The Neon Belly Podcast

ADCC has an incredibly unusual ruleset and point system. To help everyone get more familiar with these rules before the West Coast Trials this weekend on Flograppling ( https://www.flograppling.com/events/7379684-2022-adcc-west-coast-trial ) I wanted to talk about some of the unique aspects of this tournament. I've been watching ADCC live since 2009, and despite becoming very familiar with th...

Wanted to post some quick thoughts after last night's WNO event. 

Sorry for the brief hiatus! Out of town the past 2 weekends competing and coaching, as well as doing podcasts for BJJ Mental Models and The Grappling Discourse. This episode is a bit of a departure--I wanted to talk about a new interest that has developed for me within our sport, as well as the differences between the 3 hats that have to be worn by most upper belts and teachers in the art (instruc...

When we have bad training sessions, they usually fall into 2 categories. In this episode, we break down these major categories and some approaches to handling these experiences. This is important not only to improve, but more importantly to keep us optimistic and from circling the drain with negative thoughts and feelings about this very demanding sport.  Also, I was on my friend Mat Skaff's...

People have been asking for a Darce episode, so finally...here goes. I briefly cover a couple of the most common misconceptions that lead to sub-par (or even failed) darces, as well as a couple of simple drills that you can do with a training partner to land more of these techniques. Me explaining some benefits of the marce angle finish:  https://youtu.be/Hc4b0YgOCUY Me showing the rolling darce t...

Today's episode is inspired by Ethan Crelinsten (B-Team athlete/instructor and John Danaher black belt). I had the opportunity to train with Ethan and get some rolls in during March of 2021. The thing that stood out the most was Ethan would fully lock up subs on everyone, and then let go and move to another submission or offensive transition. There are 3 critical skills for getting great at s...

"I wasn't a good student, and even now I never say I am better than anybody, but I know I love jiu-jitsu more than anybody." - Marcelo Garcia. 2010. Flashback to May of 2007. The legendary Marcelo Garcia is a 2x ADCC champion, and more importantly is The People's Champ . He's on a quest to get double gold medals at his 3rd ADCC. 3rd time's the charm--he's submitt...

In part 2 of our deep dive into the guillotine position, we cover 5 practical tips that you can use to hit more guillotines. Regardless of what style guillotine you prefer (high-wrist, high-elbow, arm-in, etc), you should be able to implement all 5 of these concepts to submit more people with the guillotine, as well as use it as a robust position to help you advance to other great movements, techn...

This week we dive deep into the world of guillotine chokes. On part 1 of this series, we'll examine each of the main styles of guillotine. We'll also take a look at the progression of each guillotine style's popularity within the art, the history behind the main styles of guillotine, and some of the best athletes to watch for each style. To view the matches and rolling footage discu...

This week I make the case for verbal tapping (even when it might seem unnecessary) as well as the culture around tapping in BJJ, and how I think instructors could do a better job of teaching the skill of tapping to new students. I'm tired from a long road trip, so this episode is shorter than usual. The next episode will be a longer one focused on the pros and cons of various guillotine grips...

Training while traveling is one of the best experiences we can have during our BJJ journeys. Here are some tips on logistics and etiquette when training on the road, as well as some things to keep in mind for your the growth of your game and skills. 

These days there are more and more questions about what moves are fair game and what moves are jerk moves. Let's go over some different categories of moves, and get an idea of what's fair game, what's rude, and what doesn't fly. This episode was recorded a while back, but it seemed appropriate to drop after some recent questions I've been seeing on this topic. 

One of the simplest and most rewarding ways to improve your game is to avoid taking rounds off. There's nothing wrong with taking rest rounds if you're truly exhausted, or nursing and injury, but there are lots of reasons to avoid it if at all possible. Finishing every round is a great way to diagnose your own game's strengths and weaknesses, boost confidence for rolling anywhere, h...

It's become very common on the BJJ scene to hear the terms 'high percentage' and 'low percentage'. Sometimes people end up misunderstanding these terms, and they use the term 'low percentage' to describe movements that are actually just niche, less common, or more specialized. Just because a technique isn't common doesn't mean that it's low percent...

For many, the north south choke is one of the most frustrating movements to learn in the art. We talk a bit about some common issues surrounding the NS choke, why it fails for many people, so helpful troubleshoots, and some famous match examples of the technique being used.  Some great live-use match examples are:  Marcelo Garcia vs Pablo Popovitch (ADCC 2007) - https://youtu.be/JozmB8JZAFI Marcel...

It's easier than ever in the current climate to feel overwhelmed with the amount of instructional material out there. If you're feeling overloaded with instructional content, or feeling like you aren't able to keep up with the community or your training partners--you aren't as behind as you might think! Here are some ideas to try and relax, and to understand that you'll pr...

One of the best ways to improve at BJJ is to find a process of improvement that works for you, and to learn to love the process more than the specific outcomes of your rolling sessions. Doing this will keep BJJ fresh and enjoyable for you, and the low moments won't feel as low. Be patient and kind to yourself, and have fun!