Fear in BJJ will be a frequent visitor. Maybe it sets in when you are going into a BJJ tournament; Maybe fear locks you up when it’s time for live rolling. In any case, you are not alone. We all feel this emotion at some point. Let’s take a moment to establish the basics on overcoming fear.

This week we talk about proper breathing technique for BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu). It’s definitely an issue that does not usually get its own lesson… but it should.

Several months ago, I had the honor of tearing my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). It is an essential tendon that is in the center of all of our knees. The ACL helps with all daily movement. I was training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu one night. He caught me in a rough straight ankle lock. My knee made a popping noise. I felt intense pain in my knee. I yelped and I tapped immediately. It wasn’t immediately clear to me the severity of the injury. But over the next several practices it became clear that my knee had suffered an intense injury and match by match I was losing confidence in the joint.

A friend in class asked me to touch on this subject so here it is. Technique vs Strength and when to use each.

At the heart of a promotion is a person who is acting above their recognized level. This is true in most things and very true for a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Promotions do not usually come if you have one foot in blue belt and the other in purple.

This is not a list of hacks or loopholes to your Jiu-Jitsu blue belt. There is no short road, this article is How to get a blue belt in BJJ. This article is about keeping you on the right track on your journey from white to blue belt.

Firas Zahabi is grappling training coach for many top level MMA fighters like Kenny Florian and George St. Pierre. In this interview Firas lays out the foundations of his philosophy. If you are serious about training you need to watch this video! Many of his thoughts are very applicable to successful lifestyle.

Even in a martial art from the streets of Brazil there is such a thing as BJJ etiquette. One of my favorite sports sayings is “The Ref will moderate the written rules. Your competitors will moderate the unwritten rules.” Here is a mix of written and some unwritten rules. I’ll do this in order of ‘guideline’ to ‘essential’.

Your first day of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu should put a couple butterflies in your stomach. Starting something new is always exciting. Nothing can wreck a new experience like showing up unprepared.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the most unintuitive sport you could take on. It is also one the most effective martial arts known to mankind. You should be sufficiently out of your comfort zone. The first couple months of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are the most challenging. The first couple times on the mat will be a very very humbling experience. The upper belts and the other senior guys will have some sort of magical ability to stay three steps ahead of you. The head instructor might be too busy to give one on one time with you. So here are Jiu Jitsu white belt tips that all white belts should take to heart in their first month of the sport…