Grappling with Guys, for Women

The world of fighting is predominately a male world. Traditionally, guys are the ones always going off to battle; or are quick to knuckle-up in at parking lot duster outside of your local watering hole. Now that's not to say that women are excluded, but it is to say that women who fight are the exception. Just check out your garden variety World Star Hip Hop videos, the majority of those fights are going to be guys, but you will find some ladies mixing it up there as well, but again, it is the exception to see females in such an aggressive state. Ironically, though, history is FULL of sweet stories and tales of female warriors. Joan of Arc, Shieldmaidens of Norse mythology, Calamity Jane, just to name a few (way more here).

"Joan of Arc in Battle" by Hermann Anton Stilke

In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we do have a lot of great female competitors, and the female brackets are only getting bigger every year. So with that in mind I thought it would be good to revisit one of our most famous topics of rolling with girls, but this time explore it from the female perspective.

In our article, "When Hugs Get Dangerous: Guys Rolling with Women," we looked to help guys in training with women by having a (real live) actual female, Rebecca Reuben, tell us guys that women--essentially--aren't made of glass.  But today we're going to flip the script a little and have another guest post talking to women about rolling with guys, from the female perspective. BJJ Blue Belt Christine Fader weighs in this week. 

Christine and crew from Titans Fitness Academy

My name is Christine Fader.  I have been training BJJ for 3 years and am currently a blue belt at Titans Fitness Academy in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
I started my journey at a different Gym doing Muay Thai.  I used to see all the BJJ guys leaving their class so sweaty, exhausted, and happy--and I knew I wanted to be apart of it.
My initial foray into grappling was not easy.  While I have always loved competing in sports and working out I was not prepared for the all consuming mental and physical exhaustion that takes over from having zero technique and no knowledge of what to do.  I struggled a lot.  My first time rolling at open mat time I cried from frustration and vulnerability; and it wouldn't be my last time.  If I could offer any piece of advice to female white belts out there it is: to keep going.  You will get better--I promise.  Trust in the technique; trust in your instructors, trust in your training partners.    It is hard to go to class, day after day, spend hour after hour practicing techniques only to have your guard passed, get mounted and choked in 5 seconds by your larger, stronger training partner who just learned the choke that hour and the guard pass last week.  It feels as if you are wasting your time; or that you will never get it-until one day you don't get choked on 5 seconds.  The next time it takes much longer for your partner to get that choke; and months down the road, while your guard can still get passed you are surviving a lot longer.
As a female it can be especially frustrating because we are usually at a physical disadvantage, but I promise that the techniques work.  The harder you work, and the more you perfect them, you will see results--it just takes time.  Be stubborn.  Don't give up.
BJJ has brought me many close friendships and experiences I never thought I would have and it's only just begun.  I started at age 32, and if I can do it anyone can.  Just don't give up.

Christine in action

So let's keep some things in mind: as a female (or even some guys, I suppose) you're going to be at a physical disadvantage. Sure, of course, we can argue back and forth on the subject but science supports that males have more muscle and better bone density, thus making male bigger, stronger, and more physically dominate. But Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was designed to defeat that! As Christine points out, it's going to be frustrating. But I want to point out that you're not going to through anything any one else hasn't. 

Actress Kateryn Winnick as Lagertha in History Channel's Vikings

Being a female doesn't mean that you're not ever going to be as good as, or better than, the guys at your gym. I'm pretty sure Mackenzie Dern (love her) will ruin my life if she wanted to and I out weigh her by 100 pounds. Being female does, mean that you might be more fragile. It does mean that the guys you're training with will (probably) be trying to walk the line of technique and strength. So you're going to have to walk that same line, but in a more violent way. Set the pace. If you're looking to train harder with someone, set the pace. If you're more concerned about working technique, speak up, but also set the pace. You're going to train with men, that much is inevitable. So when the time comes don't be afraid to be aggressive, but remember to protect yourself from bad situations too. I know you're going to want to tough some stuff out (and you should) but don't be stupid and try to survive some things and get your ribs compromised by a bigger opponent. Trust me when I tell you: guys will always listen to girls on the mat. So even mid-roll if someone is going too rough--or too soft--speak up, joke about it, make them/us aware, but be ready for what comes.

I'm not suggesting that guys are going to be out there head-hunting or anything, but we're a dumb species and can misread suggestions. Finding a good training partner for yourself is a key. You want someone who's A) Comfortable with you & you with them B) Someone skilled enough that isn't new and thus can help you and C) Someone easy to work with so that you can roll, drill, or work out stuff together. That is a tall bill  to fill--like trying to find the perfect boyfriend/girlfriend--but they're out there. 

-and don't forget some other great sites from some female grapplers out there:

http://www.learningbjj.com/

http://www.bjjgirl.net/

This week's sponsors:

VVV Fight Co.

Hard as nails fightwear but by fighters for fighters.

Gis, no gi shorts, rash guards, tees, everything you need to look good on and off the mats and ALL made with TOP quality.

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Q5 Sports Nutrition

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Instagram.com/q5labs/

BJJ in a Box

If you haven't noticed, nearly everything can come delivered to your home in a box these days.

Personally, I've never been blessed enough to have been gifted the "Jelly of the Month Club" from the WBS Office--or any other office for that matter. But I have belonged to a wine of the month and, most recently, Blue Apron (Blue Apron delivers ingredients and instructions for  meals weekly (kinda dope)).

BJJ is not to be excluded from that growing fad. If you haven't been paying attention lately, there are a ton of BJJ-related products out there; and said products are looking to gain traction and becomes a mat-hold-name (see what I did there?). These monthly subscription boxes are a great place for these new guys to establish their name, and for the already more recognizable names to continue to expand on their fan base by reaching out to a target audience. That's where these subscription boxes come in. They deliver a fair amount of BJJ goods to you in a box monthly. Now like other--non-BJJ related--subscription services, you don't really know what you're going to get monthly; but that's part of the fun. In our world (BJJ) there are a few of these services, but today we're going to talk about how sweet the OSS Box is. Why? Well I wanted to do a blog on these services and put them all through a vetting process and OSS Box was the one I liked the best. I liked OSS Box because, like WBS, it was started as a way to give back to the community in a way that's meant to be helpful--by getting new products in the hands of the people who will use them. In their own words: "We are a subscription box service that provides you, the BJJ enthusiast, with awesome products delivered right to your doorstep every month. We work hard at picking the best and most awesome products to satisfy all your grappling needs, wants, and desires. I started The OSS Box because I always have a hard time picking out what kind of products to buy and where to buy them from as there are so many different items and places to get them from. The OSS box is a way to get awesome products from awesome companies into the hands of subscribers like you. The BJJ community is a tight one, so our idea is to have The OSS Box serve as a gateway for our subscribers to be introduced to companies, whether existing or new and the products that will benefit them on and off the mats."

Christmas-esque Suspense 

Since that was close to my intention with WBS, I thought with that sort of mission in mind, the two of us would make a good tag team, OSS Box agreed, and now here we are.

So the WBS Office was eagerly awaiting the OSS Box delivery. I knew a tshirt was coming, at least, because I was asked to give my size (XL if any of you all wanna get at your boy here), but other than that I had no idea. So when the box came in the mail I couldn't wait to get it open.

Now listen, this may sound a little like a commercial, but let's keep it real--it's not. I want to highlight how cool the stuff is that OSS Box provided. Of course OSS Box sponsored the blog, but I think I've explained my reasons why loud and clear enough. But, like all things in BJJ, one more time won't hurt.

The Big Reveal

So I open the box and there it is--this month's haul. Up front you can see Gi Soal and some wild drink thingy. But upon further investigation this box had some more goodies. Specifically, a bag of protein chips, a protein bar, that "drink thingy" was actually two cool little funnels (one with a bigger mouth than the other) that you can use to pour protein--or whatever powder--into a standard water bottle, some stickers, and the tshirt.

The Haul

The Happy Customer

So as you can see, you get a fair share of products for $23.65 a month.

But, for the month of December, if you use the code word "WBS20" you can save 20% off of your first box.

Let's consider the math without using math. You're going to spend $24 a month on something stupid (coffee, beef jerky, beers, etc) so why not redirect that to something that will be beneficial to you and your BJJ? It's more stupid not to. Obviously you're a WBS fan, so if you've been considering a monthly subscription box, use the WBS approved OSS Box.  But if you want some more convincing, I'll let the good folks of OSS Box put it in their own words again:

"By offering amazing items in our monthly subscription boxes, I'm hoping that BJJ can become more a part of your everyday, training and life.

I am a BJJ fanatic myself. I have been training for two years now and currently am a blue belt. I have a background in Judo and Wrestling as well. I live, breath, and train BJJ every waking moment. I can truly say that BJJ changed my life for the better. 

We are based out of NYC. The boxes ship out the last week of every month so the subscribers will have it in their hands by the first of week of the box month. We have a cut off date that subscribers need to sign up by in order to get their next box. So for example our next box will be the January Box, so new subscribers have to sign up by December 15th in order to receive it the first week of January, if they sign up after the cut off date they will receive the February Box first. "

Not bad, huh? Good people, that OSS Box. Let's recap: I wanted to blog about one of these services, I looked at a few and OSS Box was the best one (further corroborated by their statements/stances). OSS Box was kind enough to offer that promo code for the month of December of WBS20 to save your White Belt lovin-self 20% off your first box.  Get yourself a gift, gift it to a friend, help out a great company--and ipso facto a handful of other great companies--in our community all while receiving products you'll use and love. The tshirt I got from RollJunkie is cool and good quality, the funnel things from Shoot N Shake work perfect and I love them. My overall experience with OSS Box was exactly what I wanted. My dealings with the people behind the scenes was more than pleasant, just like all BJJ people. I vouch for them. Plus, getting random BJJ stuff in the mail just rules.

This Week's Sponsors:

The OSS Box!

Shocker, I know--but for real, not much else we can say about this company that hasn't already been expressed above. Check them out at:
http://theossbox.com/
OSS Box Facebook Page
OSS Box on the I'Gram

VVV Fight Co.
My favorite line of BJJ products for both on, and off, the mats.

If ya don't know, you don't gotta ask somebody because I'm here to tell you: VVV is top quality. VVV is attractive, cool, fun clothes. VVV is WBS's #1 supporter. Go give them some love.

http://www.vvvfightco.com/
VVV on Twitter
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Q5 Sports Nutrition

Supplements made in America by grapplers for grapplers.
Why mess around with anything else? Support your family here.

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Q5 Facebook
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Seminars, and Why You Should Go

Question: Name another sport where you can have legitimate access to its top practitioners with relative ease and have it remain not financially stupid?

That was a lot, I know, but let's think about that for just a moment. One of my favorite things about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the accessibility to its top practitioners. If you want to train with Andre Galvao, you can--all you need to do is walk into his gym, Atos, is San Diego and sign the hold harmless agreement and that's that. How about Marcelo Garcia, Renzo Gracie, or Garry Tonon? The same principal applies--as long as they're not out across the country competing or giving a seminar, but you know what I'm saying here. But to that point, the sport's biggest names often travel around the world giving seminars. If you happen to not be able to fly across the country to drop in to a gym to train with a BJJ Hero of yours, chances are that sooner or later they may come close to you.

'What's a seminar," you ask? Well, a BJJ seminar is when a top level practitioner travels to a gym to give lessons and teach techniques for a few hours. Traditionally, you'll pay a fee to attend (that is how these big-name-guys make money) and that fee can be relatively inexpensive and go up depending on how big of a name the person giving the seminar is. I've seen seminars for as low as $20.00 USD and have heard rumors of what Rickson Gracie has charged--but to be fair, I've heard Rickson's fee was worth every single penny.

Photo Credit: Kron Gracie Academy Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/krongraciejiujitsu/

So dig if you will a picture: you're a into BJJ and someone (of some significance) from our sport is going to be close enough to you--or maybe even AT your school--to give a seminar. You should go. Why? Well because it's fun. Even they go over techniques that you're familiar with, it's fun to hear it explained to you from another perspective. Everyone has their own take on BJJ (another one of my favorite things about this sport), so it's cool to hear something your familiar with mapped out in detail to you from someone with a new point of view. 

Recently I got to attend a seminar by Kurt Osiander. Kurt got a powerful shout out in the last WBS--so if you haven't checked that out yet, please do--but Kurt is a BJJ Hero and Black Belt under Ralph Gracie in San Francisco. I live in Pittsburgh, PA (on the other side of the country, for those geographically challenged), so my opportunities to train with Kurt are "limited," to put in one way. I've been a fan of his for sometime (again, see previous WBS), so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take his seminar at Edinboro University. Edinboro has a storied wrestling program. Anyone in the grappling world could rattle-off names of the mat savages that went there, so it was truly a cool experience to be able to be in that wrestling room for the seminar.  The Edinboro University BJJ Club , headed up by Dr. Korey Kilburn, hosted and organized the whole thing. (On a related note, if you're near the area, be on the lookout, they/Korey get a lot of great seminars coming through.)

Dr. Korey Kilburn and myself inside the famous EU Wrestling room

So, more to the point: Kurt's seminar was fantastic. He came as advertised, and then some. Being a fan of his Move of the Week YouTube series, I was vaguely familiar with his teaching style, but I was truly impressed by his love of the sport and desire for everyone at the seminar to pick up on what it was he was teaching and come away with more knowledge. Which, is exactly what a seminar should be. 

It was fun to make the two hour drive with my training partners, spend four hours on the mat learning new BJJ from someone so cool, and then get to hang out with them all afterwards. So what does that mean to you as a lower ranking (or maybe higher rank) BJJ practitioner who has never been to a seminar? It means that you should take advantage of seminars when they come around.

A seminar is more than just paying someone for their knowledge, there's a lot more to it than that. It could be a bonding experience between you and your training partners. It's a fun road trip. It's a destination in life--to maybe check off an item on your Bucket List to get to train with someone. It's supporting the community, both financially and otherwise, in a very cool way--and you get to learn some cool shit! How do you learn about seminars? Well start by looking up your favorite BJJ player's websites and social media. Most of them usually post where/when they're going to be somewhere, and how much. Also, get friendly with the other local gyms in your area. They may have people coming through and post about it on their sites. (But the political B.S. aside, we're all family). 

Kurt and myself, telling terrorists where to go

WBS Crew taking in carbs after 4 hours on the mat

WBS Crew Road trippin & Trafficjamin

That should be enough to get you started. But if you do go, or have gone to a seminar, get in touch with us on any/all forms of our social media WBS on Instagram-- come Follow! , WBS on Facebook-- Please come LIKE!, and of course WBS on Twitter--also, please come Follow!

Send us pictures, stories, and whatever else you have about your seminar experiences. We'll RT, Share, and whatever else to get your fun story out there to help inspire others to get out there and do the same. 

Coming soon: An announcement for a new sponsor... it's cool.

This week's WBS brought to you by:

VVV Fight Co.
Always coming out with top quality grappling products for the fashionable BJJ player, for both ON and OFF the mats.

Trust your boy, Jesse WBS, when I tell you that you won't be disappointed in your purchase. I'll personally guarantee it. And if you don't like what you buy, you can some bow & arrow choke me into darkness.


VVV Fight Co Twitter
VVV Fight Co Facebook
http://www.vvvfightco.com/
VVV Fight Co on the 'Gram

Q5 Sports Nutrition

If you don't know, you don't have to ask somebody because I'm here to tell you: Q5 Sports Nutrition is your place for supplements for the aspiring AND professional grapplers.

You can't just have the catch phrase of "Stay Alpha" if you're a weak company with weak products (that's SOOO Beta), so trust me and trust Q5 when we both tell you the products will, in fact, help you and make your performance better.


Q5 Labs on Twitter
Q5 on Facebook
http://q5sn.com/
Q5 Instagram

Tapping Online Resources

You may be shocked to learn that WBS isn't the only online resource for BJJ stuff. I know, I know, you're shocked. But dig this: the Internet is a wild and wonderful place where knowledge is unrestricted and fact checked by Internet Trolls. BJJ is such an ever-evolving sport that such knowledge is able to be shared, for free, and still allow people to make a living doing what they love. In this post we're going to spotlight some of my favorites. I'm certain that in the future there will be more posts just like this where we'll look at some others, but this is the list, for now.

1) Reddit is sweet, but the sub-Reddit pages are wormholes of delicious topic-specific knowledge for you to gobble up. BJJ, of course, has its own sub-Reddit /r/BJJ. 

In this sub-Reddit you'll find a ton of links to new BJJ stuff. If you're not familiar with how Reddit works, it's pretty cool. Links climb the rankings to the top of the front page based on the volume up UP Votes they receive. An UP Vote is positive, and conversely, a DOWN Vote is bad. The reader votes accordingly. So, the front page will have the links that are currently receiving the most UP votes and the subsequent pages will have less popular links in descending order. 

 Why is that cool? Well, it's a huge community. You can pretty much bank on finding interesting and useful stuff here that's currently relevant to today's BJJ. Tomorrow's BJJ will be completely different and so will the front page of /r/BJJ. This is where you can go to see, read, and discuss all things that are currently happening in the community. It's also where you can meet and talk to some new people, and sometimes big names in BJJ (Keenan posts on there often). My friend Matt Kirtley (AKA Aesopian) is also a mod there. So go read and say hi to Matt.

2) Instagram is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to get new BJJ moves and see the community. By Following BJJ people (Like Jesse WBS, your favorite online BJJ blogger--So ADD) you can see pictures and video of things that they're doing and what they're up to.

Additionally, as you can see in the picture here, you have the ability to search various hashtags to be able to see subject specific content. I like to look up stuff for inspiration and motivation. It's also cool to see your favorite athletes personally posting things from their training and personal lives. 

Why is that cool? It's cool because it's handy; and like Reddit, it's always changing and moving along to the next post. You can download the app to your phone and literally have new BJJ material at your fingertips--that's cool. It's also inspirational to see pictures and videos of just normal BJJ players out there training and living the #jiujitsulifestyle. You can Like pictures and video, meet and connect with friends and athletes, and get your BJJ fix in those down times without having to get on the mat.

 3) Kurt Osiander Move of the Week

First of all, no one is cooler than Kurt. Kurt's BJJ Heroes Bio will break it down for you if you don't know who he is, but he's--more or less--your cool uncle in the BJJ family. 

Kurt started doing his YouTube web series, Move of the Week a few years ago and it's been completely useful and absolutely a must to work into your off-the-mat schedule if you're not doing it already. Every week Kurt posts a short video, usually about 3 minutes, with some new move for you to work into your game. Sometimes it's not something that you're currently working on, but it's good to watch it to not only know that the move exists (and can and will be used against you), but in case you want to come back to that move later. 

Why is that cool? Well Kurt is one of Ralph Gracie's main instructors at his main San Francisco gym, so it's basically like getting some sweet one on one time every week with one of the coolest and best instructors out there--for free. YouTube also has a app for you to subscribe to the channel, but if you have a phone capable of apps. you can also Google it later if you don't want to bother with the app (or come back to this post for the link (ily)). Kurt has an honest approach to BJJ that lends to the younger generation a fun sense of seriousness. When Kurt uses swear words, it's like when you were a kid and an adult used them with you casually. Check Kurt out each week for something cool, fun, and free. And that's cool.

4) http://www.learningbjj.com/

Kaeli Sweigard is your favorite White Belt, you just don't know it yet. Kaeli runs her blog, LearningBJJ.com, and consistently puts out fun and informative content.  What's different about her approach is that she admits to being scared and through that she continues to push through it to inspire others. 

Kaeli often has guest posts--your's truly wrote something for her that you can read here--that will give you fun stories and pointers for surviving BJJ. Kaeli will also tell you all about her trials and tribulations with BJJ. It's fun to follow along with her (especially if you're also a struggling White Belt) and share her feelings. Beyond that, she's also a great human. She's super smart and very inspirational. She's into nutrition and will often help me during my weight cutting with positive vibes, encouragement to eat more "green things."

Why is that cool?  Well, man, we've all been there. We've all been terrified of setting foot on the mat and grinding it out again. We've all thought about how we'll 'never get better,' but Kaeli has the balls to put it out there for the world to read. She's very active on all social media, too, so chances are if you need some inspiration or motivation and ask her, she'll deliver. She also makes BJJ-themed coloring book pages for all those little ones in your life who don't have that. Now what's cooler than that?

That wraps the list--for now. As I mentioned, there's so much cool stuff out there that this post would be entirely too long, so we'll revisit this topic a little later on down the line. I already know of some things I want to highlight, but for now, I think this is a good mix of the obvious, to the less obvious. PS. I just text Kaeli that I'm putting her webite in this week's WBS and she text back "hahaha OMG, I'm terrified, but excited." See what I mean? So let's wrap there. Obviously, if there's something you guys want to see featured on here, let me know! I'm now available on all forms of social media at WBSurvival, but here's the links:

https://twitter.com/WBSurvival

https://www.facebook.com/WBSurvival/?fref=ts

https://instagram.com/wbsurvival/

Thank you to this week's sponsors:

VVV Fight Co.

The coolest and best quality BJJ gear and street wear. I promise you all that you will not be disappointed with ANY VVV products. I wouldn't tell you that if it wasn't true. VVV Fight Co is full of top quality, from the people to the products. 

http://www.vvvfightco.com/

https://twitter.com/VVVFightCo

https://www.facebook.com/VVV-Fight-Co

https://instagram.com/vvvfightco/

Q5 Sports Nutrition

If you're currently not using supplements for your BJJ you may want to consider it. Why? Well either you're young and they'll help your performance, or you're old and you need help with your performance. Let's keep it real, we can all use a little bit of help. Whether it's an extra boost of energy from a preworkout to joint care, Q5 has it all. 

Made by grapplers for grapplers, with the sweetest tag line ever #StayAlpha !

http://q5sn.com/

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Competitions Pt. 2 (IBJJF)

IBJJF competitions are traditionally seen as a pinnacle of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition. Why? Well they are the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation after all. The IBJJF hosts the World Jiu Jitsu Championships every year--commonly referred to as the  "Mundials" , or just "Worlds." Having said that, any organization that is capable of hosting such a prestigious event, by sheer association their other events are viewed as top of the mountain; as far as Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitions go. Some competitors stray away from IBJJF competitions because they disagree with their laundry list of a rule set, but don't let that sort of thing scare you off. IBJJF competitions are fun. Beyond that, they're very professional, well run, well organized, and a very good experience for any level of competitor.

On September 25th-26th of this year, the IBJJF Masters Worlds championship was held in  Las Vegas. That means for the 'over-30-crowd,' this was the chance to put your money where your mouth is and compete against others in your same age, weight, and rank on a very large scale. In other competitions, are you generally places with that sort of class of opponents; but in more local competitions you're not going to be guaranteed to have a solid bracket with ample competitors. You may be asked to move up, or down, in weight or age--that's not the case in IBJJF. In this post I plan on recounting my experience in my first IBJJF and attempt to highlight some differences I came across from an IBJJF competition to a non-IBJJF.

At Pittsburgh International About to Board the Flight to Vegas

First off: my weight cut went extremely well. Cutting weight for competitions is something to consider, but it shouldn't be a mandatory thing. Here's my take on the subject: If you have some spare poundage you want to lose & need a good reason to do it, this is a great reason. If it's a matter of 'a few' pounds between one weight class and another, think about dropping to the smaller class. If you and a training partner are in the same class, and one of you can make the smaller class easier, think about it. If you want to drop 25+ pounds in a month to be competitive at a weight class you normally don't compete at, you're delusional and don't be silly. I woke up the morning before the competition a cool 9 pounds under the weight limit for my weight class--which is good because IBJJF MAKES YOU WEIGHT IN THE DAY OF THE COMPETITION WITH YOUR GI ON. I know my gi weighed roughly 5 pounds, so coming in 9 pounds light left me some wiggle room for my gi and a light meal before I stepped on the scale the next morning.

The 4-hour flight from Pittsburgh to Las Vegas was fine. I felt relaxed--for the most part--and took advantage of the time reading and listening to podcasts. We arrived in Las Vegas at about 8pm local time and checked into our hotel room right away, My training partner made the trip with his wife, and shortly after our arrival they went out to eat. I admit, I was nervous about making weight so I didn't want to risk it so close to the competition so I decided to stay in and try to rest, which I did and woke up the next morning feeling ready. 

Competitor Stamp. On the forearm. Felt legit.

My training partner, Luca, and I took a cab from our hotel to the venue. I was scheduled to go on for my first match at 10:12am (remember that). We got to the venue at roughly 9am and no one was on the mat yet, but there were guys getting warmed up, which I thought was weird (remember that, too), but I wasn't too distracted. I had made plans with the lovely and famous BJJ Emma to meet up and saw her right away upon entering the venue. We got to formally meet and I'll confirm she is every bit as cool as you think/would think; but she's also very sweet, kind, polite, and sincerely one of the best people I've got the opportunity to meet in the community. (So go follow her Instagram , her Twitter, and Facebook).

At roughly 9:30am Luca asked me what time I wanted to get warmed up to go on. He was scheduled for his first match a little after mine, but I figured my normal routine that I borrow from class would be sufficient. It's basically a normal warm-up of about 15 minutes to get loose; which is good for an hour class so why wouldn't it be good for a competition? So at 9:45 we made our way into the Bull Pen where I sat down to begin with a butterfly stretch and was almost immediately called to get in line to weigh in by the Mat Manager. Lesson Learned: Warm up a lot sooner than you think, weigh in as soon as possible. So I line up and was informed by the same Mat Manager that my opponent wasn't there so the match would be scratched, I'd win, but I just needed to make weight. After some waiting in line, I finally weigh in, make weight, then am escorted to my mat. At that point I'm assuming that since I made weight that I 'won' and that I'd get pulled out onto the mat for a lame hand-raising then move on to the next match--not the case. I arrive at my mat and was greeted by my original opponent, who was there, and then suddenly now I'm fighting. It was weird. I went from stretching, to not, to fighting, to not, to fighting again and still not warming up. Sigh. But again, lesson learned.

My match went okay. By "okay" I mean I lost, on points. Yes, it was a bummer; but in BJJ you know you either "win or learn." The match started off with me getting the takedown and my opponent getting a sweep. I fought out of it and through a series of sweeps, escapes, and three submission attempts, my match ended with me going for a Kimura that my opponent fought off till time expired. I was proud of myself for getting the takedown, never stopping fighting (giving up), and always going for the submission. But these things happen and the lesson was learned. So I was one-and-done and Luca followed suit shortly after, also losing on points. Normally, you'd think that would be the end of the competition, but this was an IBJJF event and there was so much more to do.

The Look of Disappointment and Acai Bowls (because Acai Bowls make it better)

First thing was first, we needed Acai Bowls. Tales of the delicious Brazilian treat echo across grappling mats around the world; and I needed to know just how true they were. Let me confirm for you that the rumors are 100% true, they are the best thing I've ever had. I ended up have two that weekend and would have one a day for the rest of my life if I could ever get the stuff from my local grocery store. Lesson Learned: Buy into the hype, Acai Bowls are the truth, but get in line because the lines can be long.

No One is Exempt From Acai Lines

There were also so many good matches to watch. Just because you're done competing (win or lose) doesn't mean you should close up shop and go home. I enjoyed watching all of the belt ranks go. From Blue up to Black, every match was fun to witness. As a Blue Belt, I took the opportunity to see what others are doing and compare that to what I felt I would do in those situations/positions. That sort of thought process continued through the ranks; which is what made watching the Black Belts even more fun to watch.

There were so many high-level guys there, both competing and just watching. I saw Gui Mendes and Robert Drysdale taking in the sights and matches that weekend (cool). I saw Royler in the Acai line (see above) and in the stands watching all the matches and being very friendly with fans. 

Myself, Pedro, and Luca

 One of the biggest pleasures for me that weekend was getting to meet Professor Pedro Sauer. I come from a Pedro Sauer affiliate and getting to finally shake Professor Pedro's hand was truly a rewarding experience for me. Professor Pedro is widely known for being a world-class instructor, great guy, and an all around badass. His influence on the sport and culture was a big deciding factor for me when choosing a school to train at, and getting to brush shoulders with true greatness was an awesome experience for me.

He said to us "How did we do today?" in that unmistakable Brazilian accent. I answered (mildly ashamed) "Not so well." He just laughed and said "Well, sometime that happens, eh?" Which, I guess, is a normal answer, but his candor and sincere attitude toward two of his affiliate students conveyed that he did care about how we did; and his hand on our shoulders was fatherly enough to further express his appreciation for us even trying. Good dude, that Pedro.

Speaking of good dudes, I also got to meet Saulo Ribero. We first mentioned Saulo in one of our earlier posts, The White Belt's Guide to Good BJJ Books. His book, Jiu Jitsu University, is a staple in the community--and is required reading for you WBS fans. Saulo is a 5x Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion, 2x ADCC champion, Pan Am Champion (both in weight AND Absolute), World NoGi champion--look, I can go on and on about his list of accomplishments, or you can look it up yourself, but let's all agree that Saulo is one of the best competitors that our sport has ever seen. Beyond that, he's one of the nicest people I've ever met. From the handshake to the picture to the right, Saulo treated me like a long-lost friend and he was genuinely happy to meet me and take a picture. I know that the majority of 'BJJ People' are like that, and I do agree, but there was a sincere appreciate from Saulo (and Pedro) that I think you can only get from guys at that level. What's even cooler? I got to see Saulo compete.

Saulo Dominating Everyone

I also got to meet, and hang out with, Kurt Osiander. Kurt was just as cool as you'd suspect. Kurt taught me a lot about prepping for competition. Remember earlier how I mentioned about what time I was supposed to go on versus what time I started warming up? Well Kurt--a Black Belt level competitor--started a full hour and a half before his scheduled start time. Everything from preworkout drinks to breaking a sweat, Kurt (unknowingly) taught me how an active Black Belt starts to get ready for competition.

I learned how to tape my fingers from his Move of the Week vlog and got to see it in action. Weird, but it was sort of a 'full circle moment' for me. But aside from hanging out with me and Luca, watching matches, and talking about general life stuff, I got to see how seriously I do not take warm-ups as compared to someone who does. Kurt (along with a lot of other guys that weekend) legit had hoodies on under their gi for warm-ups. I saw him stretch, jump rope, drill, and basically get his entire body and mind ready to compete. Credit to Luca for pointing out that "Obviously, we need to take warm-ups more seriously."

Lessons were learned. Fun times were had. IBJJF competitions are cool--regardless to yours, or anyone else's, feelings on their rule set. If you're thinking of competing, you should. It's fun. As outlined above, even just hanging out at competitions can be rewarding. It's nice to get out there in the BJJ community and get to meet cool people. We're blessed enough to belong to a community where we can meet, train with, and talk to our heroes, idols, etc. Try that with any other sport and I I bet it doesn't work. Take advantage of it.

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Competitions

This is going to be Part 1 of 2 in a series of posts on competitions. Today we're going to look at competitions in general and in the subsequent post I'll touch on IBJJF competitions. What's the difference? Well, that's going to be part of what we're going to explore. Up to now--at this moment I'm writing this post--I've never competed in an IBJJF tournament; but I have done various other competitions. That's not to say that I'm not unfamiliar with IBJJF as a whole, but I just think it'll be a lot cooler to be able to give that personal first hand experience in a post rather than just regurgitating in my own words what's on their website. That being said, I'll be traveling to Las Vegas this week to compete in the IBJJF Masters Worlds in my first IBJJF event and, if nothing else, I'll come back with some good info for all of you. But first, let's look at competitions in general.

First thing is first: I've never heard of a school mandating that students compete. So if you're worried that you'll have to compete if you join a gym, I wouldn't worry about that. But that's not the focus of this post.

Competitions are fun. Even if you're still on the fence about whether or not you want to compete it's worth it to at least go out to watch and hang out with your training partners and cheer them on--all while watching other people compete. The whole atmosphere is fun. Vendors are there selling cool grappling stuff, food, etc. It's like a grappling town carnival. So if you're still questioning whether or not you want to get on the mat yourself, go check a competition out. At the very least you'll be supporting your friends and a good cause.

Q: When should I compete?
A: You should compete when you're ready to compete. Seriously, it's as simple as that. If you want to you should and if you don't want to, don't. Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with a No Stripe White Belt stepping out there and going for it. I've seen guys do exactly that and skyrocket their ability, skill, and experience.

I (middle) won some stuff in my first competition

Competitions WILL be good for you. I mean it--I don't Bold-Italic-Underline just anything ya know. Whether it's a NAGA event, or even just a small 'local' competition, you should sign up and get out there. Competing will give you a very real look at your game. You (probably) very rarely get to go 100% in class against someone. Doing that will shed light on your game as a whole; meaning where you're good and where you suck. (For more on being okay w/ where you suck check out this article I wrote for LearningBJJ.com ). Both of those things are good to know to help take your development to the next level so that you can improve. Going 100% against a stranger is also a lot easier than you think. When you're training with your friends/training partners there's always going to be a level of friendliness that you don't have in competition with strangers. I don't mean that there's no mutual level of respect, I mean that you will naturally pass over the feelings of wanting to hold back to avoid 'being a jerk.' And that's a good thing. You get to apply your craft, your skill, your art with no restrictions. 

Speaking of restrictions, there actually are some. Specifically: Age, Rank, Weight, and sometimes Submissions. 

You're not going to compete against someone WAY better than you. You'll most likely be competing against someone close to your age and weight and rank. I say "most likely" because, in some cases, there might not be an abundance of competitors close enough to you in those regards; so it's not unheard of for some competitors to be asked to move up/down in weight and or age brackets. Personally, I've never heard of someone moving around in rank, but hey, who knows. I'd find it hard to believe that a White Belt would be matched up against a Purple, though. But it's not like you haven't rolled against higher ranks before anyway.  

In some competitions some submissions and take downs might be illegal; or at least barred from certain belt ranks. That's done for safety purposes. You might be a great White Belt, but you'd also be the exception. We don't want guys out there ripping heel hooks or kneebars on other guys who don't know they're in trouble and end up getting their bodies ruined on some silly nonsense. So some competitions may have those kinds of restrictions--obviously go to the Rules Meeting (every competition has one before the party starts) to confirm what you can, and can't do. Having said that, some competitions (NAGA) have no such restrictions; so you can get out there and heel hook everyone like you're Imanari or something. 

Winning is nice (OF COURSE), but really competing is more about getting out there and improving yourself. You're going to have fun, that I promise. You're going to be nervous too--also promised. But don't get hung up on any of those things. Your focus when competing should be roughly the same as your training: getting better. You're going to apply what you know and learn what you need to work on. Even if you do really well (up to and including winning every match by sub) you're still going to walk away knowing what you want to work on next. Local competitions are nice because there's a lot less pressure. Let's keep it real, IBJJF is serious stuff, but your smaller competitions will allow you to get out there and just have fun. 

Get out of the mentality that you have to win and focus more on doing well. BJJ competitions are sincerely a good example of 'just do your best.' You should at least know by now that doing your best in BJJ is sometimes good enough, and sometimes not; but the point of competing is getting out there and having fun with that! Show what you know! Get lose! Submit people. Get submitted :( ? Win by points. Lose by points. Shit.will.happen--as that's what it does--but that's the point. Get out there and put yourself to the test. But if after all this talking you still need a better reason, go be a warrior. Summon your inner Viking, samurai, ninja, or Buchecha and get out there a be a mat savage. Just don't forget to TWEET US and let me know how you did. 

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I want to mention that Expanded Perspectives and WBS didn't work out some kind of deal, I REALLY just wanted to give these great guys some exposure and thank them--in my way--for the hours of entertainment. Ironically, when I asked them for permission to use their image, one of the hosts, Cam, said he wanted to mention WBS on an upcoming podcast. SO THEY'RE WBS FANS, TOO. Weird, right? Paranormal? Maybe. Take a listen and let us both know how much you love it.

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Identifying a Good School

So you've been considering getting into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and want to know what to look for in a good gym to make sure you're getting the right education--what?, you weren't considering that? Hmm... 

Don't fret, that's a common misstep. The world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is spreading faster than it ever has before. A lot of that has to do with the increasing popularity of MMA; and the online presence of the sport makes it easy to dip your toes in before really committing to the sport. That puts us in such a cool position to explore and really understand what you're getting into before it's too late. These days we're just a Google search away from exploring (anything). With that in mind, when you're considering a gym--either as someone new, or as someone changing schools--there are some things to keep in mind.

Prof. Pedro Sauer with my instructors at Steel City Martial Arts

Lineage:

In the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a lot of weight is placed on your, and your school's, lineage--in short: who gave who their black belt. Why does that matter? Well, do you remember the "Telephone Game" we all played as children, and how the original message wasn't the same at the end? Unfortunately, BJJ is like that. That's not to say that adding your own flair--or passing it on through instruction--is a bad thing; because it's not. But what you want to avoid is someone teaching you some muddy form of BJJ and charging top dollar for it.  Speaking on that subject, Relson Gracie once said that "water is purest closest to the spring," and I tend to believe that.  When you're considering a school, take a look at your head instructor's lineage. If you're lucky enough to be training under a real-live Gracie, your homework is pretty easy. But if not, ask. A good instructor shouldn't find that question offensive and it will open up the lines of communication between the two of you. 

Belt Rank:

There was a time when if you lived outside of Brazil and a Blue Belt came to your school it was a big deal (that time is referred to as "the 1990's"). At that time, a Purple Belt was nearly unheard of, so just learning any BJJ was better than nothing. To a point that's still true. But that point, for me, is how much are you paying versus what are you learning. Your head instructor should be a higher rank; and in my opinion, at least a Purple Belt. As always: if your options are restricted, then you can't whine too much. But if your options are open, you should be looking to obtain the best/highest level of education available to you. 

ProTip: Both of those bits of information could be found on a schools website, with maybe more specific details found under the instructor's bio. 

Class Schedule:

Pretty self explanatory here. What's the point in signing up for a school when you can never make the classes? Believe it or not, I've talked to people who did all the right homework on a school and signed the agreement only to find out they can only make 1 class a week due to work/personal schedules. So be careful! Great schools will have a lot of options and a lot of classes. No 'real' BJJ school only has 1 or 2 days of BJJ classes. If that's the case, then you're most likely dealing with a school that is concentrating on something else. 

Sensei Sonny Achille of Steel City Martial Arts

Atmosphere:

Before you sign any papers, give the school a visit and talk to some people. Talking with the head instructor, as well as the other instructors, is a great place to start; but also reach out to current students. Get a vibe for the personalities of that place. Remember: Water seeks its own level. People tend to congregate with similar people. See if the people in your gym are your kind of people. There's no right or wrong answer here, but there is a right and wrong vibe for you personally. For the most part, BJJ folk are all fun, nice, polite, and friendly people. But the gym may be more intense than you anticipated from the way the nice guy sounded over the phone. e.g. A close friend of mine told me  about a time he dropped in to a very well known BJJ school in SoCal; and how the training was turbo-intense. He was cool with that, but very surprised by how intense it got. Which might be a turnoff for some, but maybe perfect for others. So talk to the people there training and get a vibe for the atmosphere.

Competition:

I know, you're probably wondering what that has to do with anything because you don't want to compete and have no intentions of it. Well, first of all you don't have to compete to join a school--I hope--but if you're at a school that produces consistent competition winners then I feel confident in saying that the instruction there is probably pretty good. I think as a potential customer and student that you need to know what sort of education you're buying into and looking at how the school does in competition is a good glimpse. 

Reputation:

Remember when I mentioned Google searching? Check out the school's online reviews. Unlike a lot of other businesses, BJJ schools' online reviews are usually pretty fair. In other lines of business, people like to take the the web and use it as a place to complain about their bad customer service experience. Whereas with BJJ you'll see a fair mix of current students being proud and traveling BJJ practitioners leaving reviews for other travelers. I don't think anyone is safe from the upset student/parent that's mad about something leaving a nastygram review, so keep the number of reviews in mind--maybe even read them :)

With all that said, I think if you give at least those checkpoints some consideration when it comes time to pick a school you should be in good shape. If not, you tried. Remember: if it seems fishy, or slimy, then it probably is. There's a lot of people in the world looking to take advantage of people for money and our community isn't an exception. But with a little bit of homework and asking the right questions you can be comfortable with your choice.

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