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
VVV's Facebook
VVV Insta

Q5 Sports Nutrition

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

http://q5sn.com/
https://twitter.com/Q5Labs
Q5 Facebook
Q5 on IG

BJJ Promotions, and Lack Thereof

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu isn't unlike a lot of ventures in the aspect that no one sets out to do it to be average. Sure, the path to greatness is a tough road to hoe--and you're most likely years behind in rank and experience to the competitors your age. But that doesn't mean that your Jiu Jitsu Journey is irrelevant, or that you shouldn't pursue your aspirations to be great. When you're first starting out it feels like you're not improving, not learning, and just overall not getting better. It's hard to gauge yourself that way, but there are some tips and tricks that are out there to help. The most obvious way to tell how good you are--or how good anyone is--is their belt rank. 

As you know by now: everyone starts off as a White Belt. As illustrated above, you'll note the belt order (which is always correct), and the estimated time frames at that belt (which isn't always correct). Traditionally, the recipe stripes based on time served on the mats with a dash of noticeable improvement and, maybe, some extra effort awards for doing things for your school/BJJ community---such as higher ranks volunteering to referee tournaments, fill in to teach classes, etc. But regardless of all of that, your promotion is at the discretion of your instructor.  

That doesn't mean you can't do something about it, though. As a matter of fact, you should be doing something to encourage your promotion(s). By that I mean doing something more than just showing up to class. While I do understand that not everyone can be as committed to BJJ as the next guy, that shouldn't be an excuse to not try to improve and push yourself. You may want to consider training/drilling with higher ranked partners so that you're forcing yourself to train at a higher level. (ProTip: Clear it with that person before class & ask for help. It's impolite for a lower rank to impose those kinds of situations on a higher rank.) Another fun way to put yourself out there is to compete in tournaments. Generally speaking, your instructor would love to see you take the risk and demonstrate what you know all for the sake of the art that they (and you) love--and they're fun! 

My instructor Sonny Achille and me after my White to Blue promotion

As much as it sucks, you can even be doing all of that and still not be getting the promotion that you feel you deserve and that you're owed. Hang around long enough and you'll see it in your gym. There are guys out there who preform way beyond their rank and yet are stuck in this rut of not getting promoted. Let's be clear, there is no simple explanation for that. But I do think that it's obvious that there's a disconnect between you and the powers that be that can award you that next strip of medical tape for your stripe, or new belt. Under no circumstances should you directly ask your instructor for your promotion. *Read that last sentence out loud 5 times.* But there are ways to finding out what it is that you may need to do, or what they're looking for out of you to get you to that next level. Some helpful tips can be:

-Asking another instructor at your school, not the head, what you can do to get better

-Start attending more classes [Many schools have classes by difficulty level, turn up the heat]

-Pushing a little harder during class. Meaning no slacking on warm-ups, drills, and yes, going a little harder during rolls. 

-Compete in local, and maybe not-so-local, tournaments. Finishing high proves things to everyone. Even if you feel you're better than that rank, show 'em, prove it, seek & destroy. 

Just remember to always love and enjoy BJJ. Promotions are a big part of the game, but trying to figure out why you're not getting promoted can leave you like Clark Griswold when he get's the "Jelly of the Month Club" instead of his annual bonus (see above). So before that happens, look to yourself first--where are you slacking? Look to improve on it. Remember that your head instructor sees more of you than you do, so there's something they may want out of you before you get that next stripe or belt. Even if you disagree with their line of thinking, they've done this before, trust the process. There are ways to go about drawing the right kind  of attention to yourself when talking about promotions and the wrong kind. Like in all things, going about it the right way is the name of the game, but like BJJ, you need to find the right sweep, escape, transition, speed, pressure, pass, and/or technique to get what you need. 

"Once you understand the way broadly, you see it in all things."

-Miyamoto Musashi

Thank you to this week's sponsor!

VVV Fight Co.

Truly the best BJJ gear & street wear out there. Buying a gi is a risk, but I'm here to tell you to trust me and get one from these fine guys. Their tshirts, no gi shorts, and all their products are top of the line. I'll personally guarantee your satisfaction. 

http://www.vvvfightco.com/

https://twitter.com/VVVFightCo

VVV Facebook

 

Breaking Down the Notebook

In my initial post for my school (Goal Setting, available here) I touched on starting a notebook to write down everything you learned in class. Everyone that spoke with me about the blog post on my school's page ultimately said something about the notebook idea and how they started using one. So to build off of that, in this post I'm going to break down the notebook, how I use it, why I think it's helpful, and some newer--more digital--takes on this idea of keeping track of your techniques.

I started with that exact notebook. You'll notice that it's a 3 Subject notebook, I picked that on purpose because a notebook without those dividers will undoubtedly become a mess--unless, of course, you're some superhero of using tabs, homemade dividers, or are super crafty, then by all means. But I'm, more or less, an ape in clothes and if I can get something already tailored for my needs, then that's my best bet. Now I chose "3 subject" specifically because at the onset of my white belt phase I was basically always in Full Guard (in mine or my opponents), in Side Control (mostly on the bottom (you know)), or in Mount (again, mostly on the bottom), so I dedicated each section of the notebook to each of those positions. Of course, Jiu Jitsu has other positions, but as a white belt you're typically not going to be getting a lot of classes on the Deep Half, X-Guard, or really even normal Half Guard. While you might get some classes/lessons on those, as a white belt it's important to remember to focus your efforts on the basics. But if you do get something from those classes/lessons that you really want to remember, jot them down on those subject separators, or a 3x5 index card--and if you feel like that's 'just too much effort' for that technique, then it's really not worth remember for you right now at this stage of the game.

'Why write it down, though?' you might be wondering, because, yes, it is a lot of effort and can be time consuming. Besides the fact the writing things down helps you remember them better, when you apply that to Jiu Jitsu, you're forced to recall every step of every move/technique down to the most subtle movement for the technique to work. How many times has your instructor reminded you to "Put your head on the mat" when you're applying a triangle or an arm bar--a lot I bet. When you write down your techniques you're replaying everything you learned in your head and forcing yourself to recall every detail; and when you do that, you remember things better.

Once you learn something new in class, I highly suggest writing it down as soon as you get home (after you shower, of course) while it's still fresh in your memory. If you're not 'a writer', or don't know how to write something like a technique down, don't get discouraged. There's a couple of things you need to remember:

1. Write it clearly, both in penmanship and thought-expression. Don't muddy the waters or skip over words thinking you'll know what you mean later, because you won't. Trust me.
2. You're probably the only one that's going to be reading it, so don't be afraid to do it how you want to do it, or how you think will work best for you.

In the example above, you can see it's my first note from the Side Control position. I made a point to circle the word "IN" to the left, because to me, that told me that I was on bottom and that particular technique was to be applied from the bottom position in Side Control. Next you'll see I used arrows to show direction, and possibilities of where the move could take me. You might not want to use arrows, you might have a better idea--again, use what works best for you. I used arrows because there's usually an 'If Scenario' where if your opponent does this, then you do that, so arrows were just a way that I could help myself remember 'the routes' I could take if...

The old school method is great. The new school method is cool. Recently I was made aware of a new website that comes with an app for smartphones called http://www.bjjtrainingjournal.com/ . This website is basically your online notebook where instead of writing out your techniques longhand, you can type them in and then tag them with what position they apply to, whether the move is a submission, sweep, transition, and every other possible Jiu Jitsu term--really neat stuff. You can even embed YouTube videos to be recalled later (Huge bonus). The website also has some other cool features like logging your training time so that you have an average of how many hours you're spending on the at 30/60/90+ days. Additionally it has a "Tap Tracker" where you can keep track of your submissions (both giving and receiving)--though, it's got some bugs, but nothing heartbreaking. You can find friends online (I'm on there), share techniques, and break them down to them being in your "Complete Game", "Practice Game", or your "A-Game"; it's a really neat website that, like I said, comes with an app so that you can recall those techniques at the gym or on the go. By the way: It's all For Free. Beautiful, right?

In closing: I like to use both of the methods I mentioned because they both work for me in their own respective ways. I need to be able to write techniques down longhand to help me remember, but I really love having that online access via the app to techniques in the gym. Play around with both of them, see what works best for you, and in doing so you'll be taking that extra step to getting better.

Now, go get your learn on.