May16

5 Ways BJJ Changed My Life Off The Mat

by Evan E. on May 16th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Posted In: How can I be more prepared to start training BJJ?

All smiles

Training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu really changes you.  Ask anyone who  trains.  It’s less of a hobby and more of a lifestyle.  I have just completed my 1st year as a blue belt and I am in my 5th year training overall. 

I look back over my time in BJJ and while it hasn’t always been the easiest road, it has changed my life in markedly good ways.

5.  Physical

I am in the best shape I have been in since before my 20′s.  Granted, I spent my 20′s as a bit of a couch potato and a slouch.  I am a big guy and my metabolism sucks, but I can spin upside down using inverted guard.  I have a core now.  I am able at 33 years old to do things I couldn’t at 20..handstands, forward flips, etc.  I feel comfortable in my own skin for just about the first time in my life (no joke).

4.  Discipline

I train 4 -6 times a week consistently while juggling my career (sometimes 50-60+ hour weeks), time with my wife and kids, etc..  It’s funny to me now, because when I started I was not a consistent student.  The first year I was training off and on sometimes once a week, sometimes not at all.  As I trained longer and became more immersed in the BJJ lifestyle, I also became more disciplined in my training and in my life.  I used to look for shortcuts and cheats to many things in my life and in training.  BJJ helped me define the discipline in my life that I needed to learn to enjoy hard work.  Now, I avoid any kind of short cut.  I would rather put in the work and earn results on or off the mat.

3. Dedication

I suppose this entry is similar to Discipline, but in a way isn’t.  I’m not the best at articulating short lists.  BJJ is not easy.  You spend most of the time in bad positions in a smelly location with sweaty people angrily hugging you while you miss out on time with your loved ones, friends and life.  It doesn’t exactly sound like the most appealing evening pasttime, especially at 2 hours a night 6 days a week.  But for those of us who train, it just makes sense.  Missing a class is missing an opportunity to learn more of the art that has given so much to you.  I know that one day I will be a black belt.  Because I will not stop until I have it.  I have committed my future to BJJ and I am dedicated to seeing through to that goal.

2. Confidence

 I know this is a trope of all TMA’s (that is traditional martial art for the uninitiated), but BJJ really did elevate my confidence.  While deflating my ego and stemming my macho need to posture, BJJ gave me confidence to relax and be a nice guy.  I feel like I walk taller.  This isn’t a pseudo-machismo “I’m a badass” thing.  I KNOW I’m not a badass.  BJJ has shown me that I can survive bad situations long enough to try to get away.  BJJ also showed me that there are so many ways to work around “situations”.  It’s the way we train, right?   There is not “one way” to escape, transition or submit.  There are always different angles and distances that you can change.  These elements translate into the real world.  And I walk around feeling more comfortable that I can always look for angles and distance, should the need arise.

1. Perserverance

 I’ve mentioned before that it took me close to 4 years to get my blue belt.  There is such a steep learning curve in the beginning.  You go through an insane amount of ego smash, or at least I did.  BJJ training is also physically very difficult at times.  I have had countless injuries, not the least of which is the time when I snapped my knee fighting a leg reap take down.    Just writing this, I’m trying to think of back when I started in BJJ.  In a way it is a testament to the art.  I say this because my story is not abnormal.  Most of the folks I have had the pleasure of training with have similar stories.  Black belts I know have even more horrific tales of the horrors of BJJ in the beginning.  Strangely enough, I get nostalgic for those times.  And those black belts I mentioned?  Get wistful thinking of those times.  The best thing about this is you see how much you can overcome when you are challenged.  It is easy to do and stick with things that come naturally to you.  It is hard to stay with a difficult challenging road that you might not ever be able to complete fully or ever be the best.  BJJ has conditioned me to dig deep and keep strong through tough times in my life.  BJJ has helped me to see that everything can be overcome with enough will.  BJJ has done so much for me and shaped who I am for the better. (Ok so I’m a little obsessed. Maybe that’s not super great for my loved ones).  BJJ has done all this for me and I’m only a Blue Belt.  I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Thanks, BJJ.

 

 

Jan30

BJJ: Breaking The Ego To Advance My Game

by Evan E. on January 30th, 2013 at 1:38 pm
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?

I moved away from VA about 6 months ago and recently came back to visit.  While visiting I talked with Andrew about how I can better my BJJ.  I felt like I was not able to stop going to my “A” game.  I was consistently playing the same game and while I was getting “gym wins”, I could recognize that I was not growing.

Andrew listened to my concerns and offered me some great advice.  Open up to advance.  Playing just your “A” game all the time doesn’t get you tapped, but if you are not tapping you aren’t learning.  It’s just ego keeping you from advancing.

Upon my return to my new gym, I made it my focus to shelve my “A” game for a bit.  I made myself 3 rules to follow when rolling.

1.  Work from Bad Positions/Submissions -  This one is somewhat self explanatory.  Instead of stalemating for 5 minutes with a training partner by denying the guard pass or submission attempt, I gave up  passes/bad positions/submission attempts to my training partners to give myself the freedom to get uncomfortable and work from them.

2. Work Open Guards in which I do not feel comfortable -  I don’t like Butterfly Guard and Spider Guard.  Really, I understand their benefits to some extent.  Upon further introspection, I noticed that when I attempted these guards; I often get passed or shut down.  This created a Pavlov response where I did not use them for fear of losing position.  This was ego, pure and simple.  It “felt” bad to get passed or lose positon.  Now, I am attempting to solely use these two guards to play when I roll.  I can’t say that it ALWAYS works out this way.  Occasionally, I revert back to my “A” game but when that happens, I let 1. above happen and work from there.

3. Let go of my need to “win” during training.  Really, this one just means finding “wins” in a different way.  For example:  If I hit a spider guard sweep during a roll, that’s a win!  Regardless of what happens during the rest of the roll, it’s a win if I walk away having executed at least one successful attempt at trying new options.

 These lessons so far have not yielded immediate progress, but then I didn’t expect them to do so.  I do feel re-engaged. My rolling is fun and interesting again.  Now, when I roll I am excited for each opportunity to see how things will progress.  The challenge has really put me back on the hungry path that I felt as a whitebelt.  That moment when I hit a sweep or transition that I have been struggling with makes all of the challenge worthwhile.  I also feel as though my eyes have been opened even wider as a student of BJJ.  Techniques that seemed stale are now interesting and dynamic.

 

4 Comments
Sep06

Big Man BJJ: 5 Easy Steps To Beat Me

by Evan E. on September 6th, 2012 at 11:25 am
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?, Grappling (or BJJ) Competition Advice

It has been established that I am a big guy(or big’un if you prefer).  I am not the largest guy to have ever graced the mats.  I am, however, usually THE big guy at my gym.  I want to tell you how to “beat” me.  Smaller BJJ players (townspeople) often tell you techniques on how to win against larger opponents(hill giants).  Well, let’s turn that concept on its head.  What if a super cool Hillman* said “Let me show you how to win against me and all my oversized bretheren.”

*I am totally rad level 7 Hill Giant

Prior to training in BJJ, the concept of being held in one place and having to submit to someone’s imposition was foreign to me.  Now, I like BJJ BECAUSE smaller opponents can control and tap me.  They can take away my attributes and level the playing field.  This is fun and exciting!  As such, I like to help my training partners learn to shut me down. This forces me to play Smaller-style BJJ which makes me better in the long run (selfish!).  By nature, this takes practice on the smaller player’s part.

So, grab your local Behemoth and try the following:

 

5. Conservation of Energy

You are working out of a deficit.  There is a really good chance that since I am bigger, I’m also stronger than you.  By nature big guys can make you work harder.  This is because they have more mass and are used to pushing it around all day, it’s science fact!  A great way to combat this deficit is using slow methodical movements to cover ground inch by inch.  Sometimes though, you can beat a bigger guy by being faster.  Hang on a sec Lightning Larry, attribute based games are what you want to avoid, right?  Speaking from my own experience I want you to spaz out, flail about, and wear yourself out.  You will be exhausted and give me submissions just to get me off of you.  Save your energy for the pure technical movements that will turn the tide for you.

4. Never shy away from rolling with larger opponents

Disclaimer:   DO shy away from larger UNSAFE opponents.

Provided your larger training partner is a relatively safe individual; you should never shy away from rolling with him/her.  “I’m tired and you’re just going to smash me.”  That’s probably true at first.  You really should take the opportunity even if it is harder.   The the more you roll with larger opponents, the more comfortable you will be doing so.  A blue belt I train with never misses an opportunity to roll with me because and I quote “If it works on you, Big man, I know it works”.  I believe this is a fundamental concept in BJJ.  This is what it’s all about.  A smaller person controlling a larger one to great effect.

3. Be two positions ahead.

One purple belt I have trained with consistenly was absolutely always two positions ahead of me.  Not only would he be defensive, but while defending my attempts to smash/crush/hulk my way to a position, he was secretly mounting an offense.  His defense was to mount an offense two movements ahead.  Over time, I began to see that this was happening and have tried to adopt the same mentality when I am in the size deficit (It happens occasionally).  The trick here is transitioning to where you want to be, not where you are now.

2. Be assertive with your defense.

Assert your postion by bracing your frames/grips with technique and confidence.  You will be surprised how little it takes to keep a larger opponent at bay or under control.  There have been so many times in my BJJ career that I’ve gotten past a more technical opponent because they mentally beat themselves at the start of our roll.  If you start with a defeated attitude, the outcome will follow.  Granted, pure belief in yourself is not going to make you the top BJJ contender in the world.  It does go a long way to mentally keeping you in the roll.  A self-defeating attitude never succeeds.

1. Control is really spelled H-I-P-S

I can tell you right now, there are guys and gals half my size that can effortlessly control me by shutting down my hips.  While the bigger opponent has larger scale hips, they work the same.  Shut them down with proper leverage and grips.   Under no circumstances let the larger opponent get his (or her) hips back into play.  When my hips are shut down, I can only use an exhaustive, strength based series of movements.  That starts the downhill slide for me.  The blood is in the theoretical water.

A second note about this, the purple belt I referenced earlier had a superior crushing, pressure based game with me.  He was smaller than me by a considerable amount (80-100lbs).  Due to his hips and superior positioning, the situation felt like *I* was in the strength/size deficit.  This was due to HIS  hip movement/control.  Not only was he shutting down my hips, but he used his own to maximum effect.

4 Comments
Aug13

Relocating: 7 Things To Think About When Finding A New BJJ Gym

by Evan E. on August 13th, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?, Grappling (or BJJ) Competition Advice

About 5 months ago, I found out I would be relocating from my home state (VA) to a new state for my work.  I’m not kidding you when I tell you my first concern was finding a place to train.  Would this new state even have legit BJJ gyms?  Do they even know what BJJ is in this new state?  Could I somehow relocate and shuttle myself back to VA to train every night?  (no..this is not possible, but in the dark sleepless nights before my move, I seriously considered it)

During a move cross state lines, you have a lot of concerns.  Where will I live?  Will my family like it?  Will I be able to live far away from all of my lifetime friends and family?  Will I be able to stand rarely seeing them?  Will I like it in the new place?  Most non-BJJ folks could see how these concerns are serious considerations.  Concerns of this nature should be the top priority for an individual.  And they would be right.  The exception is when you are a BJJ Player (read: addict).  Over the few months after the notification of the move, I scoured google for BJJ Gyms in my new state.  I asked folks at Revolution BJJ if they knew about gyms that would be a good option.  I read forums.  I called places.  And I still couldn’t shake the sad feeling that I would be leaving my home gym.  This bothered me condsiderably.  And looking back, I wish I had put that out of my mind while I was still training at Revolution BJJ in Richmond.  By allowing the search for a new place to consume me, I was plagued each class knowing it was one more step to when I would have to say goodbye.  I talked to each of the blackbelt instructors and high level guys at Revolution BJJ about my concerns.  Instead of feeding into my fears and negativity, they all seemed very positive about the transition.  They all attempted to assure me that success was up to me and finding a new place to train was inevitable.  Their help and my own experience inspired me to write the following helpful guide for folks who may do the same transition.

7.  If I pay my dues, can I pay my rent? 

I was spoiled by the training I received at Revolution BJJ.  And it was on the cheap each month too.  When I started looking for a new school in the new state, I was shocked to find out that the cheapest school to find was almost DOUBLE what I was paying in Richmond.  An insider secret on running BJJ/Martial Art schools, you don’t want to advertise your rates.  Competitors will undercut you to get more students, and you can also push away students without the chance to show them the value of the training.  The best thing you can do is find a place that fits your budget.  Shop around, but if you are in an isolated area be prepared to pay more than you were paying prior to the move.

6.  Location, Location, Location. 

In my new location the closest BJJ gym is 20 miles away.  The furthest I investigated was almost 50 miles away.  In between, there are schools at various distances.  Considering my distaste for modern vehicular transportation (I like ponies), I chose the closest school for practical reasons.  But the important things to remember are the area, navigating the traffic, and remembering to add this into your training time/schedule.

5.  Looks and personality?   Talk about a catch.

Ever been on a blind date with a super attractive person who had no personality?  Sure it seems like a good idea on paper, but realistically, you’ll run out of fun before you can make any kind of emotional investment.

If you’re serious about BJJ, you know you’re going to be spending a ton of time training at your gym.  If you don’t have a considerate, safe, and intelligent program at  a potential new BJJ gym; the fanciest facility with the best equipment won’t make a good home for you.  You’ve got to have the total package.  Unfortunately, only you can determine what combination of personality and facility amenities works for you.  You’ll probably have to test this one out a bit to find the right fit.

4.  GI replacement:  Nothing funny here.

Gis cost a lot of money.  I have 5.  The cheapest cost me 120 bucks.  I have 5 sets of rashguards.  They cost about 30 bucks a piece.  I know folks who spend a lot more than that on equipment.  Replacing my ”grapplin’ gear”(trademark) because a potential new gym will not let me wear it there is an absolute no go.  It’s a deal breaker for me.  Now, you will need a competition gi, if you intend to compete on your school’s team.  But for regular day in, day out training, consider the idea that some gyms will ask you to only wear their equipment.  And surprise, they just happen to sell it right there.  I’m a laid back guy and I don’t always have a lot of scratch to throw away on my training equipment.  So, it was imperative that I find a location that allowed me to train in my current equipment and would match my laid back attitude in regards to uniforms.  And you know what?  I’ll probably buy a new gi at my location simply because they respect that  already I own gis and want to continue to use them.

3.  I find my lack of friends disturbing.

I made a lot of friends at Revolution BJJ.  I could easily name 20+ folks who I consider friends through our training together.  I felt like I had a great connection to the place.  My brother trained there with me and that of course also made me comfortable.  In fact, it really made the place feel like home.  I spent so much time at the gym consistently that the place became a part of me.  And therefore I considered all of my training partners and instructors friends and enjoyed that feeling.  Now that I’m away from Revolution and I’m also training at a new location in a new state, I find myself trying to form friendships.  But the truth is that I miss my training comrades at Revolution.  I miss the over all feeling that I had that kept me coming back everyday.  I felt like I belonged there and that I was respected and a valued member of the team.  This is common in BJJ.  In fact, I would wager that the majority of folks who do BJJ are open to making friends out of all folks who train BJJ because we share a common interest that we spend a lot of time doing.   I know that at my new school, I will make new friends out of training partners.  This takes time.  Instead of looking at the relocation as a loss of something, I have tried to remember that I’m adding to, not taking away from.

2.  What’s the Training Frequency, Kenneth?

At Revolution BJJ, you can train BJJ more than 20 times a week.  That is unprecedented.  Most schools have a schedule posted and what is important is to find a schedule that fits and matches your lifestyle.  For example, I have a full day of power naps and cheeto eating contests during the day, so night time training is the only thing for me.  Also, I am a vampire so I need to stay out of the sun as much as possible.  Luckily, my new gym has a nighttime class I can attend.  And noone there likes garlic.  That’s a huge plus.

1.  A closed mind never opened any doors.

The single most important thing you can do when finding a new school is to throw out  all the rules and stipulations.  Remember, an open mind brought you into BJJ.  Additionally, BJJ teaches us life-jitsu.(Also trademarked, thank you)  We learn how to overcome obstacles and succeed through adversity by finding alternate paths and trusting ourselves.  We also learn how to open up and look at options via different angles.  If you want to find a good fit for you, you have to also be open to new possibilities and approach them with an optimisitic perspective.  Sure, your new place might not be the same as your old place.  How will you grow if you can’t get over the transition?  Challenge and change build character.  You can’t get forward by only looking back.

 Evan Essig BJJ Blue Belt who used to/one day will again train at Revolution BJJ

10 Comments
May29

Rolling For Big Guys: It’s Ok To Use Pressure!

by Evan E. on May 29th, 2012 at 11:40 am
Posted In: Brand new to BJJ?

For BJJ practicioners of the larger persuasion, it can be difficult to allow yourself to use the full spectrum of your pressure.  I know for myself, I used to find that I was holding my weight off of my training partners and being “lighter” than I really am.  Most of my training partners are in a deficit of 70-100lbs.  This is borne out of the best of intentions.  I don’t want to hurt my training partners, nor do I want to be the guy that is avoided when choosing rolling partners.  To tackle the problem, I had to use mental BJJ and come up with a solution.

The issue here was that this causes a detriment to my top game.  I was not allowing myself to train at my best, and I wasn’t being a great training partner for my compatriots.  This wasn’t a lack of physical knowledge, this was also a mental block with which I was struggling.  It never felt “OK” to put my full pressure/weight on a training partner who was in a weight deficit.  Part of this was my desire to be seen as a technical BJJ player.  A larger part of this was my desire not to be labeled as just a big guy.  Great Pressure is a technical skill, not just a weight advantage.   In some extreme cases of size difference, it is absolutely necessary for me to “pull my weight” and not give my full pressure.  I find that these cases do not often arise during my normal training sessions.

After practice and discussions with my training partners, they pointed out to me that flexibility, atheleticism, size and strength are all natural talents/gifts.  While I was respected for my desire to be a gentle training partner, I was limiting myself.  To resolve this, I only played my open guard/closed guard and began to focus on sweeping my opponents.  Avoiding the urge to attempt submissions off my back/guard, my primary goal was to sweep only.

Here’s where this helped my top game:  My reward for a successful sweep is that I allow myself to really apply pressure from the top, albeit in a slow and controlled manner.  If a sweep is unsuccessful, well then I miss an opportunity to work my top game and must work my escapes and guard recovery, which is a nice secondary reward.

I believe this has enhanced my training partners and myself overall because of the following breakdown:

1.) I attempt to sweep.  My sweeps get a +1

2.) My partners having been swept before are more intent on defending my sweep.  Their sweep defense/reversal gets a +1

3.) When successful, my sweeps get a +1 and my top game pressure gets a +1.

4.) My partners have a new pressure contingency to deal with and therefore their side mount defense and escapes get a +1.

Everyone benefits because we have multiple areas to improve with each roll in a safe and controlled manner.  I have more fun in my rolls and I feel better about my overall progress.

*Disclaimer:  Ensuring safety of your training partners is very important, so I would suggest trying this with a someone who is within a 20-50lb weight difference first and progressing from there.

 

Evan Essig is a blue belt at Revolution BJJ.

 

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