At their heart, belt demotions signify that someone’s previous rank was believed too generous, and they are no longer recognized at that rank. Unfortunately, they can also have political motivation, and very often they are a trope in BJJ Soap Operas, as they generate lots of High Drama. BELT DEMOTIONS BY INSTRUCTORS Standards Based “BJJ […]
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Tag: Frustration
BJJ: Anxieties
One consistent I have found in jiu jitsu is that everyone has fears. In Korea, many foreigners feared having no English instruction. Other common fears may include: Being the only woman Looking stupid Getting hurt Changing academies Forgetting everything Looking like a white belt (when you are not) In Korea, I adjusted. I am comfortable […]
BJJ: What Happens When Only One Person Comes to Class?
When I lived in Ukraine, I was running an English club for Ukrainian English teachers. There were a few dedicated people who came, but overall my attendance dwindled and finally I cancelled the club. While the club was going on, however, I would always run class, even if only one person showed up. When I […]
BJJ: Are You a Ron Weasley? Also, Tournament Results!
Remember in the Harry Potter movies how Hermione would study really hard, then get great grades, then review the test questions, beat herself up over the one wrong answer? That’s my friend Amanda. She prepped so hard for the US Grappling tournament in Raleigh, then right after she won her matches, she would immediately review […]
Grapplemania, July 26, 2014, Raleigh, NC
I’M DOING GRAPPLEMANIA THIS MONTH IN NORTH CAROLINA! I’m registering for this! I’m still waiting for my credit card to arrive so I can officially do it, but dang it, I will be there! I’m going to be registering for both gi and nogi. I’m terribly excited about it. I’m also not expecting to do […]
BJJ: Advice for a Panicked but Excited Beginner
Dear Jiu Jiu, I just started doing BJJ. Basically, I don’t know anything about anything, and I’m wondering if I made the right choice as far as a school goes. I don’t know anyone here on a personal level that can give me advice and honest opinions about starting BJJ. I don’t want to ask […]
BJJ Reader Question: How to be Safe When Rolling with New Dudes
Jiu Jiu’s Note: This came from a female reader of mine. She does jiu jitsu in Korea as well, outside of Seoul. Her question easily pertains to both smaller women and to smaller guys. I would really love to hear from the smaller folks who read! I took a break from jiujitsu for awhile after […]
BJJ: Pissing Off Your Training Partner
Overall, I’m slow to anger in jiu jitsu. I did get angry at one guy who, despite me telling him to SLOW DOWN repeatedly during rolling, kept whipping his feet super quickly by my black eye. That made me angry. So did the guy who I felt like I had to actually FIGHT when we […]
BJJ Women: Women Asked to Sit Out
I was over on Facebook on the page Jiu-Jitsu Girls, and came across this question: a week ago I was invited with other guys from my gym to visit another gym in our area. When I got there I noticed I was the only female. The instructor pulled me to the side and explained that […]
BJJ: One Up-manship
Sylvie from 8limbs.us, my favorite non-BJJ blogger, wrote a great article called Brain Science: Why Sparring Gets Out of Control – Neurology and Muay Thai. The article is about mis-perception of contact strength. The idea is that we underestimate how much force and strength we are actually using, and when we attempt to match the […]