BJJ Mental Models

In this mini-episode, we discuss Goodhart's Law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first...

This week, we're joined by Mike Mahaffey! Mike is a second-degree black belt under Chris Haueter, best known for his Old Bastard Jiu-Jitsu style: a conservative approach built for older and less athletic grapplers. In this episode, Mike explains how to sweep from the bottom by disrupting your opponent's base instead of relying on speed or strength. Topics include: maintaining your base f...

In this mini-episode, we discuss the availability heuristic: a mental bias toward information that is easy to recall. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week...

This week, we're joined again by Jake Luigi! Jake is a jiu-jitsu analyst who made his name studying professional match footage, and he runs OutlierDB, an analytics database for grappling. In this episode, Jake lays out a three-part framework for managing risk: name the worst-case scenario, watch for the key indicators that it's coming, and only attack hard once those indicators are in yo...

In this mini-episode, we discuss coiling, or retracting your limbs and neck. It denies access to our body's vulnerable levers and positions us to explosively generate force. Staying coiled is a smart "default" position if you're not sure what to do. But there are times when you need to uncoil, and that is when: #1: there's a productive reason to do so, and #2: you can do s...

This week, we're joined by Will Weisser! Will is a jiu-jitsu black belt, co-founder of the competition-tracking site JiuJitsu.net, and author of the new book Scientific Jiu-Jitsu: A Unified Theory of Grappling. In this episode, Will lays out that unified theory: the idea that every jiu-jitsu technique exists to raise your own strength or reduce your opponent's. Topics include: relative s...

In this mini-episode, we discuss porcupine strategy: the art of making your defense so painful that your aggressors think twice. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your...

This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker! Jesse is the head coach and co-founder of Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, and a frequent BJJ Mental Models collaborator. In this episode, Jesse makes the case for loading a joint with tension before you ever start the breaking mechanics, so the finish takes a fraction of the effort. Topics include: adding traction before the break, the order o...

In this mini-episode, we discuss "mind the gap:" a no-gi gripping concept that prevents your opponent from pulling or circling their hand free. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coach...

This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki! Rob is the head instructor of Island Top Team and the mind behind BJJ Concepts. In this episode, Rob breaks down how he built a working no-gi version of the lasso, a position long considered gi-only. Topics include: minding the gap in no-gi grips, the inverted grip, the omoplata as a control system, wedging, and hybrid lasso guards. Rob on Instag...

In this mini-episode, we discuss overwhelming force: the idea that we maximize our power by using the most of our body's weapons against the least of our opponent's. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast...

This week, we're joined again by Chris Wojcik! In this episode, Chris rebuilds his approach to the Woj Lock around a few guiding concepts instead of a catalog of techniques. Topics include: the three points of control, proximal vs. distal control, redefining what counts as fundamental, and training leg locks through games instead of memorization. Get Woj Lock 2.0 from BJJ Fanatics: https://bj...

In this mini-episode, we discuss inertia: a concept from physics explaining that objects are resistant to changes in velocity. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your fi...

This week, we're joined by Beatrice Jin! Beatrice is a black belt competing in the IBJJF top 10 at lightweight and middleweight, and she's known across jiu-jitsu social media for her whiteboard reels. In this episode, Beatrice breaks down the 90% of jiu-jitsu that has nothing to do with sparring, and why the work around the mat is what actually builds a career. Topics include: what podiu...

In this mini-episode, we discuss emotional contagion:  a psychological and physiological concept that shows us how much our emotions and behavior impact others around us. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast netw...

This week, we're joined by Josh McKinney! Josh is a black belt, head coach at HeadNod Jiu-Jitsu in Southern Illinois, and the host of the I Suck at Jiu-Jitsu podcast. In this episode, Josh shares a framework for self-coaching beyond getting belt promotions, and explains why submission count and belt color are the wrong yardsticks for measuring whether you're getting better. Topics includ...

In this mini-episode, we discuss cognitive load: our brain's working memory (like computer RAM), and how to manage it so we can learn jiu-jitsu more effectively. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network,...

This week, we're joined by returning champion Ryan Rich and first-timer Max Corteggiano! Ryan is a third-degree black belt who owns Granite Bay Jiu-Jitsu in California and was one of the early adopters of the constraints-led approach, and Max is a first-degree black belt from France who runs BJJ Flowcharts. In this episode, Ryan and Max break down what they've learned from building BJJ G...

In this mini-episode, we discuss double trouble, a concept popularized by John Danaher. Double trouble teaches us that to fully control a near-side limb, we must also control a far-side limb. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our...

This week, we're joined by Drew Foster! Drew is a black belt and coach at Elevate MMA in Durham, North Carolina, chief of staff at PGF, and host of State of the Meta on BJJ Mental Models Premium. In this episode, Drew breaks down the "double tap:" attacking a submission, releasing it, then re-attacking right when their defenses drop. Topics include: the double tap, pattern interrupt...

In this mini-episode, we discuss head position , or how to tell if your head and neck are at risk in jiu-jitsu. We use a 3-point framework to determine if our head is safe: Avoid constriction (be safe from squeezing), Avoid impact (be safe from blunt force trauma), and Avoid broken posture (be safe from neck misalignment). Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmen...

This week, we're joined by Alex Sterner! Alex is a black belt and the owner of Electrum Performance in San Diego, where he coaches strength and conditioning for jiu-jitsu and combat sports athletes. In this episode, Alex breaks down the psychology of injury rehab and the Stockdale Paradox: the marriage of optimism about recovery with brutal acceptance of where you actually are right now. Topi...

In this mini-episode, we discuss "cracking the whip:" an external cue for better understanding the relationship between tension and slack in jiu-jitsu. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, onli...

This week, we've got a panel! Chris Round is the head judo instructor at High Noon in Alexandria, Virginia, and a judo and BJJ black belt who coaches athletes on the IJF tour. Isa Friedlander is a former Team USA judoka, a brown belt at Unity, and coaches judo at The Dojo in Bushwick and at Unity in Manhattan. In this episode, Chris and Isa break down foot sweeps and trips for grapplers, tied...

In this mini-episode, we explain  constant and variable tension, and the pros and cons of each in jiu-jitsu. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:...