finding your breaking point

It is really important that we find our threshold. As a human being, where is it that we want to quit? What’s our breaking point? As a twelve year old, I went to a camp for poor inner city kids. It’s was a free camp and I was away the whole summer. While I was there, we went … [Read more…]

cult and culture

The martial arts classroom is a place of participation, of engagement. It happens both with ourselves and with other people – the training makes that possible. Not to alienate anyone, but if your main way of connecting to another person is through being a professional sports fan – a sidelines observer – it’s pretty limited. By way of … [Read more…]

raise your thermostat, overcome your limitations

Jiu-Jitsu training is designed to raise your thermostat, to help you to overcome your limitations. Your temperature may rise in the classroom, but will your overall understanding of your personal capabilites also increase? The objective of the martial arts is to expand the range of your “self” – not only your self-confidence but your whole self-concept. … [Read more…]

quitting jiu-jitsu

Many people leave their training for many different reasons – they were embarrassed rather than mentored, they got edged out by an antagonistic environment, they’re matched with a teacher who cares more about what they can do for him than what he can do for them.  To quit something that’s good for you, like Jiu-Jitsu … [Read more…]

being late to class

The other day I was going to judo and I got stuck in traffic. I was twenty minutes late and inside I was appalled – there is no worse feeling than being late to class. One part of me would rather go to the movies than walk into the dojo late but the other part … [Read more…]

what is the meaning of “coach” in jiu-jitsu?

The title “coach” for an instructor or assistant instructor in the Jiu-Jitsu community might actually be a misnomer. It runs the risk of minimizing the relationship between the senior and the junior on the mat. I can understand that if you’re doing cross-fit or some sport maybe someone would be a coach, but it lacks the … [Read more…]