Triumph BJJ

6am classes are thriving! The progress across the academy has been nothing short of incredible.

Nothing better than being a part of students overcoming obstacles.

We are about to have an amazing week of training! All of the hard work has paid off and we will begin a new phase at the academy.

The tap is just a formality. Both players know when every possible other option has expired.

Context is everything and techniques are not equal. Some offensive techniques work regardless of how good the defense is. While others depend on mistakes or poor decisions by the defensive player. The same goes for defensive techniques. Depending on the position and scenario, some of our best defensive techniques depend on offensive mistakes. Techniques are not equal, so neither should the time we spend training them.

Time is at the center of almost all of our conflicts. At school, at work, with families and pretty much everything else. Even financial conflicts could be easily settled if it weren’t for time restraints. In an academy, virtually every student sets their own time frame to achieve a new belt, perfect a position, compete or fight. The challenge and obligation of the academy is to meet the needs of all students. However, no academy can meet the individual time frames of all its students. This is why Team focus is so important. When we sprint too fast, it becomes lonely. When we work together our needs and time frames begin to align. This is where the magic happens.

In real life, we try to reduce stress and things that cause anxiety. These can be physically and mentally crippling. This is not the way we should train. Training with anxiety does not prepare us to protect ourselves while we have anxiety. We must train with a clear mind, so regularly that we will be able to think our way through truly dangerous situations.

Know the difference between a bad technique and a poorly executed good technique. One can be rehabilitated and refined while the other is an absolute waste of time and energy for all involved. The same is true for strategy.

An “At all costs” mindset is great for the minimally skilled that are scared and lack confidence. This is not for training. It’s an attempt to fill gaps in ability with an illusion. We falsely associate safe training with poor training when nothing could be further from the truth. Training injuries in BJJ are hardly ever an accident, they are negligence. With improved control and technique, practitioners become less desperate and it becomes less acceptable to injure teammates with speed based submissions before they can tap.

The whole idea is to practice and perfect techniques and strategy that better prepare us to deal with positions and situations we are put in beyond our control. To better deal with individuals who are actually a danger to us. Only preparing to deal with unskilled or less skilled opposition will prevent us, our training partners and an entire academy from progressing.

Fear of losing one’s status in an academy’s hierarchy is the only reason a student would be resistant to the idea of giving as much as they take from their teammates. There is a gap in ability between any two teammates. Widening an ability gap with any teammate benefits no one. Closing the gap by elevating the abilities of the less capable teammate, advances everyone.

Camaraderie like no other

Nothing we’ve done, prior to training Jiu-Jitsu, has helped prepare us for BJJ. In fact, all of the success we have had off the mats creates habits and false beliefs that make training properly far more challenging. We are our own greatest obstacle.

We are often enticed to submit as fast and aggressively as possible. A small investment in time to improve position and increase our odds pays dividends. The height of Johnny’s right elbow, in his left hand, in the last pic says it all.

This ray of sunshine was greatly appreciated today!

This has been a killer week!

All Standup all morning! Killer work everyone!