This is what my July is looking like:

June 27 – Flying to Manchester, England.

Training and teaching with Adam Adshead.

July 5 – Flying to Tallinn, Estonia.

July 6-12 – Teaching and training at the Summer University of Functional Fighting.

Vacationing.

July 20 – Fly back to Manchester.

There’s a week in here that I’m trying to fill with something else to do so let me hear any ideas you’ve got.

July 29 – Fly back to US.

Justin Garcia AKA Chim Chim

Roberto Tozi

This week Caleb of The FightWorks Podcast had me on to go over the first 5 of the 10 Quick Tips for White Belts. More interesting than that is Caique got his red and black belt from Rickson and sat down to talk about his introduction to the Gracie family, jiu-jitsu back in the day in Rio de Janeiro, his arrival in the United States, jiu-jitsu today, and much more. Check it out!

Sat – Gi – 2:00pm – 5:00pm
Sun – No-gi – 2:00pm – 5:00pm

Cost:
Advanced sign up (until April 15th) 80.00/one day
120.00 both days
At the door 100.00/day
Space limited!

Address:
6840 SW 195th Ave, Pembroke Pines, FL

(Sheridan and 196th Ave) From 75 west exit 11B on Sheridan Ave, approx. 3 miles west on Sheridan you will see the Laguna Isles Publix Plaza.

Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu
6840 SW 195th Ave
Laguna Isles Publix Plaza
Pembroke Pines FL
33332

Phone: 954-680-0650

1. How to get good isn’t a big secret. Get on the mats, get good instruction and do conditioning, drilling or sparring. Gameplans, flow charts, notebooks, journals and instructionals are gravy. Training is the meat and potatoes.


2. Spar with everyone you can. Force yourself to go with guys who intimidate you. Experience is what counts, not mental tallies of who tapped who. And always finish the round, no matter how tired you are.


3. Escaping submissions and bad positions isn’t easy. And it’s not supposed to be. That’s kinda the point. But that’s also what makes it good when you’re on the winning side.


4. The best answer to a problem is usually “don’t let it happen in the first place.” That’s always disappointing to hear but it’s unfortunately true. Of course learn the escapes and counters but also become aware of what mistakes got you there in the first place. Boxers don’t ask “How do I get unpunched?”


5. The difference between gi and no-gi is only as big as you make it. Do whichever you enjoy. Try both. And do whichever is appropriate to prepare for competition. Just don’t be that guy who wastes time arguing one over the other.


6. Feeling stupid or uncoordinated when trying a new move is a good thing. It means you’ve got something to learn and your body gets to gain a new skill.


7. Being technical doesn’t mean being lazy. Being aggressive doesn’t mean being a meathead. But it will take a lot of training and mat time to balance the two.


8. You’ll think you’re “getting it” at about 6 months. Then at 12 months you’ll realize how wrong you were before and how now you’re really getting it. Then 6 months later you’ll actually start getting it.


9. Getting your blue belt is good but don’t blow it up too big in your mind or you risk losing motivation when you get promoted. Don’t be one of those guys who races to his blue belt then disappears forever.


10. When you do get your blue, don’t worry too much if you feel like you don’t deserve it yet. That’s normal. Just do what it takes to grow into it.

Download “10 Quick Tips for White Belts” as PDF

The data collected could be sliced and analyzed in more ways than I’m showing below, so I’m offering it in CSV for anyone who wants to crunch the numbers. Here’s an example: The top three favorite brands were Atama, Gameness and Koral. But that’s not a big surprise when they are the three brands most people own and most people only have 1-3 gis. What would be interesting to see is of the people who own these brands and others, are they still their favorite?

BJJ Gi Survey Spreadsheet — Download CSV · View as HTML

(Email addresses have been removed.)

The local St. Petersburg Times newspaper ran a story on it today that explains how it works.

Lost your job? Subdue a dude

By Dalia Colón, Times Staff Writer

Getting laid off can make you want to choke somebody.

At Gracie Barra Clearwater, that’s okay.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy recently began what it calls the Tough Times Training Program. Anyone who’s been laid off in the past six months is eligible for free classes three times a week. Just provide proof that you’re out of work — a bank statement or letter from your boss — and you’ll get free training for up to six months or until you find a new job, whichever comes first.

Owner and instructor Eduardo de Lima said he’s always given a break to students who couldn’t pay. The Tough Times program just formalizes the offer.

“I always said to my students, ‘If you lose your job, just come in anyway.’ It’s more important for them to work out, because it releases the stress of life,” said De Lima, 40, who’s been teaching jiu-jitsu for 16 years. “When (people) get stressed from money problems, they do dumb things,” he said, citing the Los Angeles man who recently shot his family and then himself after losing his job.

De Lima normally charges $110 a month for unlimited classes. Students in the Tough Times program can participate in Gracie Barra’s Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday classes, taught by De Lima and Matt Kirtley.

Chris Hartwig is one of the few to take up De Lima on his offer. Hartwig worked in the mortgage lending industry for more than three years and had been training with De Lima for almost two years. When he got laid off two months ago, Hartwig was prepared to quit martial arts, but De Lima told him not to worry about paying until he’s back on his feet.

“It was the only hobby that I had, and I was able to keep it, fortunately,” said Hartwig, 27, of Tampa, who no longer eats out and has cancelled a few vacations he’d planned. Jiu-jitsu brings stress relief and friendships that have been therapeutic during the job search process, Hartwig said. “You don’t have to go to a shrink when you have a bunch of guys in there that understand your situation.”

Stephan Kesting of Grapple Arts just launched an awesome new BJJ resource, Beginning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (beginningbjj.com).

Signing up for the e-course gets you a free e-book, A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. After reading it, my first thought was “I wish I’d had this when I started.” It’s a superb starting reference, presenting the right lessons and concepts for a beginner. The e-mails that come with the e-course are the same great quality all of Stephan’s work is.

If you run a gym, this would be a perfect to give to new students. I’m thinking of printing out a copy and bring it into the gym and telling the beginners to check it out. It presents the right mindset for learning and improving as a beginner.

Check out www.beginningbjj.com.