Category: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (page 1 of 1)

If you’ve read any of my other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu related posts, you already know that I’ve been training for what seems like ever. And since I’ve hung around for as long as I have, you’d think that the conversation about being bored with the sport has come up once or twice. The thing is, it actually hasn’t. It’s never come up. I’ve never heard one person during all the years of my training say, “Hey, this is actually becoming a bit played out. I mean, how many times are we going to do the same things over and over again?”

It isn’t easy teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Not if you want to do a good job and be of value to your students. I used to do a good job and I like to think I’ve been of value. As of late? Not so much and in this post, I’ll tell you why.

By far, the people who read the most Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu related posts on the internet are white belts. They’re followed by blue belts, but blue belts trail behind by quite a bit. Once a student reaches purple belt, that student doesn’t care about articles and videos nearly as much as he or she did back when they first began. Why? Because when a student first begins training, the BJJ world is one huge unknown. By the time the student reaches purple belt, there’s not much left to the imagination. I guess what I’m trying to say here is that white belts know virtually nothing while purple belts know virtually everything. Well, everything within reason. There’s always something new to learn, even as a brown, black, or coral belt.

I’ve been teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2017 and believe me when I say, my methods are ever-changing. I’m rarely content with the way I do things. If you’ve had the privilege of instructing as I have, I can almost guarantee you’ve felt or feel the same. It’s impossible not to. We’re very similar creatures, we instructors are. We’re talented and diligent and determined. And being these types of people, we’re rarely satisfied. Which is probably a good thing because each time we make a change, improvement is sure to follow.

If you’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for more than a few years, you’ve certainly run into wear holes and tears in your gi or gis. I have. It’s pretty much an inevitability. I’m not sure how many gis I’ve owned since I began training in 2008, but I can tell you that each and every one of them has earned its stripes, so to speak.