BJJ

I was so ready to get back to training this week and go ham, but I’m still having trouble with my elbow. I was able to practice the moves and roll, but I couldn’t go as hard as I wanted to. On the bright ... Continue Reading

Walk into any Brazilian jiu jitsu academy and you will find one consistent element: everyone who participates in BJJ loves it. It has nothing to do with BJJ. It has everything to do with ... Continue Reading

Download the Complete Conversation With Kolybaba in PDF When Sarah Kolybaba initially came to my women only beginner jiu jitsu class, I thought there was no way she would come back a second time. ... Continue Reading

If you’ve trained BJJ, you’ve likely bought a gi that doesn’t fit you. If you’re tiny (like me), short and overweight, tall and lean, or anything other than average-sized for your height, buying a gi is ... Continue Reading

Two weeks ago when I was sitting in the hospital as my wife was in labor with our twins, reality hit. Life was going to be different. Not in a negative way, but in a positive way. As it got closer ... Continue Reading

One of the things I love about having some longevity in Brazilian jiu jitsu and the attendant lifestyle is that I am in a position to help people. Many of the questions people ask me, whether technical, ... Continue Reading

Walk around a Brazilian jiu jitsu tournament and you may hear a coach yelling, “Watch your base!” or “Keep your base!” But what does that mean? The Definition of “Base" Before we talk about how ... Continue Reading

Turn this Father’s Day up to eleven! Father’s Day is this weekend and if you haven’t finished shopping for the BJJ- or MMA-fighting dad in your life, there’s still time. If you aren’t sure what all of the ... Continue Reading

I can add one more good training week to the 2014 calendar. Everything got started off with a great drilling session on Sunday. I had one of my better training partners come in from out of town, so we also ... Continue Reading

You’re at work and all you can think about is Brazilian jiu jitsu. You start to think about the last class you attended or the new technique you want to try. But there is one problem. You can’t train ... Continue Reading

The 5 Phases Every BJJ Newbie Has to Go Through As a coach I've observed some common trends in my beginner students. Here are the five phases most new BJJ practitioners go through. The Truth ... Continue Reading

I just got home this morning at 6:00am, after driving eight hours home from the Boston Open. For the first time in 2014, I can honestly say that I had a successful competition. I’ll just cut to the chase ... Continue Reading

Training BJJ without the gi can be pretty disgusting, especially when you’re rolling in a club with no air conditioning in the middle of summer. My club, Titans Fitness Academy, used to be located in a ... Continue Reading

If you are involved in the Brazilian jiu jitsu community, then you may have heard talk from frustrated competitors opposed to the use of stalling guards such as the 50/50 guard. Within the past two months ... Continue Reading

When I was growing up, I was obsessed with my hair. I didn’t know how to style it properly, but I was convinced that when I learned the latest trick or had the latest styling tool or product, I would be ... Continue Reading

Have you ever rolled with a beginner student who tries to hit an advanced sweep on you, while cannot perform a basic guard pass? With the amount of information available to Brazilian jiu jitsu ... Continue Reading

Talking with students daily about Brazilian jiu jitsu has allowed me to look at Brazilian jiu jitsu from a different perspective. I hear students express their frustrations about Brazilian jiu jitsu. I ... Continue Reading

The term strength and conditioning gets thrown around a lot by coaches and athletes. But what does strength and conditioning mean and what is its purpose? To me, a strength and conditioning program must ... Continue Reading

Brazilian jiu jitsu is a complex martial art that challenges students both physically and mentally. There are endless techniques and concepts to learn. A simple movement of the hand can be the difference ... Continue Reading

There are two givens in Brazilian jiu jitsu. You will become addicted to it and at some point you will experience some type of injury. I wish the second one were not true, but injuries happen in almost ... Continue Reading

EDITOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of Jess Papi. Jess is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, ... Continue Reading