Whether you have been training for a few weeks, a few years, or a few decades it’s no secret that people quit.  There is a well known statistic that the majority of the practitioners that quit do so after achieving the rank...

  A few months ago, a big name in the competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community made waves by leaving his affiliation and striking out on his own. In another sport, like baseball, a star player who decided to test the waters of free...

  We could all use more efficiency when it comes to our guard. Of course, retention comes to mind here, as keeping a guard is first and foremost a priority. But efficiency transcends all the layers of guard. How hard are you working...

Sometimes, I can be a little paranoid.  Like in class, I have these momentary freak-outs because coach always looks directly at me when he's teaching. Why's he looking at me?  Am I bleeding?  Is my nose running?  Am I the stupidest person in...

  New techniques come along daily in the BJJ world. Our Instagram’s are packed full of new and innovative ways to submit, reverse, transition and so on. Some are pretty out there, but all of these different ideas just again show us fast...

  Guard retention could be the absolute most important skill in all of BJJ. Of course, opinions may vary, but you can’t deny the need for solid guard retention on your game. The guard is wall between ourselves and our opponents and if...

  In case you haven’t guessed, this blog is directed at those who are trying to lose weight.  If your BJJ practice is resulting in excessive weight loss, I’m not in a position to help you.  I’m sorry…and also a bit jealous. Along...

  The side smash. I just love the way it sounds. This particularly uncomfortable guard pass has been one of the staples of Rafael Lovato Jr.’s passing system for years. Time and time again we’ve seen competitors at the highest levels succumb to...

  If you’ve been involved with BJJ for any amount of time, then you’ve undoubtedly heard of the knee slice pass. One of BJJ’s most common threats to any guard player, the knee slice is a great choice, gi, or no gi to...

So your spouse, or significant other has decided they want to start training Jiu Jitsu?  You are here because you want some guidance on how to be supportive, but also what you can expect from this journey, right?  Good for you! Having a...

Rather than looking at a specific technique today, I wanted to discuss how we think and act in the training room. When starting out as white belts, we just show up to class and drill whatever the coach is teaching that day.  There...

When it comes to martial arts, or self defense in general  size always becomes an issue, or at least it did. When Jiu Jitsu was introduced it was sold as the martial art that could empower a smaller grappler to take on a...

  The mount is tricky. At least it’s always been that way for me. In my earliest training days, I found it nearly impossible to stay there. Its still a challenge for me, as I am a bit smaller and I really have...

Pressure passing, headquarters, smash pass. There’s a name that’s synonymous with dominate guard passing procedures and it belongs to a man that’s been dismantling guards in a destructive fashion for many years. That man is Rafael Lovato Jr. Lovato’s BJJ career is storied...

If you’re a leg locker, then you know one of the most paramount concepts of attacking the lower body is keeping the knee line. Especially with twisting style leg attacks, this critical principle will always be something that needs careful observation. If we...