Jiu Jitsu Blog: Be Better Than You Were Yesterday

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Jiu Jitsu Blog: Be Better Than You Were Yesterday

Jiu Jitsu Blog: Be Better Than You Were Yesterday

Jiu Jitsu Blog: Be Better Than You Were Yesterday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instructor, our job is to help inspire people and help them improve themselves. The hardest part is teaching them not to compare themselves to others, but to just be better than they were yesterday. Comparing yourself to your teammates that you started with at the same time is common. But their journey is not the same. Over time, your teammate may go in the direction of focusing on competition, Mixed Martial Arts, street self-defense or just fitness. Others may hit bumps in the road because of family or work stress. Your job is to focus on you. Prepare a schedule that fits what you are trying to accomplish through martial arts amd stick to it. Never focus on others accomplishments, goals or belt promotions. They have nothing to do with you. Stay interacted with your instructor as to his teaching and ask questions. Share your goals with him.

Live training

Live training is what separates Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) from the other martial arts. Practitioners of BJJ train live after ever class. Sometimes, this is where the disconnect happens. There is an old saying in BJJ: Win Or Learn. Many can’t see defeat in a training session as a learning experience. the first thing we are taught as practitioners is to tap out so we don’t get hurt. You cannot get better at BJJ if you don’t tap. If you aren’t tapping, you aren’t learning. In my teachings for over 15 years, I can honestly say once the lesson of “win or learn” is understood, students progress at a much more rapid pace. That step is vital to improvement. Win or learn and have fun are the keys to BJJ, understand them, you understand BJJ.

Former UFC Fighter teaches in Lyndhurst Jiu Jitsu Academy

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Former UFC Fighter teaches in Lyndhurst Jiu Jitsu Academy

Former UFC fighter Kurt Pellegrino taught class tuesday night in Lyndhurst NJ. Pellegrino, a former top 5 lightweight in the UFC, taught at the Savarese BJJ Academy on Park Ave. Professor Chris Savarese, the Academy owner, is a long time friend and training partner of Pellegrino. Due to this longtime friendship, the 2 still train together even though the technically are not on the same jiu-jitsu team.

Class Focal Points

Some of the things covered by Pellegrino were takedowns and back control. Pellegrino was a 2-time state wrestling finalist in high school at Point Pleasant Boro High School. He used many of these techniques in his UFC career vs the like of Nate Diaz, Rob Emerson, Josh “the Dentist” Neer, Alberto Crane and Thiago Tavares. Deep half guard was then the focus as defenses, entries and some sweeps were shown. Sweeps that were recently used by Pellegrino at the NY Open Jiu-Jitsu Champiosnhip back in March were also shown. Kurt teaches in a very humorous style to try to keep everyone’s attention. Questions were then taken and answer to cap off the night.

Special night

Professor Savarese had this to say after the class. “Special night because it is always special to share the mats with the guys you came through the ranks with. Together, Kurt and I sweat, dreamt, fought through injuries together and always had each others backs. Thank you to my brother Kurt for sharing his knowledge and humor with my students tonight, showing some of his best takedowns, deep half guard and back attacks with us in his unique style of teaching. Everyone loved it.”

Finally, are you interested in training at the Savarese BJJ academy in Lyndhurst? Email [email protected] or call 201 933-5134 to set up a free trail class.

Would you  like to train full time with Kurt Pellegrino? Call his Belmar NJ Academy at 732 894-3468 for more information.

Both schools are 2 of the top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools in the tri-state area.

Former UFC Fighter teaches in Lyndhurst Jiu Jitsu Academy

Former UFC Fighter teaches in Lyndhurst Jiu Jitsu Academy

 

 

Lyndhurst Martial Arts-No One Fights Alone

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Lyndhurst Martial Arts-No One Fights Alone

“No one fights alone”. That was the motto Lyndhurst martial school Savarese BJJ adopted for their teammate Maria Lleonart. Lleonart, a brownbelt at the Academy, has been battling cancer. Team Savarese wanted to show her show their support, show her she has many who care about her and that she is missed and we are waiting for her return. Goals were made by the school’s competition teams, kids and adults, to win the team titles for her at yesterday’s New Jersey Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Tournament.

Savarese BJJ wins Double Gold!

Savarese BJJ won double gold at the tournament, as both their kids and adult competition teams taking 1st place in the Team standings. Their point total nearly doubled every other school attending. 64 competitors from the team competed in the tournament, a tremendous showing by the Savarese Academy.

Message from Professor Savarese

Thank you to everyone who stepped up to compete yesterday. EVERY SINGLE ONE. Maria has been a friend of mine for over 15 years and a student for 10. Someone who I know longer than any one of my students. I have to put on a strong facade for the team but it doesn’t mean this isn’t scary when I am alone. Danny, her husband is one of my first students as well. Yesterday wasn’t about individual accomplishment or just making a post on Facebook. Everyone stepped up and took action. Many of you weren’t ready but did it anyway. Some were hurt and others weren’t able to put in the proper training to win but did it anyway. That is what team and family are about, no egos, fighting for something bigger than us and for someone else. 

Thanks NJBJJF

Saying how proud I am would be an understatement. I have never been more proud of my school and my students. It is MY honor to be among you. Thanks to the NJBJJF for helping us make a donation to the cancer fund of Maria’s choice. Also, to my blackbelts Professor Sean Bermudez, Michael Hanly and Mohammad Mohebbi, who put in over 8 hours of coaching yesterday. Maria, look at this picture, it was all for you. 

Lyndhurst Martial Arts-No One Fights Alone

Lyndhurst Martial Arts-No One Fights Alone

Lyndhurst Martial Arts-No One Fights Alone

Lyndhurst Martial Arts-No One Fights Alone

Our losses in sports or martial arts become life lessons

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Our losses in sports or martial arts become life lessons

Our losses in sports or martial arts become life lessons Everyone loses at some time in sports or martial arts. I lose, you lose, we are all losers at one time or another.  In martial arts, especially in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), we are taught that the only one who never loses is the one who never fights. It is hard to know the true joy of winning if you haven’t lost first. The truth is, that no matter how terrible, excruciating, heart breaking, or life changing, a loss is, it can be a good thing. I often find my competition team students learn more from a loss than a win. Losing can be a good thing as long as you know how to use it to your advantage.

How can I help my child?

Parents can help their children, young or in their teens, see the benefits of playing a sport or martial art and winning and losing. A side benefit can be them learning to manage time by getting their homework done quickly so they can attend practice/class or games.and setting personal goals. Your kids can also develop healthy exercise habits that they do for the rest their lives. Losing also opens the door for character development. One of the best things I like to do after a loss is to first ask the team what they learned from the loss. What could they have done differently? Is there anything we need to improve on to be better next time? Allow them to evaluate the loss. Teach them it’s OK to lose and to make mistakes. Improvement will only come from trial and error. Practice makes perfect.

Strategies for dealing with losing

Let’s be honest. Losing sucks. It’s never fun or easy. Forming a strategy that can help your deal with losses positively will be helpful. How do you do that? Here are some examples

  • Encourage your child to set personal and team goals. I make all my students give me goals before the year starts and then I evaluate those goals at the end of the year. It’s a great way to show people how much progress they made that year.
  • If your child loses, let them decide how much they want to talk about it right away. Sometimes, giving them the space they need and talking about it later will be more effective
  • Never disrespect your child’s coach, in private or public, in front of them. If you don’t show them respect, your child won’t either and they won’t learn from him.
  • Be sure your child hears a positive voice when everything seems to go wrong. Only hearing criticism all the time will make them hate what they are doing.

Lessons Aren’t Just for your kids

Loses also present a lesson to learn for the parents too. As adults,we should ask ourselves the following questions:

  • Why is winning so important to us?
  • Am I bringing my past personal athletic success or failure into my teens’ experience?
  • Is too much pressure being put on my child from me or my spouse

Pressure can lead to quitting and that is the last thing we want to teach our kids. Once we allow them to start quitting, they will quit everything. One of my favorite quote is from the great football coach Vince Lombardi and it goes “it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”  Approach a loss with that attitude and it will make you invincible.

 

Jiu Jitsu Instructors respect hard work

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Jiu Jitsu Instructors respect hard work

Jiu Jitsu Instructors respect hard work. This is something many whitebelts look for when they begin to train. New whitebelts are shy, somewhat nervous and even a little scared. 20 + years of BJJ has shown me many things. Almost everything has been seen from the new student. Students have been seen offering to do anything from yard work, handyman stuff and most of all, throwing money around. Personally, I have been offered sports tickets and presents in attempts by newer students to “get in that inner circle.” If they only knew how easy it was. Just show up and put in the work, that is the way. First appearances are important. Don’t make your instructor wary of you from the beginning by being to pushy or trying to buy them.

Train hard and be yourself

Inspiring people is what the BJJ school owners I know believe in. Renzo Gracie, a legend who was one of my instructors, once said that are not in the business of selling martial arts but in the business of selling confidence. Confidence is the road to success. School owners just want to help you fit in and become better practitioners and in return, better people. most have that experience because Jiu-jitsu changed their life and they want the same for you. (Here is a link to another blog I wrote about fitting in https://njbjj.com/fitting-into-your-bjj-school/Â ) Training hard and showing an interest at getting better at BJJ is the road to take. Soak in every ounce of information you can. Ask your instructor BJJ related questions. As a result, your instructor will show more interest in you. Just be yourself. Trust is something that goes a long way in BJJ. Relationships between student and instructor must have trust. There are no shortcuts on the road to success.

Be coachable

Especially relevant is the coachability factor. Being coachable is another key to being successful and getting better. Consequently, implementing what is taught will speed up the process. Because instructors across the world have devoted their lives to spreading the art, passion in most BJJ Academy owners is visible. Personally, I am from lineage of the Gracie Family and I take the responsibility of spreading their family’s art seriously. It is the responsibility of today’s instructors to carry on the art in the way we were taught it and not let it gets watered down. Keeping the level of BJJ high is a must. The fear of the art getting watered down is always on our mind. There is an old martial art saying “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” Always be ready to learn and your teacher will always be around.

The Perfect student

Every martial arts instructor has an image of their perfect student. My “perfect” students are the ones that strive to be the best on the mat. In addition, they also live by the martial arts code when off the mat. As a result, they are improving faster by following this code.

Hence, always be the guy who is drenched in sweat. Furthermore, are you taking an easier road or trying to fake things? Like the title says, Jiu Jitsu Instructors respect hard work. Since nothing is handed to you in BJJ, all of your belts are earned, instructors notice this. That is the beauty of BJJ. Nothing is handed to you in BJJ, all of your belts are earned. Jiu-Jitsu belt ranks, especially the blackbelt, are held so dear for this reason. Martial Arts instructors respect the process, do not try to take shortcuts. Finally, “Work hard in silence. Let your success make all the noise”.

 

Jiu Jitsu Instructors respect hard work

Jiu Jitsu Instructors respect hard work

Importance of team for BJJ Students and Competitors

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The importance of team for BJJ students and competitors in one not many understand. Getting far in jiu-jitsu requires good instruction and training partners to succeed. Nobody can do it alone.

T.E.A.M (Together Everyone Achieves More)

BJJ teammates are more than just a collection of people. You rely on your partners to get you ready, keep your focus, pick you up when you are down. Surrounding yourself with like-minded individuals is a great way to succeed. Forming goals together and working hard to reach those goals is a true way to success. You want your team to produce energy and positive attitudes. Sometimes this requires eliminating someone who is not on board with the others goals and values. You never want to have a guy on your team who is always in training classes and session when he is competing but disappears when he is not. Selfish teammates bring everyone down.

Upperbelts set the tone

The longer a BJJ Academy is open, the larger the team grows if it is run correctly. The importance of the upperbelts helping the owner/instructor becomes very important. Brown and Blackbelts must help the newer students succeed and be that gateway to the professor. They must help keep the bullies in line because the professor can’t possibly see everything. They give their experience to help the guys know what the professor is looking for. Setting a good example on and off the mat is vital to gain the respect of your teammates. That helps you become that leader the professor needs to help keep the level high when he is not there.

Drill your way to success in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

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You have to drill your way to success in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The biggest error most jiu-jitsu practitioners make is that they abandon repetitive drilling when they start live training.

Beginners make a lot of progress through solely drilling techniques over and over. Practicing an individual technique allows your body to develop muscle memory to be able to repeat them. When many people finally start to train live, they often push the repetitive drilling to the side. Students start to focus more on trying to tap their training partners. Live training is vital to progression in Jiu-Jitsu. However, you cannot abandon drilling your techniques to perfect the movements. Trying a technique a couple of times, and then trying to hit it in live training, will cause you to fail more often than not. Bodies aren’t conditioned yet to react to the angles or grips of the technique. Many practitioners will get frustrated and feel like the technique “doesn’t work for themâ€. You cannot get frustrated, this is common. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”, the Outliers Theory states that in order to master something you must perform 10,000 hours or repetitions.

Keeping track of your repetitions:

A great way to keep track of just how many you do is to start a notebook. Write down every class you attend and keep a record of how many times you have practiced that technique. Some classes you may be so tired you can only do it 20 times, whereas others you might have a bit more energy and accomplish a higher number. If you tell yourself you will do it a minimum of 20 times a class you should easily add the technique to your “game†in no time.

Drilling what is being taught, how it is taught:

This is one of the more important aspects of drilling. Your instructor spends a lot of time working on the curriculum of your academy. They do this in order to help the entire school progress.  When you are learning something in class, that is what you should be working on, especially at the lower ranks. When you get to be a brown or black belt, you will have the opportunity to start venturing into other techniques. By doing your own thing, you are not just hurting your own progress but that of your training partners as well. There is no reason to try and re-invent the wheel, do it the way your instructor is advising you to.

Books to read on the subject

In Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”, the Outliers Theory states that in order to master something you must perform 10,000 hours or repetitions. Another good book on drilling is Andre Galvao’s “Drill To Win”

5 Motivational quotes to help you through BJJ

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I have composed a list of 5 Motivational quotes to help you through BJJ. Throughout your BJJ journey, you will see hundreds or thousands of motivational quotes. These 5 really helped me over the years. The last one by Jim Rohn became a life credo for me.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” – Lao Tzu

The hardest part of starting any martial art, not just Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is getting over the fear of walking through the front door. It is the hardest step you ever take and your first lesson….facing your fears. Facing fears is a huge part of the martial arts and you already did it unknowingly. One of the blackbelts at Savarese BJJ is a life-long martial artist who began under his dad. His dad is a member of the martial arts Hall Of Fame. He uses a saying he learned from his dad years ago, “face your fear and the fear disappears.” Taking that first step is the first step in becoming a blackbelt someday.

“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it.” – Charles Buxton

We all have lives outside of the Academy. The phrase “I’m so busy” or “I have no time” is used way too often. Truth is, EVERYONE IS BUSY in their own way. Over my 10 years of being a school owner, the most common thing I see is people unable to manage their time properly. If you want time, you must make it, you have to schedule things better or find a class you can attend. Even if that class is the dreaded 7am class.

Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; - Earl Nightingale

There comes a time around 1 year into your bluebelt when students getting frustrated. They are frustrated with being defeated and their progress start to question whether BJJ is worth it because they are so far away from blackbelt. This saying goes hand in hand with the one below at this stage.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

People quit at bluebelt more than any other belt. It is usually the longest belt next to black. In Saulo Ribeiro’s book Jiu-Jitsu University , he speaks about surviving at white and bluebelt. It is a tough time to go through but one almost 100% of blackbelts appreciate the most once they reach blackbelt. I am seeing more and more purplebelts quit as well these days. Recreational practitioners of the art will see their promotions come a little more slowly and will often get frustrated. They compare themselves to other who are sometimes training more, are younger etc. It is a mistake to compare yourself to anyone because everyone’s BJJ journey is different. Some may reach a rank faster, doesn’t mean they will be better long term.

“If you really want to do something, you‘ll find a way. If you don’t, you‘ll find an excuse.†—Jim Rohn.

This is my life’s credo. It helps me in the “no excuses” mindset I try to live by. Once I got rid of all the negative people and excuse makers in my life, I said this saying to myself over and over and my life got so much better because of it. I have ingrained this into my mindset so deeply that I can answer any excuse someone tries to give me about anything with this saying. Examples:

Hit too much traffic? Leave 15 to 20 minutes earlier

You’re taking extra classes this semester? Come to 7am or weekend classes

Don’t have the $? shovel snow, mow lawns, get a 2nd job on weekends or at night 1x a week, sell something you own that you do not need or stop spending on things you don’t need.

Once we get in the mindset of holding ourselves accountable for what we do and do not do, life gets easier and we make better decisions. Our focus gets better, our attitude gets better and we are happier.

 

Fitting into your BJJ School

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Fitting into your BJJ School

One of the hardest parts of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is fitting into your BJJ school. This list is here to help you recognize all of the diverse students you will encounter at most Academies around the world.  Now, since there are generally no “cookie cutter†students, this list may slightly vary but it should give a good summation of most schools.

The New Student

This student has probably only been a part of the school for less than 2 months. They are still a bit shy around other students and may even seem a bit lost. The ones that have been at the school for less than a month will still have that look on their face like they don’t know what they got themselves into. This is normal, they are still in the process of fitting into their BJJ School. They typically are the one that is wandering around the room trying to make a connection with other students.

The Hobbyist

Every school has them, in fact, with the popularity of BJJ, the Hobbyist Student is becoming more prevalent. They are the student that comes to class once or twice a week.  Everyone is friends with them. They do not really study BJJ outside of the academy but still love class when they are there. Typically they will be the student who is a Blue Belt and has been training as long as some of the Purple Belts. The hobbyist is a key student in the academy. They are the ones that tend to bond quickest with The New Student and help them transition into what kind of BJJ Student they will be. They have no problem fitting into your bjj school because everyone likes them and they have their place on the mats.

The BEAST

This is the student that seems to tap everyone. They could be the nicest person off of the mats and the other students like them, but The Beast is the Purple or Brown Belt that nobody can seem to do anything to and goes through everyone else. They tend to be the guy that doesn’t compete that much but absolutely loves BJJ. They are always studying and taking notes. They are the last one off of the mats at the end of the night and never make excuses.

The Competitor

Not everyone will fit this description. This student lives and breathes Jiu-Jitsu Competitions. When they train they keep track of positional points in their head. They are always getting ready for their next tournament, and sometimes will also fit the bill of THE BEAST that we just talked about. They aren’t always the highest ranked student in the room either, usually a younger Blue or Purple Belt will fit this description.

The Seasoned Veteran

This is the rarest of students. The older Brown or Black Belt in the room that has seen it all.  They have been there and done that, and held every role in the academy. They are usually one of the instructors on staff at the school. Do not let their role as the Seasoned Veteran fool you though. They are still tough as nails and ready to keep the younger and newer students in line. They tend to be the instructors right hand man or close to it and they command a lot of respect from the other students.

These are just a few of the different types of students you will encounter while fitting into your BJJ school. There is nothing that says you have to be any specific one of them, and who is to say you can’t be each of them during your journey through Jiu-Jitsu. Just get on the mats and enjoy BJJ for the amazing art that it is.

Savarese BJJ

Call Today to start your BJJ Journey. 201 933-5134

Following your Academy’s curriculum

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Today’s topic is Following your Academy’s curriculum. You must follow the program!

One of the biggest keys to anyone’s personal success will be the beginner program your instructor set for. This is going to be the foundation that your jiu-jitsu game is going to be build upon in the future. If your school doesn’t have a detailed and outlined beginner program for you to follow in the first 6 months of your training, that is a red flag. Systems should be in place and when they are adhered to, there is an even flow of progression for all of those who follow it.

Watching you tube can be your friend….or set you back months!

Unfortunately, today our biggest tool is also one of our biggest enemies… YOUTUBE. It seems like lower belt in the world wants to have their own you tube channel showing techniques that have 12 steps and require multiple grip switches and rolls all to do the same thing that a technique with 3 steps would accomplish. Watching you tube videos and then trying to work on that stuff instead of what is being taught is like trying to teach yourself, and any good instructor will tell you ” The student who teaches himself has a fool for an instructor.”  Now I am not saying to never study, by all means do so but many older blackbelts will tell to watch matches instead of instructional videos. I promise you very few times will you actually see that 12 step technique used. There are many greats in BJJ to watch on social media like Marcelo Garcia, Saulo Ribeiro, Rafael Lovato Jr and Henry Akins. Even John Danaher has taken to social media. I highly recommend them if you are to watch you tube.

Back to the main topic. Your instructor should have systems to help guide you through your journey. I highly recommend staying with your instructors teachings through the 1st year and a half, straying from what they are teaching many times ends up hurting your progress. They know you better than any video, see your movements every day, know what your strengths and weaknesses are. The time to go off program will come.

Let the instructor do his job

This for parents as well. You placed your child in a program to learn Jiu-Jitsu. The instructors your are paying are experts in their field. If you do not train yourself, please let the instructor do their job and keep your child on course. Trying to train your child yourself from video is not the right thing to do. No instructor worth his salt would never watch a video and then try to teach a technique without having drilled that technique at least a couple hundred times and live. This goes for tournaments too. It can be confusing for a child whether to listen to his mom/dad or his instructor. Unless you have drilled a technique on a live opponent, you will never know what the instructor knows.
I hope this helps.