My teammate and friend (Julius Park) asked me to write down a few things that I wish I’d known when I was a white belt starting out in BJJ and though I’ve been training for almost 14 years, I had to think about what key things . . . → Read More: Paul Greenhill’s What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt!]]>

Paul Greenhill with Dustin Denes, Lloyd Irvin, and Mike Fowler!

My teammate and friend (Julius Park) asked me to write down a few things that I wish I’d known when I was a white belt starting out in BJJ and though I’ve been training for almost 14 years, I had to think about what key things to write because they’re so much I wish I would’ve known.

So, here’s my “short list” of The Wise Grappler’s “I wish I would’ve known…”

List:

• 90% of the folks that you start with at white belt will never make it to black belt.
• You will be one of those 90 percent that never reaches black belt unless you really want it.
• Injury is 100 percent guaranteed at each belt level.
• Family members will try to talk you into quitting after each injury, especially if surgery is required. and if you really don’t want to be a black belt, their comments will make sense and you will quit.
• Listen to your body and rest when you’re hurt. BJJ is a marathon race, not a sprint.
• There’s a thin line between being hurt and injured. Don’t ignore the warning signs.
• BJJ is ALL EGO, regardless of the old “leave your ego at the door” mantra.
• Keep a flower pot at the office large enough to soak my sore wrists, hands and elbows during the day.
• Never train hard without a good warm-up first. if you’re intentionally skipping warm-ups so you can save energy for your matches, you’re going to pay for it someday.
• To not listen to training advice from other white belts over my instructor.
• Everyone online sounds smarter and better equipped to teach you than your instructor.
• Too much bjj info (e.g. DVDs, books, magazines, etc.) is just as bad as not enough bjj info.
• Good grapplers are training, not spending all day posting about who’s the best grappler or where they train.
• If you don’t have training goals in the beginning, someone will give you their agenda for what they want you to be and you may not like it.
• The grappler that thinks “drilling is a waste of time” will be an average grappler at best.
• You don’t have to be at the gym to train.
• Competitions will reveal all your bad habits that you can either hide or ignore in the gym.
• Start learning takedowns as a white belt. that way, you won’t be a blue/purple/brown belt that can only jump guard or butt scoot.
• The paintbrush and every other basic technique that you think is useless will work if you take time to learn how to set them up and execute them correctly.
• If you have to think about doing a technique, you don’t know it.
• Drill at least 10-15 mins after class every day on the technique you just learned to help reinforce it in your muscle memory.
• Trust your coach to build you as a grappler, not strangers that you only talk to online.
• White belts don’t have a style, regardless of what they think.
• Never let anyone intimidate you on the mat.
• Remember to breathe when sparring. if you run out of gas too quickly every time you roll, you’re probably holding your breath.
• Never be afraid to tap with a partner, it’s really not that important

I’m sure that I could’ve gone on forever, but I have to get up in the morning! Meditate on these “wise grappling” tips and feel free to send me your feedback at paul@thewisegrappler.com

Thanks for the opportunity to share my experience, Julius. Ayyyy!!!

Dedicated to improving your mat experience!

Paul Greenhill (aka The Wise Grappler)
www.TheWiseGrappler.com

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Phil Proctor is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Lloyd Irvin and also holds a Black Belt in Judo. He teaches mostly at the Team Lloyd Irvin Aberdeen location but can be found on the mats of Crazy 88 usually once a week.

I wish I knew as a white . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Phil Proctor]]>

Phil Proctor - Jujutsu Guy

Phil Proctor is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Lloyd Irvin and also holds a Black Belt in Judo. He teaches mostly at the Team Lloyd Irvin Aberdeen location but can be found on the mats of Crazy 88 usually once a week.

I wish I knew as a white belt that I should work on my weaknesses.

For example, when I was a white belt and even a new blue belt, (and other like me that are over 200lbs with some wrestling and/or Judo experience), I got a pretty good top game pretty quick. I wanted to tap everybody and viewed being tapped as a regression. The last thing I wanted to do in training was work from my guard. Internal dialog is something like this “That tough white belt may tap me if I work my guard. That can’t happen, because I normally tap them.” What nonsense that is.

For me, I didn’t progress until I started forcing myself to pull guard in training. It was tough. I downright sucked. I tapped. A lot. But….my guard got better and my overall game progressed. I finally worked my weakest area.

This is typical of white belts. It could just as easily be a lighter weight person that’s gets a great guard early on, but can’t pass. They, like everybody, needs to work that weakness until its not a weakness.

Philip Proctor
Team Lloyd Irvin
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt

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Brad Court - Paramount BJJ Owner

There are a lot of things I wish I’d known when I first started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Above all else, I wish . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Brad Court]]> This installment of What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt is by Brad Court, Black Belt who runs a Team Lloyd Irvin school in Downingtown, PA.

Brad Court - Paramount BJJ Owner

There are a lot of things I wish I’d known when I first started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Above all else, I wish I’d known the importance of goal setting, and the fact that higher expectations result in higher levels of achievement. I wish I’d known the type and level of training necessary to perform well at the highest levels.

And truthfully, I wish I’d believed that I could reach those levels. It took a few years for me to even believe I could reach the black belt. When I started in 1997, there may have been 5 American black belts at most. Still, if I’d had more faith in myself, I would have had more focus.

Brad Court
Paramount BJJ

* Here is a video of Brad in action at this year’s Florida Grapplers Quest.  You can also find more videos of Brad, including some filmed at Crazy 88, on youtube.

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Sharon Bonewicz Teaches A Form of Brazilian Grappling Known as Jujutsu

Sharon began . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Sharon Bonewicz]]> This installment of What I Wish I Wish Knew as White Belt is provided by Sharon Bonewicz, a BJJ Black Belt from BJJ United and Jared Weiner’s wife. I believe she is also Team Lloyd Irvin’s first (and only) female Black Belt.

Sharon Bonewicz Teaches A Form of Brazilian Grappling Known as Jujutsu

Sharon began with Judo in 1997. In 2001 she was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to compliment her training. She was promoted to Black Belt in March 2008. Sharon is an active competitor in both arts and travels to Brazil every year to train and compete. She also participates and gives seminars in North America to support and promote Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to women.

Sharon was the founder of the” Rocinha Project” which promotes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to under privileged children in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (the largest favela in South America). She assisted with the Moldova project as well as work with non-profit organizations locally for the children and community of Philadelphia.

The one thing I wish I knew as a white belt was that there is no rush (for anything). I was in such a hurry to learn as much as possible as fast as I could. Not only was I greedy trying to learn every sweep, submission, pass, etc out there I was determined to find “my game.” Once I found what I was good at doing and what techniques were successful for me I got lazy and threw (out of my mind) a lot of things away I never thought I would use in my game. I thought I knew the positions and often missed amazing fine details that I had to later go back and fix and add.

I wanted to learn so much I often overlooked basics and the fine details. The good news is that today when i teach I always point out the fine details that make or break a technique. People are more aware of how important learning the basics are these days and how important drilling is too, but in every class i still see students rushing through the techniques missing half of it during the drilling session. Pay attention and do things step by step. Most importantly, don’t rush the technique, don’t be in a rush to get to the next belt, it will come when you are ready and just train hard.

Sharon Bonewicz
Team Lloyd Irvin Black Belt
BJJ United

PS – Make sure to check out Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Schedule to check if we are open.  As of right now, there are NO CHILDREN’S BJJ CLASSES tomorrow (Monday).

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A colleague of mine, BJJ instructor Julius Park, asked me an interesting question… he asked me, “Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently with your martial arts training?”

What a great question!

Off the bat, I know one glitch that I would have done . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Marcos Avellan]]>

Marcos - MMA Guy (?) who does not own Affliction T-Shirt!

A colleague of mine, BJJ instructor Julius Park, asked me an interesting question… he asked me,
“Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently with your martial arts training?”

What a great question!

Off the bat, I know one glitch that I would have done differently… when I started wrestling back in Miami Killian Senior High in 1996, we were taught to lead with our dominant leg; which is my right. However, once I got into kickboxing, now my orthodox stance was with my left leg… so now I had two stances! I ended up sticking with my left lead now… but even though I have been wrestling for over two years with my left lead – my right lead is still better for wrestling shots (I used my right lead for over a decade).

Make sure as you start up, that you pick the lead you think is best for fighting. Although there are some popular fighters that fight with their strong side forward (like Oscar de la Hoya, Mike Tyson, and others), the general rule is to fight with your strong side back. So if you are right handed, you would fight with a left lead. If you straight grapple, keep consistent with your kickboxing and MMA leads.

Another thing I would do different with my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is focus less on submissions from the mount. For MMA and self-defense, the submission from mount is pretty much not necessary. Some submissions from mount are fine, such as the arm-triangle and the americana – but in general, submissions from mount are risky and give an opportunity for your opponent to reverse the position.

From the mount, your best bet is to take a deep breath, sit up, and pound your opponent out with punches and elbows, aiming for vital areas of the face such as the nose, between the eyes (with elbows, they will slip into his eyes), and the front of the throat. If you are too tired to do this, then a safe submission may be better – but be careful.

Now I’m not saying to practice armbars from mount – but just don’t put a big emphasis on it. It is important to know how to do it so that when people try it on you, you will be ready for it.

It has been years since I grappled like that – plus when I teach in Miami and Davie, I emphasis the same thing.

On that same note, a HUGE emphasis on ending up on top with every leg lock scramble. Back in the day, I used to not care that much about getting reversed from a failed ankle lock attempt.

Still riding on that same concept, I would also never teach pulling guard! I used to pull guard against bigger opponents early in my career – but now that never happens and I never allow it in training.

Don’t get me wrong, pulling guard definitely has its purpose in MMA fighting and self-defense… just not in training! What do I mean by this? You can ALWAYS pull guard in a clinch in a street fight or MMA fight… so why bother training it? In training, you are much better off trying to takedown your opponent or strike. You will make much more technical gains striking or wrestling than pulling guard in training. That is why when I teach, I always emphasize no pulling guard.

Another thing I would have done differently is less pads & bags and more drilling on an actual person. For the first few years of my striking training, besides sparring, the only targets I was hitting were bags and pads. Then I met up with Eric “El Tigre” Castanos (2-time Kickboxing World Champion) and he introduced me to the concept of doing choreographed striking sequences on a partner, from very intense to full blast, back and forth, aiming for the head. For example, I’ll do 1, 2, 3, 2, and you will then counter back with 2, 3, right kick… and by aiming for the head and doing this intense, the other person gets to work their defense. This is how I developed my defense and this concept was the best thing I learned from Tigre. Nowadays at FFA, this is the standard way we practice striking, grappling, and MMA.

All these things I mentioned are from the past… because nowadays, at FFA, all our classes are taught with these corrections. This is why my students are much better than I was back when I had the same amount of training as them.

Keep in mind, as we evolve, we will find other things that we are doing right now that are wrong – and we will continue making improvements. FFA is all about constantly improving and seeking perfection – so our techniques must continue evolving as well. FFA is proud to be part of the evolution of MMA. We were the first true modern mixed martial arts school in south Florida – and we are here to stay.

–Master Marcos Avellan
www.BestFreeTrial.com
www.FFASpace.com

P.S. Thanks to Instructor Julius Park for requesting this topic from my facebook fan page at www.MarcosAvellanFans.com

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Andrew . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Andrew Smith]]> Andrew Smith was kind enough to answer the question, “What do you know now that you wish you knew as a White Belt?” Andrew is a BJJ Revolution Black Belt who runs both a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in the Richmond area but also is one of the owners of the US Grappling line of tournaments.

Andrew came to our Baltimore Martial Arts school last year to give an excellent seminar on leg locks and is very active in the Mid-Atlantic grappling scene.

BJJ Black Belt Andrew Smith applying a Triangle Choke

What makes you better when you’re training at the gym isn’t winning at the gym; it’s losing, more often than not. There is a time to tighten up and not let someone impose their will on you, and that’s when you’re getting ready to compete. The other 95% of the time, you need to be fluid, allow people to sweep you, pass your guard, and even submit you. Ultimately, you will see what they’re doing, learn from it, and be able to prevent it the next time.

Fighting strength with strength every time I rolled was something I couldn’t teach myself not to do, but it’s very obvious to me now that I see beginners out there trying to rip one another’s heads off every time they roll, not giving an inch, that I was once like that. The sooner beginners learn to lose at the gym, the sooner they’ll start to get better. In short: winning at the gym isn’t the goal.

Andrew Smith
BJJ Revolution Team
3X PanAmerican Gold Medalist

PS – Do not forget the upcoming Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu holiday party NEXT FRIDAY!!!!

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What do you know now that you wish you knew as a . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt by Danny Ives]]> This is the second in a series of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blog posts that asks experienced grappling competitors and coaches a simple question…

What do you know now that you wish you knew as a White Belt?

Today’s respondent is Danny Ives, Team Lloyd Irvin Black Belt, who runs a Mixed Martial Arts Program in Annapolis.

Danny Ives - Runs Team Lloyd Irvin Severna Park

I think that the main thing that i know now that i wish I’d known when I first started training would be the value of position over the submission. I wish I’d have put more work into developing my guard passing and sweeping game over doing all types of submission holds. I think when you first start out all that you care about it going for moves that tap the other person out but in the grand scheme of things the guys that will win more often then not is the one that has a better understanding of staying in good position all the time.

The other thing that I know now that I wish I’d know is to always make yourself coachable. I look back on things and I remember thinking that i knew it all, but i think if I’d done what my teachers had told me, I’d be a lot better off today. My advice to new students is to always have an open mind and listen to the instructors.

Danny Ives
Team Lloyd Irvin
BJJ Black Belt
2001 Pan American Champion
15x NAGA Champion

PS – Danny will be bringing up his students to our Baltimore Martial Arts school next Wednesday for our In-House Tournament.  Make sure you come watch / participate.

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What do you know now that you wish you knew as a White Belt?

Jay Hayes - BJJ Black Belt; currently holds both the Intercontinental and Tag Team Belts!

I wish I knew the importance . . . → Read More: What I Wish I Knew as a White Belt… by Jay Hayes]]> This is the first of a series of a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blog posts that asks experienced grappling competitors and coaches a simple question…

What do you know now that you wish you knew as a White Belt?

Jay Hayes - BJJ Black Belt; currently holds both the Intercontinental and Tag Team Belts!

I wish I knew the importance of always trying to improve your weaknesses. When I was a white belt I was more concerned about getting to my strong positions and working from there instead of trying to strengthen a weak area of my game. It was a comfort zone that I didn’t feel confident leaving. As I progressed through the belt ranks I quickly learned that I needed to have a more well rounded game. Not only on the ground with jiu-jitsu, but also improving on your feet with wrestling and judo. This is very important especially for the competitive aspect of jiu-jitsu.

Jay Hayes
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt
Team Lloyd Irvin
2007 Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Gold Medalist (Purple Belt)
2009 Pan American Jiu-Jitsu Bronze Medalist (Brown Belt)
2009 NY International Open Bronze Medalist (Black Belt Open)
7X Grapplers Quest Champion
6X NAGA Champion

PS – We just had Jay Hayes here at our Baltimore Martial Arts school for a seminar and it was well worth it.  If you are thinking of hosting Jay, do not hesitate to bring him in!

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