Jiu Jitsu prepares many flavors of pain for us. One of the most bitter flavors of pain comes from a revelation. Jiu Jitsu reveals our physical limitations.The Crypt of the Capuchins. Rome, Italy.I became acutely aware of these limitations when I turned 32. Double or triple training sessions left me, best case, feeling half-assed and, worst case, sick or injured. I had to back off. I had to slow down. Granted, this is not the case for everyone, but I was running up against the limitations of m...

Jiu Jitsu prepares many flavors of pain for us. One of the most bitter flavors of pain comes from a revelation. Jiu Jitsu reveals our physical limitations.The Crypt of the Capuchins. Rome, Italy.I became acutely aware of these limitations when I turned 32. Double or triple training sessions left me, best case, feeling half-assed and, worst case, sick or injured. I had to back off. I had to slow down. Granted, this is not the case for everyone, but I was running up against the limitations of m...

There’s a tendency I’ve noticed on the mats. It’s prevalent mostly among male blue belts and white belts. And it’s made worse by strength and bad ideas about aggression, dominance, and winning.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Create an expressionist painting that vividly captures the intense energy and chaotic beauty at the eye of a storm, using bold colors and dynamic brushstrokes to convey the powerful forces of nature. The prompt was initially written by m...

There’s a tendency I’ve noticed on the mats. It’s prevalent mostly among male blue belts and white belts. And it’s made worse by strength and bad ideas about aggression, dominance, and winning.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Create an expressionist painting that vividly captures the intense energy and chaotic beauty at the eye of a storm, using bold colors and dynamic brushstrokes to convey the powerful forces of nature. The prompt was initially written by m...

People who train at night, and people who train early in the morning: Outside of American politics, you won’t find two more polarized groups. The morning crew thumps their chests about doing something difficult before the sun rises. The more demure have obligations like work or family that keep them off the mats at night. So they say.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: An impressionist oil painting of the sun and moon.The evening crew is generally larger, younge...

People who train at night, and people who train early in the morning: Outside of American politics, you won’t find two more polarized groups. The morning crew thumps their chests about doing something difficult before the sun rises. The more demure have obligations like work or family that keep them off the mats at night. So they say.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: An impressionist oil painting of the sun and moon.The evening crew is generally larger, younge...

Can you do jiu jitsu without equal doses of courage and lunacy? Courage and lunacy are often overlooked in this sport, depending on one’s proclivities. The naive plunge heedlessly into the fight. They don’t realize how dangerous it is. While they may see the immediate risk of an acute injury, they overlook the wear and tear that comes from years in the game. Courage comes from knowing the risks and facing them strategically. And facing them starts a seamless transition into lunacy.This image ...

Can you do jiu jitsu without equal doses of courage and lunacy? Courage and lunacy are often overlooked in this sport, depending on one’s proclivities. The naive plunge heedlessly into the fight. They don’t realize how dangerous it is. While they may see the immediate risk of an acute injury, they overlook the wear and tear that comes from years in the game. Courage comes from knowing the risks and facing them strategically. And facing them starts a seamless transition into lunacy.This image ...

Jiu Jitsu will be whatever you want it to be. Do you want it to make you tough? Jiu Jitsu will harden you. The pickpockets of Europe will size you up, see your ears, and think twice. But what happens when life demands a gentle touch?This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Broken bone. Abstract expressionism.Do you want it to make you a competitor? If you give it enough time and the right focus, Jiu Jitsu will walk into the arena with you. You may stand on the podium...

Jiu Jitsu will be whatever you want it to be. Do you want it to make you tough? Jiu Jitsu will harden you. The pickpockets of Europe will size you up, see your ears, and think twice. But what happens when life demands a gentle touch?This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Broken bone. Abstract expressionism.Do you want it to make you a competitor? If you give it enough time and the right focus, Jiu Jitsu will walk into the arena with you. You may stand on the podium...

We’re susceptible to worshiping false idols in this game. It’s natural. We worship the false idol of skill. We see someone who has developed their Jiu Jitsu to its peak. Their game is sharp and elegant. To watch them roll is like viewing some moving masterpiece in a gallery. We do not see and do not worship their abusive relationship, their shady business dealings, or their pathological lying.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Art deco. Portrait of a man and hi...

We’re susceptible to worshiping false idols in this game. It’s natural. We worship the false idol of skill. We see someone who has developed their Jiu Jitsu to its peak. Their game is sharp and elegant. To watch them roll is like viewing some moving masterpiece in a gallery. We do not see and do not worship their abusive relationship, their shady business dealings, or their pathological lying.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Art deco. Portrait of a man and hi...

Jiu Jitsu is unlike many other martial arts. It came of age in the early days of the UFC and MMA and that brutal gauntlet divorced it from the pageantry and bullshit that typifies many martial arts.This image was created with DALL-E, using the following prompt: Create an abstract painting that depicts a painter immersed in the process of capturing the portrait of a martial artist with cauliflower ears, dressed in a gi. Use a harmonious fusion of colors, shapes, and textures to convey the inte...

Jiu Jitsu is unlike many other martial arts. It came of age in the early days of the UFC and MMA and that brutal gauntlet divorced it from the pageantry and bullshit that typifies many martial arts.This image was created with DALL-E, using the following prompt: Create an abstract painting that depicts a painter immersed in the process of capturing the portrait of a martial artist with cauliflower ears, dressed in a gi. Use a harmonious fusion of colors, shapes, and textures to convey the inte...

A man, long and lean, walks out of the pre-dawn and into the neon light of a Jiu Jitsu academy. A visitor. He’s all California sun and surf, amplified by 380 milligrams of caffeine. Warm-ups begin. The unofficial ones where people stretch and roll around and groan in the minutes leading up to class. The visitor asks about the official warm-ups, a topic of controversy. The instructor explains the plan.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Painting: A man stands in ...

A man, long and lean, walks out of the pre-dawn and into the neon light of a Jiu Jitsu academy. A visitor. He’s all California sun and surf, amplified by 380 milligrams of caffeine. Warm-ups begin. The unofficial ones where people stretch and roll around and groan in the minutes leading up to class. The visitor asks about the official warm-ups, a topic of controversy. The instructor explains the plan.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Painting: A man stands in ...

What makes for a good roll? In some ways, it’s like asking what makes for a good painting. There are a near-infinite number of variables to account for, along with the subjectivity of the viewer.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Impressionist painting of a male and female ballet dancer.A good roll is also situational, contextual. It’s going to look and feel different for the two-hundred pound man gearing up for ADCC, and the one-hundred pound woman who just le...

What makes for a good roll? In some ways, it’s like asking what makes for a good painting. There are a near-infinite number of variables to account for, along with the subjectivity of the viewer.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Impressionist painting of a male and female ballet dancer.A good roll is also situational, contextual. It’s going to look and feel different for the two-hundred pound man gearing up for ADCC, and the one-hundred pound woman who just le...

Students come wanting answers, a lesson. I am not possessive of these lessons or these answers. I will share them gladly. But the students must remember that any similarities between their answers and mine are coincidental. This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: "A farmer planting seeds in a field," by Edward HopperI hand them a few seeds here and there, just as I have been handed a few seeds here and there. Will they even germinate? The students decide what to pla...

Students come wanting answers, a lesson. I am not possessive of these lessons or these answers. I will share them gladly. But the students must remember that any similarities between their answers and mine are coincidental. This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: "A farmer planting seeds in a field," by Edward HopperI hand them a few seeds here and there, just as I have been handed a few seeds here and there. Will they even germinate? The students decide what to pla...

Jiu Jitsu is a revelation. As in, the art reveals truths about ourselves and others with near-biblical potency and profundity. I mean this literally. The book of Revelations takes its name from the first word of the Koine Greek version. That word is apokalypsis, meaning unveiling, or revelation.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Abstract expressionism: An apocalypse that reveals previously unknowable truths.Apocalypse is a loaded word today in the West. We hear...

Jiu Jitsu is a revelation. As in, the art reveals truths about ourselves and others with near-biblical potency and profundity. I mean this literally. The book of Revelations takes its name from the first word of the Koine Greek version. That word is apokalypsis, meaning unveiling, or revelation.This image was created with DALL-E AI, using the following prompt: Abstract expressionism: An apocalypse that reveals previously unknowable truths.Apocalypse is a loaded word today in the West. We hear...

The art of Jiu Jitsu is complex. The practice of Jiu Jitsu is simple. We must:Seek exposure.Get exposed.Integrate.Improve.Repeat.To seek exposure, we choose training partners or scenarios that will reveal our deficiencies. To get exposed, we train with those partners or in those scenarios with an open mind, observing what happens. To integrate, we reflect on what those partners or scenarios revealed. To improve, we make a plan to train what has been exposed, to close those gaps. And then we d...

The art of Jiu Jitsu is complex. The practice of Jiu Jitsu is simple. We must:Seek exposure.Get exposed.Integrate.Improve.Repeat.To seek exposure, we choose training partners or scenarios that will reveal our deficiencies. To get exposed, we train with those partners or in those scenarios with an open mind, observing what happens. To integrate, we reflect on what those partners or scenarios revealed. To improve, we make a plan to train what has been exposed, to close those gaps. And then we d...