What do you do when you feel like you’re not ready for your BJJ promotion?

This is the question I got from Matt who is a 50 year old Blue Belt and was recently informed that he would be up for his promotion to Purple Belt.

In most cases this would be a good thing. But as soon as Matt was informed about his potential promotion. He instantly began to have feelings of doubt in himself.

He says that he’s in pretty good shape. But being 50 years old is tough in BJJ. And he struggles rolling with the younger, stronger practitioners even if they’re less experienced.

In this video I go through and share the idea of imposter syndrome. Where we feel like we’re faking it or that we aren’t good enough. I also share how at every single belt I was promoted to I had the same feelings of inadequacy in relation to my Brazilian Jiu-jitsu abilities.

Jordan Peterson talks about this in his recent book that we are tyrants to ourselves. Someone else could make the same mistake as us. But since we made it, we’ve very hard and judgmental.

Nothing wrong with pushing yourself to be better. But at the same time there has to be a limit.

If you’re struggling with being your own worst critic. I hope the video helps!

-Chewy
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What submissions can you use in a BJJ competition or a street fight or self defense situation? This is the question for today’s video.

The question comes from our buddy Bart who is curious about what kind of submissions cross over from the competition realm in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to a street fight.

In this video I start by sharing that if I am going to use a submission on the street. I’m going to focus on chokes instead of joint locks.

This is a two fold function. 1 most people don’t know what grappling is or what they should be feeling with joint locks. And if the person is really aggressive. The joint lock may not work as effectively as desired. Especially if they are are on some sort of drug.

The 2nd reason is, it lets me finish the fight without doing a lot of damage to the person so I can move on with what I was doing. For me, self-defense is about defending myself and not about dishing out excessive amounts of harm to another human.

Another side aspect of a fight situation that I didn’t mention is that most often I will do my best just to control the situation using position.

If it’s a situation involving a 1 on 1 fight (which isn’t always), I will focus my attention on controlling the person till authorities can take it from there.

Back to the video!

In this video I show a standing rear naked choke and a standing guillotine choke. Both of which I have seen work in either my personal experience or the experiences of others in the street and/or mma.

If you watch this video understand that I’m speaking about a very specific situation. Street fights where rules are not recognized present too many variables.

The goal of a fight situation should be to avoid and get out of the situation if at all possible.

Hope you enjoyed the video!
-Chewy
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Today’s question comes from White Belt our friend who recently had a freak accident outside the gym and now has to take 1 month off BJJ training.

He’s super down about it as he’s been making a lot of progress with his BJJ. And he’s wanting to get some exercises that he can use for his down time.

In this video I steer away from this situation a bit. I know that a lot of people don’t want to lose their progress or the skill they gained in BJJ. And with a small downtime, you won’t.

But something more valuable that can come from this period of inactivity is the contrast of not being able to train.

Meaning, when you get back to training and you’re having a bad day, bomb a tournament or whatever. You can go back and think about what it was like to not even be able to train and then be thankful for the opportunity to get out there on the mats. You’re healthy and not injured and there will always be tomorrow.

This is something I picked up when I was younger and really helps give more appreciation to your BJJ training.

Thanks for watching the video!
-Chewy
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Recently I did a video on some stretches and movements that you could use for recovery following BJJ training.

The video was a little longer with detailed explanations of the stretches. That video is here: https://youtu.be/9y-5f1B2HtI

But if you’ve already watched the video and just want a refresher to take you through the stretches then you can watch this one.

In the video there are around 8 basic stretches I use following a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu class. There are more stretches that I use. But this at least is a small group that you can easily try on your own.

If I was to put down every stretch or corrective exercise that I use. This video would be too long.

I tend to do these exercises either at the gym after a class to cool down and keep my muscles look.

Or sometimes I’ll do them at home after a shower before I head to bed.

This is also a great chance to listen to an audio book or something like that.

Hope the stretches are help with your BJJ training.
-Chewy
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A really frustration situation in BJJ is when a long legged person locks up Full Guard, squeezes and doesn’t open.

It can be incredibly hard to open someone’s Guard who has really long legs.

As I’ve expressed in other videos. The full guard was one of my worst positions early on.

In this video our friend Andrea, asks a similar question for her Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training.

She wants to know how to break full guard when the person has long legs and squeezes.

In this video I show a really simple Thrust Choke that can be used in order to get the person on the bottom to open up.

It’s simple, powerful and really uncomfortable for the person on the bottom. And if they don’t respect the submission attempt. It’s possible for them to go unconscious.

And as I explain in the video. From my experience in Brazilian Jiujitsu. When you apply the choke. Guard players will often open up to get out of the position and choke.

So if you’re having trouble breaking full guard in BJJ. Give the choke a try!

-Chewy
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In this video from one of our recent Brazilian Jiu-jitsu No gi classes. I hit several takedowns during the class. But as I tried to play around with a few new mount techniques. You’ll see that I wasn’t successful.

Which isn’t a bad thing. I gave up space and was unable to hit the new moves I was working towards. Something we should all be doing from time to time in BJJ.

Hope you enjoyed the video of our rolling down at my gym Derby City MMA.

-Chewy

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In this BJJ technique video I show another setup for the Monoplata , Marceloplata, Spiral Armbar or what I call the Ugly Armbar.

Here’s the video where I show why I call it the Ugly Armbar: https://youtu.be/WPngPq3I0Us

The Ugly Armbar is such a great shoulder lock submission for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. 1 reason is because many people don’t use it much so it remains a little bit or the sneakier side.

But also, it’s one of those BJJ submissions that you can find lots of different positions. I’ve got setups to this move from Mount, Guard, Side Control and in this case. . . from the Half Guard position.

The technique starts with a back step movement to get the movement started. And as my opponent or training partner moves towards me it opens up the attack.

If you enjoy the technique and would like to add it to your Brazilian Jiujitsu game. My suggestion is to get drilling. Like any submissions when you’re training or in competitions. You’ll only have a moment to execute it.

I hope you enjoyed the video of the Ugly Armbar , Monoplata, Marceloplata setup!

-Chewy
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Being a BJJ Blue Belt who can submit Purples , Browns and higher belts in the gym and competitions is a great thing right?

Yes, but it does come with some potential issues.

Recently I got a message from a young Blue Belt who is struggling when he visits other BJJ gyms while traveling.

This is because when he goes to these Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gyms he’s able to submit or outmaneuver many of the higher belts on the mat. Especially when in No Gi.

Again, this should be a good thing. But he finds that many of the people inside these gyms take offense to it.

They will get angry at him for beating them.

This isn’t right, and people shouldn’t take it so harshly. But it is what it is.

When dealing with people’s egos and the pecking order of their BJJ gym. People have a tendency to get up in arms and upset at times.

I’m better about this now. But I was guilty of this kind of stuff at one time in my life. So we can choose to point the finger if we want. But I don’t find that very helpful.

Instead, in this video, instead of condemning the people that our friend is rolling with. I try to give him some practical advice about feeling out the people he’s rolling with, before he kicks up the intensity.

I share this by touching on two separate situations. 1 was with my poor mindset as a young BJJ Blue Belt.

The second was how I approach going to gyms when I visit now.

Hopefully if you ever get into a situation like this in your own Brazilian Jiujitsu training this video will be helpful to you.

Thanks for watching!
-Chewy

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This is a video of some of the highlights of a BJJ open rolling session we did last year at my gym Derby City MMA in Louisville, KY.

My buddy and teammate Joe Baize, plus a few others, stopped by and we got some killer rolling!

Add to the fact that the heat was out and it made for a hot, sweaty, BJJ training session.

The 1st few rolls were slow and more flow like to get warmed up. And then we progressively worked our way into harder and harder rounds.

During the training you’ll see me play with legs a couple of times with Joe and immediately get submitted.

I jokingly call him a leg sorcerer. His leg game is incredible and I knew that being there means it’s only a matter of time before I get submitted. But I wanted to play there a bit.

During the session you’ll also notice the use of the Double Under Pass from me. This is to negate the leg game and Chad’s triangle game. And then immediately chase the back.

During the video you’ll see again and again that my game plan is to get around to back mount somehow and secure the choke. For me, it’s my best finishing position so that’s where I’m always shooting for.

I hope you enjoyed the video and maybe found something useful to takeaway for your own Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Training.

Also, it’s worth noting. We are going pretty hard in this video. But at all times we’re smiling at one another. I think this is super important. Train hard with your partners in Brazilian Jiujitsu. But always keep a good attitude and a friendly demeanor.

As my buddy Tony would say, Smash and Smile. 🙂

-Chewy
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Stretching post Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training is something that many people know would benefit them. But a lot of times they don’t know what to do.

I’ve received a lot of questions from people in BJJ asking me what I personally do for cool down stretches.

So in this video I take you through some of my favorite cool down stretches after a workout in Bjj.

I’m not a PT or a anything like that. But I’ve felt a massive difference since I started doing these.

The big focus in this video is to work on loosening up the hips, thoracic spine, pecs. These are my problem areas.

A lot of people in Brazilian Jiujitsu complain about lower back issues. But I’ve found the tightening of my hip flexors have been the big issue. And as I loosen them up more and more. I have less lower back stiffness.

So if you’re someone looking for some stretches to do to benefit your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training. I hope this series of stretching and foam rolling techniques is helpful!

Try using these basic yoga / wall stretches for Brazilian Jiujitsu immediately after training or after a shower before you go to bed.

-Chewy
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If you’d ever like to train with the team and I. Check out my gym Derby City MMA in Louisville,KY.

Last week I started a little series with what I call the Ugly Armbar. The move is also commonly called the Monoplata or Marceloplata.

In the video last week. I explain why I call it the Ugly Armbar opposed to the other name variations.

Here’s the Ugly Armbar setup from last week: https://youtu.be/WPngPq3I0Us

This week’s setup that you can use in your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu game is a little simpler than the one from last week.

This setup for the submission starts from Mount and counters a common defensive hand position. And a common desperation movement that people will use to try and get out of the Mount position.

Again, what I really like about this particular BJJ submission is the fact that it’s not commonly used.

While it might look a little funky. When I’ve used it in Brazilian Jiujitsu I’ve found it to be incredibly powerful and have great control with my game when I’m rolling.

So if you’re looking for another submission to throw into the mix for your Mount game. Try the Ugly .

-Chewy

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How do I balance training people for Self-Defense and for Sport Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?

This is the question that I received one of my students who is a newer White Belt.

He’s been training in our BJJ classes at our gym in Louisville, KY. And he’s wondering about the way we approach balancing the training.

In this video I talk about how Brazilian Jiujitsu, Wrestling, Judo and the other combat sports teach people how to fight without always explicitly doing so.

I share a story from my own experience from high school Wrestling where I learned a way of fighting without really knowing.

The main idea that I try to share in this is that Sport Jiu-jitsu and and Self-Defense aren’t so vastly different. The strategic element will remain very similar but the tactical way that we approach it will change.

The tactical change will come about as a means to deal with the strikes, bites, etc that can happen in a fight on the street.

If you have a strong opinion on this subject, I’d love to hear your feedback!

Comment down below and tell me what you think. If you negative criticism. Please be constructive so we can open up conversation.

Thanks for watching!
-Chewy
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One of my favorite submissions is a shoulder submissions commonly called the Monoplata or Marceloplata.

But I have a different name for it. I call it the Ugly armbar.

I call it this because it sort of looks like the 1st Armbar I did as a White Belt. That 1st armbar I did back in 2003 was really ugly!

And that’s where the name comes from. I call in the Ugly Armbar.

Fun story, I originally figured this move out on my own. I didn’t see it in an instructional or video. Then later on when I was browsing through some Brazilian Jiu-jitsu techniques. I came across Marcelo Garcia showing the technique.

So much for inventing a new move! 😛

In this BJJ technique video. I show one of my favorite sneaky setups for this shoulder lock submission, which starts from Side Control goes to mount and finishes.

In this setup I sort of sit up back which gives the illusion to the opponent that I’m off balance. I’ve found that many people take the bait and roll towards me.

As they do this I step over and catch the arm and setup the submission.

I’lll show another setup for this Brazilian Jiu-jitsu technique later on next week.

So whether you call it the Monoplata, Marceloplata or the Ugly Armbar like me. I hope you like the setup!

-Chewy
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Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is often like a form of meditation for many of us. After a hard training session we often feel a stillness in our mind.

BJJ does this like very few things can.

I bring this up because our friend Josh used BJJ to deal with a lot of the issues that exist outside the gym. But right now, he’s injured and is not able to train Brazilian Jiujitsu.

And the problem with this is, he’s dealing with his father who is dying of cancer and his girlfriend just left him as well.

He wants to get back into the gym as soon as possible and asked about the type of training he should be engaged in.

In this video, I talk 1st about how I was in a very similar situation as Josh, and how I dealt with it (which wasn’t a good way).

Instead of dealing with with my mother’s passing I chose to numb myself with excessive amounts of training. To the point where I would be in the gym at 3am lifting just to exhaust myself so I couldn’t think.

At the end after me trying to get Josh to think about easing his BJJ and Lifting training schedule I give a few tips on how train without aggravating the injury.

I hope the video helps!
-Chewy
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