BJJ Mental Models

This week, we're joined by Nelson Puentes! Nelson co-founded Inverted Gear and runs Inverted Gear Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Nelson explains his Super Mario theory of jiu-jitsu: a good game teaches you how to play it by raising the difficulty one step at a time, and a good jiu-jitsu class works the same way. Topics include: game design, resource management, coaching without instructions, defensive jiu-jits...

In this mini-episode, we explain deliberate practice: a training method intended to improve performance by addressing your weaknesses and breaking through plateaus.

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This week, we're joined by Rob Cole! Rob has been training martial arts for over 35 years, 25 of them focused on grappling, and he coaches at Ascension Athletics in Connecticut, where he runs his practice through the ecological dynamics framework. In this episode, Rob explains the intention-led approach, where you give students a goal to work toward instead of specific things to focus on. Topics include: a plain-language primer on ...

In this mini-episode, we explain differential learning: a training approach used in sports proposing that motor skills are learned by varying how the movement is executed rather than trying to get it identical every time.

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This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker and Shelby York! Jesse and Shelby own Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, a gym of about 200 students with an unusually high number of women and older grapplers (the average student is around 43). In this episode, they walk a complete beginner through what happens before your first jiu-jitsu class. Topics include: vetting a gym, what to bring, why you should tap early, panic and intensit...

In this mini-episode, we explain gamification: the practice of adding game-like elements to something in order to motivate a certain type of behavior. It's a concept from software design with elements of applied psychology and is used for everything from marketing to products to (of course) jiu-jitsu.

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This week, we're joined by Barbara Ruiken and Giles Garcia! Barbara is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and the new head coach at Bergen Grappling in Norway, and she wrote her political science master's thesis on power and politics in jiu-jitsu organizations. Giles is the head coach and owner of Ronin Grappling in Rutherglen, just outside Glasgow, and a returning guest on the show. In this episode, Barbara and Giles explain why eve...

In this mini-episode, we explain constraints-led approach (CLA) in simple terms, and how it impacts your jiu-jitsu training.

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The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is fr...

This week, we're joined by Itamar Shatz! Itamar is a jiu-jitsu black belt and a Cambridge University researcher whose new book, Solving Procrastination, is published by Penguin Random House. In this episode, Itamar explains why we procrastinate, and walks through the strategies research shows will help. Topics include: the self-control fallacy, hard conversations with your coach, if-then rules for unsafe rolls, perfectionism, and b...

In this mini-episode, we explain ecological dynamics in simple terms, why it's misunderstood, and how it impacts your jiu-jitsu training.

Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
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The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! You...

Jeff Shaw is guest hosting this week, and he's joined by Rosie Miller! Rosie is a jiu-jitsu educator known for explaining complicated positions in plain language. In this episode, Rosie walks through how the cross-grip pass works, and why she now teaches it starting from the tripod position instead of the entry. Topics include: collapsing the knee shield, counterattacks like the omoplata, gi versus no-gi differences, and teaching w...

In this mini-episode, we discuss trading up: the strategic importance of getting more than you give in any jiu-jitsu exchange.

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The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is ...

This week, we're joined again by Brennan Strimple! Brennan and his wife founded Rochester Jiu Jitsu in 2014, and almost all of their kids classes are taught by black belts. In this episode, Brennan explains why kids don't grapple like adults, and what the rest of us can learn from teaching them. Topics include: teaching goals instead of moves, coaching cues kids actually understand, how slowly kids process instruction, treating the...

In this mini-episode, we discuss labeling: the practice of attaching a name, category, or descriptor to something in order to make it easier to identify and understand.

Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
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The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online co...

This week, we're joined by Charles Harriott! Charles has been doing martial arts since he was four years old, and after years of traveling the world teaching seminars for BJJ Globetrotters and BJJ Fanatics, he recently opened his own gym, Lofi Dojo, in Gainesville, Florida. In this episode, Charles walks through the dichotomies of jiu-jitsu, the apparent opposites that often turn out to be sliding scales. Topics include: climbing v...

In this mini-episode, we discuss mnemonics: memory shortcuts that help you remember what you learned in jiu-jitsu class.

Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
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The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is f...

This week, we're joined by returning guest Rosie Miller! Rosie is a black belt out of San Diego who built a following teaching jiu-jitsu beginners the things she wishes she'd known at white belt. In this episode, Rosie explains why survival has to come before escape, and how to spot the tipping point where a bad position turns into real danger. She also gets into why she steers beginners away from closed guard, and how small, const...

In this mini-episode, we discuss mental gatekeeping: the practice of guarding your mind against negative thinking and low-quality information.

Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
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The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! You...

This week, for our 400th episode, we're joined by Rafael Lovato Jr.! Rafael is a multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion, a former Bellator middleweight MMA champion, and the creator of the Timeless Jiu-Jitsu philosophy. In this episode, Rafael makes the case that consistency beats intensity, and shows how a game built on timeless fundamentals lets you dominate opponents no matter your age. Topics include: consistency over intensity...