BJJ Meditations

I'm 37. BJJ looks a lot different now than it did in my 20s. And staying in the game requires a bit more effort. These are my BJJ longevity protocols. Some may work for you, others won't. Use them to form the basis of your own. Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations. Find all links and show notes here:  https://linkin.bio/bjj_meditations  #bjj #ji...

I'm back from a work excursion to Central America. The trip included time on the mats, time in the water, and time in deep conversation. The jungle and the ocean have a way of seeping under your skin and coloring your thoughts. And the sheer biodiversity of the jungle has a way of radiating your being with life force. All require some processing. Join me as I talk through it. Some weird thoughts a...

It's been quiet around here lately. Some of that is seasonal. It's a good time of year for silence and reflection. In other ways, it's a time for decisions and transitions. BJJ prepares us well for both. Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations. Find all links and show notes here:  https://linkin.bio/bjj_meditations #bjj #jiujitsu #stoic #stoicism

Collin Wiemer is one of the most hard-working students of the art that I know. He's also a dear friend, coach, and source of no bullshit BJJ chud wisdom. 😉 Collin offered a profound insight at World Master -- one that's definitely worth sharing. How might we reframe the narratives we tell ourselves relative to winning and losing? Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this...

One of the ways in which Jiu Jitsu and hunting are similar in their potential to glorify violence. But there's no sidestepping the fact that eating and fighting are violent acts. Maybe Jiu Jitsu and hunting bring consciousness to violence. Maybe we can engage in these acts deliberately and mindfully. Maybe we can examine both thematically: understanding them while simultaneously understanding ours...

Elizabeth Bass is a grappler and professional based in Tel Aviv, Israel. A world-traveling soulful human, Lyz has expertise in the field of human-centric design as well as a flair for the creative. In this episode, Lyz brings all of these insights and experiences to bear on topics such as jiu jitsu instruction, the square mugs of jiu jitsu, knowing when to walk away, and the life-altering shit cak...

What does it mean to live life at the edge of experience? How do we train to relentlessly push ourselves on the mats? And how do we translate this effort thematically to the rest of our lives? Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations. Find all links and show notes here:  https://linkin.bio/bjj_meditations Artwork by Elizabeth Bass:  https://www.inst...

You win or you lose. Maybe you learn. Learning is largely up to you. Learning hinges on the stories we tell ourselves in the aftermath of any emotionally charged event. At least that's what I'm telling myself in the aftermath of IBJJF World Master. Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations. Find all links and show notes here:  https://linkin.bio/bjj_...

Thinking about the moment of battle produces all sorts of thoughts, sensations, and emotions. We can try to suppress them, but ultimately trying to keep them down is like trying to push a beach ball below the surface of water. The thoughts, sensations, and emotions all keep popping up no matter how hard we try to suppress them. And the act of suppression only makes the water more turbulent. What i...

A listener writes, asking for a mediation on how pursuits like Jiu Jitsu and CrossFit promote a religion-like sense of community and belonging. We can draw a through line from the 97 Theses to the present, helping us understand how and why we arrived at this moment. And we can examine history to promote a better, healthier culture inside of BJJ while providing the sense of community and belonging....

There comes a point in most training camps when the question arises: Am I doing enough? Is the guy I'm going to face out there outworking me? Has he developed skills at a depth I can't match? Is his gas tank bigger? Does his well of conviction run deeper? How do we make peace with these questions? How do we know when we've done enough to prepare? Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these...

A virtuous life is an examined life, and few arts promote an examined life quite like Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Erica Zendell is a BJJ brown belt, writer, and powerhouse in the digital products space. Her journey to and through BJJ has catalyzed here self-transformation, helped her sort through past trauma, clarified her own ambitions, and brought her to the dynamic edge of her creativity. Some weird t...

For years, the closing line of Rilke's Archaic Torso of Apollo has haunted me: "... for here there is no place that does not see you. You must change your life." Every step of my journey from white belt to black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has been the same refrain: You must change your life. Great art will do that to you. It will constantly remind you that the greatest expression of human joy, am...

Imagine a line that separates your life training Jiu Jitsu and your life at large. How do you prepare your mind, body, and soul so that you are fully prepared for the training on the other side of the line? How do you show up on the mats as the best version of yourself, ready to absorb new information and refine old systems? This responsibility evolves as we progress through the BJJ ranks. Somewhe...

First, some housekeeping. Humans are faced with multiple existential crises. Here in the northeast, recent events have highlighted the salience of the environmental crisis and climate change. BJJ Meditations is committed to being a force for change. From here forward, at least one percent of all pre-tax proceeds will be donated to organizations committed humanity's and the planet's continued wellb...

"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week." -- Gen. George S. Patton Sparring in BJJ highlights the salience of Patton's point. We can enter a round with what we think is a perfect plan and ultimately falter because we are too tightly bound to that plan. But the inverse is also true. We can enter a round with no plan and immediately descend into chaos. Ho...

After three years away from competition, I return to the arena and realize that five minutes of fighting contain more useful information than five years of training. What did I learn? How do I integrate that knowledge? And how do I prepare for the fights ahead? Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations. Support BJJ Meditations on Mirror: https://mirr...

The last few moments before action in Jiu Jitsu competition are some of the hardest. But then the ref waves you out onto the mat, the fight begins, and the anxiety dissolves into a pure state of flow and presence. We just need to make it through the agony that precedes both. What helps us overcome it? Perhaps remembering what brought us to Jiu Jitsu. Perhaps holding onto that joy. Some weird thoug...

My purple belt was no more than three weeks old, and I was standing in the bullpen waiting for my round to start at a local competition. The guy I was supposed to fight was visibly nervous and making small talk with the other competitors. I'm just here to have a good time, he said. Really, I thought. I'm here to win. But was that the point of Jiu Jitsu competition? Without a doubt, yes. But also,...

For many of us, our reasons for training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are a bit murky. Maybe we started to get in shape, to learn a new skill, or to meet people. Those may have been the things that got us in the door. But what keeps us here? For a friend of mine, the reasons are quite clear: It's life and death. As an elite law enforcement officer, everything he trains is trained with the intention of self...

Effective Brazilian Jiu Jitsu demands three things from us: Right technique, right dynamic energy, and right mindset. As a brown belt, I've edged closer to right technique. And when I became a purple belt, I began to integrate more dynamic energy, letting rolls evolve and transition rather than holding. But right mindset remains a work in progress. On a recent trip to Boston, a private session wit...

Rupture is the moment when our worldview stops being useful. You might have felt this at some point during the pandemic, or after 9/11, or if you're old enough, after Pearl Harbor. The way of thinking that brought you to a given moment won't get you to the next. In a smaller way, Jiu Jitsu does this to the beginner over and over again. It happens less frequently as a grappler becomes more experien...

On a long enough timeline, life trends toward zero. As I age, I feel this more acutely on the mats. I don't bounce back as well as I used to. I can't push as hard as I once could, not without consequences. But this added challenge makes Jiu Jitsu all the more alluring and rewarding. It's also not an insurmountable challenge. It just requires a few tactical training adjustments. Physical, mental, a...

It's the early '90s. There's no high-speed internet. No smart phones. No artificial intelligence. All I have to occupy me is seasonal sports, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Karate. I train at a real school with Kumite that includes face strikes. I love it. I hate Kata. Only now, at 36, do I see the point of Kata, how it unites mind, body, breath, and martial force into something medita...

Ever tell a significant other to relax during a heated moment? How well did that work out for you? Generally speaking, telling someone to relax during or after a BJJ roll goes about just as well. Why? In part, it's because many of us do not know what it feels like to relax. Our baseline operating level of stress is about a simmering six or seven out of 10. Add a violent combat sport into the mix a...