How important is your breathing? Do you think about it? Is it a priority to you when you’re training? It’s obvious that we need to breathe, but do you keep your breath under control, or do you let it dictate your pace, your...

Recently the world learned that long time Ralph Gracie Jiu Jitsu black belt and head instructor at Ralph's San Francisco academy, Kurt Osiander had relinquished his duties as an instructor there.  Initially being reported as a firing, with Kurt using that terminology during...

Wherever you find yourself on the road to black belt right now, there is one thing we can all agree on.  It's a long, long, upward battle.  As time goes on and you begin to progress through the color belts, it becomes almost...

Summer is here! The sun is shining, the days are longer, our injuries feel a little better, and we’re enjoying those slip and slide training sessions at the academy. It’s a great time to train, but it’s also a time to take your...

If you sit back and think about the rise of the Danaher Death Squad, it almost reads like a Hollywood superhero screenplay.  A philosophy instructor and BJJ black belt, named John Danaher from New Zealand has a chance meeting with a legendary grappler...

We all love attending a BJJ seminar with our favorite pro. It’s a chance to get an inside look at the what makes the champions tick. How they do such incredible things. It’s a rare glimpse into a mind that we do not...

It is common over the long road to our jiu jitsu black belts to oftentimes feel as though we are not making progress.  Experiencing a true BJJ plateau can be as frustrating as getting stuck in bottom side control against a much stronger,...

Matt Serra, UFC veteran and Renzo Gracie black belt found himself putting his years of high level jiu jitsu training to the test (not) when a drunk restaurant patron got out of hand while he has been in Las Vegas getting ready for...

At some point in your BJJ training you may have heard someone spout off the popular mantra, Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Most often it’s used when trying to coax someone into slowing down when they are attempting to learn a new...

Let's take a look at what happens when a deep half guard player utilizes a solid reversal attempt, the turkish get up from deep half, popularized and used extremely effectively by 5 time world champion Bernardo Faria and in the process of the...

With the 4th of July holiday upon us, many academies will be cancelling regularly scheduled classes and replacing them with the traditional holiday open mat.  There are a number of positive things that these training session can provide.  They can be a nice...

This past weekend the jiu jitsu stars aligned when 8 time world champion Michelle Nicolini joined forces with the ever popular Tom DeBlass at a three day Beach Camp in Cocoa Beach, Florida hosted by Off the Grid BJJ and black belt Frank...

Can you practice BJJ as a hobby and still become a proficient player? Everyday our Facebooks and Instagrams are packed with content revealing intense and grueling training sessions, workouts, and new and innovative techniques. It’s inspiring, but it can also be overwhelming. It...

Jake MacKenzie is one of the most successful Canadian jiu jitsu athletes in history.  This prolific competitor is a black belt under Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu and has built a extremely deep competition resume specializing in half guard and reverse half guard. In the...

Besides the debate between what's better Gi or No Gi jiu jitsu, few topics polarize the jiu jitsu community as much as the debate between training with a self defense focus or having a sport oriented agenda.  On one hand, you have the...