I’m very curious about what black belts what they look for when they promote blue belts, because it’s completely different from one school to another, as I’ve mentioned in a previous article. I recently went to a seminar by “Magical” Ray Elbe, a BJJ black belt, whose website can be found here. I’ll be writing a review of the seminar later, but wanted to share this tidbit, which was amazing. I asked Ray what his personal philosophy is about promoting to blue. We actually talked for a while about it.

Ray is in the middle. Cupcake is on the right.

In his gym he said that to get a blue belt there’s a minimum amount of knowledge necessarily. They should also be able to give a brand new person an intro lesson, and were he to leave for a day, his blue belts should be able to run a class. Then we talked about the extra, more intangible things.  One thing I hadn’t really considered – when you give someone a belt, you’re passing on YOUR lineage.

Then he did an exercise with me. This was taught to him by Marcos Avellan, a BJJ black belt who guest taught at Ray’s gym for a month, and which I now pass it along to you, because it’s really freaking cool.

You will need a pen and paper, or open up MS Word or Notepad and do it digitally.

Now, make a list of everything you want in your ideal BJJ coach. No really, do it now.

Here is my list:

Friendly
Accessible
Knowledgeable
Understanding
Sense of humor
Family feel
Knows students
Challenges students
Kind
Good, solid methodology

Do you have your list? No? Dang it – go do it now! Got it? Okay – now go through it and write a T next to anything that is a TRAIT (ie. dealing with personality) and an S next to anything that is a SKILL, anything that needs to be gained/learned. Mine looked like this:

Friendly (T)
Accessible (T)
Knowledgeable (S)
Understanding (T)
Sense of humor (T)
Family feel (T)
Knows students (T)
Challenges students (T)
Kind (T)
Good, solid methodology (S)

While he did this I realized I hadn’t listed anything like “Black belt” or “competition experience” or anything. Most of mine was trait based.

Then Ray pointed at the TRAITS and said if you’re looking for a coach who is friendly, accessible, knowledgeable, understanding, etc, then promote based on that list. So someone could be a total genius at jiu jitsu at white belt, but if they’re a complete tool they will be a white belt for a VERY long time. This made so much sense to me. If I am passing on a LINEAGE to someone, they’re going to be a reflection of me. If I were a black belt, I wouldn’t give some toolbag my lineage. I would give it to people who I would be proud to attach my name to.

Thanks, Ray, for sharing that with me!

At this point I feel it necessary to share what is auto suggested by Google after you type in “Magical Ray Elbe.” Yes, it made me laugh out loud.

Ray hasn’t promoted a ton of people to blue. He has a list of people he’s promoted on his website here. As of today (January 26, 2012) he has promoted 10 people to blue and 1 person to purple. To be fair, his gym mostly deals with ex-pats who visit his school during a 4-6 week camp so this record does not necessarily speak to whether or not he’s super stingy or not.

I’m curious – what ended up being on your list? Did this completely blow your mind like it did mine?

Also, if you’re interested, I’ve been posting photos from my visit with Cupcake Armbar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! You can find the set here!

We’ve had some excellent times together, and we’ve also had our rough patches. You are my first love, Jiu Jitsu, and that will not change. Yet, right now we cannot be together – because being with you hurts me. Literally. So I watch you from afar, biding my time until we can reunite.

I don’t mean to hurt you, but I have to let you know that I started seeing someone else. Weight lifting. I’m not sure if it’s a long term thing or just a short fling to ease our parting, but I’ve started doing it since January and I really like it.

Weight lifting won’t replace you. I’m actually hoping that it will help our relationship grow even stronger. Please, please bear with me through this rough time and don’t be jealous. I’m doing this for us. I love you dearly.

-Jiu Jiu

Hehehe Yes, it’s true. I have started weight lifting consistently since January. I really enjoy deadlifts and bench presses, the adductor and the leg press machines. I like seeing myself get stronger literally every session. Plus, I love all the massive points I rack up on Fitocracy.

I’m in Malaysia now, but when I return to Seoul I plan to join a local gym and continue weight lifting as I continue watching BJJ.

So, are you cheating on BJJ right now? True confession time!

This week I have a guest writer – Daniel Charles Frank,  originally from New York (you can email him here). He has been training Jiu Jitsu in Korea for nine years. He was promoted to brown belt in January 2011 and hopes to open his own academy, Liquid Jiu Jitsu, in Korea in 2012.

Article and photos by Daniel C. Frank.
글, 사진 : 대니얼 프랭크 (Daniel C. Frank)

As of the writing of this review, Korea BJJ Academy Seongnam is the newest Jiu Jitsu academy to open in the Seoul area. The Seongnam academy is also the newest branch of the Korea BJJ Academy team, following the headquarters in Ahyeon and the first branch in Gangnam.

오늘 소개하는 이희성 주짓수 아카데미 성남점은 현재 수도권에서 가장 연혁이 짧은 주짓수 도장이자 이희성 아카데미 아현 본점이 강남 분점에 이어 두 번째로 세운 분점이다.

The Academy  이희성 주짓수 아카데미 성남점 소개

Being a new academy the state of the academy is very pristine and clean. The mats are very comfortable to roll on and there is plenty of space to fit seven or eight groups of competitors comfortably together. There are locker rooms and shower facilities for men and for women. The locker rooms are very large and there is ample space to get changed without bumping into others and being uncomfortable. There is also a storage room and a large office for the instructor.

All in all, this academy has one of the best training area and locker rooms of all the academies I have ever trained at.

새로 오픈한 도장답게 성남점은 매우 깔끔했다. 바닥은 7~8팀이 맘놓고 대련할 수 있을 정도로 넓고 푹신했다. 남녀 탈의실과 샤워실도 여러 명이 부딪히지 않고 편하게 옷을 갈아 입을 수 있을 정도로 공간이 넉넉했으며 창고와 사무실도 있었다. 한마디로 성남점은 필자가 가본 중 최고의 스파링 공간과 탈의실을 갖추고 있었다.

The Roll  주짓수 수업

I arrived at the academy with about twenty minutes remaining in the first class. When I arrived the instructor, Choi Kyu Hwan, was instructing a group of five white belts on guard pass sparring. There were two other people waiting near the windows observing the class.

After changing and saying my hellos to the students I lightly rolled with some of the students and waited for the next class. I taught the second class and was glad to see that two blue belts and four white belts had come, as three of the other white belts had gone home.

Once we completed our stretching we began to do some grip breaking drills for ten minutes and worked on three techniques from the mount position. The students were very attentive and enjoyed learning new techniques. Again, there was a great amount of space so there was no problem with students rolling into each other or not having room to practice. Once we completed our technique we moved into sparring and rolled until the completion of class.

필자가 성남점에 도착했을 때는 첫 번째 클래스가 끝나기 약 20분 전이었다. 흰띠 5명이 최규환 사범에게 가드패스 스파링을 배우고 있었고 다른 관원 두 명은 창가에 서서 수업을 지켜보고 있었다. 필자는 도복으로 갈아입고 관원들에게 인사를 한 후 가볍게 몸을 풀었다. 첫 수업 후 흰띠 3명이 가고 나서 잠시 한산해졌으나 두 번째 수업이 시작되고 필자가 기술을 가르치는 동안 파란띠 두 명과 흰띠 네 명이 도착하면서 도장에는 다시 활기가 넘쳤다. 필자는 일단 스트레칭을 하고 나서 상대방이 내 도복을 잡았을 때 떼어내는 기술을 10분간 연습시켰다. 그러고 나서 마운트 자세에서 할 수 있는 기술 3가지를 가르쳤다. 관원들은 새로운 기술에 열심히 집중하며 즐겁게 배웠다. 역시 도장이 넓으니 마음껏 뒹굴고 연습할 수 있어 좋았다. 우리는 기술연습을 끝내고 대련을 시작했다. 이로써 두 번째 수업이 끝났다.

The Interview  최규환 사범 인터뷰

After class I was able to interview the instructor of the academy, Choi Kyu Hwan.
수업을 마치고 최규환 사범과 인터뷰를 했다.

Tell me a little of your background. How did you discover jiu jitsu?
“In 2005 my friend, Lee Hee Tae, introduced jiu jitsu to me as his brother (Lee Hee Sung) was a jiu jitsu instructor and had his own academy (Korea BJJ Academy Ahyeon).”

Q. 주짓수를 시작하게 된 계기는?
- 친구인 이희태 사범이 2005년에 주짓수를 소개했다. 당시 그의 형(이희성 관장)이 아현동에서 도장(이희성 주짓수 아카데미)을 운영하고 있었다.

What was your training like as a white belt?
“I started out at 70kg (now 65kg) and trained four times a week regularly. For the first three months learning many skills was difficult and I got hurt many times. But, after three months training and more practice there was less pain and more skill.”

Q. 흰띠였을 때 어떻게 훈련했나?
- 지금은 체중이 65kg지만 처음 주짓수를 시작할 때는 70kg였다. 일주일에 4번씩 꾸준히 도장에 나왔다. 처음 석 달은 여러 기술을 배우는 게 힘들었고 다치기도 많이 다쳤다. 하지만 3개월이 지나 연습량이 늘면서 아픈 것은 참을 만 해졌고 기술은 늘어갔다.

What do you think is the most important thing that you learned as a white belt?
“The most important thing that I learned as a white belt was basic defense and basic techniques.”

Q. 흰띠 초보자로서 배웠던 가장 중요한 점은 무엇이라고 생각하나?
- 기본 방어술과 기본 테크닉이다.

What is the one thing you stress to all new white belts that you teach?
“I stress courtesy. It doesn’t matter if he or she is good at exercise or at jiu jitsu. Courtesy is the most important thing for a white belt to learn.”

Q. 현재 가르치는 모든 흰띠 초보 관원들에게 강조하는 것이 있다면?
- 예의범절이다. 그 사람이 운동에 소질이 있건 주짓수를 잘하건 그런 것은 중요하지 않다. 예의야말로 흰띠가 배워야 할 가장 중요한 내용이다.

What is your competition history?
Numerous medals as a white and blue belt in Korean Championships.
2008 Rickson Gracie Cup (purple, pluma) 3^rd place
2009 Rickson Gracie Cup (purple, pluma) 2^nd place
2010 Rickson Gracie Cup (purple, pluma) 1^st place
2009 All Japan (purple, pluma) 1^st place
2010 Asian Open (purple, pluma) 1^st place
2010 Korea Abu Dhabi Trials (purple, pluma) 1^st place
*Also, he has competed in the Abu Dhabi Pro Cup Jiu Jitsu Championship and in the Mundials twice.

Q. 입상 경력은?
- 흰띠와 파란띠였을 때는 코리안챔피언십에서 많은 메달을 땄으며 보라띠였을 때는 여러 국제대회에서 입상했다.
- 2008년 힉슨그레이시컵 -64kg급 3위
- 2009년 힉슨그레이시컵 -64kg급 2위
- 2010년 힉슨그레이시컵 -64kg급 1위
- 2009년 올재팬 -64kg급 1위
- 2010년 아시안오픈 -64kg 1위
- 2010년 코리아 아부다비 예선 -64kg급 1위
또 아부다비 프로컵 주짓수 챔피언십에도 출전했고 문디알 챔피언십에도 두 번 참가했다.

Who do you look up to as Jiu Jitsu icons?
“Of course I look up to Rickson Gracie. At the pluma weight class I look up to Guillerme Mendes.”

Q. 존경하는 선수가 있다면?
- 물론 힉슨 그레이시다. -64kg 체급 선수 중에는 길레르메 멘데스(Guilherme Mendes)를 존경한다.

How do you go about teaching a class?
“At first the class will stretch for fifteen minutes. Then, we will practice techniques for 25 minutes. Next we will work on position sparring or guard pass sparring and then move on to regular sparring. The time allotted to this depends on the level of the students at the class.”

Q. 수업은 어떻게 진행하나?
- 먼저 스트레칭 15분, 기술연습 25분 하고 나서 포지션 스파링이나 가드패스 스파링을 한다. 그런 뒤 정식 스파링을 시작한다. 물론 이러한 시간 분배는 그날 수업에 참여하는 관원들의 레벨에 따라 달라진다.

Would you rather teach one or two techniques in fine detail or three or four techniques with a little less detail?
“I would rather teach three or four techniques with a little less detail so the students can understand position and adapt to it.”

Q. 관원들에게 기술을 가르칠 때 한두 가지를 자세히 가르쳐주는 편인가, 아니면 좀 덜 자세하게 여러 가지를 가르쳐주는 편인가?
- 좀 덜 자세하게 여러 가지를 가르쳐 주어 관원들이 포지션을 이해하고 적응할 수 있도록 하는 편이다.

What are your goals for the coming year?
“Since I started my academy recently I feel I must concentrate on my students and my academy in 2012. The Rickson Gracie Cup in June and the Asian Open Championship in October are still possibilities of competition for me.

Q. 내년 목표는?
- 이제 막 성남점을 개관했으니 2012년에는 우리 관원들과 체육관에 집중할 것이다. 6월에 열리는 힉슨그레이시컵과 10월에 열리는 아시안오픈 챔피언십에 출전하는 것도 생각하고 있다.

Schedule  시간표 및 회비 

Hours are:
Monday – Friday classes from 5:30 – 6:30, 7:00 – 8:30, and 9:00 – 10:30
Saturday classes from 2:00 – 5:00
Sunday the academy is closed

<수업시간표>
월-금 : 5:30 – 6:30, 7:00 – 8:30, 9:00 – 10:30
토 : 2:00 – 5:00
일 : 휴관

Prices are:               men            women
4x(a month)           60,000       60,000
8x                            90,000       80,000
12x                         120,000      100,000
everyday               160,000      140,000
1 day                                 20,000

<회비>
월4회 : 6만원(남) / 6만원(여)
월8회 : 9만원(남) / 8만원(여)
월12회 : 12만원(남) / 10만원(여)
매일 : 16만원(남) / 14만원(여)
1일 : 2만원(남,녀)

Sign up:  
30,000 sign up fee
60,000 basic, white moosoolsa gi
atama, venum, gameness gis on sale at the academy

<기타>
입관비 : 3만원
도복값 : 6만원 (흰색, 무술사제품)
* 이외에 아타마, 베넘, 게임니스 등 여러 브랜드의 도복 판매중

Event:      3 month sign-up                     6 month sign-up
sign up fee waived                   sign up fee waived
20% discount on payment     30% discount on payment
30% discount on gi                  free moosoolsa gi
free patch                                 free patch

<이벤트>
3개월 등록시 :                    6개월 등록시 :
입관비 면제                        입관비 면제
회비 20% 할인                   회비 30% 할인
도복 30% 할인                   도복 무료 제공
패치 무료 제공                   패치 무료 제공

How to get there   찾아가려면

Okay, Jiu Jiu made this - now you can see, mapwise, where this area is.

Getting to the academy is an easy experience and takes just a ride on the subway and a two minute walk from the station. The academy is located close to Dandaeogeori Station on the number 8 (pink colored) subway line. Once you get to the subway station walk out of subway exit #1 and take a 180 degree turn out of the subway exit. Walk towards the corner and you will see a Baskin Robbins directly on the corner.

지하철 8호선(분홍색라인)을 타고 단대오거리에서 내려 1번 출구로 나와 직진하지 말고 반대방향으로 걷는다.

Take a left at the Baskin Robbins and walk straight for one minute. You will soon pass a Lotteria restaurant. Take a left at the corner after the Lotteria where you will see a phone shop (SQUARE), with a Tudari hof on the second floor.

베스킨라빈스를 끼고 좌회전 하여 1분 정도 걷다가 좌측의 롯데리아를 지나 다시 좌회전하면 1층에 핸드폰 가게(SQUARE), 2층에 투다리가 있는 건물이 보이고 그 옆건물 3층에 성남점이 자리잡고 있다.

The Jiu Jitsu academy is almost immediately on the left side on the third floor. It is hard to see the sign in the jumble of neon signs, but when you walk towards the stairs you will see the promotional stickers on the stairs in the stairwell.

주짓수라고 써있는 간판이 주변 다른 여러 간판들 때문에 눈에 확 띄지는 않지만 3층 도장으로 올라가다 보면 계단 벽에 붙어 있는 주짓수 안내표시를 볼 수 있다.

It is really helpful to know that in Korean "Jiu Jitsu" is 주짓수

Contact 연락처
Website/웹사이트 : cafe.naver.com/snbjj
Telephone/전화: 031 603 9090

If you stop by Korea BJJ Academy Seongnam, please mention you read Daniel’s article on my blog!

Warning: this post may be full of too much inspiration. If you’re inspired halfway through, please feel free to leave this post, work out, and come back.

1. Drink less alcohol
Hitting the mats with a hangover is NOT fun. Get hooked up with a gym full of healthy people who don’t drink and you’ll find that healthy peer pressure works. Why go out and get wasted when you can spend hours on the mats learning and improving your jiu jitsu?

2. Eat healthy food
Rolling after you eat a hamburger or fried food is gross. Plus – with the right jiu jitsu gym, you’ll be surrounded by people who care about their bodies. You’ll notice that what you eat can affect how you feel during class, and you’ll find you’ll want to start eating better.

3. Get fit
When I started BJJ I couldn’t do a single forward roll. I was large, out of shape, and physically challenged because of it. Now I can do several forward rolls. Caring about BJJ also tends to lead to supplementing your workouts in search of higher performance.

4. Lose weight
When I started jiu jitsu, it was for weight loss, and absolutely it helped me lose weight. I went from 205 to 171, and from a size 20 to a size 10. My real goals were: get off the couch and move my body. Going to class meant I won.

5. Manage stress
It’s hard to maintain work or emotional stress when you have someone putting physical stress on your ribcage and neck! Distractions seem to disappear, if not when I get on the mat, when I start rolling. Hard day at work? Go do jiu jitsu and work it out.

6. Take a trip
Jiu jitsu has helped me network with people around the world. I got to go on my West Coast Tour in California and Washington, and in three weeks I will go to Malaysia to visit Cupcake Armbar, a blue belt blogger I met online. Next up, I have mentally planned to visit Hong Kong and the Philippines to meet Leaahh and Pink Jiu Jitsu, respectively.

Where I went on my BJJ tour!

7. Volunteer to help others
I recognize that this may not be exactly what people are talking about, but I do find that jiu jitsu has made me want to help others. I look at my blog as a way to connect with people and help them understand a bit about jiu jitsu, or to perhaps stop being afraid and actually get on the mats. When I see new girls walk into my gym I immediately want to help them and encourage them. Jiu jitsu has made me care about retention rates of women in gyms. My signature on Jiu Jitsu Forums reads

“Know yourself. Never forget where you came from, and reach back to help someone else come forward too.” — Alpha Alexander, Black Women in Sports Foundation

If you’ve been considering doing jiu jitsu, now is the time. In fact, start today. Go to a local jiu jitsu gym and check it out. You don’t have to wait for any specific day/time to start – just go and do it.

My personal resolutions are: get back on the mats, go consistently 3x per week, plus go to a Saturday class 2-3x per month. I would like to develop a go-to sweep and a go-to submission – one I can hit consistently and under a variety of situations.

Update on my winter goals: 1) I’ve kept up with the Bullyproof dvd watching, and even emailed Rener Gracie about a question that came up during my viewing. 2) I kept up with Fitocracy, having missed only 1 day. I actually hit level 10 a few days ago, so I’m aiming for level 11 within the next 3 weeks. 3) Haven’t cracked open Jiu Jitsu academy, nor watched any of my instructors videos. 4) Kept my notes!

What are your New Years resolutions? If you wrote a blog post about them, PLEASE feel free to link to it here!

In the next 4 weeks I will be unable to observe any BJJ classes, but I want to keep sharp. So here is my plan during the next 4-5 weeks. It’s actually in part very similar to what Stephan Kesting recommends about staying in grappling shape over the holidays.

As I’ve been preparing my goals, I realized there is overlap between BJJ self-study and language self-study. Not being able to practice BJJ is a bit like losing your voice and not being able to practice a foreign language – having all input but no output.

Acquiring vs Doing

It’s been shown that if a student reads in a foreign language (sustained silent reading) that overall their entire performance in that language goes up. Stephan Krashen is famous for his theories about second language acquisition, which is ultimately about acquiring language vs directly learning it.

Monitor Theory hypothesizes that adults have two independent systems for developing ability in second languages, subconscious language acquisition and conscious language learning, and that these systems are interrelated in a definite way: subconscious acquisition appears to be far more important.

Perhaps that idea of second language acquisition works for physical languages as well as verbal languages. Allie wrote about her teammate Daniel, who was out for 2 years but consistently came and watched classes. In an email to me, he said that “[My instructor] actually told me that he felt like my coming and watching and absorbing made me significantly better when I returned to training. “

Stephan Kesting mentions this in his article:

…it’s been discovered that your body has neurons (“mirror neurons“) that fire both when you DO an activity and when you WATCH an activity. So this suggests that there is some basis for getting better by watching BJJ, even if you can’t do it.

Solo Improvement

If you have no one to speak a foreign language with, o ther ways of practicing are: a) reading b) writing c) watching videos d) listening to songs/podcasts e) doing exercises.

If you have no one to train BJJ with, you can train your mind- a) watching instructional videos b) watching competition footage c) reading books d) use the Internet e) visualizing.

No Rest for the Wicked

My herniated disc has not meant that the pause button has been pushed on the BJJ part of my life. I’ve been going to classes, but this will not be an option for the next month. So for December I have set some goals for myself.

No, not this kind of goal!

Goals are good if they are SMART. These are all Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. I will post one article per week (minimum) on this blog. In it I will include updates on my weekly goals – how much I’ve achieved–adding accountability.

1. Watch the Gracie Bullyproof boxed dvd set. It was sent to me last year with the purpose of my reviewing it (haha hilarious timing – Georgette just posted her review of it!) and I just hadn’t gotten around to watching all of it. Goal: watch 10 videos per week – roughly 2 per day, 5 days per week.

2. Watch Marcelo Garcia sparring. BJJweekly.com posted a review of MGinAction.com. In addition to instructional videos, it also shows him rolling. BJJWeekly.com posted a code for a free week trial – the normal price is $25 per month. Goal: spend 20 minutes per day for 7 days on this site. If I like it, I will sign up for it.

3. Read Saulo’s Jiu Jitsu University, focusing on the white belt and the blue belt chapters. There are 5 sections in white belt and 14 sections in blue belt. Goal: read one section every 2 days.

4. Read BJJ/MMA articles in Korean. I want to compare translations of the article on google translate and identify borrowed words, that way I’m adding to my active Korean Jiu Jitsu vocabulary. I will also ask my Korean friends about the sentences so I can understand them better. Goal: one article per week, 3-4 times per week, 10 minutes each time.

5. Review my instructor’s videos in Korean. I hope to find some of the vocabulary I’m learning and listen for it. Plus, it will be good to review techniques my instructor has taught me. Goal: one video every 2 days.

6. Take notes. Slidey always talks about the wonders of keeping training notes -well, I want to keep notes on what I’m reading and seeing – I think I’m missing something by not processing it. Goal: take notes as I watch and read.

7. Exercise. Work has been hard and I haven’t been logging quite so many points on Fitocracy. That will change. Goal: log at minimum 100 points per day. Reach level 11 before going to Malaysia.

8. In Malaysia, doing easy drills with Cupcake. By that point I will have been off BJJ for 3 months. Short time in the long run, but forever in the life of an addict. Goal: drill BJJ every 1-2 days.

Note: I want to thank you guys for helping keep me active in BJJ – even just my brain. A danger the first time you have a serious injury is to just drop out and never return. My big inspiration for writing this article was that my Brazilian friend Abrandao wrote an article about me! (Just in case you don’t read Portuguese and you’re too lazy to go to google translate, you can click here for the rough translation). Having someone write that you are an inspiration is motivation to keep going . So thank you, Abrandao!!! and welcome to any new readers there!

So what will YOU be doing in December to up your game? Do you supplement your class-time with reading or watching videos?

My question is - how the heck did she bend that far bacK? Daaaang.

Here are some potential questions:

• How did you get started in BJJ?
• What do you like most and least about BJJ?
• Where do you see yourself/your gym in the next 5 years?
• What would you say to someone who was thinking about joining your BJJ gym?
• What are your thoughts on BJJ tournaments?
• What is your bread-and-butter move?
• What advice do you have about BJJ?
• What do you wish more people knew about BJJ?
• How many women train at your gym?
• What would you say to a woman who was thinking about trying BJJ?

Some of these questions may not be that great – asking about specific moves, and I would love to have some questions about women and BJJ – but I can’t seem to nail down the right questions. Help me out!

Awesome questions!

Please respond with good questions to ask a BJJ-er in an interview. Questions that might be good for someone who has been doing the sport for any amount of time – or  questions you’d want to ask just black belts. In other words – what are YOU interested in knowing?

Are you remotely pretentious about BJJ? I’m definitely not. However, I do think that there can be some down sides to watching too many BJJ videos on Youtube.

1. Don’t post about who you tapped out at your gym
A new white belt finally taps out someone and they post about it on the Internet, writing a thread entitled “Tapped out 3 guys at my gym.” It is met with negativity and the white belt is bewildered. Why?

The above makes it sound like “Omg I won at BJJ!” like tapping is the Most Important Thing. At the gym it shouldn’t be about winning or losing – it’s about learning. If you tap you learn. Besides, you have no idea how hard or light the person at your gym was actually going against you, especially if they’re upper belts. Post about tapping someone out in a competition. In competition, they’re giving their all.

Now, it’s different if you are posting about the entire evening and you post about each rolling session and include it as extra information, but when you go on a forum and your title is “Finally tapped out a blue belt” it feels douchey. Leading me to point two:

2. Don’t post that you (almost) tapped out your instructor
I guarantee your instructor was going at maybe 10% with you. You were not a challenge for them. It’s the equivalent of a chessmaster playing with a child. Unless you’re the Josh Waitzkin (who inspired the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer) of white belts, you didn’t almost do crap. They let you have it. Recognize that and don’t be “proud” of it and boast about it on the Internet.

Side note: Josh Waitzkin is a brown BLACK belt in BJJ studying under Marcelo Garcia

3. Don’t ask if it’s possible to get your X belt in a super short amount of time
This makes you sound like a belt chaser – someone who doesn’t really care about getting better, only about getting belts. It’s usually followed by a sad comment by the white-belt who just was over excited and wants to be the best X belt there is, but was “just wondering.” That’s why I’m cautioning you about it. This is what it sounds like: “Is it possible to get a blue belt in 1 month? What if I train every day for 8 hours a day???? What if I take steroids??? What if I stop sleeeeeping? BJJ IS MY LIFE!!!!!!”

_{I recognize that it is valid and reasonable to ask normal progression times, but when it is asked a CERTAIN WAY it tends to receive these types of responses. Asking people “How long does it normally take to get to X belt” does not usually incur negative feedback.}

4. Don’t bitch that you’re not getting better
BJJ is HARD. It takes TIME. There is a reason that it takes 10+ years for most people to get their black belt. Sadly, I’ve seen white belts complain that they’re not seeing progress, even though they started a whole week ago. >_< It is annoying and unrealistic. Don’t cry about not getting better after 3 or 4 classes, or even 15 classes.

5. Don’t bitch that you haven’t gotten your blue belt yet
When you go on and on about how awesome you are and how you’re so much better than so-and-so who just got promoted to blue belt, it makes you sound bitter. It’s very possible that attitude might play a part in belt promotions, and if you act like this in person, it’s no wonder you didn’t get promoted. And similarly:

6. Don’t question someone else’s rank
This is EXTREMELY rude. By doing this you are not just questioning the person, but the instructor who awarded the rank. In the end it is the instructor whose name is on the line – whose reputation is on the line. You are a white belt. You are new. You don’t know who deserves what rank. Period.

7. Don’t badmouth your former school/instructor online
It’s one thing to have a bad experience and write about it in an objective way, but unfortunately there are too many people who badmouth old schools. It’s like badmouthing an ex online and naming names – uncouth and leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.

8. Don’t use the phrase: “watering down the art”
This is usually used in conjunction with a) questioning someone else’s rank b) badmouthing a former instructor. Example: “Hi, I’m random white belt. I was wondering – is it normal for someone to get their blue belt in 6 months? I think my old instructor is handing out belts really fast. I love BJJ and am concerned about the watering down of the art.”

OMG YOU SOUND PRETENTIOUS! Ugh seriously.

The last one was maybe a just-me thing, but all the others hold true. BJJ is really exciting – and it’s so exciting that you’ll likely want to talk about it all the time, post about it online, and even start a blog about it! I started my blog as a newbie white belt, and some of the guiding principles I used may help you:

1. White belts are no experts in BJJ
I’m well versed in my field: training English teachers. Things I could comment on with expertise: teaching methodology, classroom management, and student-teacher interaction. There may be some overlap in your expertise, and feel free to comment on that, but watch out for sounding like an expert white belt.

2. Try not to complain
Talk about your limitations, just don’t whine about them. I have always tried to be realistic about my body and its capabilities. For example, when I started, I weighed 205 lbs. I was a large girl in class. Sometimes I would talk about how something felt embarrassing, or that I just couldn’t do something, or even that I cried in class. I tried not to complain, but rather to present myself as a human being with ups and downs.

My hope is that if you are a white belt reading this, you will take these suggestions to heart. Hopefully it will save you some potentially uncomfortable or confrontational interactions online. So I now ask the question:

What advice would you give white belts about online behavior?

Please get the word out! If the seminar is successful, we will continue inviting world champions to teach. Hopefully some of my friends from Manila and Malaysia will come visit! I have been to only one seminar, but I think this one will be much much bigger.

I heard about Ciao Terra because of this beautiful quote after he won a gold medal at the 2011 Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships.

I came here because I wanted to show everybody that technique can beat the steroids.

From Caio Terra’s website, about his seminars:

With over 100 seminars taught worldwide, Caio Terra has been teaching his championship winning techniques and helping students bring their training to the next level.

Seminars are three and a half hours long, with technique instruction for three hours and rolling with as many students as possible for the remaining thirty minutes. Caio Terra offers seminars throughout the United States and around the world. Caio will teach unique technical position of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and answer student questions about the techniques. After each position is demonstrated, the teacher monitors and corrects each student’s technique as they work among each other. This process continues for three hours so that students can learn as many techniques as possible, while receiving as much detail as possible. Caio likes to “roll,” Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s form of sparring, for the last thirty-minutes with as many students as possible. Even experienced students will be shown techniques rarely seen and will learn new details on existing techniques they already know.

Screw my back. If he comes here I’m gonna roll!

Here is an interview with him from TheFightworksPodcast.

This guy has a record too long to list here without boring you, but the biggies in my opinion:

• 4x Gold Medalist World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
• 3x Silver Medalist World Jiu Jitsu Championship (2007, 2009, 2010)
• Gold Medalist World Jiu Jitsu Championship 2008

This guy is bad ass. And only 25. Holy crap. I’m excited.

So…Cupcake? Pink jiujitsugirl? Georgette? Meg? I can host a BJJ slumber party!

This is an issue very close to my heart and I think one that is worth discussing.

This is a hypothetical argument, and no solid guidelines have been established. Perhaps that’s something that could be done here.

Again, this is really an important idea and one that should be more fully discussed. Even within the BJJ blogosphere. I think all sides should be listened to, no one should blame or verbally attack one another – we are all entitled to our opinions.

The question is:

Who would win in a fight? Ninjas or zombies?

I maintain that ninjas would win. Period. Sadly, in online forums I’ve seen, 35% of people are clearly delusional and think zombies would win.

1. Ninjas have weapons. Zombies have teeth. Or in some mythos their blood is unsafe, while in others, even their scratches cause contagion. Ninjas can keep a safe distance and even if they are surrounded, with their whirling death knife, they can keep zombies at bay. They also have those awesome throwing knives and throwing stars and can hit zombies silently at a distance. In the argument, someone said that if the zombies’ blood causes people to turn, then the arcing blood could turn the ninjas into zombies, but I maintain that if ninjas KNEW this, they would wear protective eyewear.

2. Ninjas have parkour skills. Think about it. They can hide in the corner of the ceiling, they can climb like mad people, so even if they are circled they can parkour onto the tops of their heads and make a mad dash out. They can even run on water. (maybe just non-Neutonian fluid, according to Mythbusters, but that’s something).

3. Ninjas are fast. There’s a reason that it’s called “ninja fast” – it’s because ninjas are fast. Zombies, depending on your mythos, can be Living Dead shambling – no problem for ninjas; Zombieland running – and if the ninjas have good cardio, no problem; 28 Days Later sprinting – still think not much of an issue for ninjas; or even Walking Dead somewhat running – which can be outrun by humans, and ninjas are like human+. Regardless, they’d just have to run forward, loop about, kill zombies, run forward, loop about, kill zombies, etc.

Apparently there is a debate between walking and running zombies:

4. Ninjas can hide. So if the ninjas did get tired they could find an adequate hiding spot. Again, depending on your mythos this may or may not be an issue. That means that  Walking Dead zombies couldn’t defeat ninjas – they go by sight and sound, and there’s no such thing as a loud ninja – which is why ninja is an adjective that means “silent”. For ones that go by smell – if they can smell brains or blood or sweat or whatever – maybe there would be an issue, but I think that the ninjas would hide in a tall place, even at the top of a telephone pole.

5. Ninjas can kill anyone they want! I heard that there was this ninja who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a spoon the ninja killed the whole town. If that’s true, do you think they’d have difficulty taking out some zombies? I think not.

6. Ninjas have skills. Lethal skills and potentially lethal skills. Don’t believe me? Ask a ninja! What skills do zombies have? They’re the undead version of Pepe Le Pew minus the sexual harassment.

So, am I off base with this? Is there something I’m missing about zombies? Please fill me in. Add your voice to this important debate, and if you’re a slacktivist, you can change your Facebook status to raise awareness of this important debate – but be aware, 96% of your friends won’t give a crap, 3% will be annoyed by your slacktivism, and 1% will repost.