Opening Closed Guard: The True Origin Story of BJJ Winston Churchill famously said, “History is written by the victors.” The story of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is no different. Without the tireless self-promotion of a few charismatic founding members—rebelling against dogma and resisting pressure to conform—BJJ might not exist in the form we know today. But a
Opening Closed Guard: The True Origin Story of BJJ Read More »
Profiles & Interviews
Throughout anyone’s grappling career, there are moments where you level up. These upgrades don’t always happen under the lights of a competition mat. Sometimes, they happen in your own academy—when you finally have a breakthrough roll with that purple belt who’s always one step ahead of you. When these moments arrive, your toughest opponent is
Go to Win or Don’t Go at All: Lessons from My Match with Boogeyman Martinez Read More »
Mindset & Motivation, Stories & Lessons
Everyone knows I love competitive jiu-jitsu. Spend five minutes with me and you’ll hear about my matches, my medals, and my obsession with the game. But now that I own an academy, my focus has shifted. My passion isn’t fueled by my own competition schedule anymore—it’s by my students. Watching them succeed fires me up
Coaching Jim: The Real Reason I Love Jiu-Jitsu Read More »
Coaching & Culture, Stories & Lessons
I’ve always been a writer. As far back as I can remember, I wrote short stories and poems. So when I came across a literary analogy for the BJJ belt system, it stuck with me. It described the ranks as levels of reading and writing comprehension: By this comparison, black belt is the poetry stage—the
Black Belt Is Poetry: What It Really Means to Master Jiu-Jitsu Read More »
Mindset & Motivation, Stories & Lessons
The first time I met Mike O’Dowd felt like the first time I’ve met many other military “operators”—a slang term used to describe members of elite special forces units. They always seem to be unassuming. The reality of these soldiers often differs drastically from the glorified heroes we see in movies or TV. Instead of
What I Learned From Training Three Days With a Navy SEAL Read More »
Mindset & Motivation, Stories & Lessons
Sometimes the toughest injuries to cope with leave no visible wounds. I suffer from long-term concussion issues that can sideline my training for weeks at a time and leave me crippled with anxiety and depression. The most challenging part is that I appear to be fine. I don’t have a cast or brace on my
Tapping Into Healing: Dr. Gino Collura on Jiu-Jitsu and PTSD Read More »
Coaching & Culture, Stories & Lessons
By Kevin Guard passing is one of the most essential—but often overlooked—skills in jiu-jitsu. Even though many top-level pros are now selling instructionals on their passing systems, most academy students still don’t dedicate themselves to becoming true pressure passers. Why? Because passing guard is hard.And it’s not flashy. Submission-only grappling formats and the re-emergence of
Guard Passing Won’t Get You Highlights, But It Will Win You Titles Read More »
Competition Strategy, Stories & Lessons
What Do We Do About Gordon Ryan?By Kevin Written in 2022 I’ve been covering Gordon Ryan as a “journalist” since the beginning of his career—long before professional jiu-jitsu got attention from mainstream outlets. I’m not a professional writer. I’m just a guy who loves jiu-jitsu and happened to write for a few decent publications at
What Do We Do About Gordon Ryan? Read More »
Mindset & Motivation, Profiles & Interviews, Stories & Lessons, Uncategorized
Written in 2021 Saturday’s knockout defeat at the hands of Dustin Poirier seemed to answer many long-standing questions about Conor McGregor and his legacy. The former two-division UFC champion turned whiskey mogul captivated the fight world for nearly a decade. Watching it all come crashing down felt like a mix of cathartic schadenfreude and sadness.
Conor McGregor’s Complicated Legacy Read More »
Mindset & Motivation, Profiles & Interviews, Stories & Lessons, Uncategorized
Brown Belt: The Best Worst Belt in Jiu-Jitsu A promotion to brown belt is a promotion to the elite level of jiu-jitsu. It signifies an advanced understanding of the art—and very few practitioners ever achieve it. You’ve developed your style. You can confidently play from both top and bottom. The thousands of hours of mat
Being a Brown Belt Sucks (And That’s Exactly the Point) Read More »
Mindset & Motivation, Stories & Lessons