Aliveness 101

Notes on drilling . . .

2008-05-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

Some of the questions I get asked about the most are related to Alive drilling methods. So I decided I would devote this article to some details on that subject.

As most of you who follow SBGi to some degree know, my main message is that of Aliveness. If Aliveness doesn’t come first, then everything else unravels to some degree and what we are left with isn’t even the same animal. So in order to be on the same page when teaching somewhere new, I always start with that vital principle.

After that comes the curriculum itself. And this gets into my entire teaching thesis, which I have laid out here in various articles. The basic premise being that the entire curriculum, stand up, clinch and ground revolves around the fundamentals of the delivery system. And because of this, each individual athlete is given the freedom needed to develop his/her own style; one that is optimum for their own body, mind and temperament.

In a Gym that focuses on fundamentals, as opposed to a technique-by-technique template, each and every purple belt (as one example) will roll using very different types of games. And this not only produces better athletes/technicians quickly, it also helps impart and preserve the core Art (delivery system) itself.

It is about giving students not just the game, but also the understanding behind why the game works the way it does; a point that is for me as a Coach, very important. Learning to think critically/rationally, and understanding why things work the way they do as opposed to simply how something works, is very important to me as a teacher.

Of course certain core movements and techniques help form that curriculum, but as you will see in the article below sometimes these can be as simple as a posture, or a concept.

To be clear this teaching thesis is not new, and certainly not something I claim to have invented.

My first big BJJ influence (and the person who gave me my blue belt) was Rickson Gracie. And I owe a lot of credit to my understanding of how important focusing on fundamentals is to him. *(My Coach who awarded me my purple, brown and black belts is Chris Haueter, and he had a massive influence on me as well. I will talk about that influence later on in this article) If you have ever watched Rickson teach you will notice he seldom (if ever) shows anything that your average blue belt has not already been exposed to at some point. Yet each and every time, a new detail or key point is revealed in his class about that core movement. And that is for me, the definition of a great Instructor.

As a recent example of the contrast that sometimes occurs, a few of our blue and purple belts recently visited another BJJ schools competitive open roll run by another BJJ black belt. One thing everyone noticed quickly was that everyone from the other Gym was using more or less the same set of techniques. The same couple of guard passes, the same escape series, the same attacks, etc. By comparison, every blue & purple belt on the mat from our Gym was playing a different type/style of game. Needless to say, our athletes did extremely well.

We have many visitors at the Portland Gym who travel from all across the USA and World. And this point about the wide variety of styles represented on my mat always gets noticed. It’s no secret, it is just the natural by product of focusing on the fundamentals.

This concept of maintaining a curriculum that revolves around the fundamental movements of a given delivery system/range and training that curriculum in an Alive manner, is something we do because it is the best method we have come up with so far.

Not only is it most efficient, but it also allows the athlete the most possible freedom to do things in the manner that he or she can make them work best.

And for every body, that is going to be different.

Although I’ve read a few critics of the method over the Years, none have actually formed a rational argument against why sticking to fundamentals would ever be anything other then a rock sold method for getting people better at BJJ, or any other sport.

Obviously there are as many styles of teaching as there are teachers. So find a teacher, Gym, and vibe that suits you. This article is about the SBGi teaching/Coaching method. So I assume readers are here for that information. But if a detailed discussion of how we try and Coach is not of interest, or if you are of the “just do it”, or “there are no superior models” mindset, then this is probably not the article for you. I do believe there is always room for improving things, and this goes for the field of education as well. I am of course not alone in that belief. And teaching/ Coaching methods have, like everything else, evolved over the decades.

This is my contribution to that process.

The starting point for understanding the SBGi teaching model is the “I” method.

The “I” method is a simple 3-step process. You begin with introduction, the starting point for any class. Proceed directly into isolation, which is the drill stage, and consequently the stage I will be discussing the most in this article. And you finish with the integration stage. I call this the context stage, it’s the point where you take that class and work it back into the big picture of whatever game you are working on, BJJ, MMA, self defense, etc.

‘I’ Method:

Step #1 = Introduction
Step #2 = Isolation
Step #3 = Integration

Here is a practical example for using the “I” method.

The Introduction stage

Let’s say you are working on escapes from mount position. You begin by introducing the core escapes to the class. For sake of example lets say that is an elbow escape, and an upa (bridge & roll).

During the intro stage students are encouraged to talk to each other, switch back and forth and work the material without using any resistance right now. If there is a place for repetition in training, this is it.

The objective for the Coach is two fold, first everyone in class should be able to demonstrate and work the movement in a manner that is technically correct when no resistance is being applied.

And second, every student should understand why/ how the movement is meant to work.

This process usually takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes. If it takes more time then that then you may be teaching something that the class is not ready for, i.e. a triangle escape in a class of people who may not know how to do a triangle yet.

The biggest factor in time for the introduction stage is usually just class size.

As a teacher I like to make sure everyone on the mat gets it when no resistance is applied. And I have yet to meet a student who was not able to get it at the intro stage, provided you are patient in communicating with them. But obviously class size will effect the time this process takes.

Another key point about the introduction stage is how is the nature of the curriculum itself is introduced to the student. And this brings me to a major point as it relates to teaching:

The order in which you introduce things can determine the habits your students develop.

This point really can’t be emphasized enough. Here is a concrete example. If I begin a BJJ lesson with a ‘darce choke’ (as one of infinite examples), and these are individuals who are just starting out in BJJ (first few lessons), then I may in fact be helping them to develop habits which will be counter-productive to their game.

Why?

Because we have skipped quite a few steps, which in an Alive roll occur prior to the choke arising. In this example, we have not yet taught them about the importance of maintaining the far side underhook, we have not taught them the first thing to do when your opponent re-pummels and gets the underhook from crossides bottom, we have not yet taught them how to do a proper whizzer, etc. In fact, there are at least five steps that occur between the time your opponent gets the underhook on bottom, and the point at which you are in a position to do something like a darce choke.

So the question is, do you really want your students giving away the far side underhook, and then skipping all the steps needed to re-pummel and keep their opponent on his/her back? Because if you don’t teach them the material in order, then most students will automatically let all that go, and just attempt to jump into the darce choke. Why wouldn’t they, if at this point it’s all you have taught them?

Now you might say so what, won’t we get around to working the rest of the material as well at some point anyway? But the problem with that theory is that in BJJ everyone starts rolling on day one, and that means everyone starts developing habits on day one. And again, the order in which you introduce material to new students will have a direct effect on the habits those new students develop on the mat.

Of course that does not mean that a student should not be introduced to a darce choke. To the contrary, what it means is that there might be a better way to work the student towards acquiring that choke in a live roll.

You might want to first start with emphasizing the importance of not giving away the far side underhook to begin with. After that, you might want to work re-pummeling right away if that underhook is lost. A good movement to follow that is a counter series for when the opponent (bottom person) gets the far side underhook. At the Portland Gym we start with the “diaper check”, which is placing the hand inside the bottom persons thigh so that they cannot gain any leverage with their underhook, and then re-pummeling. After all that I would probably follow with the use of a proper whizzer (overhook) position from top. Something that is pretty detailed within itself. And from that whizzer position many submissions and movements open themselves up, one being the darce choke.

As a Coach who cares a lot about helping my students be as good as they can be, I know what habits I would like them to acquire once they get crossides top. And because I want them to develop those habits, I teach them in the order in which they arise naturally in a competitive roll. And only after I see that they have learned one set (with resistance) do I move on to the next series.

So using the example I just gave above, there are quite a few things I would want to emphasize and work with a group of beginning BJJ students before I would introduce a move like a submission listed above. Why, because I don’t want my athletes giving away all that space in order to jump into a submission, simply because that is all they know how to do so far. I want them to develop the habits that allow them to defend things (positions, submissions, counters) as early possible, as opposed to the last minute.

As much as that is all just common sense and as self evident as that actually is, we shouldn’t assume that people who have never had any formal training whatsoever as teachers would automatically get it right.

I have watched many classes from very high level BJJ players who simply begin with any random technique they may have been working on at the moment. And although that may be fine for a guest appearance, or at a seminar, or when working with a group of already seasoned blue belts, when your working with the same people week after week who are starting from scratch, learning simple concepts such as the relative importance of the order of the material can make all the difference in the world. And it can mean your students may be able to compete at a solid blue belt level within a Year, as opposed to two or three.

How do you know what order to place the material in?

Here are three simple rules of thumb I often use:

1- Teach things in the order in which they arise naturally on the mat.

2- Teach them in the order in which you want your students to apply them as habits.

3- And don’t create problems before they arise naturally on the mat

Regarding number one, if I am teaching how to open the closed guard to a brand new group of people, I am not going to start with a couple specific leg opening movements and then proceed later into base and posture. That would be out of sequence with what they will experience when they are rolling. So obviously there we would start with base and posture, and then proceed to opening the legs.

Point number one and point number two tend to blend together when you are teaching. They are like two sides of the same coin. As a good Coach what you obviously want is for your students to develop the habit of defending and applying things in the same order in which they actually occur during a live role. And that means always trying to solve things as early as possible, not at the last possible minute.

Here is another example of point number two (you can see where it relates to point number one throughout). Lets use the example of leg lock counters. If I show a group of people new to leg locks how to counter an achilles hold, and I start with the lock almost completely on, then again I have skipped at least five different steps. The natural by product of teaching this way is that you will have a room full of beginners who will often start their counter movements at a point in which they are just about to tap. As a teacher who wants his students to be catching these things as early as possible, this would not be good.

So instead, first I would start with where to put your feet. I would follow with how to clear your foot once someone grabs it. I would follow that with how to stay attached, and not allow your opponent to lay back and get position for the leg lock (assuming you could not prevent them from grabbing it in the first place, and once grabbed you were unable to free your foot), and only after all of those things would I proceed with the last ditch counter-submission movements.

Rickson had a very simple order in which he taught his curriculum. He called it:

defense – offense – defense.

What I believe he meant by that was that he started with the fundamentals of a given position. In his case he started with escapes. As you have to teach top in order to teach bottom, we can call that first segment titled ‘defense’, fundamental positions. Your first, and by far your best means of defense is to always seek the advantage found in positional dominance. That is what BJJ is about.

Following positional dominance he taught the second section of core ‘offense’, chokes, armbars, etc. All of these flow off of maintaining position first, as it’s the position that gives you the leverage for the submission. This is a point all BJJ players know and learn very quickly.

Last he would teach ‘counter-offense’, this is the third section labeled ‘defense’, which is to say the counters to the submissions. This is a very logical progression, defense – offense – defense. And it relates to the same points I have made above.

The last rule of thumb was not creating problems before they arise naturally. Here is what I mean by that.

Again lets assume you are working with a group of brand new students. The lesson for the day is the triangle. The students have already worked some fundamentals about the guard, and as such they are well prepared for introduction to this fundamental submission.

Here is the question, if the triangle is a new movement for the majority of the group, would I want to drill the counter to the submission in the same class?

My answer to that is almost always (remember warnings not rules) an emphatic no.

What I want to see first is the students in the class tapping each other out in live rolls using a triangle. In a good class, this can often occur the same day. But that stated, I would probably give the group at least a few weeks to work the submission before I started drilling the counter to it. After a few weeks every time I got to the Q & A section at the end of class I am quite sure there would be at least a few people who would raise their hand and tell me they were having trouble getting caught with triangles. The problem has now arisen, and as such it would be time to work the counter to it.

What I don’t want to do is drill the counter to the triangle before anyone in the class is really able to pull off a triangle in a competitive roll. If I do, I may actually be doing a disservice to my students. I will be shortchanging their ability to play with, and grow into this submission.

Of course I am not suggesting that you will not mention key points that will involve what others may do in an attempt to counter the movement you just taught. IE: With a triangle you will probably discuss the need to keep the opponent from getting posture. You may also work what to do if the opponent tries to pick them up and slam them, or tries to hide their own arm, make a frame, etc. But the distinction here is one of perspective. We are working from the perspective of the person applying the triangle, so the majority of drill time will be aimed at this objective. That does not mean you will not expose your students to the things that may come up while attempting the movement.

Again, as common sense as that idea seems to be, we cannot assume that anyone teaching BJJ will automatically understand it.

As good Coaches it is our job to help our staff learn how to best impart this information to others. I have seen many coaches introduce a new submission to the class, and then five minutes later teach the counter to the very same submission. The natural by product of that is that a good percentage of the students never actually learn to use the submission, as everyone counters it before they have even gotten a chance to develop it. A few weeks go by, and the move is forgotten. Perhaps only to be picked up Years later when some of the students are purple belt, and they say “Oh ya, I remember seeing that 4 Years ago but I could never do it?”

At this point it’s worth stating another obvious point. All rules create exceptions.

So there will always be one or two athletes in any class no matter how terrible the Instructor is, who will get better using the material presented. I would offer that these individuals get better despite the Instruction, and certainly not due to it. And at the very least I think we can confidently say that given a more proper teaching method, not only do all the students on the mat get better, poor athletes and good athletes the same, but so do the natural ‘star’ students. As JFK said, “a rising tide raises all boats”. If the whole group is getting better, then every individual athletes game evolves as well. As such, I am always focusing on the best ways to teach the majority, not just the already gifted minority.

This brings me to another point, I am always using the example of brand new students when talking about these teaching methods. I am assuming in these examples a group of people who have had no prior BJJ or grappling experience. Again, if you are working with a room full of solid blue belts, everything becomes much easier. The points I made above, may in this case seem far less critical. However, common sense again tells us that if the suggestions above make a big difference when working with brand new people (and I assure you from 12 Years of fulltime teaching, day in and day out that they do), then they will also help more advanced athletes, blues, purples, brown belts as well.

When I am teaching my Instructor courses and the lowest skill level of the students is at least high blue or purple, I still follow the same progressions I listed above. I still teach things in the order they arise on the mat, in the order in which I want them used (habits), and I don’t create problems that have not arisen yet. Often times this means that I begin a class that I am teaching to purple belts (as an example) with a ten or fifteen minute review of the fundamentals of any given position or posture. After the review I get into the newer material I am interested in working with them. This helps make sure all my advanced belts always stay sharp on the fundamentals of each position themselves, and it also helps remind them of what I want them to do when they are teaching brand new people. And on a side note, it helps keep my own game sharper as well.

It’s easy for a purple or brown belt that is teaching a group of beginners to forget all the things that made a huge difference to him/her when they first started, and jump right into a cool submission or counter-movement that they themselves are working on. This often leaves new white belts lost in translation. By always reviewing the fundamentals in every class, you keep your upper belts reminded of the key points they may otherwise occasionally forget to pass on.

So this is the Introduction stage.

Some key points:

1- Use little to no resistance when introducing the move.

2- Encourage verbal communication between training partners at this stage.

3- Make sure the movement can be done properly without resistance before. proceeding to the drill stage, which for us (SBGi) always incorporates resistance.

Some key points on the material you introduce:

1- Stick the fundamentals of the delivery system being taught.

2- Make sure all the students can perform the move before proceeding, if this process takes more then about 15-20 minutes then the movements are probably to complex at this stage for the level of the group.

3- Introduce the movements in the order in which they occur in an Alive roll.

4- Remember the habits you want your students to develop, and emphasize these points by organizing the order in which you introduce the material, and the amount of time you spend on each piece.

5- Don’t create problems for your students before they arise naturally on the mat.

Before we move onto the next stage of the ‘I’ method I need to make a critical point here.

At SBGi the Introduction stage is always followed by the Isolation stage.

Of everything mentioned above, none of it is actually drilling yet. What we do not want to do is introduce a few new movements/techniques to students, repeat them in some form of dead pattern or repetition, and then roll. That exactly what I am not advocating.

This example of bad teaching is the often known coaching method of “here are a few random movements I just pulled out of my ass, they may, or may not even be related, lets do them a few times without resistance, okay now lets roll”. I have seen far too many teachers run classes this way.

A few final points before we leave the introduction stage. There are two good ways to know as the teacher when it’s time to move forward into the drilling stage. The first is to look around the room and observe if everyone in the class has the movement. And the second is to listen.

Because we place a lot of emphasis on helping your training partner out at my Gym, and because we encourage verbal communication during the introduction stage, the room is filled with conversations about the movements we are working. Everyone on the mat actively helps his or her partners. This is a great plus for new people, who find themselves in a welcoming environment where students go out of their way to help newcomers. But it also has the added benefit of allowing a smart teacher one more method of telling when it’s time to drill. By keeping your ears open to the conversations occurring on the mat, you will easily be able to notice if the group as a whole has the movements figured out up to this stage, or if some still need a bit more time. It’s always worth taking the time to walk around the mat and listen to the conversations.

Finally, I usually end the introduction portion of the class with a question and answer period that is related to the material we just worked. That does two things. One, it allows any final questions to be asked before we enter the drill stage. And two, it lets everyone know in the class that the time for conversation is now ending. We are now moving forward into the timing stage. The part of the class where it’s time to let the body do its thing, and give the mouth a rest.

Between working the technique without resistance (introduction), and rolling live at the end (integration), exists the extremely important drill stage (isolation), and this stage is the key linking point between the techniques/positions/movements introduced to the student in the class, and the entire game (rolling) that occurs at the end of class. And this is the stage I will talk about now.

The Isolation stage

Once we have completed the introduction stage we head into the key stage of isolation. This is the stage where students are actually drilling. This is the stage where students get to work the movements against Alive resistance. And this is the stage where students actually acquire the critical element of ‘timing’.

Timing is not gained from repetitions without resistance. As such we don’t usually refer to any form of repetition without resistance as a drill. All of drilling at SBGi is done Alive. And this linking point between technique, and what actually occurs in a live roll against a fully resisting opponent is know for us as the isolation stage.

Contrary to popular misconception, the majority of classes at my Gym are not ‘sparring’; the majority of any class I teach tends to be the isolations stage, it tends to be drilling.

As an example, if I am teaching a 60 minute BJJ class, the first 15 minutes or so may be devoted to the introduction stage, the following 30 minutes will be devoted to the drilling or isolation phase, and the last 15 minutes may be devoted to sparring, the integration stage. Of course this is just a sample break down. But most classes are quite close to this example of time.

There are many ways to drill Alive. And once drilling Alive is understood, the amount of great drills available for any particular movement is limited only by the Coaches own imagination.

I sat down and tried to list all the different ‘types’ of drills that can be created. So far I have only been able to come up with 5.

These are the 5 types of drills we use.

1- Objective drills
2- Isolation drills
3- Call out drills
4- Re-set drills
5- Pocket drills

Each type of drill isolates a different group of skill sets, or a particular type of timing. And each has its time and place, depending on the material you are working and the focus of that particular class.

Each type of drill could easily warrant an entire article on its own. But for simplicity sake I will give a brief example of each for ground (BJJ), clinch (takedowns/ wrestling) and stand up (boxing).

Keep in mind that many drills are combinations of two of more of the types listed above. Don’t get two hung up on the semantics of it. The point of listing them to begin with is to help open up your imagination/mind as a teacher and a coach. I want all my staff to easily be able to create fun and highly useful drills on the spot; regardless of the material that is being worked. My own students are constantly coming up with all kinds of variations on different drills, and it’s always something I enjoy seeing and learning from.

1- Objective drills:

Objective drills are drills that focus on a particular goal.

Using BJJ as an example, a drill where one side tries to pass the open guard and the other tries to hold the open guard, would be a simple objective based drill. Using the clinch, it could be one side tries to work a throw, one side defends. And using stand up, it could be one side trying to close the gap, and the other side working on staying off the fence/wall using footwork.

Objective based drills are probably the simplest to create, and their purpose is the isolation of a particular goal.

2- Isolation drills:

Isolation drills are drills that focus on a particular movement or technique.

Using BJJ as an example, a drill where one side tries to pass the guard using a knee over pass, and the other side defends, would be a simple isolation drill. Using the clinch it could be one side tries to execute a bodylock takedown, the other defends. And using stand up it could be one side working a jab, and the other side working head movement.
Isolation based drills are also fairly simple to create, and their purpose is to isolate a particular movement or technique.

As you can see already, isolation and objective drills, while being different, also tend to blend together to some degree. There is however a time and place for each.

For example, you may have a student that is quite good at escaping by pulling guard, but weak at going to quarters. If you work only objective based drills, i.e. one side tries to escape crossides, it’s highly probable that they may stick with pulling guard. If however you focused your class that day on getting to quarters, then using an isolation drill where the students have to escape that way (going to quarters) may be more useful.

Likewise, there are times when a more broad based objective drill is more appropriate. The main point is that as a coach you want to have as many good options as possible to help your athletes get better.

3- Call out drills:

Call out drills are drills that focus on a particular set of transitions.

Using BJJ, our guard surfing drill is a great example. Guard surfing is a drill where the coach calls out a series of ten commands. For simplicity I will list only three, tripod (this is posting one hand on your opponents lower stomach while you pass), lift (this is just as it states, using the persons heels and then belt to stack them onto their back and pass), and push - pull (pulling and pushing your opponents legs/gi pants). One student is trying to pass the open guard and the other defends. As the coach calls out a new pressure i.e. “lift!”, all the students in the class will immediately switch to that type of movement. So in a 3 minute round the coach may call out “lift!”, “push – pull!”, “tripod!”, in any random order, and every few seconds. This forces students to transition from one type of pressure to the next very quickly.

We have found that we can get a room full of new BJJ people passing the guard really well, in a very short period of time using a drill like ‘guard surfing’.

Using a technique by technique method of teaching, learning to pass the guard well can take some students Years. In addition, people often find themselves caught in a rut where they may be trying to force the same type of pass over and over, and as a consequence they get shut down. This can be very frustrating for some. This is where a call out drill, such as guard surfing becomes a really useful tool. It gets students out of the habit of forcing a particular kind of pass, it gets them flowing, moving from one pressure into the next. And since each call out represents a different type of pressure with your hips, it teaches students the single most important skill you can develop as a good guard passer, the ability to switch your hips in flow/timing with your opponents movements.

For the clinch we have a similar drill. Yes, we call it ‘clinch surfing’. The concept is the same, getting the students to switch smoothly between different positions and grips in the clinch. The drill works the same, the coach has a series of different call outs, and the students transition between them during the round. A simple example would be a two call out drill, lets say single neck tie and double neck tie. These two commands can be called out at random times during a round, which helps teach the students the timing and transitional skills between these two crucial clinch positions.

With stand up we can do the same thing. A very simple stand up call out drill would be the run – counter – clinch drill. This is a drill our MMA competition team boxing coach (Brian Walsh) uses quite often in team practice. One side is designated red, and one blue. Red responds to the call outs. When he yells “run”, red uses footwork to evade the charge of blue, and stay off the cage. When he yells “counter”, red boxes with blue. And when he yells “clinch”, red looks to tie blue up against the cage. As simple as this is, it remains an important type of drill to add into the mix. It helps keep the athletes from freezing up and not moving. It gets them alternating between boxing, moving, and clinching up with their opponent, all within the same round. Something we want all our fighters to be able to do.

4- Re – set drills:

Re-set drills are drills that focus on a particular position, or moment.

Using BJJ as an example, one side might start in an upright butterfly guard with a single underhook. When the coach yells “go”, one side tries to sweep or work whatever set of movements was introduced in class that day, while the other side defends. The key to a re-set drill is that once the rolling moves away from the particular position being worked (in this case an upright butterfly guard), you re-set and start again. This allows you to focus on one particular moment within a given match.

Using clinch, you might start with an underhook and look to take down your partner from there. Your given a few seconds to work as your partner looks to counter the underhook and takedowns. The moment the coach yells “re-set” you stop and start again in that perfect underhook position. Another example would be starting half way into a double leg takedown, and the other person starting half way into the sprawl. When the Coach yells “go” the two wrestle from there, perhaps to isolate turning the corner for the shooting person, or finishing the sprawl for the sprawling person. When the coach yells “re-set” everyone stops immediately and re-starts in that same position.

With stand up, a simple example of a re-set drill is having one person start against the cage (or in the corner), and the other side looks to keep them there using footwork and strikes, once the person gets out they continue to box until the coach yells “re-set”. Then both athletes start again in the same spot.

There are two ways to do re-set drills. The first is to have the whole class start at the same time, and have the coach call out “go”, and “re-set”, when you want the class to start again at the designated position. The second is to have the athletes re-set themselves. Quite often I will start re-set drills by doing the first few rounds together as a group, so that everyone gets the picture about re-starting immediately once we veer away from the position we were working from; and after those first couple times I will have the students re-set on their own.

Re-set drills become really useful when you are working more transitory positions.

For example, when working escape from crossides an objective based drill is an easy solution. One side tries to hold, one side escapes, when you escape start again. But with something like a sweep from butterfly guard, the isolation or drilling stage can be a bit tougher to figure out because once the other person starts to pass, that initial butterfly position may morph into something else very quickly. This is where a re-set drill can be a really helpful addition to your drill options.

One of the other questions I am frequently asked is how to apply alive drills to things like specific submissions. Positional drilling is quite easy to sort out, but how about drilling an arm lock, or a triangle? The answer is that I usually work my way backwards when isolating particular submissions; it is the starting at the end method.

In other words I may do a round of re-set drills, starting with the triangle almost completely locked in. The next set of rounds work with a starting position a little further back, and we progress to the initial submission entry.

By starting the first few rounds with the submission almost finished, you create an environment of success, and then work backwards from there. I have found that this method often leads to students being able to pull of a new submission on the first day it’s taught.

For all these situations and more, re-set drills can be extremely helpful.

5- Pocket drills:

Pocket drills are drills that focus on a particular distance, or range.

Using BJJ as an example, you may have introduced a series of two or three sweeps for when your opponent is standing in your guard. Now its drill time, and a pocket drill is a great solution. One side essentially hangs out at the range in which the bottom person’s sweeps are available, their only objective is to keep base, keep standing. The other side gets to work cycling back and forth between their sweeps.

Using clinch a pocket drill could be as simple as working for head position, and throwing hands (unattached strikes in the clinch). This forces the athletes to learn to work within that pocket of space/distance. Corner drills are also good examples of this type of drill (see FJKD series #1 for examples).

There was a great stand up pocket drill that was posted recently on BJ Penn’s website. One side would stand feet planted, and every few seconds a new boxer would step into a certain range, in this case it was close enough to hit with a jab/cross without stepping. Both athletes threw light shots, worked slipping, accuracy, composure, etc. This is a good example of a nice pocket drill. As a new boxer would cycle in every 15 seconds or so and one side stayed in, it was also an excellent endurance drill.

Obviously it should go without saying that in a fight you don’t want to stand feet planted and bang, anymore then you want to stay in a corner, not getting out. Footwork is the main component we work with our athletes when it comes to striking. But that stated, there are still moments in time where these ranges exist in fights, and pocket drills are excellent tools for isolating those moments and helping athletes get over their apprehension at working from these distances. They help with timing, composure, combinations, everything.

So these are the five types of drills:

Drill Type - Helps Isolate:

1- Objective - A Goal
2- Isolation - A Movement/ Technique
3- Call Out - A Transition
4- Re-set - A Position
5- Pocket - A Range/ Distance

Now that you have all the options for drilling, there really should be no set of movements or techniques that you teach in an introduction stage that cannot immediately be translated into an almost infinite amount of fully “Alive” drills.

That crucial drilling stage should always exist in class between your introduction stage, and your sparring. There is no movement “too deadly”, or “too advanced” to not be put into an Alive drill format. And it’s in the drill stage that students are given the space and time to develop that ever important element of timing for the particular lesson taught in class.

As I mentioned previously in terms of time, if we are using a 60 minute class for a rough example, then approximately 15 minutes or so would be devoted to the introduction stage. During that stage students practice the move without resistance, communicate with each other, ask questions, and make sure they understand the basic how’s and why’s of its structure. Your job as a coach at this stage is to help make sure everyone in class gets what it is you are offering.

The second stage, or isolation stage is the drill time. And this will take the large bulk of class. Again using the hour long class example, the drill stage would usually take up at least half that time, or 30 minutes. During this stage students are encouraged to be quiet.

Verbal communications is discouraged for a number of different reasons:

- It is distracting, drill time is the time to allow the body to work..

- It can used as a tactic by students who are too lazy or out of shape as a means of evading the workout.

- Its not only okay to be unsuccessful sometimes during drills, its required. If you are successful 100% of the time, then you are not working against enough resistance. So there is no reason to stop and have a conversation mid drill about why something is failing. That will occur post drill time.

The students at my gym know that when the music turns on, and the stop watch or timer gets going, it’s time to be quiet and drill. I encourage each student to help their partner by correcting mistakes physically, not verbally. That means that if your partner is having real trouble with a particular drill, you ease up a bit. Once you see they have it, you then reverse the process and turn it up a bit.

This brings me to one of the most important points as it relates to Alive drilling. All Alive drilling should incorporate progressive resistance.

The key word there is ‘progressive’.

One thing I often say prior to working drills at my seminars is that if you are working with your partner, and you are a purple belt and they are a white belt, and you completely shut them down during the entire drill, then you are a dick. This usually gets a bit of a laugh, but it’s a solid point.

You want to create a culture in your gym where athletes learn how to work with each other. Having a drill partner who just falls over and allows you to score every time, sucks. Likewise, having a drill partner who dominates you to such a degree that you are completely unable to work the material, also sucks. Both are really pointless. What we want to do is create an environment where all the students learn how to ratchet up or down the resistance they are giving during a drill, without having to stop and have a conversation about it.

There are a couple ways you can help facilitate this habit as a coach:

1- You can make sure you talk about it in class, prior to starting the drill.

Let it be known from the top down that when it comes to drill time, if any one particular athlete shuts all the beginners down nobody on the mat is going to think their cool for doing so. Being a great training partner is a skill you have to work at, and part of that is being conscious of the level of resistance you are giving.

2- You can make sure you designate who the “coach” is prior to every drill.

What I mean by that is I make sure before every drill period that all the students know who the drill is designed primarily to help. IE: if we worked escapes from bottom in class that day, then the top person is the coach. If the bottom person escapes two or three times in a row, ratchet up the intensity more. If they can’t get out at all, ease up just a bit. Likewise, if we were working holding top in class, then the bottom person is the coach. If you escape easily, slow down a bit. If you are having trouble, raise the intensity.

By designating who the coach is during a drill, you are by proxy assigning one of the two people involved the role of controlling the tempo, pace, and level of resistance during the drill. And that can make a huge difference.

3- You can match people yourself.

Some times the resistance levels match up naturally and both parties can go 100% with each other. For example, two blue belts that are both about the same level and size. If you as the coach notice a match up during drill phase that is not working out so well, one side may be completely outclassed, then matching up training partners yourself (who works with who) may help.

One note of caution here, if you have a student who you find yourself having to re-match frequently because he or she has a hard time adjusting intensity levels, it may be worth taking the time to have a conversation with them about this. Not everyone gets it if you don’t.

As an example of this, there was a brown belt at another school in my area that was fairly notorious for not playing nice with others. He had on multiple occasions, hurt out of town guests by slapping on fast submissions, leg lock, etc, not giving them time to tap. I went so far as to have a conversation with the gym owner about this guy, and although they were fully aware of the issue, they kept him on board. Why? Because he was a brown belt, and a good body for the upper belts to roll with.

Of course this eventually turned around and bit them on the ass, the brown belt left their gym to do his own thing, and for a brief time had a small gym filled with a group of his own perpetually semi-crippled students.

My point here is pretty simple, people like that are not worth having on your mat.

One of your main responsibilities as coach is the health and safety of the people on your floor. Keeping someone around because they may be relatively “good”, even though they risk injury to others, is not acceptable. And in the long run it will always backfire on you.

In terms of progressive resistance, I am not going to pretend to know what the exact percentage of success to failure produces the best results in terms of developing a certain skill set. I would be skeptical of anyone who did claim to know something like that.

However, I will say that in time, most athletes learn to feel when they are drilling well and getting the proper resistance. You will know.

Here are some key points related to drilling:

- Make sure everyone is using progressive resistance. Conversation about this topic, designating the coach for the round, and matching people up can all help facilitate this.

- Keep everyone working throughout the round. The time for conversations and questions is now over. Everyone can evaluate the movements and ask questions again after the drill period has ended.

- As a coach one of your top priorities is the safety of the people on your mat. So keep your eyes and ears open, and pay attention to what is occurring during the drills.

Since the drill stage is the bulk of the class, a typical class will have the students doing multiple rounds. And often times I will have them rotate partners as well. There is no right or wrong answer in terms of the exact time (minutes) used per round. In a regular group class I want them to get a good workout, and leave having learned something about the Art. In a competition team practice the objectives are different, the intensity is greatly increased, and I will be pushing the athletes much harder. So as a coach you have to look at the group you are working with and assess what the amount of rounds, and time per each round that should be used. Different groups have different needs.

Once we have finished the drill stage, it’s time to move into the final section of the ‘I’ method, the integration phrase.

The Integration phase

The integration phase is the context phase.

You have taken a part of the game out and worked on in, and now it is time to put it back into the big picture of whatever you are working on in that class, BJJ, MMA, self defense, etc.

For BJJ this is relatively simple, it’s the roll time we have at the end of class. Sometimes I may have the students start from a particular spot, i.e.: if we were working escapes from bottom that day, one side might start on bottom and they wrestle to submission from there. Sometimes we will start from the knees, and sometimes we will start standing.
It should be noted that all competitions start standing, and as such it’s important we do that in the gym as well.

However, like most BJJ gyms we also start from the knees sometimes also. The reason for this is simply longevity. Wrestling from standing 20 times a class, day in and day out, can start to break down your body. Starting on the knees allows us to roll daily with far less impact. That stated, if I see two students putting up a ten minute fight from the knees I usually just tell them just to stand up. Since we work from the knees so we can focus on our groundwork, it makes far more sense to just have one side start in a specific position or pull guard. Fighting hard from the knees for more then a few seconds is silly.

In Boxing or MMA classes, the integration phase can sometimes be a bit trickier when you are working with a group of brand new students. One of the great advantages of BJJ is the fact that you can roll live on day one. Not everyone will be comfortable enough to box or spar MMA on day one. This is true even under the most gentle and welcoming of conditions. So in those circumstances, you may simply extend the drill phase through to the end of class.

However, even in these cases it is still worth taking the last few minutes to explain or demonstrate to students how the material they worked fits into the big picture of that particular game. All of this will vary quite a bit depending on the types of clients you have, their objectives, and the focus of the particular gym.

The last point I will make about the integration phase is that it is almost always a good idea to leave at least a few minutes at the end of every class for an open question and answer period. By open I mean students should free to ask any question, even if it doesn't pertain to the lesson taught that day.

These Q & A sessions can be really valuable for the group, and as a teacher it is an excellent opportunity for you to involve the entire group in problem solving.

My favorite questions are always the ones I don't have an immediate answer to. This provides a chance for everyone to grow. But even if you do have a snappy answer ready, it is always better to engage the student who is asking the question in a conversation. Give them a chance to problem solve, think critically, and potentially discover the solution on their own. This is sometimes known as the "inquiry method" of teaching, or the Socratic method. And it is another topic I am sure I will devote an entire article to sometime in the future. Studies have shown that students who discover answers on their own (perhaps with your guidance, or leading questions) tend to retain those answers at a much higher rate, as opposed to simply being 'told' or shown the answer, without having to work or think for it at all.

The worst possible coaching method is quite often a direct answer to a direct question.

Part of the job a great teacher or coach has is helping his/her students to learn how to learn. One of my major goals as a BJJ coach is to make myself (as their coach) less and less necessary. A great coach should be like a great butler, there when you really need them, but working unseen in the background the rest of the time.

So that’s the basics of the ‘I’ method. To re-cap:

Step #1 = Introduction
Step #2 = Isolation
Step #3 = Integration

Notes for the Introductions phase:

1- Use little to no resistance when introducing the move.

2- Encourage verbal communication between training partners.

3- Make sure the movement can be done properly without resistance before proceeding to the drill stage, which for us (SBGi) always incorporates resistance.

4- Stick the fundamentals of the delivery system being taught.

5- Introduce the movements in the order in which they occur in an Alive roll.

6- Remember the habits you want your students to develop, and emphasize these points by organizing the order in which you introduce the material, and the amount of time you spend on each piece.

7- Don’t create problems for your students before they arise naturally on the mat.

8- Observe and listen to the conversations on the mat to make sure everyone is getting it.

9- End with a question and answer period for anyone who still may have a question about the material you just introduced.

Notes for the Isolation (drilling) phase:

The five types of drills:

Drill Type - Helps Isolate:

1- Objective - A Goal
2- Isolation - A Movement/ Technique
3- Call Out - A Transition
4- Re-set - A Position
5- Pocket - A Range/ Distance

1- Make sure everyone is using progressive resistance. Explaining what progressive resistance means before the drill starts, designating the coach for the round, and matching people up can all help facilitate this.

2 - Keep everyone working throughout the round. The time for conversations and questions is now over. Everyone can evaluate the movements and ask questions again after the drill period has ended.

3 - As a coach one of your top priorities is the safety of the people on your mat. So keep your eyes and ears open, and pay attention to what is occurring during the drills.

Notes for the Integration phase:

1- Give time at the end of the class for the students to roll, or spar.

2- Use this period to put the material you worked in class back into the context of the overall game you are playing. And take the time to go through that context.

3- Leave a short period at the end of class for a general question and answer period where students feel free to ask any questions they may have. And encourage critical thinking, and problem solving.

The Posture – Pressure – Possibilities model:

The last drilling concept I will talk about is a newer method of organizing a class that was created by one of the Portland Gym coaches, Cane Prevost. We call this method the Posture, Pressure, Possibilities model, and it is pretty fantastic in its simplicity.

Here is a post that Cane made in our member’s forum http://www.straightblastgym.com/ where he explains in detail this Coaching model:

“I always use the I method exclusively in my classes. I’ll never teach anything in class that students don’t get to try against resistance that same class. I’ve always done that. What I’m doing differently now is that I almost never start with techniques anymore.

I found that it works way better if I build a foundation first. My teaching progression for most classes now is posture then pressure then objective/purpose. In that order.

If I have a particular technique I want to introduce I’ll first find the posture and work that separate from the technique. Then once everyone is good with the posture I’ll add pressure. I try to do an isolation round of sparring for each part.

Once everyone is able to work good posture and pressure I’ll begin to add objective/purpose which for me is often expressed in a technique. That way they don’t learn a technique in a vacuum. They have a foundation to hang it on. I found that doing it this way I get way more students able to use the technique when I isolate it in sparring than I used to. The difference has been remarkable.Here’s an example from this week to illustrate-I wanted to teach some escapes from back mount when top guy has hooks in. Where I started was posture. I showed them how to ball up and protect the neck. The top guy got a harness without hooks and the bottom guy just worked on posture. Once everyone could posture properly I isolated it by having the top guy hold the harness and roll them around a bit. All the bottom guy had to do was keep the ball. After the isolation round I corrected posture a bit and showed them a simple way to remove a hook if the top guy got one in. Then we isolated again. This time the top guy was trying to get both hooks in. If the top guy got both hooks in he “won” and they’d go back to neutral and start over. The bottom guy was just supposed to remove the hooks as they got in and resume the ball.I then went back to isolation stage. I could have taught an escape technique here but I wanted to break it down more and introduce a pressure first. I had them roll onto their side, still in a ball. The top guy has both hooks in. After they roll onto their side I had them remove the bottom hook and sit on the leg, still in posture. No escape yet. I didn’t prioritize which side they rolled to even though there definitely is a better side when the top guy has harness. I didn’t want to give too much detail. I often found that if I give too much detail right off the bat students get lost in the details and lose the technique. Anyway, I isolated again. This time the top guy started with both hooks in and harness.

The bottom guy was supposed to roll to one side and remove the bottom hook and sit on it. I told them to not go farther into the escape yet. I wanted them to stop there.Finally I went back to intro stage and showed the escape from back. I showed them how to slump to prevent the RNC. I showed them how to trap the bottom arm in the harness and to fall to that side. I showed them how to remove the hook and drive their inside shoulder to the mat and use the ground to peel their opponent off their backs. They picked up the technique easily because the isolation we had been doing earlier contained most of the movements for the technique already. They understood the technique because they had a posture and pressure to hang it on. I went to isolation stage and had them escape from back mount when the top guy had hooks and harness. Every single person was pulling it off or making serious threats with it right away.It’s a lot of prep work to show one technique but I can see the results. I know that more people will retain it too.

More importantly the class is taught in a progressive way with the most important stuff first. That way students can turn off their brains when they get full and still leave with useful info. Beginners will remember the posture. Students with more experience may not remember the technique but they will remember the posture and some pressure and they’ll be able to pose a threat with those. More experienced students will remember it all. That’s been my solution to teaching to a mixed room of new beginners to advanced students. I’ll actually tell students in class “OK, I already taught all the important stuff, you don’t have to remember anything from here on out.” I learned that from a beginner. He told me that’s what he did anyway because he just couldn’t retain it all. Other beginners have told me how helpful it is to know they don’t have to try to remember it all. When they come to my classes they know all they really have to know is that first thing I show them. Anything more than that is just gravy. In any case everyone is able to leave with a piece that works for them and everyone improved their back game regardless of experience. Even those who knew everything I showed got better from all the isolation sparring.Sorry for the length. I hope this makes some sense to somebody?

I’m a teacher by trade and I get as excited about teaching bjj as I do training it. Of course it goes without saying that I invented none of this but stole it from lots of good coaches I know including Matt.

Stage 1- In this stage we start with posture. Students learn where to put their arms and legs etc. in relation to their opponents. They practice in intro stage a bit.Then they isolate it. Usually this means either trying to keep the posture against resistance or trying to get to the posture. If they are doing cross sides bottom for example, I'd have them work on just getting to the posture from a bad position. If they are working cross sides top I'd have them work on keeping it.

Stage 2- Here I'd introduce some pressures from the posture. This could be shoulder of justice from top, or push and pull from guard bottom, or upa etc. Next, they'd isolate again using the pressure. I'd have them work against resistance with the only goal to apply the pressure while maintaining posture. The partner's goal would be to break their posture.

Stage 3- Here I'd introduce the purpose/objective. This is where you actually pass the guard, or pull off the sub, or escape from bottom etc. Once they have the technique I'd isolate again with the objective in mind. Most times when I do this I'll do one round with them trying to use the technique I taught and one round where they can use whatever they want.What I like is that beginners usually will remember stage 1 stuff. More advanced students will get stage 2 and sometimes 3. The teaching progression is most important stuff first. That way they can shut off their brains when full.

- Cane Prevost”

Here is a follow up note on the forum posted by another SBGi Coach, Travis Davison:

“Cane wanted to let you know that all my classes use a version of your above description. I break my classes into the following categories:

-Posture within the position
-Pressure within the posture
-Potential within the pressure

Rarely do my classes involve subs they generally deal with establishing position or escaping/surviving. Each class builds on the previous class which allows for a review at the start of each class aiding in the retention of material and also helping students who missed a class.

- Travis Davison”

The posture – pressure – possibility model in something I teach often at seminars now.

I was recently in Sweden where I watched John Kavanagh teach a class on countering spider guard (feet in biceps with gi variation). He used the 3-P model, and rather then showing a technique-by-technique set of counters, he demonstrated a posture you want to immediately try and get into should your opponent start to play this kind of guard. Students then went through various rounds of drilling where one side worked the guard, and the other attempted to get to posture. The posture itself effectively killed this type of guard, and the possibilities that flowed off of it where almost limitless. By keeping it simple and focusing on posture, not only did John get everyone better rapidly, he also gave them plenty of room to explore their own games/variations that flowed from this.

The 3-P model is an example of our curriculum continuing to evolve. And it’s also a good example of how this type of evolution inevitably leads to greater simplicity and an increased understanding of the delivery system itself.

Reverse engineering a “style”

I was recently training with my coach Chris Haueter, and as we were working from crossides he noticed that I was using my chest in an area where most people will use their hip. The reason for it is pretty simple, I am 6’8” tall, so there are some BJJ moves that I may do a bit differently to accommodate my size. The real point though, is that this is really the case with everyone. All of us have different bodies, attributes, and most importantly, temperaments. All of these different qualities lead to each of us playing a different “style”.

This is one of many reasons why we focus on fundamentals at SBGi, as it gives the most creative freedom for each athlete to go through this important process of learning how to make the material work for them. While at the same time preserving the core technology of the delivery system itself.

But it is also an example of reverse engineering a style.

You can watch any BJJ athlete roll, see the way they play the game, and work backwards from there as a means to try and shut down their game. Some athletes are really good at this, and they can use it to help themselves or their athletes compete in MMA, or BJJ. Randy Couture is quite good at this, and I have listened to him break down other fighter’s games (in terms of what would be needed to stop them) with fairly accurate and precise detail. Not all competitors have this capability.

That stated, one of the best ways to develop this skill, is to really go in depth in terms of “why” BJJ works the way it does. If you understand the ‘why’ part, then you will also understand how someone else is able to do what they do.

This brings us back around again to the basic physics of how BJJ works, it’s fundamentals, and part of the reason we do things the way we do. It is so we can pass this information on to the next generation; those who will take all of it, and build upon it. In the process they will be taking the Art further then it was before. Further then I could. And that is the true objective of any sincere teacher, or coach.

My main objective is to produce people who understand and do BJJ better then I ever have. That is what I am here for.

Sometimes the steps we take to help ensure our own students are better then we were can seem a bit odd to an outsider. For example, the names we use. When we see a particular movement that is often overlooked, but is in fact really crucial to the game, we often name it. Naming something tends to help students remember it. The “Shoulder of Justice” is a great example of this. It is by all accounts just a cross face from top. And yet, when done correctly it can have drastic effects on your opponent’s position. So although the name may indeed be in good fun, there is also a reason to the rhyme.

Finally there is that piece about posture again. When you are reverse engineering another athlete’s style, the best place to start is often posture. Posture is both the beginning, and in many ways the end of fighting knowledge (stand up, clinch and ground).

For example, if you have an athlete that is really good at working butterfly hook sweeps from guard, it does not therefore mean that the best thing to do is drill counters to butterfly hook sweeps. Instead, try looking at the basic posture the athlete sets him/herself into prior to achieving the sweep. I can promise you that the athlete is good at the sweep, because they are good at acquiring that posture. If you can learn to recognize, and then break down that posture, you can shut down their sweeps.

It’s going to the root of the problem, as opposed to the branches.

As a coach creating drills for his athletes, keep this simple point in mind. If you work consistently from the root of the delivery system, from the postures, then you will rapidly accelerate the learning curve of your student’s performance as well as their big picture understanding of the game.

Some notes on reverse engineering a game:

1- What posture does a move work from?
2- Why does it require that posture?
3- What posture can be used to counter it?
4- How can we drill this counter?
5- How does this translate into my own game?

Final points

On a last note I will address a final few questions I get asked about drilling.

The first is, how does this change when training for a competition?

I am planning on writing another article in the future that will go in depth into the subject of competition; a topic that is not as simple as many people tend to think. In the meantime I will say that we divide competition up two ways at my Gym. There is MMA, and then there is BJJ, or submission grappling (no-gi).

With MMA we have very strict guidelines and training standards that we hold to. These are in place primarily for the well being and safety of the fighters themselves. I will go into depth on this topic in the future, but the main thing is that I never wanted to have a Gym where people feel pressured to fight. I don’t want to be in a facility where, should a young athletic person walk in, everyone immediately starts to ask them “when is your fight?” We have a very good Pro/Am Team at my Gym right now. And a large part of that is due to the standards we keep. All of which helps to maintain a healthy atmosphere for everyone.

With BJJ it is a bit different. I have no issue suggesting everyone try at one point or another some form of public grappling competition. My experience over the last Twelve Years has been that it is a positive thing for almost everyone who tries it. And we will sometimes even encourage students with less then 6 Months of training to give it a shot, assuming it is something that sounds fun to them. I myself competed in gi and no gi, as a blue, purple, and brown belt. It is a learning experience no doubt.

The last question is related to the gi. Does training gi or no-gi affect the drilling process?

Over the Years I have always done both gi, and no-gi. I have worn a gi consistently since I started BJJ in the early 90’s. I have also done a lot of no-gi over the Years. The ratio for each would vary from Year to Year, but in general I would always do at least a little of each every week. Both have benefits, and both have defaults. As I tell all my upper belts, just do both. And regards drilling, the concepts are all the same.

So there it is, the SBGi drilling methods.

If I could end on any single point, it would be this. As a coach your main job is to help students get better at the Art. Your intention to help your students is something that can’t be faked. And it’s a sick philosophical paradigm if you try and fake it!

It’s never about fake it until you make it. It’s about being ‘real’. No more, no less. You have to care about your students. If you don’t, let them know. And let them move on to a place where they do fit in. Sincerity is the cornerstone to it all.

You don’t need a “life coach” or self help book to tell you this. You don’t need anymore scams. As I write it, and you read it, it rings true. You know it already.

Many students will come and go. This activity is not for everybody, nor should it be.

If you look down on others for not having the “stick to it-ness” you would like, then you yourself have already lost. Don’t buy into the shallow corporate advertising style bullshit of “no excuses”. Don't you know, they are just trying to sell you some plastic sewn together sell outs, produced by Vietnamese laborers who will never be paid anything beyond a slave wage. It’s all garbage values.

You have to reach the place where you understand that everyone needs to follow their own bliss, and that will be different for every-body. And if you find yourself having to move on, then just remember to do it with class (few people can). You can honor everything that got you to a certain point, while at the same time realizing the gratitude that will exist at being where you feel at home.

That stated, if you are sincere then you will find yourself surrounded by people who you not only care about, but who care about you. And that is something no bank account can buy. Those that have ever seen a Portland Gym gathering post fight (usually in some dark Chinese restaurant) know exactly what I am talking about. It’s not something that can be bought.

True Coaching is not a sales transaction.

Five Questions . . .

2007-11-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

Being an excellent Coach in BJJ requires proficiency in three different areas.

The first is of course, your own personal performance. To receive a black belt in BJJ you should have the performance ability of a black belt. However, being able to perform or even compete well as a black belt is no guarantee you can teach others the Art. In fact, some of the worst Coaches I have seen also happen to be great competitors. It’s important to note that teaching and Coaching skills are in many ways a separate skill set. And just like your own game, teaching others requires training, practice, and attention.

In addition to your own performance and teaching ability, there is a separate talent that I also feel is equally important. It plays a valued role in both your rolling, and Coaching skills. This talent is the ability to evaluate the skills sets, strengths, weaknesses, openings, and talents of someone else’s game.

Some people can teach a great class and have a good game themselves on the mat, but when it comes to being able to spot holes in somebody else’s game, or areas that could most use improvement, they falter a bit. I have also met other Coaches that could tell after observing even a single roll, exactly what kind of game another person is using. And how that game will match up as it relates to the bigger picture of BJJ.

This talent is directly linked to your overall understanding of the Art itself. And that big picture analysis requires among other things, the ability to determine what is a fundamental, and what is not. And that is what I want to discuss in this article.

Those of you that have trained with me in person know that my entire Coaching philosophy is based on the importance of solid fundamentals, and drilling them in a safe but very Alive manner. As such, this is a topic I think about a lot, and it goes to the heart of my entire teaching theory as it relates to SBGi.

As a student of BJJ, being able to determine what is a fundamental and what is not. What everyone needs to know, and what may be more “style specific”, is in my opinion one of the most important skills you can develop. As such, here is a simple guideline I often teach.

A fundamental must meet at least 3 basic points:

1- It's something everyone who plays BJJ needs to know how to do.

2- It's something everyone who plays BJJ will do in essentially the same way.

3- It's something everyone who plays BJJ will need to do viscerally while rolling (i.e.: without conscious thought) in order to play the game well.

So as an example, not everyone who plays BJJ at a black belt level plays X guard. Rickson (to my knowledge) never played this type of half guard game. As such, I would not consider X guard a fundamental. This does not mean that some black belts will not use X guard as a core part of their own game (ie: Garcia), and it certainly doesn’t mean I wont teach an X guard class in my own Gym. But it does mean that you can be a perfectly good black belt, without having an X guard. The same can be said for pivot sweeps, DLR guards, rubber guard, and a whole encyclopedia of BJJ movements.

Contrast the above example with an elbow escape. Every black belt on planet Earth has a solid elbow escape (or should). The mechanics behind the basic motion won't change much; the physics of the movement remain the same regardless of age, weight, etc. And it's one of those things all good players start to do as a natural reaction, without having to stop and think about it.

The ironic part is that as a Coach, the more you veer away from just core fundamentals, the more I believe you actually stifle much of the organic growth process, the journey, that all BJJ athletes have to take.

Likewise, the more you stick to just fundamentals, the more room for creativity, play, and unique games you give to your athletes on the mat. A Gym that focuses on core fundamentals will never (or rarely) have two purple belts that play the same type of game. A Gym that teaches a "style", that is deviates away from fundamentals, will wind up having a lot of students who all roll and move the same way . . .using the same guard passes, subs, etc.

Another point to consider is how fundamentals are taught. Most (not all) fundamental movements in BJJ can be taught as broad concepts, or postures. The posture, pressure, possibility model fits perfectly here.

When you begin teaching a "Style" you wind up having to teach more on a technique-by-technique basis . . .it's not about universal principles, but rather the Coaches own interpretation of those principles. Your no longer giving the athlete the freedom to explore his/her own map, you’re instead picking the routes for them. And that is imo, the weakest and slowest way to teach BJJ.

Going back to teaching methods, since most fundamental principles related to BJJ can be taught through positions/postures, most of my classes focus on position. When your teaching position first, staying on track in terms of fundamentals is a pretty easy task. IE: I don't think it's too hard to determine what the core fundamentals are for holding or escaping mount, head and arm, modified head and arm, crossides, etc. What I usually encourage student teachers to do when it comes to this topic is to answer for themselves the following questions:

The 5 Questions of BJJ:

1- Make a list of all the core fundamental positions within BJJ.

2- Determine what the top 3 to 5 things (major points, principles, concepts) are as it relates to holding that position. And ask yourself why those are the 3-5 things.

3- Determine what the top 3 to 5* things (major points, principles, concepts) are as it relates to escaping that position. And ask yourself why those are the 3-5 things. *(I seldom go above 5 because it's usually over complex if I do so)

4- Determine the order in which those 3-5 things arise naturally during a competitive roll. And ask yourself why those 3-5 things occur in that order.

5- Create a drill to develop the top 3-5 habits in an Alive environment.

Not only is this a good exercise for teachers, I think it's great for everyone who studies BJJ. If you take the time to answer these questions on your own, then your personal understanding of the game itself will increase a hundredfold. And barring mat time, I don't think there is a single factor that will help you accelerate your learning curve greater then that conceptual model you have built yourself, and own in terms of personal understanding.

That stated, it's pretty easy to answer the above as it relates to positions once you have some serious mat time in BJJ. This process teaches you what fundamentals are. But when we venture away from positions, and more towards sweeps and submissions, the ability to determine whether something is a core fundamental, or style specific, becomes trickier. This is where I add three additional ideas:

Three teaching suggestions:

1- Curriculum wise it's about creating habits.

2- Teaching method wise it's a question of focus rather then exposure.

3- There are no rules, only warnings.

The second one (teaching method wise it's a question of focus rather then exposure) means that when it comes to specific sweeps as an example, I have classified a few core basics I think everyone should know, ie: double ankle sweep, scissor sweep, hip bump sweep, basic butterfly hook sweep, etc. In addition I have added the core subs, armbar, triangle, kimura, americana, uma plata, RNC, fundamental collar chokes, etc. When I venture to far off this list, (ie: here is a rolling collar choke that presents itself off a failed uma plata attempt that you go for when your opponent is opening your closed guard standing) Then I usually do so more to expose the athletes to the move, as opposed to focusing an entire class, or extensive drill time to such a move.

What you focus on is what’s critical, that does not mean that the athletes don't get exposed to possibilities. . . . . .only that the focus is on fundamentals.

Likewise, I will on occasion break my own rules. As an example I taught an entire BJJ class last week that covered fundamental collar chokes, the high percentage ones. This class focused on the grips and chokes, and not on position. I explained as a disclaimer that I don't usually teach that way, but wanted to throw in something different. All these students get a steady diet of positional work as they are in my Gym, so no harm. The class worked out well. I wouldn't suggest basing a curriculum on that method, but it's fun to throw in alternative focus points from time to time.

Rule #3 (there are no rules, only warnings) also applies to all fundamentals. If you don't play correct base and posture, bad things can happen (armbars, triangles, etc). Does that mean that a can opener will never work? No it does not. The same can be said for collar chokes when inside someone’s guard. . .sometimes it works.

So here is how it flows together. . . . . do we want our athletes (especially new people/ white belts) doing can openers and ezekial chokes inside the closed guard?

I for one know that is not the habit I want my beginners to develop. And again point #1, it's about creating habits. . . .that does not mean that I won’t show them a can opener (especially how to counter it), that is point #2, exposure, rather then focus. And when I tell them not to do a can opener I wont say "because you will always get armbarred" because that is not true. . .I will tell them that in Jits we have warnings, not rules, and that is point #3. And if you grab the neck like this then we need to give you a huge warning as it relates to submission exposure, that is why we teach this instead.

Now rather then saying "just do this because I say so". . .you are actually helping to further their understanding of why we do what we do. And I think that point is critical, and often one of the things that marks a good teacher.

It is also why I follow each of the 5 questions with the follow up question of why. The “why” question is perhaps the most important, and it’s a question that you as a Coach want to encourage every student to answer for themselves. By allowing the student the freedom to think over the “why” question, you provide the space needed for them to build that conceptual model in their own head. And that individual, personal understanding about the big picture of BJJ is perhaps the single biggest factor (barring mat time), that anyone can have when it comes to an accelerated learning curve.

Those three points, habits versus options, focus vs exposure, and warnings versus rules, help balance out a solid curriculum. And if you fill that curriculum with solid fundamentals, and take the time to answer the five questions of BJJ for yourself, you are bound to have good success.

Exploring the Map . . .

2007-02-13T00:51:00.000-08:00

One of the most common questions I am asked when I travel and teach is this. . .”what do I need to work on?” As a coach you will need to get used to being asked this, it is part of the job.

The answer to this question will of course be individualized to a great degree. But over the last Ten Years of Coaching BJJ I have also become aware of certain patterns that most athletes will follow in one form or another. It’s the journey all BJJ players undertake, and to explain my own personal vision of it as a Coach and teacher I often use a map analogy.

Imagine for a moment that the Art and science of BJJ is all diagramed out on a large map. Your job as a teacher and Coach is to help the student to first be able to read and navigate on the map, and then to begin to explore the map. As the individual becomes more adept at traveling the territory of the map, they begin to gain greater degrees of performance skill and understanding of the Art of BJJ.

Using that metaphor, here are some of the major steps I often see. . .

White to Blue:

The journey of white belt to blue belt in BJJ is one of familiarization.

Using the map analogy, its where you learn to read the map, this is north, south, east, west, etc. And also, where you learn what the major areas of the map are (neighborhoods). The combination of the two in BJJ terms is that you need to learn what and where all the major positions are (neighborhoods), and what the major routes are that connect those positions/neighborhoods, those major roads are the fundamental objectives. As an example, the five point passing game that we teach covers the basic objectives you are looking to accomplish as you try and pass the guard.

In short the journey from white to blue is where the athlete learns to basic rules of the road, learns to play the game.

What to work on:

As a teacher your major focus is best spent on the basic positions, principles, and objectives of BJJ. You want the athlete to first be able to recognize what the major positions are, and secondly to understand what their major objectives are when they find themselves in these positions. The sooner the student learns these two things the sooner they can begin to play the game, ie: explore the map. So a good teacher will keep it basic, clear, and concise, and create an environment where a newbie can start to roll on day one without feeling overwhelmed or confused by the tasks at hand.

As a student at this level your major objectives are simple, familiarize yourself with the major positions and fundamental movements. And secondly, relax.

Keeping it very simple and staying very relaxed will accelerate your game faster then any piece of advise I could offer a white belt. Who taps you out or doesn’t tap you out is completely irrelevant at this level. What’s important is that you enjoy yourself, and allow your body the time to familiarize itself with the mechanics of a roll.

Things to avoid:

As a Coach the major errors at this stage involve two things. The first is straying too far from solid fundamental movements/ positions. Teaching lock flows, elaborate submission set ups, or too many techniques in a single class will only confuse and slow down the progress of most white belts.

The second is straying too far from solid Coaching methods, the ‘here is a few new techniques, now lets roll method’. . .or the ’lets do 500 dead repetitions of this move’, are sure fire ways to slow down the learning curve of any new athlete.

These mistakes remain a constant throughout the athlete’s progress, and solid fundamentals combined with good ‘I’ method classes are a must throughout the athlete’s career. But they are an absolute deal breaker at the white belt level. Intermediate or advance BJJ athletes can still learn and grow even from poor Coaches who don’t really know how to run a proper class, or workout. But beginners will find themselves completely lost, and may eventually become turned off to the entire activity in that kind of environment.

As an athlete the thing to watch out for at this level is frustration. Because you may often find yourself in an unfamiliar position when rolling, and be unsure of exactly what you should even be trying to do, frustration can often get the best of you. The single best piece of advice I can offer at this level is this. . . .just relax. BJJ takes time, so just enjoy yourself as much as possible. It’s not a race.

Blue to Purple:

The journey of blue to purple is one of detail.

If an individual has no previous background in wrestling, then a lot of BJJ can seem like magic when you first learn it. There is a stage as a beginner where knowledge of a new technique can become that crucial edge that allows you to survive or even beat, a large, strong peer who may have previously smashed you on the mat. So it’s normal that as one comes out of that white belt stage and begins to play the game as an early blue belt, the idea that accumulation of technique equals learning becomes a natural assumption. This is why the blue belt stage is where you gather your instructional DVD collection. It’s also one of the traps of the blue belt. We will talk more about this further down.

Using the map analogy, it’s where you really start to explore the different neighborhoods. You are past the stage of learning to identify north, south, east, west, and the major neighborhoods/ positions, and you’re fully engaged in exploring these areas. No matter what position a Coach calls out, a solid blue belt should have no problem identifying it, and having a good basic idea of what they should be doing from there. Becoming ‘good’ at playing in those different positions is what the stage of blue belt is all about...

What to work on:

As a teacher your major focus is best spent on drilling positions. Submission should be kept to the minimum solid core moves, but the emphasis should always be kept on holding, controlling and escaping from positions. This is of course the case for all levels of athlete. But I think this rule becomes particularly important at the blue belt phase, because the Coach needs to bring the student out of the technique based mode, into a broader positional perspective.

I also believe that blue belt is the where the open guard should really start to be fleshed out. Open guard is the heart and soul of BJJ, and by starting people with the open guard, as opposed to the closed guard, you encourage the development of excellent hip movement. And no-thing in BJJ is more important then that.

As a student work your open guard! Learn to play an active and aggressive guard game. Treat it as an offensive position, with the mindset that regardless of who they are. . .they will not pass your guard. Work your escapes from bottom game. Your emphasis on open guard will help here, as you will be developing solid hip movement. And as always, stick to developing your positional skills and thinking in broader concepts.

Why does BJJ work the way it does?

What are the top three things you are trying to accomplish in any given position?

What is the best priority for those things?

Find the answers for yourself to questions like this. Now that you can play the game it’s time to begin that lifelong process of simplifying the principles and concepts that the game is composed of.

Things to avoid:

As a Coach the biggest thing to remember when coaching blue belts is patience. Patience is always important no matter who you are coaching, but it can be particularly trying with blue belts because as mentioned previously, they may still be caught in that accumulation phase. The belief that getting better must mean learning a new submission, or a new move, is a phase that many blue belts go through. And as a good coach you need to be patient with them and create an environment where they are guided towards a bigger picture perspective.

As always, sticking with core fundamentals in every class helps facilitate this process.

As an athlete the thing to watch for as a blue belt is the tendency to be distracted from the fundamentals by some flash, or an overly complicated game plan. Learning to differentiate between movements which really are core fundamentals and those that are not, is a skill which may not be fully developed yet. Just because you see a very good competitor or black belt execute that movement or game doesn’t mean it’s something you need to be working on right now.

How is your elbow escape?
Head and arm escapes?
Cross sides escapes?
Base & posture in the closed guard?

By sticking to core fundamentals you will grow much faster.

Purple to Brown:

The journey of purple to brown is one of intense refinement.

There are two belts in BJJ that are the hardest to get. The second hardest belt to achieve is, the purple belt.

Most people that study BJJ for more then a few Years will at some point receive a blue belt. But a purple belt is a different matter. A purple belt means that not only can you play the game (a blue belt) but you can play it really well. Many people will quit BJJ before receiving their purple belt.

But, the hardest belt to achieve is without a doubt, the brown belt. A brown belt doesn’t just play the game well, they play it so well that they are dangerous to everyone they roll with, black belt, world champion, everyone. The step from brown to black (if the brown belt was legitimate to begin with) is always a short hop. So although most people will be purple belts for many Years, the brown belt stage is often quite shorter. This is what makes the brown belt so hard to achieve, and this is why you will most likely be a purple belt longer then you will a white, blue, or brown.

Purple belt is your hump belt, it’s the belt where you put it all the hard work. The time for learning a lot of new technique has passed. There will always be new movements to learn. There is no end to the amount of techniques and counters that will develop in an Alive Art like BJJ. BJJ evolves, like everything else living. But for the most part these things will be variations of root movements you are already familiar with. By now you will know full well that being good at BJJ is not a process of accumulation, but rather one of timing. And that timing is only acquired when you roll and drill Alive. You will have to have thousands of matches. Spend thousands of hours drilling positions, working escapes, working guard passing, playing guard, playing top, and fleshing out your entire game.

As a purple belt no position can go unlearned. It is impossible to be a legitimate brown belt and have a “poor guard”, or “bad escape game”. You need to be good in every position, top, bottom, guard, half guard, and quarter positions. And all this takes time.

Going back to our map analogy, if the journey from white to blue was about learning to read the map and travel along the main routes, and the journey from blue to purple was about becoming familiar with all the neighborhoods, then the journey from purple to brown is one of deep refinement.

You are learning to ‘google earth’ at this stage.

Not only can you get around the map and know all the major neighborhoods well, but you are fleshing out all the streets in each and every separate square block. It’s tiring work because nobody can give you a short cut here. If you really want to develop that true understanding of the entire game of BJJ (and I know you do because you are smart enough to be reading this) then you have to get out onto the mat and walk every single city block on the map. Getting better as a purple belt is about rolling, and drilling positions Alive. . . .over and over again.

What to work on:

As a teacher your major focus is on helping this athlete flesh out his/her game. This means they need to be exposed to athletes of different shapes, sizes, and styles of play. If you have done a good job as a head Coach then you have already created an environment where that can occur. By focusing always on fundamentals you have allowed an entire room of athletes to develop their own unique games, while at the same time making sure they are all highly technical and skilled. Now it’s time to let that room do its work.

You have to honor the process, and you do that by guiding purple belts through the ups and downs of being a competitive athlete.

(Whether they compete publicly or not doesn’t matter here. All purples belts will be constantly matching their game against others in daily, competitive matches within the Gym. And as such they will experience the highs and lows that come with these types of performance activities).

Having specific classes and times where the purple belts and more competitive athletes in your gym can train together and drill at a more intense and aggressive pace, is one of the single most important thing you can do to help as their Coach.

ICC 1996 - SBG Competition Team 98 Portland OR
includes Robert Follis, Tom Oberhue,
Nate Quarry, Jeff Wassom, and Eric Hemphill.

As a student don’t become too attached to any specific position or game. If you have a good Coach who really cares about you, then you will be a purple belt for a long time. And over those Years you will have a certain set of positions and routes that you will prefer over others. A type of game you may feel suits you best. But understand this, as a purple belt that game is not only subject to change, it’s guaranteed to!

You have a lot of work ahead of you at this belt. You have to flesh out the details of every single position that can occur on the mat. It’s not enough to just be ‘ok’ at certain positions anymore, while being ‘good’ at others. You now have to learn to be good at all the positions. And as your body goes through this process, it will of its own accord discover exactly what positions it favors, and those it doesn’t. But you won’t exactly know until the entire map is fleshed out what that game may be like in its final phases. You may spend a few Years being known primarily as a ‘guard guy’. And then within the span of a few days switch completely to playing more of a passing and top game style. You may discover that your left butterfly hook completely changes how you work your old half guard. Or that your ever developing top game also tends to change your preferred guard passing method.

All these changes are positive. It’s completely natural to play one type of game for a few Years, and another for a few more after that. That is how your body learns. You have to go through this process in order to develop that completely fleshed out, well rounded, game. That google earth map. It’s the purple belt process. Just go with it, and let your body play.

Things to avoid:

As a Coach Just as with blue belts, being very patient with purple belts will become a needed skill. It’s a slightly different thing though. Where as blue belts tend to become attached to learning new ‘moves’, purple belts tend to become attached to playing certain types of games, or ‘styles’.

As I have stated above, most people will be purple belts for a long time. Because of that there can be a huge difference between a brand new purple belt, and an athlete that has been a purple belt for five or six Years. As a beginner purple belt, style can make a massive difference in certain matches. One purple belt may meet another one and completely dominate, not because they are so much better then the other athlete, but more so because the two styles of the athletes just didn’t match up well. Likewise, they may find themselves smashed when working against a particular individual, and become very discouraged. This is because although they are good, there are still parts of the map that need a lot of detailing out as a young purple belt. And if they get caught on one of those blocks that has not been fleshed out yet, and that happens to be a neighborhood their opponents knows well, they can find themselves tapping much faster then expected.

An advanced purple belt won’t experience such a drastic change in performance based solely on their opponent’s style of play. That’s because they have filled in the detail on the majority of the map. So no matter where their opponent may take them, they can still usually put up a decent fight. Understanding this as a coach allows you to witness when an athlete may be moving out of the purple belt phase, and into a brown belt. And until that occurs, you as a Coach have to maintain the patience required to continually remind the athlete that although the game they are playing now is really good, don’t they still have a few positions, or neighborhoods that they could be detailing out a bit more?

The single best question you can ask a purple belt is this, where are you weakest? You have to create an environment where the athlete is forced to work their weak positions, while at the same time they are still able to play competitively and develop their strengths.

And when the purple belt comes to you sure that they have sorted out their own style, be patient, smile, and send them back onto the mat for more work.

As an athlete The thing to watch for as a purple belt is exactly what I described above, your attachment to any single game, or style of play. Understand that your job at this belt is to really learn to play well at every single position that occurs within BJJ. This doesn’t just take time, it also means that as your body is given time to work from these positions your own personal game and style of play will change. Its okay to work on developing you’re ‘A’ game, just remember that today’s A game may become tomorrows B game, and enjoy the process along the way.

Brown to Black:

The journey of brown to black is one of simplification.

If the process described above was fully traveled, and the athlete had a Coach who cared enough about them to keep them at each belt until they were ready, then by the time you reach the stage of a legitimate brown belt you will pose a threat to ever person you touch hands with.

You won’t have any holes in your game. As I mentioned above, it’s impossible to be a legitimate brown belt and have a “poor guard”, or “bad escape game”. You won’t just know every position on the mat; you will be good at every position. “Style” will still make a difference when you roll, but it won’t play nearly as large a part as it does when you are a brand new purple belt. By this stage of learning, even if you are taken out of the positions you prefer to play in, you will still bring plenty of game.

Matt with Jeff Munson SBGi Camp 2000

If you read the description above and wonder what the difference is between a brown belt and a black belt, the answer is this. As a good purple belt you had begun the process of developing your own “style”. As I mentioned above, this style is not only subject to change as a purple belt, it’s guaranteed to. But, by the time you reach brown belt that individual style of play has become more solidified. It is identifiable, and it will be a direct reflection of your own personality, build, strengths, weakness, and mindset.

Your task at brown belt is simple; it’s time to perfect your routes.

Using the map analogy, you learned the read and explore the major areas of the map as you went from white to blue. You gained experience and time in the various neighborhoods on the path from blue to purple. And you filled in a lot of detail regarding the entire city on the journey from purple to brown. Along the way you began to figure out what sections of a particular neighborhood, city blocks, specific streets and even ally ways that you prefer to travel. That process of discovering your own preferred routes. . . .that is the process of discovering your own “style”. By the end of the purple belt stage, those particular pathways have been carved out. Now that you are a brown belt, it’s time to perfect those routes.

What to work on:

At brown belt the answer to this should be very simple. It’s now time to be very competitive. It’s time to get in shape, push your body, and push your game. The only way to sharpen those routes, to test those specific directions you have for the map is to wrestle competitively against as many people as possible. You need to spend sometime matching your “style” against other styles. You need to pressure test your game.

As a brown belt you need to be willing to roll with anyone that walks into the Gym. And you have to enter the roll expecting to win.

In order to do this you will need to be an athlete. You will never know how your game works under pressure unless you’re capable of pushing yourself past the point where most people tire out. If you don’t ever experience that level of conditioning, then you may never reach those points where your game becomes tested the way it should be.

You have mastered the fundamentals already. You know the technique. Now it is time to see just how good your body can perform those mechanics. Just how can you be?

Matt & Karl in Munich 2004

As a teacher:

When you’re working with brown belts you have for the most part gone past the point of being a ‘teacher’. Offering new tips or techniques is not what a brown belt needs. To work well with brown belts you need to be a Coach. Your council will revolve more around specific strategies. As one brown belt pits his style against a worthy opponent, advice on how to approach the match, deal with conditioning, and handle pressure all become key areas to work on.

You also have to be willing to let the brown belts go. In other words, let them be a very competitive animal, let them make their mistakes, gain their confidence and fine tune their game. Sometimes the best thing you can do for BJJ athletes at this stage is to get out of their way, give them space, and be their only if asked. A good coach at this stage is a lot like a good butler. You may never notice they are there, but if they are needed they are available right away.

Matt with Randy Couture and Jeff Munson 2000

As a student it’s time to push yourself more then you ever have before in BJJ. And if you have never played a serious competitive sport before, then you may be pushing yourself more then you ever have in your lifetime. It’s only in that pressure cooker that your game will finely condense into a working reflection of your own unique self. And that is perfect.

Things to avoid:

As a Coach you need to avoid the trap of needing to always be the ‘expert’. By this time you have probably spent a number of Years being the primary person this athlete has turned to for advise, information, and direction. Now you have to be willing to let go of that role and begin to acknowledge the athlete as more of an equal. Your relationship with them will change, and you can serve as a useful guide in matters of belt evaluations, teaching, and overall thoughts regarding the game. But, you can’t try and hold onto to the same teacher – student dynamic you may have had when this athlete was a white or blue belt.

For the Coach this stage brings up all kinds of issues regarding attachment to self image. And that’s perfect as well.

As an athlete don’t burn out. Be competitive, but keep it fun. Take care of your body, your health, and your overall well being. Make sure you don’t over train, or find yourself mentally drained.

The confidence you gain as a brown belt is invaluable, and it can’t be faked.

No amount of pop psychology nonsense, self hypnosis, or Tony Robbins car salesman insincerity will ever serve as a useful substitute for the true development that takes place when you fully honor the process.

Authenticity can’t be bought, sold, or even taught. It’s only ever found. And you can only ever do it for yourself.

The brown belt stage shouldn’t last more then a couple Years. If your Coach did his job regarding measurement, then you developed the meat of your game as a purple belt. Being a brown belt was a formality of refinement, testing, and self knowledge.

By the end of that time you will have a solid understanding of the entire map. And you will also have your own specific routes, details, “style”, which will be a direct reflection of your own unique persona. And this means you are now a black belt.

After black belt?

This is a broad topic. There are many issues that arise after the black belt. You will have to deal with things like measurement, coaching and teaching (see the post on belts below). As well a lifelong process of simplicity that never stops evolving. You will learn to get heavier, and intangibles like base, timing, and transitional skills continue to be honed.

I will deal with many of these subjects in future articles. But for now, the single most important thing I can say regards being a black belt is this:

When it comes time for you to help guide others through this same process, you need to make sure you go back to teaching the entire map, and guiding your own future students through their own exploration of that map.

You must avoid the pitfall of teaching your own specific routes.

This doesn’t mean you need to keep secrets, far from it. But, by focusing only on the fundamentals you allow athletes the needed space and information required so they can develop their own unique games. While also making sure they are all highly technical and skilled. When you teach just your own style, you rob them of that same process.

The Process of BJJ itself is a very powerful form of Yoga. And when I use Yoga in this context I am referring to it in the older, original sense of the word. All of us involved in this process can feel a deep sense of gratitude for it. It’s a real blessing, privilege, and joy.

"Religions are founded by what mystics say when they come back; but what the mystics say is not the same as what happened to them."

Carve your own path

About Belts. . .

2006-03-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

One of the more controversial aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the colored belt system.

For those less familiar with BJJ, let me explain that the BJJ belt system remains (especially within the SBGi Association), performance based. What that means is that if someone has a purple belt, then they should be able to roll with other purple belts of the same age and similar weight, and be competitive. The belt itself is simply a visual reminder of this skillset.

That is a very different form of measurement as compared to most traditional Martial Arts, which being based on dead patterns and choreographed two person demonstrations, are not an indication of any practical skills which relate to actual fighting.

To be honest, the only other Martial Art which I can think of that has kept to a functional form of measurement when it comes to belts is Judo. But Judo being far more popular then BJJ has a wider margin of error when it comes to what the belt may or may not indicate in terms of skill. BJJ is still a fairly tight community, and it would be next to impossible to maintain the illusion that you were a brown or black belt in BJJ, if you actually were not. The reason for that is of course the Alive training.

Although not everyone competes publicly, everyone does roll against fully resisting opponents. As such, you cannot fake being good at BJJ anymore then you can fake being good at speaking Spanish, playing the guitar, or playing basketball. And that is what gives the belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu the notoriety that they hold.

So what's wrong with that?

Many athletes have grown a serious aversion to any form of traditional measurement, or symbols. Their reasons for this aversion are valid. And if anyone would know these reasons well, it would be me. My entire career has been a sincere effort to bring people into a state of questioning when it comes to all forms of traditional measurement. And that questioning was not only needed, and long overdue, it was healthy. Terms like Alive training, dead patterns, delivery systems, etc, have entered the grid of modern martial arts consciousness, and are repeated in writing and language all over the world now. Regardless of what some critics may claim, SBGi has played a major role in changing perceptions regarding what functional, healthy, and sincere training can be.

So that sets the stage. BJJ belts are performance based, which makes them a completely different animal from other belt systems, certificates, or forms of measurement. And that is a healthy thing. Yet at the same time, the entire idea of attaining validation from any source outside your own self runs contrary to the whole philosophy, or underlying theme, of Aliveness & SBGi. A theme which I myself have been a major advocate, and proponent for.

It is that seeming contradiction of ideas that creates the tension, as well as the value, which the belt system used in BJJ holds.

Observe hypocrisy:

One of things to watch for with vocal critics of the BJJ belt system is the hypocrisy. Identification with an outside measurement as a form of personal identity is of course the problem with measurement. Without that identification or attachment, the belts, or any other form of measurement, become harmless tools. And that identification is the only valid argument against these types of measurements.

*(Many of you I am sure already realize this. But if this idea is new to you then I would encourage you to question this concept vigorously, and think it out for yourself.)

The irony is that every individual I have ever met that was strongly opposed to the use of belts in BJJ was also clearly attached to their own form of measurement, in the sense of identification through the ego. It would not be uncommon to see the same individuals arguing for other forms of exclusivity, separation, or labels. And as with all labels, it’s not the symbol that is the issue, but what is behind the symbol the moment it is used.

In otherwords, there is a world of difference between saying "Who cares what belt you are", and saying "who cares what belt you are", and actually meaning it. If you observe closely you can see which is which. And to get to the later you sometimes have to take a journey.

That said, there is probably no single issue with BJJ that creates more controversy, then the belt system.

So why the fuss?

The fuss points to value.

The controversy points to an opportunity to learn about ourselves.

The hypocrisy is clear if you measure.

The interesting question then is. . . .What's behind it?

Attraction and Aversion

Are always two sides to the same coin. Top - bottom, left - right, attraction - aversion. One is not possible without the other. See that for what it is.

Both point to attachment. . .both point to a fundamental misunderstanding between the description and the described, the symbol and the symbolized.

A gift given for manipulation, a gift given from love. Which has value? An endorsement given because someone is a buddy, and endorsement given out of a sense of deep integrity for your craft. Which has value?

Without judgment of others, what is behind it all for us?

Why measure at all?

The moment you begin Coaching and helping others, you will be asked to measure. Let me give you a concrete example.

I love to roll. There is nothing regarding this thing we do I enjoy more, then doing the thing itself. Teaching a seminar is fun, running a class is fun, and the ability to help others through this trade is great privilege. It has allowed me travel all over this planet, and it has created a network of wonderful people along the way.

That said, there is still nothing I would rather do when it comes to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu then just roll.

After a good roll it would not be uncommon for me to sit up and tell the athlete what they did that was really good, that gave me a very hard time, and what would be worth improving on. This is just a natural habit I have developed, and the reason for it is pretty simple. I have become so used to being asked. . . ."what do I need to work on?" . . ."What can I improve?" And I have discovered over time that people really appreciate and want that feedback about their game. These are perfectly natural questions that you have to get used to if you plan on entering the Coaching field.

Besides that daily 'mat chat' that occurs naturally after most rolls, there is another question which will get asked of you often. . ."Where am I at?".

In BJJ terms this is often a veiled reference to what belt do I think they may be. Or how far from the next belt do I think they are. And before any of us judge that question, ask yourself. . .have you ever asked a Coach, or BJJ black belt that question yourself?

Again, it is a natural question and one that you need to get used to being asked all the time if you plan on Coaching.

So here is the cold reality when it comes to being a Coach, or teacher. Even if you focus your teaching around performance (something I myself try and always do), i.e. these are things you do well, these are things to work on, you will still be asked to measure. It is part of the job, and since it arises of its own accord, I also feel it is something that we as Coaches are responsible for dealing with in a healthy way. By that I mean we are here to serve as guides through, and within, the issue of measurement.

How do I know this to be true? Because it is what happens. Reality tells us.

If we try and avoid the issue by repression. . ."Belts are bullshit, just train!". . .or hedonism . . . "You are a 4 stripe pink glove, with a two stripe white belt, and a red sash in clinch". . .we may, and most likely are, simply avoiding and perpetuating the entire issue.

Instead I would like to address the issue head on and realistically. Recognizing the fact that 95% of all human beings have been raised in a system, from grammar school forward, that is based almost entirely on measurement from outside sources. And as such, in order to help people see through that, we have to recognize it as it exists, here and now.

So that brings up the question all Coaches have to eventually ask themselves. . .

How do you measure?

I recently witnessed an interesting conversation between two BJJ black belts. One mentioned the recent promotion of an athlete that both Instructors knew well. And the one Coach asked the one who gave the promotion a very simple question. . . How did you measure? And with that simple question, the coach who had given the promotion became a little defensive. "You dont think he deserved it?"; . . ."What are you trying to say?!". .and again the reply came back, "No, I am just asking how you measured?: . . .and what a key question that is.

How do you measure?

People like to make lists. It is a psychological phenomenon, and the understood reasons for it are really interesting if you want to look them up.

Every field likes to rate itself, and every art form, sport, and craft opens itself to being measured the moment you share it with another human being. It is just what usually is. That said, it is always interesting to see how people rate my own. By my own I mean trade, and by trade I mean teaching human beings to fight well.

When it comes to this measurement some people rely heavily on anecdotal evidence. This is often (not always), a popular one with traditional martial arts, JKD, and RBSD 'reality based self defense'. I dont think an analysis of why this type of evidence is worthless or at best an extremely poor form of measurement, is needed here. I think most people will get that understanding first, which I believe helps create the question. . "hmm is that really true?" to begin with. And that is probably a thought already in surplus with those of you reading this now. And that is a very good thing.

After all, haven't we all heard the stories of the eighty Year old Martial Arts master that levitated a car in mid air, or fought off half a football team with a tree branch? By now I have to assume we all know better then to take those stories seriously, so lets move on.

Another popular method is how successful any single athlete from a Gym is in a particular competition. This is a far better comparison then any form of anecdotal evidence. But it does have one major flaw. It can only account for a few known subjects. These subjects may show a high degree of skill, and one can assume that they found worth in working with those coaches based on the fact that they trained with them. No doubt about that. But what about the rest of the Gym? How are the average members (the other 95% of the group), doing in terms of performance? Can they bring game?

If not, I think it is a safe assumption that the major skill sets the successful athletes have not come from that Gym either. And I base that on the fact that if they had then the rest of the Gym would also show marked improvements in performance. Not at the same level as a pro athlete of course, but as measured against their own, individual, past levels.

I say that because in a good Gym everyone will grow as measured against their own past levels. This is a natural result of proper Alive training in a healthy environment. And I know it for a fact because we do it daily here.

And that brings me to the third measure of performance, and the one I would offer as the most accurate in terms of skill within the trade. The overall performance of the majority of students over a specific period of time.

When the majority all increases at a measured rate, then the training methods and coaching itself can be shown to be valuable.

In that kind of environment the athletes that want to take this to a high level in terms of competition will thrive. They will grow, fostered by a large community which serves as both a support base, as well as a good pool to draw from in terms of sparring and drilling partners. And the community itself will grow together at a steady rate.

As each individual grows better within a certain skill set they are able to bring greater challenge to their fellow members, and the whole class grows in terms of evolving game. It is a healthy, synergistic community.

It will by its nature, being healthy, be completely organic. It will grow at its own rate, with new members coming, and others moving on in time. It will contain a wider margin of membership, all ages, male and female, hobbyist, pro/am athlete, and everyone else who is built to try this process out at some point.

Consider this, what if an organization (in this case a group of Gyms which share the same training methods) could show that it had produced consistent performance in the majority of all its members not just at a single location, but worldwide. Would that then be an accurate form of measurement when it comes to evaluating objectively the training methods it uses?

Speaking for myself I think it would be a good place to start looking.

To contrast that with the previous two forms of measurement, anecdotal and based on single individuals, I have seen very famous MMA, and BJJ Gyms that have produced noted competitors, and whose main cliental progresses slowly or not at all.

You will often find at these locations that the average members is viewed as either a pay check, or cannon fodder for the more valued competitor.

I dont mean to imply that there are not some very good Gyms out there. But I would say that the majority of the well known ones I am very familiar with would fall into the above stated category. It is very, very common scene. I travel around the world and hear from all sorts of people who share with me their negative stories about training at such Gyms.

And regards the anecdotal schools, lets just say that we are talking about an apples and oranges comparison here. So there is no point including them.

Lets call this above stated conclusion the value of 'community', and we will get back to it . . . . and exactly why I feel it is so important when it comes to BJJ belts later in this article.

So how do you measure?

I have given this subject a lot of thought, and here are some of the perspectives I hold on this topic.

Technical performance is the sole measurement I use when awarding BJJ belts (with the exception of higher belts that may teaching, at which point coaching skills also become critical). And it is a conversation I always have with the athletes before and after any belt evaluation I give.

What I say simply is this. . . You can be a tough fighter without being technical, due to aggression, size, explosiveness, strength, etc. But you cannot be a good technician without being able to fight, its impossible. So what I look for is a good technical skill, as by my definition of "technical" both personal performance, and overall technical ability within the skillset of BJJ is contained.

As I observe an athlete against various opponents I notice if they are patching up weaknesses in their own game, technical holes, areas where they may be lacking some core fundamental skills, with superior attributes. And if they are, they have to willing to shelf their own ego long enough to stop doing that so that we can see whats left. What is left will be their technical game.

Think about it, if you can rip out of an armbar using explosiveness and speed, or escape a triangle by picking up your opponent, or escape bottom by bench pressing the person on top. . .should you?

The answer depends on the context of course. But I would offer that for most people most of the time, the answer is an obvious no. Within the Gym you want your training to be as technical as possible. If you are getting caught with armbars, we want to find out why? And then develop a technical solution that will work against larger and stronger opponents. This way, when you find yourself matched against a bigger, stronger, faster opponent, you will still have game.

Although we want all of our classes to be athletic, and to push our limits to some degree when we train, we also want to make equally sure that we are training in an intelligent, and highly technical manner.

That said, as a BJJ Coach I am not there to measure how fast a person can sprint 50 yards, or how strong or explosive they are. I am there to measure technical skill within the core fundamentals, the basics, of the delivery system we call Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. And that is what I do.

How about Competition?

Competition is great! But as Coaches we have to remember this, you can't really get a feel for some ones technical performance based on a single competition. One time performance in a competition is not an accurate measurement.

Having stated that let me be clear, I do think there is value in the journey that is preparation for competition. Getting in shape, becoming stronger, faster, and more explosive, tightening up your game, facing the nerves, thoughts, and pressure that exists in competition. For those meant to take that journey, it is a wonderful learning experience. So that's not the question.

The question is, would a one time performance accurately measure an athletes technical skill level within BJJ? And my answer is no.

First, no single performance can measure that. Only multiple performances over a wider period of time, against multiple athletes would.

A single performance could easily be related to a super high level of conditioning, which as I stated above is not what I am paid to measure. So unless I see the athlete on a regular basis, or observe their progress in a series of competitions over time, I need to have another way to evaluate perormance as a coach.

I also want to point out that not everyone wants to, or needs to, compete.

If I as a Coach make public competition the sole criteria for measurement I use, then I leave out a huge percentage of people who might find tremendous value in BJJ.

In addition I think the teachers, or coaches who try and tell others that they "Are not living up to their potential" or other such bullshit need to find new jobs.

I have written before about the poison teachers, but suffice it to say that it is never our job to tell others what they "should" be doing with this Art form. Some may just want to roll, or move, or play. And that is exactly as it should be.

By the way, everything I just stated above can equally apply to any single day event. And that would include of course a visit to a new Gym.

We often have blue and purple belts walk into our Portland Gym from other schools. Sometimes they do exceptionally well with the athletes on the floor because they are bringing a type of game that people there are not used to.

Sometimes they do really poorly, because they athletes at the Gym are bringing a type of game that they are not really used to.

In short, as a Coach I have to tell you that it is honestly hard to say where a person may be at in terms of performance when they only visit my Gym for one or two evenings.

If that same athlete stays at our Gym for a week or more it becomes much - much easier to evaluate their game. The other athletes start to get a sense for how the person moves, likewise they get a sense for how the Gym regulars move, and it becomes far clearer for me as a Coach to observe what strengths and weakness that athlete may have within the game.

The black belt trap:

The last type of measurement I will talk about is a trap that I think some coaches can fall into with BJJ, and that is when you begin using yourself as the yardstick.

Besides the obvious issue of being too small a sample to gain an accurate measure from, there is the issue of "style". Each athlete in BJJ, and each black belt, has their own type of style or game. Some styles will match up better then others do. This is a fact not just with BJJ, but with all sports and competitive activities.

As an example, I may crush someone when rolling. Or tap them quickly several times over. But is that a good measure of where their game is? Not always. Sometimes I may just be having a 'good day', and they are just having a bad day. Other times it is simply a question of my style, which may match up really well against the way they play.

Likewise, if someone gives me a very hard time that does not automatically mean that they are at a certain level within BJJ. Again, it may just be a poor match of styles, or I may be having an off day.

That said, the temptation is to use ourselves as yardsticks by which we measure our athletes. I believe this is a temptation of the coaches own ego. And this is not fair to them, or to us.

As we age our performance skill may start to decrease a little. This is part of the process of being an athlete and a Coach who participates in the game. It is, in my opinion, a positive part of the journey that we all must face in time. But if we are using ourselves as the yardstick then the entire performance standard will begin to slip as well, and that is one of many problems that comes with this form of measurement.

This is why using yourself as the primary yardstick for evaluating others is never a smart Coaching method.

It is about community:

Again we come back to that word. When it comes to measurement all the above stated dilemmas become easy to solve with one word. . . community.

A Gym which has a large body of committed athletes, different sizes, different types of games, etc, all of whom are training together in an athletic environment, is by far the best way to measure any single individuals game.

On this mat you stand as a blue belt, or on this mat you stand as a purple belt, is easy to say when you see that athlete, work with that athlete, and roll with that athlete, week after week.

With that in place, competition becomes a great way to test the overall training environment of the community itself.

And by that measurement SBGi comes out with flying colors. Time and time again our athletes all over the world have shown the ability to enter grappling and MMA competitions and do fantastic, event after event.

This shows two things. . . .first, we have great training methods.

And secondly, I have never compromised on the standards that we have held for SBGi. No matter where I travel in the world, the measurement for performance has remained solid.

Letting it grow, letting it go:

It is true that there have been people who have become frustrated with our very strict performance standards. A few have even left the organization because I have refused to award them a belt which they felt they were obligated to. And that is exactly as it should be. And also serves as a positive sign which points to the fact that we have held true to our standards.

I have not, and will not award a belt because someone is my buddy, or because someone is a well known Coach, or because someone has been around SBGi for some period of time.

Simply put, I will not compromise on the process. I never have, and I never will.

I will only speak for myself in the last part of this article. And since I still head up SBGi, what I am saying speaks for our association as well, as related to those people I have given belts or certificates to over the Years.

I have maintained extremely high standards of performance for the Coaches and athletes I have recognized within SBGi.

I have run my own fulltime Gym in Portland Oregon now for well over Twelve Years, and In the last Ten plus Years I have taught seminars and coached athletes all across this beautiful planet.

In that time I have only awarded thirty or so purple belts, two brown belts, and one black belt. In terms of SBGi Coaching staff I have awarded seventeen Coaching certificates, of which fourteen have continued working through SBGi, one went on to create Team Quest, and two others went on to pursue other things.

My point is pretty simple, I have taught literally hundreds of seminars, in all kinds of locations, and had Thousands of students come through my doors, many of whom have stayed for Years. And in all that time and travel I have recognized personally less then 20 Coaches, and awarded only two brown belts.

It would have been very easy for us to accumulate a truly massive list of Instructors worldwide.

If our standards were simply a matter of sending an e-mail, buying a membership, attending a class, hosting a seminar, or taking a weekend Instructors course, we would have Hundreds of Coaches by now. But for a variety of reasons I set SBGi up in such a way as to ensure that all our Coaches, regardless of where they are found around the world, hold an unusually high level of performance and teaching skill.

If you pop into a Gym in Ireland, The UK, Denmark, Canada, NY, FLA, or any other SBGi location within the USA or world, that reality will become self evident.

As I wrote about in the last entry, my main intention as a Coach is to HONOR THE PROCESS. . . . .honoring the process sometimes means seeing a friendship through the conversation "no I cant endorse that" or "no, to measure you for this belt I need to see you on the mat against other athletes of that rank" . . .and should they refuse that criteria or move on from the Org because those standards are maintained, then letting them walk away and learning to be at peace with that, is part of what honoring the process means for us as a coach.

It is all part if our journey, our trip, our chance to grow as humans.

What is the point?

Only the evolution of the Art itself. . .what transcends individual attributes, and individual personalities?

In the end, what is passed on?

What stays and gets transferred?

For the Organization as a whole to grow, the next generation needs to surpass our own, and the answer that makes that happen is the conceptual understanding of the technical game that gets passed on, and then built upon, by the younger generation. The big picture regarding the physics, base, and movement. All of that becomes lost if we begin measuring instead who can run the fastest mile, or takes the best punch, or lifts the heaviest weight, within our generation.

And this is in part, the reason for the emphasis on quality of technique that I look for within our Org.

Is it Healthy?

A good father doesnt try and control his sons path, choose his sons path, or push his son into a particular path. A good father is like a good Coach, he acts as a guide, allowing his son to take his own journey, pursue his own bliss.

And a good father, like a good coach, expects at some point that his son will surpass him. To one up him so to speak. . .that IS the evolution of the consciousness.

As a Gym we seek the same. Each generation of students becomes better, at a faster rate, then the generation before.

Looking at SBGi this is absolutely shaping up to be the reality, and I for one am glad to see it happening.

The expression of that value set community wide, is to me a good measure of whether or not we are a healthy group. And I will tell you that right now, we are glowing.

Integrity, the SBGi way.

Its about honoring the process. . .if you get a belt from me it will not be given because we are friends.

It will not be given because I want to do seminars at your school.

It will not be given because you have trained with me for 15 Years, and therefore 'deserve' it.

If you get a belt from me it will be because you have reached a level of technical performance skill within your own game, that you can also articulate to others.

It will be just a symbol of course.

But make no mistake, it symbolizes something tangible, something real, and something meaningful in terms of measurement within our craft of BJJ, our trade of fighting.

It will be given with absolute respect and care. And it will be valuable precisely because it was something that could never be bought, bargained, or traded for.

It will be something personal, from me as a coach, to you as an athlete. And in that sense, it will mean a great deal to me at the time, because I will be proud of you, and happy for you.

And if within this process you become a BJJ black belt within our Organization, and you maintain those same standards, then you too will be honoring the process. And that will be our tradition at SBGi.

It is about authenticity, it is about love for our members, it is about honoring that process.

*** *** ***

Honoring the process. . .

2006-01-09T08:15:00.000-08:00

A few Months ago I was watching the mat during one of my BJJ classes at the Portland Gym. We were now towards the later end of the class where we roll with each other. As I was standing on the mat, watching that everyone rolling was safe, and coaching periodically, I noticed one of the newer students off on the edge. He had only been in the Gym for a few weeks, and he was getting smashed on bottom by a more experienced, and aggressive player. He wasn’t being hurt, and nobody in my Gym ever comes at someone else with intentions of hurting them, but he was being crushed. His arms where trapped, his head was pinned to the side, his cheeks and face being smashed down into the mat. I could see that he was beginning to have trouble breathing. And I knew well every single little pain he would have in his neck and shoulders after being pinned in a position like that.

I am not sure he had ever been in such an uncomfortable position before. Having done BJJ for around 13 Years or so now, I have been in that, and dozens of other equally uncomfortable spots, thousands of times; as all of us who play this sport for more then a few Years have. But for him, it was clearly a new thing.

I could tell he was on the verge of tapping out, then he would find a way to get breath, move just an inch, and would hold out longer. A few seconds later I would see his hand ready to tap again. He had a look of real “oh shit” despair in his eyes, part panic, part ego, and I knew that very well also.

Then, with a fairly sudden explosion of movement, he was able to make space and bring his knees to chest, pulls back a guard, sweeps, and ends up on top of his opponent, who at that moment was clearly surprised.

And just at that exact instant, I observed the look in the eyes of the students who had reversed that particular position, and I saw a rush of authentic joy. It wasn’t Mount Everest, it wasn’t the Olympics, or the UFC, but for this guy at that moment it was still a huge thing.

It is a scene that gets repeated hundreds of times a day in my Gym. It goes unnoticed by most of us involved, most of the time, because it is just another day for us. But it is an amazing process nonetheless.

The old games will always be with us;

Spontaneity vs. Control
Freedom vs. Structure
Love vs. Isolation
-Tim Leary

What I realized better after that day was two things.

The first is that the rush of joy that the athlete experienced at that moment didn’t just come because of a success on the mat, but instead that the success on the mat had served as a vehicle for a different understanding, and that this understanding was actually a certain kind of pleasure that only comes in moments where you learn something new about yourself. Where you have discovered it, through trials and risk, and made it through to another side.

And the second thing I realized is this. . . . .that I as a Coach had little to do for that process, beyond my role in creating a safe and healthy environment that allows its frequent occurrence.

I have observed the full spectrum of Coaches over the years. And I have played from several extremes myself. I have been that coach that demanded a highly intense practice and work ethic, both of myself at times, and of my students at times, because I felt that was the only way to go.

Then, having taken that end to an eventuality, I realized that the process I had been advocating was itself not enough for me, and therefore, how could it be enough for someone else? It was the second part that caught me. And from that perspective I took another extreme which demanded nothing beyond what was casually given at the time. Sometimes it was because I didn’t want to push into the darker, self centered side, of this particular trade, because I my self had personally been there. And sometimes I was just lazy.

If you act from fear, there is no way you can receive love, because you are trapped in a thought about what you have to do for it.
- Byron Katie

But most recently I have begun realizing that good Coaching demands that I make no such decisions regarding extreme ends of the fascist – slacker coach paradigms. What I finally believe I see is that my job is just to be present, transparent, and sincere in my efforts to honor the process.

Honor the process, not create, mold, manipulate, buy, sell, trade, own, or tweak the process. . . . . . . . .just, honor the process.

And that if I did that, the process itself would take care of everything else. And it would do it far better then I could, would, or ever will be capable of doing myself.

I think Joseph Campbell described this kind of journey really well when he said that each individual must follow their own bliss.

au•then•tic•i•ty
n.
The quality or condition of being authentic, real, genuine.

I have heard people interpret that as selfish. But it only appears selfish from a particularly restricted point of view. The restriction is that what you feel may bring you bliss, may also be potentially unhealthy for you, and others around you. And, I do think that can often be true.

However, should we see past that stage, and perhaps no longer find those potentially dangerous habits as ‘healthy’, and therefore lacking in joy. . . .when we have fully realized the areas, shadows, and spaces where suffering was involved for all kinds of people, I believe we grow tired of it. . .that happening may very well come to you as the thought, “this does not make me happy, this cannot be following my bliss!”

After all, BLISS is a huge word. It’s loaded with all kinds of very cool sensory implications. So it spurs that idea, “hey, it must be more then this!” . . .and that brings about changes in the entire scene.

Changes for the good, spaces for the happiness. . . . . ..and much - much more.

"Sometimes in a dynamic individual the whole being senses that the static situation is an enemy of life itself. That's what drives the really creative people - the artists, composers, revolutionaries and the like. The feeling that if they don't break out of this jailhouse somebody has built around them, they're going to die.

They're fighting for some kind of dynamic freedom from static patterns."
- Pirsig

So as a coach I see our real jobs as just being there to help each individual take this journey in exactly the way they need, and for exactly the amount of time they take. No more, no less.

Recognizing fully that sometimes to truly help other people, we have to let them continue in a path whose outcome we may already know well. We can understand that sometimes the greatest aid you can be to someone else is to help show them how take care of themselves. While at the same time, offering a hand every time they can’t.

And if asked how we will know when someone can’t do something, as opposed to when they just aren’t doing something, I would offer that observations from personal experience will help us distinguish between the two, and that is why Coaches often get better at their trade as they age.*

*(Note this doesn’t mean they ‘should’ follow a certain path at a certain time, or if they will. . . .only that others have already done so many times. So we recognize it may be more likely a certain way.)

The observation made may be drawn from our own personal experiences of the process, and these are often very valuable. But those, although sometimes vivid in a different way, are not nearly as numerous as the ones we will make time and again as different students, with vastly different backgrounds, and often different agendas, engage in the process in different ways. Those experiences, if truly observed, recognized, noted, and contemplated, are in my opinion the very acting processes of evolution itself.

And when I remember that, then going into the Gym and coaching our students isn’t just another day at the office, or even a career, but rather a great privilege.

We recently had someone drop into our Portland ICC class, and this was a comment made about that experience online:

“I had a chance to work out a bit with the Portland ICC class (instructor candidate course). I had been hearing for awhile what a great group this is and was blown away by the work ethic I saw. The coolest thing was all the inquiry peer coaching going on. Alot of times people come in for class and mill around until the instructor gets everyone out on the mat. Not this group. People came in, changed into their workout gear, grabbed a partner and started working on different parts of their game right away. . . . .There were guys working boxing in one corner. Other guys with MMA gloves on working striking from the clinch. A few guys working out some attacks from the turtle position etc. No one was waiting around for Matt to tell them what to do. Beautiful peer coaching going on everywhere. I can't tell you how cool this was to see. As a teacher by profession I love to see this type of peer coaching going on and I realize how rare this type of thing is. Cool stuff Matt, you must be proud of those guys.”

To remain in line with that sense of sincerity I personally had to make sure that what I was teaching in terms of curriculum was Alive. And although I believe that is absolutely important if the trade you desire engaging in involves some form of combat, or competition. . . (I believe all trades need to be authentic or they will fail in terms of bringing real joy). .that does not mean that there is still not much more to learn, do, observe, and understand about just being present with people, in a clear, compassionate, and honest way.

And this. . . .the, so much more to learn part, that is the part that makes the “trade”, in this case teaching people fighting skills, meaningful, healthy, and rewarding.

I believe that understanding that. . . feeling that. . . living that. . . .and observing that. . . . is truly what honoring the process means. And I believe that honoring the process, may be the most important thing we do when we wear a hat that says “Coach”.

"The joyous task which confronts an ethic of spontaneity, however difficult it may be, is quite literally to woo people out of their armed shells."
-Alan Watts

Coaching 201, an introduction. . .

2005-10-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

I am on my way to Florida in a few hours. I am really looking forward to seeing all my friends again, and having a great time training, and sharing.

Much of the material I have been writing about in this blog will be taught in our C4P101 class which will be held on Friday for all SBGi staff.

A couple brief notes before I go. . .first, huge congratulations to our three athletes that competed MMA this last Saturday in Portland. Here is a note from Tom regarding the event:

Team SBG went 3 and 0 on Saturday with EXTREMELY convincing victories by all three athletes: Andy Lukesh, Keisuke Andrew, and Thomas La Cour.

All three athletes showed complete dominance while executing tight, technical games. All three matches ended with submissions via rear naked chokes. Andys match was 57 seconds. Keisukes was 54 seconds. Thomas was 1 minutes 20 seconds. All the guys did an amazing job. Keisuke was defending his title. Thomas won the Middle Weight Title by beating the previous Champion, Team Quests Scott Trayhorn.

And lets hear it for the SBG Crowd! ! ! You guys rocked. It was impressive to hear the support and volume that you guys made. It was truly FANTASTIC! ! !

It TERRIFIC night for Team SBG big congrats to everyone! ! !

You can check out pictures online at http://www.straightblastgym.net/gallery/album28.

* * *

And secondly, SBGi has actually made the encyclopedia! And considering the most recent competition results, with all wins by RNC, it seems fitting : ) I have posted the info at the bottom of this entry.

Have a joyful Halloween, always my favorite Holiday.

Coaching 201:

In the last entry I talked about the core principles I use when coaching. These revolve around the three key areas of material, method, and mindset.

Regarding the material, we want to make sure we are working the core fundamentals of the skill set we are training, we want to make sure we train according to the natural order these core fundamentals arise in, and we want to understand how and why they work the way they do, by encouraging critical thinking with our students.

Regarding method, we want to incorporate the three key points, an Alive training method, an athletic environment, and a technical (read smart, read art) approach to how we work out. And as I stated previously many times, we want to make sure we are not patching up holes in our technical game with superior attributes. Instead, we want to make sure we have a highly technical game and superior attributes. A combination that is rare, and rational.

Finally we talked about mindset. And I broke that down according to passion, personality, and play. Passion being the prerequisite for most all forms of measured excellence. Personality being the driving force behind that passion, and something which should always be expressed individually, uniquely. And play, what is naturally when an individual is expressing their own self in some form of passionate pursuit.

In short, the optimum balance, the optimum training environment, and the optimum learning environment.

Now I want to speak more specifically towards the actual structure of the class or workout. The nature of the class will be determined by multiple factors. First there is the group you are speaking to, and second there are the stated objectives of the group.

In other words, is this a group of competitive athletes, all preparing for an upcoming event?

Is this a group of professionals looking for a task specific lesson, self defense, fitness? Or, is this instead a group of athlete/hobbyists training for long term reasons of health, and a larger sense of well being, etc. There are all kinds of different options, and mixtures.

I have listed four simple types below:

The long term athlete/hobbyist
The time specific athlete/hobbyist
The competitive athlete
The time specific competitive athlete

The main point I would like to make here is that regardless of what type of individual, and what type of class we are talking about, the Coaching 101 material covered in the last entry will remain the same throughout. However, the 201 material will vary according to the different groups you train. And those differences are what we will discuss now.

The long term athlete/hobbyist:

If you run a full time Gym, or training group, then the long term athlete/hobbyist will probably be your largest clientele. Anyone interested in ongoing training, but not doing this as a profession, or for a specific event, will fall into this broad category.

The first thing I want to do as a Coach is make sure that the individuals feel comfortable, welcome, and safe within the Gym. That has a lot to do with your own personality, and the kind of behavior that is modeled and considered acceptable within the group.

I don't think it is a good idea to allow anyone to join your Gym unless you are truly interested in training anyone, regardless of physical ability, age, or gender. So if you are really only personally interested in coaching competitive athletes, then only allow competitive athletes. If you don't restrict membership to the type of person you truly want to work with, then what will inevitably happen is that certain individuals which dont meet your unstated personal criteria will enroll, but feel uncomfortable, out of place, and eventually unwelcome.

This is where a certain amount of introspection and self honesty within the head Coach becomes very important. Do you really want to work with hobbyists? Do you really want a broad based community of people of all shapes, sizes, ages, and interests?

Let me be clear, I dont think there is anything wrong with wanting to work with a very specific group.

What I am saying is that as a Coach you need to follow your bliss as well. Work with hobbyists, competitive athletes, or any other type of individual, only if you feel it is your real calling, and joy.

Making sure you really want to be on that mat, on that floor, with that group, is the best way to ensure an enthusiastic, welcoming, and overall cool vibe within your Gym.

Having stated that here are a few pointers regarding coaching long term hobbyists.

The first thing to make sure of is that there is a logical progression within your club for the individual to follow. This may mean separating beginners from more advanced athletes, and it may also mean having separate classes for people of different skill levels, and different needs. This can be hard to do at first when your group may be small (30 or less). But I feel it is still important to have those classes listed on your schedule.

The really nice part about the SBGi curriculum and training method is that really advanced athletes can, and do, work with beginners in the same class. This occurs daily within my own Gym, and I know it does in other SBGi Gyms across the globe as well. That as a lot to do with the fact that we teach fundamentals in all our classes, so the distinction between beginner and advanced becomes one more of intensity, as opposed to material.

However, even though it is possible and useful to have athletes of all levels work together, due to how we train, it will still be hard to build and advance a group of beginner hobbyists if you dont have a route specifically designed for them to follow.

Here is a simple Coaching method I use to help facilitate that process. Think of this as a conceptual guide to Coaching at different stages:

101 = 'I' method

201 =
1- objectives
2- concepts / pressures
3- games

301 =
1- Objective (or challenge)
2- Questions define the games
3- Students discover & articulate
concepts/pressures

With "I" method mixed throughout when specific techniques become needed to explain and teach the objectives, concepts, or pressures, and the inquiry method for additional structure.

I will elaborate on all of this in the next entry.

See you all at Camp!

Rear naked choke
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rear_naked_choke

* * *

Coaching, the SBGi way. . .

2005-09-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

There are three main principles which I feel define the curriculum, methodology, and mission of SBGi. The first is Aliveness, and we covered that in depth in the last entry. The second is Adaptability. And I will write in detail about that on this BLOG. The third is Coaching, and that is the topic we will talk about now.

Coaching at SBGi is broken down into three key parts:

At the top we have 'material', and that is the curriculum itself. What it is we are coaching. And regardless of what it is we are coaching at the time, I believe we can break it down into three additional areas:

1- The core fundamentals of the skillset we are working.

2- The natural order in which those fundamentals arise.

3- Why those things are the fundamentals, and arise in that order naturally.

The first point of the material itself is the emphasis on 'core fundamentals'. That means very simply that no matter what skill set we are attempting to teach, we want to place the emphasis on the core fundamental skills of that particular delivery system.

This is important for a number of reasons.

First, it is the best possible way to enhance the performance of an athlete. But secondly, and just as important, it allows the athlete to develop his or her own "style".

As an example, if I spend a class teaching how 'I' personally pass the guard, it may be useful for a few athlete who play a game similar to mine. But it wont affect all athletes in the room, as some may play a very different type of passing game.

However, if I focus on teaching the core principles of all guard passes, as an example the 5 point passing game, and the guard surfing drill, then I pass along the core fundamentals that will affect the games of every-body in that room. While at the same time creating an environment where each athlete is free to express their own personal 'style'. This relates back to the difference between 'style' and 'delivery system' which we discussed in the Aliveness Q & A.

Second is the 'natural' order in which these core fundamentals arise. And I place emphasis on the word natural here. I believe that training these fundamentals in the proper order can be just as important as making sure what it is you are training is a fundamental.

As an example, when teaching BJJ we have the fundamental 5 on top, and the fundamental 5 of escapes. These core skills transcend individual style, in that they are something all of us will need to develop.

Therefore they are are core fundamentals.

But also, they always arise when rolling, or sparring, in a particular order.

So if you kill the inside arm, or go after the far elbow, prior to blocking out the guard, then obviously you create an opening that allows your opponent to escape. So we train this skill set in the same order in which it occurs.

The same is true with guard passing. If I attempt to lock in the upper body, before I have controlled the hips, then I leave myself open for submissions. So understanding the order in which these skills occur is critical.

I didn't create the order because I 'felt' they should be trained that way. Rather, we have observed through training that this is the order in which the skill sets occur. So it is a natural order.

It is what is.

Another example would be clinch. Yes, you can teach a clinch class by starting right away on the fine points of an underhook, or a particular takedown. But if the athletes have not developed the basic skill sets of posture, elbows in, and head position, then it will be difficult to pull any of the takedowns off. So the order of priority when I teach clinch is always those key points, posture, and head position. . .takedowns and strikes follow these skills, they do not proceed them. Not because I feel that is the way it should be, but because that is the order it arises in when we actually attempt to apply the material against resisting opponents.

Finally there is the third point of 'why' these skills are considered core fundamentals, and why they arise in a certain order.

As a coach I feel it is just as important for me to help the students in my classes to understand both these things, as it is for them to be able to perform them.

I am often asked what defines great performers, or fast learners. Why do some people get very good, very quickly, while others take Years. And I have given that subject a lot of thought.

I have been coaching now for well over Ten Years, and in that time I have noticed some common points with athletes who excelled, and gained a high level of performance very quickly. Most people think that athleticism, being stronger, or faster then others, would be the common trait. Others might say work ethic. But in my experience it is neither.

It is true these athlete tend to put in their time on the mat, and it is also true they take care of their bodies. But they do not necessarily work harder then others, and they have not been in my experience, more "athletic". In fact often these athletes have never played sports previously, don't lift weights, etc.

So what is the common trait?

The fact that they think about the game as a whole. They think about their own game, they think about why things work a certain way, and they think about why things arise in a certain order. And in that process they gain an understanding of the game, BJJ, MMA, whatever, that others just don't have.

There is absolutely no doubt that this introspective trait is the one thing I have seen as a common factor amongst all the athletes who have rapidly gained a high level of technical skill.

In fact, I would say it is the only common trait I have so far been able to identify.

Having said that you can see why I place an emphasis on asking the students questions in my classes, on encouraging critical thinking, and questioning. I don't just want the athletes in my class to perform the skill sets well, I also want them to understand why these skill sets are the core fundamentals, and why they happen in a certain order when working against resisting opponents.

I know that gaining that understanding will rapidly increase their own level of performance, and also it will help them be better Coaches when it comes time for them to pass along what they have learned.

So those are the three key points for 'material', making sure we spend our time coaching the core fundamentals of the skill set, making sure we coach them in the natural order they arise, and making sure we help the athlete understand the reasons behind all of the above.

The second point on the coaching triangle is 'Method'.

Method is again broken up into three smaller parts:

1- Aliveness, Alive training methods.

2- Athleticism.

3- Art.

We have discussed the first part in depth already, Aliveness. This includes an understanding of the "I" method, of Inquiry based Coaching, and all that Alive training can imply. This subject is too vast for this article, but for details review the Aliveness Q & A, or check out our members forum, which has tons of useful info on various training methods, and many knowledgeable Coaches willing to help.

The second area is athleticism. In other words you are not really learning, you are not really developing skill, until you start to sweat. That doesn't mean that an Alive class has to be "rough", or in any way brutal. What it means is that it is a workout.

The third point is Art. And I am defining Art here as "technical skill". And although we want all of our classes to be athletic, and to push our limits to some degree when we train, we also want to make equally sure that we are training in an intelligent, and highly technical manner.

How do you know if you are training technically?

You have to ask yourself if you are pacthing up weaknesses in your game, technical holes, areas where you may lack skill, with superior attributes. And if you are, you have to willing to shelf your own ego long enough to stop doing that.

In otherwords, if you can rip out of an armbar using explosiveness and speed, or escape a triangle by picking up your opponent, or escape bottom by bench pressing the person on top. . .should you?

The answer is an obvious no. Within the Gym you want your training to be as technical as possible. So if you are getting caught with armbars, find out WHY? And then find a technical solution that will work against larger and stronger opponents. This way, when you find yourself matched against a bigger, stronger, faster opponent, you will still have game.

Although this seems like common sense, it is often very hard for some people to do. And those athletes that have trouble doing this will eventually find themselves falling behind the others in the class. They may dominate at first with superior athleticism. But as time passes and the smaller athletes gain more skill, they will eventually find themselves getting caught. And this is where a mature Coach needs to speak to the athlete one on one about how and why they train.

Does this mean we don't want to seek to become stronger and faster?

Asolutely not!

We want to train the body, the vehicle, as well as the skillset. We just want to make sure that the power of the vehicle is not masking a technical hole in the game of the driver.

That way when our athletes enter competition they will have a strong, and in shape body, AND a high level of technical proficiency. Not a strong and in shape body, in place of a technical proficiency.

Finally we have the third point on the triangle, 'Mindset'.

And I break down this section of Coaching into three more parts:

1- PLAY.

2- Passion.

3- Personality.

Lets start with the bottom left of that triangle, Passion. If the athlete is not passionate about the class, the workout, the training, ethn they will eventually quite, and pursue another thing. And that is exactly as it should be.

As the great Joseph Campbell so often said. . .follow your Bliss!

Emphasis there on the word "your".

So as a Coach we want to do two things. One, we want to make sure we create an environment that is fun, and encourages the athlete to move forward. And also we want to inspire them to fulfill their own mission. Not the one we think they should have.

So we want to make sure we don't lay our own "trip" on them. Recognize that all individuals are different. Some may want to compete publicly, some may not. . .perfect. Some may want to train only in gi BJJ, some may want to do only MMA. . .perfect. Some may prefer stand up, love boxing, others may prefer clinch, love wrestling. . . .perfect.

One of the beautiful things about having a complete curriculum, is that it allows all our members to pursue the area he or she feels most passionate about.

Should one of them say they want to compete MMA, and to date they have only done stand up, or only done BJJ, etc, then obviously we will advise them to balance their own game. But their is absolutely no reason, or excuse, for attempting to push an individual into one box or another. And one of the nicer things about having that larger community is that there will always be individuals within that Gym or tribe which will excel in one of the games more the others. And they will be able to help those seeking more detail in that area.

It's all good.

Now lets talk about the bottom right of this triangle, Personality.

As we have discussed before, we want each of our athletes to express themselves in their own unique way. Again, this gets us back to the distinction between delivery systems and style. If I go to a BJJ Gym, and all the athletes roll the same way, then I know the Coach is teaching his/her own "style", and this is not good for the athletes.

If a Coach limits his/her own teaching to the core fundamentals, as we have discussed above, then each athlete will begin to develop their own unique way of moving, of passing the guard, of playing top, etc. And that is exactly as it should be. No two athletes should move the same way.

The core skills and principles remain the same, "delivery system". . .but the application and timing behind those moves will vary from person to person. So as a Coach our job is to create a healthy, fun, and happy environment where each athlete can discover that personal "style" for themselves.

Finally at the top of the mindset triangle we have the term PLAY.

I strongly believe that play should be the dominate mental state for all athletes training. Play has shown itself time and time again to be the optimal learning state. All animals use forms of play to learn. Lion cubs don't line up and execute 30 right paw strikes, followed by 30 left paw strikes. Lion cubs play.

How do we ensure we as Coaches maintain an atmosphere of play?

By creating an Alive training environment where each athlete is free to pursue his or her own passion, and in so doing develop their own personal style of movement. . .one which will be a direct reflection of their own personality.

In otherwords, when we are doing something we are passionate about, and expressing our selves in the process, then what we are doing will by its very nature be labeled 'play'. The two bottom pieces of the triangle, passion and personality, automatically create a mindset at the top which can be labeled play. And that is the optimum learning state for the skill sets we as Coaches are trying to help them learn.

So to summarize the SBGi Coaching method, we want to make sure the material we coach focuses on core fundamentals, and offers those fundamentals in the natural order in which the arise.

We want to encourage are athletes to ask why these things are the core fundamentals, and why they arise in that order. We want to help them gain a larger understanding of the game itself. And to encourage that critical thinking process at every stage of the game.

We want to make sure that as we do that we keep the classes Alive, and athletic, while at the sametime making sure we are having the athletes place personal emphasis on technical skill. . .on the Art of it.

And finally, we want to create an environment, and community, that allows each individual the ability to pursue their own unique passion, which will be a direct reflection of that individuals own personality. And in so doing we enhance the 'vibe', the mindset, of play. . .and their is no better learning environment then that.

That is a brief breakdown of the SBGi Coaching model.

One Vibe, One Tribe

"The boundaries between self and other dissolve in real Awareness, and you're one with what is. Out of that comes authentic compassionate action."

-Ram Dass

.

Why Aliveness?. . . .

2005-07-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have traveled literally all over the world over the last several Years. And it has been a great privilege for me to do so. The reason for my travels have been seminars, and regardless of where I am I always start them the same way. I explain that my main message, the thing I am most interested in sharing with people, with communicating effectively, is the message of Aliveness.

Occasionally I am asked why I bother? Why not just teach some functional fighting skills, and leave it at that. Why explain the process? Why discuss the differences? In short, why is Alivenes the main message?

And my answer to that can be summed up in four words. . it is SO healthy!

When our intentions regarding the activity we are engaging in are clear, honest, and open, then that 'thing' (activity-event) becomes incredibly healthy.

It is about Authenticity.

In other words, if someone says "I do Tai Chi because I find it a relaxing form of moving meditation". . . .I say, rock on! In fact, I might even join them.

However, if someone says "no need for Doctors Tai Chi will cure your cancer." Then I may need to question that. And that questioning is also incredibly healthy. Likewise, if they say "Tai Chi will serve as a wonderful form of self defense". . .then I will also want to question that. Both those claims, 'cures cancer', and 'good for self defense', are verifiable within objective reality. And as such, if we are really interested in Truth with the capitol T, then not only should we question those statements, I believe we have an obligation to.

I think that is common sense. When we don't question such statements within ourselves, and accept them solely at face value, then we find ourselves lost, deceived, and often hurt.

Granted, one of those things (cures cancer) may be far more serious then the other. But both are equally irresponsible, and I never claimed to have the most 'serious' job. Just a blessed one.

So let me be clear about what I mean when I say 'question'.

We come to the question of speaking publicly on it. And to be clear, I don't advocate that for everyone. In fact, the only thing I believe matters is that we are honest within our own self about our own intentions. And that we remain skeptical, and question all forms, and statements of authority. . .for ourselves.

Whether or not someone then goes out and speaks to others about their findings is an individual thing. I can only say I am really-really grateful that some people do.

I think of the Amazing Randi, who has been debunking charlatans like Uri Geller for well over 30 Years. His writings had a great impact on me when I was a teenager. I remember watching Uri Geller on television and feeling like something was just not 'right'. And his book helped validate my own critical thinking on the matter.

And Lord knows that if this world could use a little more of something, then 'critical thinking' would rank VERY high on that list. Just under Love and Compassion, in my opinion.

I felt much the same about Martial Arts as I think Randi and many others felt about the scams of Uri Geller. I felt like I had been deceived, whether intentionally, or through ignorance. But deceived either way. And that is never a good way to feel. And it can, and does, happen to us all. Uri Geller deceived a large pool of highly educated scientists at the Stanford Research Institute, using what amounted to poor magic tricks. Just as thousands of people have been deceived by fraudulent Martial Arts, only to find out later that what they where being taught might in reality get them hurt. Especially if they believed it worked! (Witness the first few UFC's for an example).

Did they want to believe, or where they just naive?

I have a good friend who recently sat in on an interview with a major Martial Arts figure. This man being interviewed is known as one of the leading authorities in "pressure points". . .which he claims are hidden within 'katas'. When asked why we don't see this amazing pressure point knock outs in full contact sports, he said "they have been banned". When pressed as to why that would stop a grappler from striking a point on the body which was legal within most sports, he said "well you have to hit three points almost at the sametime, and it depends on what time of day it is!". I am paraphrasing from memory, but I promise the exact quotes would be equally absurd. He then explained how these points are different on men and woman, and which order they need to be struck. My friend then asked, "what if the guy you are fighting was gay? Would you use the male points, or the female points?" And this person sat very still for a moment, and then he said "use the female points."

Sadly, he was deadly serious.

This man then went on to explain how you can knock someone down using just a sound. . .which he began to make. My friend emulated the sound, and then asked, "If I was in that corner of the room making this sound, and someone else was in the other corner making this sound, would you consider it a mass attack?" After some thought the man answered, "yes".

And no, I am not kidding.

So I still see Aliveness as the core message.

When Aliveness is compromised on, the entire structure falls apart. This happens because Authenticity is lost. And the results are not healthy.

But when Aliveness is maintained, then everything else seems to come right in the end. And once the proper methods for drilling and Coaching are added in, the sky is really the limit in terms of potential.

So having stated that, I will start off this BLOG with a basic Aliveness Q & A. These answers have been gathered over many Years, and all these questions have been asked many hundreds of times. This section details the answers we have given, time and time again.

-Enjoy

"In considering whether being Alive is good, we must realize that what matters is not what the mind thinks about being, but only the experience of being. And this experience can only be had when the mind is not."
- Robert Powell

* * *

What is Aliveness?

Aliveness is timing, energy, and motion.

What do you mean by timing, energy, & motion?

for something to be truly alive in what we do then it has have three key elements, movement, timing, and energy (resistance). If you are missing any one of these then it is not Alive.

Movement means real footwork, not contrived, not in a pattern.... on the ground it means exactly that also... movement.... if the person is just laying there, not moving as you apply your lock or move....that is not Alive. In the clinch its the same... .pushing, pulling, moving.

Timing is of course just that.... if its in a predictable rhythm, a pattern, a repeatable series of sets, then you are not acquiring or developing timing, just motion speed.

And of course energy.... swing the stick like someone would really swing it.... dont stop at centerline. Punch with the energy of someone who wants to hit you. Not locking your arm out so your partner can look good doing the destruction, or trap, or silat sweep, etc.

You must move, have a sense of timing, and progressive resistance

Why do you place so much emphasis on this point as opposed to others?

Aliveness is everything. If a person grasps the principle and truly understands what is mean by it. . then they can never be bullshitted again . Thats why I emphasize it so much. I am also constantly being asked....whats better.... this or that. . this style or that style....why don't you do this drill anymore...why do you say this doesn't work.... The answer to all those questions is Aliveness........so once they grasp what that means then about one thousand and one of their questions are answered for them. It's everything.

However, if someone wants to collect a certificate from a well known "Sifu", or look cool doing two person forms, then they will not care or pay attention to the concept of Aliveness.

Why do people then find the Aliveness concept so difficult to accept?

I think that is because when some people start to train Alive, and expose their students to Alive training, they often have to throw out a major portion of the curriculum they learned before. This is because it is shown to not work when applied against a resisting opponent. And Aliveness gauges that very quickly.

All of the sudden the premium is placed on performance. And Arts that perform well. . .boxing, wrestling, Judo, Muay Thai, BJJ, and others, become the base.

What is the distinction between "delivery systems", & personal "style"?

"Style" is always very individual.Each fighter has his/her own "style". And it's aquired only through sparring and Alive training. In that action against a resisting opponent the athlete discovers how to make the delivery system work for them. That is their "style".

However, Delivery Systems always remain fairly constant, regardless of the individual body.

In other words, there is a proper way to put on a rear naked choke. And as long as humans have the same design to their bodies, that 'technique' will remain the same. That choke is an example of "delivery system".

That is why the typical JKDC method of a buffet aproach, picking and choosing from many arts regardless of the delivery system, is such a poor idea. Without solid skill in the basics of the delivery systems of stand up, clinch, and ground, you will not be able to fight, or apply any of the information. Sticking to the simple basics, drilling Alive, and sparring, is the only way we have found to aquire real functional skill.

Delivery systems can be tested, and it's obvious what works and what does not. MMA has shown the boxing, wrestling, and BJJ delivery systems to be of great value. So the delivery systems fighters choose tend to all be the same. Someone trained in say 'silat', without that background in the functional delivery systems mentioned above, would be unable to compete in MMA. They cannot defend themselves against such opponents.

However, each fighter naturaly develops their own style, as they practice, drill, spar, and fight. No two BJJ fighters are the same, yet they all use the same delivery system. No two boxers are the same, yet they all use the same delivery systems.

It's all very simple and clear.

But isn't ALL just up to the individual.
There are no superior delivery systems are there?

There is a proper way to perform a rear naked choke that will allow you to achive the desired results as quickly and efficently as possible. This is simply a reality. Likewise, we there is a proper way to throw a right cross. Their may be many variations of 'how' it is thrown. . .this is 'style' and every boxer will have his own. But the fundamental body mechanics, such as rotation of the hips, are based on the laws of gravity and motion, and this is the delivery system.

Whether people choose to acknowledge that reality does not change the truism.

As an example, everyone who teaches functional ground fighting these days is incorporating the guard, mount, etc. They may call it Submission wrestling, but, it's the same delivery system.

Since the Brazilians brought that delivery system to prominence I feel it's important for me to give them credit. But ultimately, the name of the style is not important. The reality that the delivery system is backed by principles of leverage and timing, and works against resisting opponents; that is what is important.

Can you give me a better example of what you mean when you say 'delivery system'?

Sure, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu could be called a 'style'. Shooto could be called a 'style'. But, if you took a close look at two of the top players, as an example I will say Rumino Sato of Shooto, and Renzo Gracie of BJJ, then you would see that they are using the same delivery system. They both train the same positions, guard, mount, crossides, head and arm, etc. The same submissions, armbars, leg locks, chokes, etc. And the same types of drills, passing the guard, drilling leg locks, etc. So they essentially train in the same delivery system. So the Shooto, BJJ name becomes moot at that point.

Without that delivery system neither one would be as good of a fighter on the ground. That is just a fact. Imagine if Sato didn't know what the guard was, or could never hold that position, or if Renzo didn't train his escapes from mount.

So a delivery system is just that, a system of body mechanics, or movements.

Here is another example, both JJ Machado and Rigan Machado teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you asked them to teach you a shoulderlock from mount position I am sure they would both teach you the same method of delivery. How to set your weight, hold position, crank the joint, etc. That is because there is a best known way to do this. That may not be the politically correct thing to say, but it is the truth.

Now as far as 'style' goes. Both have a totally different style. Rigan is slow and crushing, and works an amazing top game that makes you feel like a crushed bug. JJ has a fast, machine gun like, attacking game from the guard. JJ puts the word active into his guard game in a whole new way. So they both have very different styles, but the same delivery system.

Then to clarify, by your definition what is a 'style'?

Good question. A style is an individuals personal method of application of a delivery system.

It is worth knowing that you cannot develop a personal style unless you train Alive, or at the very least. . .spar.

So how do you develop your own "style"?

It is not a matter of taking different pieces from different arts, (the Concepts method), or learning an imitating someone else's style, (the Original method).

Rather, it is a matter of learning the basic delivery systems and then training Alive. That process is JKD. And not everyone gets that.

Can there be real JKD without Aliveness?

No, without Alive training you cannot really develop your own game, your own "style". And not reaching a level where you have your own style equals not doing JKD.

JKD is not a matter of tracing your lineage back to a certain person. And it's not a matter of having some ink printed on a piece of paper from Kinkos. Nor is it a matter of accumulating a mass of dead pattern drills, or chi sau skill. Doing JKD is a matter of reaching a point in fighting where you begin to develop your own personal 'style' in all ranges of combat. That can ONLY be done through Aliveness. That is just the reality of things, and it's a lack of understanding about this point that has lead to all the confusion.

Why do you think there are a lot of Instructors that are still not teaching with Aliveness?

Two reasons. One is they don't know how yet. They honestly just don't know exactly what Aliveness is. Two is fear. They are smart enough to know what Aliveness is, but the curriculum that such a principle would demand is something they are scared to get into 100% of the time. They have too much they would need to throw away, or stop teaching. They have a position or reputation that they have spent Years developing, and they feel like they have come to far to step back and admit that perhaps they where wrong in the past, and that there is a better way. That's to bad, because that attitude prevents growth, and produces fear. Fear leads to anger, and that anger comes out as a defensive reaction. You have to be willing to let go.

So there is such a thing as superior delivery systems?

Let me give you another example, lets use a hip throw. You can find the hip throw in Freestyle wrestling, Greco Wrestling, Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Sambo, Mongolian Wrestling, Icelandic wrestling, swedish wrestling, and Chinese wrestling, just to name a few. But, the Delivery System for the hip throw, or 'hip toss' always remains the same. The mechanics of the move are essentially, always the same, a back step, level change, hip bump, and toss. Why? Because there is a proper way to do it. And every Art that trains Alive in throwing has found it.

I could go on and on with examples, but hopefully you see the point. Without the delivery system you cannot become familiar with the range, and thus you cannot effectivly realize the goal of JKD, to become effective at all ranges.

Whether you choose to call that delivery system BJJ, Shooto, or wolverine style, is redundent, not because it's been posted before, but because it is a semantic, and not a real difference.

Yes, but not everyone can be a good fighter? What about those that say you can be a good technician without necessarily being a good fighter.

Think about it... how can you be a good technician if you can't fight? It doesn't make any sense. You don't say... hey that guy is a good boxing technician... but when he spars he just gets mauled everytime. Or that wrestler is a good technician, but his takedowns suck... or that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu guy is a good technician, but he cant fight on the ground at all. If you said that you would sound insane. But people say that in JKD all the time. Its another in a long line of myths.

You can be a tough fighter without being technical, due to aggresion, size, explosiveness, strength, etc. But you cannot be a good technician without being able to fight, its impossible.

Its similar to when people tell me they think I have taken the Art out of Martial Arts... that its all about fighting only with us... I reply, Art of what?

The Art is in the performance, the doing. Art is in the performance, sharing, and experience of the training itself.

Also, anyone can be a fighter. A good coach can show anyone of even moderate to low athletic ability and intelligence what it takes to become a good fighter. Now, not everyone may then want, or need, to make the sacrifices necessary to get to that level of performance.

If all you train are basics, then wont you be training only for the short term objective of 'performance'?

There is no such thing as "advanced" techniques in fighting.

The same armbar Rickson Gracie uses, is the same armbar a white belt with one month in uses. The same triangle choke, the same elbow escape, etc. The difference between 'advanced' technique, and 'beginner' technique, is simply the timing, tightness, and efficiency of the movement.

The same holds true for wrestling. The same double leg 6 years olds are taught in pee-wee wrestling class is the same double leg the olympic level "experts" use.

In Judo experts of the Art spend lifetimes perfecting two or three of the "basic" throws. Yes, the exact same throws taught to all beginners.

Lennox Lewis doesn't throw an "advanced" left hook. . .same basics, same basics, same basics. Fundamentals, that is what ALL functional fighting arts offer.

Fundamentals done really well. . . .those are advanced techniques.

If all you have are basics, what can you offer others?

The answer is = everything.

But I don’t believe in throwing a new person in over their head and having them spar in the first few months of training?

Yes, we don't usually suggest throwing a new person into sparring. There are far better methods.

Is such and such Art functional?

My message and that of the Gym is Aliveness.

If you understand that message, and what Aliveness means then you can look at any Art and see right away if the training methods they use will be at all functional. As such, there is no need for any of us to single out specific Arts or Instructors, nor is that the point.

First things first.

My Instructor say's Kata training is usefull.
Do you see use in Kata, forms, or Djurus?

None, in fact it's most likley to be counter-productive.

Well since boxers hit bags, and football players run tires, don't you believe you need a mixture of both Alive & dead training?

What you are describing is not what we would call a "dead" drill, but rather a set of conditioning excercises.

Yes, you can lift weights, and then train with Aliveness and be highly skilled. You can also run tires, jump rope, do wind sprints, practice Yoga (I am a big believer in that), and a host of assorted other conditioning drills, and if combined with a combat sport, yes, you can be highly skilled.

But, if you are going to train an activity specific movement designed for 'fighting', then you need to train movements that are functional and will work against aggresive, resisting attackers. And when training those movements with another human being, you need to make that training Alive. *(see 'I' method)Otherwise your training will not translate under pressure.

But people lift weights, run tires, etc, to develop attributes, so why not do sombradra, hubud, kata, or two person forms for that reason?

Lifting weights is a conditioining drill. It will enhance you fighting skill, because it makes you stronger, and in better shape. It will not teach you how to do an armbar better. That requires an Alive opponent. That is what "isolation dilling" is for. In order to develop functional fighting skill you have to invest in thousands of hours Alive drilling against a resisting opponent. That is why it is important to seperate conditioning drills, from sports specific training. Athletes don't become confused, they know the distiction, but Martial Artists often do. There in exists the problem.

Sombrada as an example is not taught as a 'conditioning drill', it is taught as a sports specific drill. It has been alleged by those that teach it that it is the first stage used to teach people to fight with a stick. It is not sports specific because it does not apply directly when you spar. . .the way an armbar does in BJJ. You don't teach an "armbar flow drill" to enhance attributes, and then when it comes time to spar the armbar say. . .okay now we have to make these changes to make the armbar work. Again, that would be counter productive. That is one of the many reasons why Sombrada, as it is often taught, is not and Alive, or sport specific drill.

You could attempt to make the aurgument that it can be used to "enhance other attributes" which many people attempt to do, but why learn something the wrong way in order to enhance attributes. It is not rational.

How would you teach someone with zero experience how to stick fight then? As an example, how to enter and counter off a forehand or backhand swing?

1) Demonstrate a move that I feel will get them there. As an example a cover an crash.

2)Have both people gear up, (as little gear as possible). Have one party swing a forehand at the other. . .starting slower, but pulling through with the strike. Again progressive resistence.

As this is done the other person attempts to perform the skill you are trying to coach...in this case, cover and crash without eating the blow. As they get better we increase the resistance, and add a back hand. Within 5-10 minutes this should lead to one side feeding a random forehand or backhand, while the other side attempts to cover and crash.

After about 15-20 minutes we would probably just finish with some sparring if this is where the particpants want to go with it. The level of intensity and type of equipment used there would depend on the level the Athlete was comfortable with.
This is how we coach armbars, jabs, kicks, double leg takedowns, sprawls, and stickfighting.

It's the first stage of drilling and we refer to it as the:

I method

Introduce (should only take a few minutes, if not it is probably to complicated for the participants)

Isolate (Isolation sparring in an Alive way)

Incorporate (Add into your total game)

Nobody needs to gets hurt, there are no memorized patterns, no contrived footwork, it's all random and real. When they move to the sparring 'stage', nothing needs to be 'tweeked' or modified, because they where trained correctly from day one. There is nothing to fix. There is no box pattern. It's fun, and students like it.

As an experiment, or just for a change of pace, try this:

Teach one group of students using sombrada/hubud progressions, and then work them through all the different 'stages' you have to sparring. And, at the same time have another group that just drills completely Alive, as I described above. No patterns, no hubud, no B.S., just sparring drills against progressive resistence. Then have them spar each other. The results should interest you, and more then anything else make my point.

But not everyone will respond to 'I' method drilling right away will they? Don't some people need to be walked through dead patterns first?

If you are making the assumption that 'drills' must be done in a pattern, please look at that assumption. They do not. Furthermore, you gain little value from the drill in terms of any attributes, beyond introducing a movement, when you are operating within a pattern*. To actually "drill" correctly there must not be a contrived pattern, and there is no reason to start with one beyond ignorance born out of 'tradition'.

*(note: by contrived pattern I am speaking specificly of a two person form. I do this, you respond with that, etc. Sometimes good combinations are linked, but when we 'drill' we want to work those combos against a resisting opponent. Otherwise there is no timing, and we are still at the "I"ntroduction stage of the game.)

You are not developing sensitivity until you throw away the pattern. In other words. . .you cannot get and increased sense of 'timing' from hitting a wooden dummy, or a stuffed bag. You can get 'sport specific' repetitions in on the stuffed bag. And that will help you build the heart, and muscles which propel the tool. And help you remember combinations. But, it will never give you any type of 'timing', because it is not "Alive".

Sensitivity. . .is nothing but 'timing' applied to 'tactile sense'. . .again, you need another human for this. You cannot get sensitivity from a wooden dummy, or heavy bag, anymore then you can can get 'timing' from a wooden dummy and heavybag.

There are a hundred thousand ways to gain true sensitivity from day one, without getting hurt, with sports specific moves, that do not involve patterns, that can be taught to anyone, that are Alive.

All you have to do is. . . .let go, and create some.

But people like the goofy stuff?

I disagree.

Let me give you a concrete example. Often I hear from Instructors that state that some students 'want' that 'stuff'. I have taught seminars before where the host begged me to show some 'trapping' because the students would love it, and I was told that the group that I was teaching to, (as non athletic a group as you could find) would not respond to my approach. Anyone who knows me knows I don't I don't compromise on this, ever. So. . . I showed no hand trapping, or one and two step sparring. I taught as I always teach, and the students. . . . . .loved it. They said to the Instructor. . ."whydidn't you show us this approach before?"

That has been my experience all over the world.

But, would I have had the muscle memory or coordination with/without the drill?

What would you say if I threw a right cross in sparring, after being taught reverse punches and Karate blocks. And then when it was pointed out to me that my cross didn't look anything like my reverse punches and karate blocks I stated,

"True, but would I have had the muscle memory or coordination with/without the drill? Personally, I don't think so."

It just makes no sense.

Why do so many JKD/Kail Instructors still teach drills like Sombrada, and hubud then?

My gods honest guess is that most Instructors simply don't know how else to do it. Since they don't understand how to drill they fear they will lose students by teaching Alive. They believe that students 'want' or need these drills. Or that to stay in business they have to do it this way.

Again, that is a fallacy. There are much better ways to teach. Just as safe, just as easy to learn, just as fun, and far more functional.

What is the De-Chau analogy?

It was an analogy that explained why it is important to always teach 'principles' for fighting with activity specific drills.

So for example I would talk about the mysterious "dropping" energy. I could then invent a two person form to 'demonstrate' that principle. Perhaps a little dance where we stomp our feet a few times, like the chicken steps in Kali. Or perhaps a two person patty cake form where we can play a game and try and slap each others hip before we perform the "drop".

There would quickly be De-Chau experts, who were undefeatable at the game of de-chau, and who could show you lots of cool switches, and variations of the de-chau drill.

When questioned as to why the de-chau drill looked nothing like a real fight, they would explain that de-chau is just meant to teach you principles of "dropping energy", and impart a few techniques. That's why!

Or I could just teach an athlete to sprawl.

The sprawl teaches the "dropping energy", but if you where to ask a wrestler what they where doing they would tell you they where learning to stop a takedown. Not learning "dropping energy". And the concept of learning the sprawling energy, without a sprawl, would seem absurd. That is just a common sense aproach.

When you begin teaching forms and two person drills which are not activity specific and simply meant to demonstrate a 'principle', and athletes begin practicing as such, things get goofy and the functional Art is lost rather quickly.

Isn't it ignorant to claim as some have that chi sao is ineffective?

No, that is inside out. Ignorance comes from the root words which imply something you "ignore". In this case it would be the lack of any measured evidence for functional use.

Unfortunately the MA school I attend does not always use aliveness (which you define so well in your videos and web site) as it's guiding principal. People will often defend training methods were aliveness is not a factor. During a discussion about training methods someone said to me "What about boxers hitting the heavy bag, and speed bag there is no aliveness there, So hitting the bags is a waist of time huh. Hitting the speed bag doesn't look anything like fighting so that must be a waste of time too huh.." I replied that the heavy bag was good for things like body mechanics, and could be a great work out in itself. The only response was "well if there's no aliveness how can it be any good, huh..." Anyway just wondering if you had ever fielded a comment like this?

You are correct. People will defend their beliefs because they are feeling defensive. This usually has to do with personal identification with the method. And so the best thing you can do there is simply speak your truth, (never be afraid to do that!), smile, and walk on.

In regards a heavybag, you can make heavybag training more realistic. . . . by moving around, and not using repeated patterns like a robot. However, there are many things we may do that improve are bodies that are not "Alive". Its just that all of those things fall under the category of conditioning/excercise. Lifting weights is not Alive, but it will have a direct impact on your body.

Aliveness comes in is when you include a partner. BJJ is a great example. You could roll around with a stuffed dummy on the mat, and practice knee ride, punches, etc. This would be very similar to a boxer hitting the heavybag. However, if you never, or rarely wrestle "live" against a resisting opponent, you will never be able to compete or reach the performance level of even a beginer blue belt.

You must have Aliveness, its as simple as that, thats where timing and abililty come from. As it is in BJJ it is in stand up, and clinch.

But you can't teach beginners that way. How can you teach a whole seminar full of people that way. It would look chaotic?

Simply not true. I teach seminars all over the world without the aid of dead patterns. I teach stick, ground, clinch, stand up, whatever, without ever busting into a pattern. All the while people learn quickly, have fun, laugh, and stay injury free.

What about the idea that these dead pattern drills are for self perfection?

That is usually the last excuse for poor training methods that gets put out there. The thing to ask here is what is meant by the term "self perfection"? If that term is left undescribed, then the idea itself is absolutely meaningless. So it is important to ask for a description on this.

Once a description is given, ask yourself if an Alive training method would serve that description just as well, or in reality. . .much better. You will find this is always the case.

Remember, for something to be used for 'self improvement' it must first be true, real, authentic.

If you are looking for real methods of "self perfection" then you will find them in Alive training, in athletics. As the late, great Joseph Campbell stated, "the only peak experiences I have realized have come as a result of athletics."

But don't they thrown all the 'self perfection' or 'spiritual side' away when they train only Alive?

This is backwards, in reality the opposite is true. And there is much writing regarding how functional athletic training can have serve as a deep and meaningful vehicle for self actualization, and realization.

How do you train Alive as you age?

Great question, three things:

1) Stay in shape. (You should do this anyway, as I assume you care about your body)
2) Train smart, that is do not over train.
3) Use progressive resistence. There is no need to go balls out very often. In fact There is a false idea out there that effective training needs to be rough and brutal, and like so many ideas that too is backwards.

That is also why I love Jits, it can be done slow and gentle and still be highly effective. What a beautiful Art.

Remember, if you can't pull of Tai Chi, or Silat, or Aikido, etc, now, as a younger, strong man, what good will it do you when you are older and less athletic? (This is why it amazes me when I hear people talking about saving those arts for when they are old. What sense does that make?)You need to use the same moves, you just have to be wiser, and smarter about how you apply them, and how you train.

Aliveness is for every-body!

Isn't there are as many ways, as there are faces on the planet?

So true, when left that vague. . .add the words (to execute a rear naked choke) and we begin to see that all people share similiar bodies, and as such the body mechanics and laws of physics applied to that motion will be similiar in nature.

Here is a favorite Krishnamurti joke regarding that exact topic:

The devil and a friend were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend asked the devil, “What did that man pick up?” “He picked up a piece of the truth,” said the devil. “That is very bad business for you, then” said his friend. “Oh, not at all,” the devil replied, “I am going to help him organize it!.”

Truth of the truth:

Aliveness is about the freedom to use whatever works in the moment. Right action at right time. Which is another name for true compassion. A freedom that is only fully felt when one is completely immersed in the present moment of now, and free of the burden of beliefs, which manifest as thoughts. A clear mind fully aware of reality as it is now, and operating with absolute synchronicity within time and space, that is the real beginning of Aliveness.

It is about Love.