Category Archives: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Philosophy

Grapple Thoughts: Play to Your STRENGTH and Away from your opponents

Watching Hendo (Dan Henderson) finish Fedor Emilianenko in Strikeforce reminded me of this of this simple yet easily forgotten maxim.  Play to Your STRENGTH and Away from your opponents. Anyone who’s seen Hendo fight knows that he has a Hulk size heart and Lead in his Right hand.  So it’s safe to say that Hendo…

Grapple Smart Q&A: Help Passing 1/2 Guard!

Jared Asks: “I need some advice on passing half guard. Any would be appreciated!” >GS Answer: Hi Jared, great question! Here are a few tips that you can implement immediately and hopefully immediately improve you’re ½ guard passing. 1. GET THEM FLAT ON THEIR BACK. Just imagine you’re in half guard the worst place u…

Action – Reaction: In Poker as in Life as in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?!?

Whether your a fan of No-Limit Hold Em’ poker or not I’m sure you’ve seen some of the widely televised poker tournaments on TV. Long ago, only the final table of the World Series of Poker would be condensed into an hour show played on ESPN. These days it’s almost impossible to flip through the…

“What were you thinking?!?” – Crazy Things Guys Do On The Mat PART 1: Slamming

Ok, this post is half rant and half warning to all of you budding BJJ players out there. In all the years I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Sub Grappling, Muay Thai, and MMA I’ve seen, heard first hand accounts of, and been a victim of really bone headed things guys have done to their training…

My Goal 4 U! (from Twitter)

From Twitter: Follow me @GrappleSmart My twitter goal is to help people be successful in #BrazilianJiuJitsu or any form of self-defense for that matter. #BJJ is a very practical and effective art for protection in real world scenarios where a smaller individual is often attacked by a larger stronger person. Although BJJ and Aikido are…

Avoiding Mat Bugs – It’s deathly serious!

If you’re an experienced grappler or Jiu-Jitsu player then you know about these invisible nuisances on the mat.  Bacteria is constantly lurking on your skin and on the mat just waiting for the right time to attack.  In order to keep yourself safe you must be aware of the dangers these pests present and how…

Can training inefficiently be beneficial???

Ok, so I’ve been posting my weekly goals on Twitter and I thought I’d post them here as well.  You’re welcome to follow me at @GrappleSmart on Twitter! My #BJJ/ #BrazilianJiuJitsu goal for this week is to be inefficient!  That’s right inefficient when I train.  Far too often I catch myself utilizing as little effort…

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU TECHNIQUES: HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY FIRST COMPETITION? PART 3: PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT – NOT PERFECT!

PART 3: PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT – NOT PERFECT! The great American investor Warren Buffet said it best “Practice makes permanent – not perfect.”  The same rule applies to everything you do to prepare for your first competition.   You can not expect to be able to effectively execute techniques and think clearly when you’re tired in…

Q&A: To Gi or Not to Gi? Why did you go to Gi grappling?

Question: from Twitter: Wayne (@vinson06) asks: Why did you go to Gi grappling? Answer: Hey Wayne n Bruce.  My transition to mostly Gi BJJ occurred when my PB instructor, Tyrone Glover, introduced GI work into City Boxing which at the time was nogi all the time.  Over time I began to realize that I had…

Grapple Smart Influences: Tyrone Glover – Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and sub grappling phenom

This post is a tribute to one of the greatest influences in my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling game.  I had the honor of being coached by Tyrone Glover at City Boxing for a couple years.  I earned my blue belt from him as well as so many insights into the his grappling philosophy.  Thanks…