What does time have to do with a BJJ Belt Promotion?

Our buddy Edward recently sent in a message asking for advice on the subject of what time has to do with belt promotions. He says that he has quickly become one of the best White Belts in his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gym after 4 months.

He’s wondering why his coach won’t promote him to Blue Belt.

He says he’s also considering leaving and going to train with his friend who’s a Purple Belt.

In this video I share how I would approach this situation as a Brazilian Jiujitsu coach.

I personally would not promote someone after 4 months. The reason for this is because I want to see commitment from the student and I want people to have time at the top of the pile in their belt level in BJJ.

Commitment is what is necessary to grow in BJJ. Motivation and passion for the martial art can come and go. But commitment is what you need to really stick with it.

And so the reason I believe time is important. 1 is that it helps gives the person more time to train.

But a big reason is that it shows commitment from the practitioner.

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Do you have trouble with the Cut Through pass when you play Half Guard in BJJ?

The Cut Through, Knee Slide, whatever name you like to call it, is one of the nastiest passes for a Half Guard player to run into.

In this video I add onto my Brazilian Jiujitsu Half Guard series which has focused mainly on the outside hook / old school position.

One of our buddies, Jesse, said that when he is in his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gym rolling. He experiences a lot of trouble with the Cut Through pass.

So in this video I give 2 ways to deal with the cut through pass and how to reset the Half Guard position or go to Full Guard.

They’re simple options I use as a defense to the guard pass but they’ve helped me so much in rolling and BJJ competitions.

I hope they’re helpful to you!
-Chewy

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One of the most common questions newcomers to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu have is, “How long should I train before I compete?”

And the honest answer to this is that there simple isn’t a magical 1 size fits all number.

There’s not an exact time that works perfect for everyone. It often varies depending on the person who starts BJJ training.

Often, what I tell me BJJ White Belts and beginners to do is formulate a simple BJJ game plan. Identifying at least 1 technique or series from each of the major basic Brazilian Jiujitsu positions.

These have to be good “go-to” moves that you can rely on when things get rough.

After this basic Bjj game plan is in place. Then you can start to consider a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu tournament or competition.

I personally competed in my 1st BJJ tournament after 2 weeks of training. But I’m not a great example since I was involved in Wrestling first.

When I wrestled I was forced to get comfortable with competition.

If you’re a beginner or BJJ White Belt and you’re trying to figure out “When will I be ready for my 1st BJJ tournament” or “how long before I compete” . . .

I hope this video is helpful!
-Chewy
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Recently I received a question about what to do when someone farts during a roll in BJJ.

The question came from our buddy Jan from the Chewjitsu instagram and he wanted to know how to proceed for his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training.

In short, if someone farts during Brazilian Jiujitsu training. . . you just keep rolling.

-Chewy
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Here is a powerful Kimura setup from Guard that works off of a Basic Guard break many White Belts (and just people in general) will use in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

Many times setting up the Kimura from closed Guard can be tough because people are very conscious of their hands and arms and don’t allow someone to isolate them. If you’ve train Brazilian Jiujitsu you get a 6th sense about not letting your arms get over extended or pulled away from your body.

This is why you 1st have to focus on breaking the posture of the person rather than attempting a submission. It’s similar to the way a Judo player will explain a throw.

In Judo, before you can worry about the actual throwing technique. You have to focus on Kuzushi. Which is the pushing and pulling that causes a person to be off balance and open up the attack.

Attacking from the Guard on the ground is the same way. Before you begin to attempt the throw. You 1st have to knock the person off balance and break their posture.

Once the posture is broken. We can then attempt our actual attack.

In this video I try to share some of the simple details that can make the kimura from Full Guard work.

1. Isolate the arm.
2. Secure the figure 4 armlock for the Kimura / Ude Garami.
3.Move the body to the finishing position.
4. Use the WHOLE body to finish! Don’t just focus on pushing with the arms.

To drive home the idea of the 4th part of that list. When doing a submission in BJJ. Remember that the idea of a submission is to attack a part of our opponent’s body (arm, shoulder, knee, etc) with our WHOLE body. In the case of the Kimura. Recruiting as many muscles as possible will help to overwhelm our opponent’s strength with our shoulder lock.

If you’re a BJJ White Belt or you just enjoy the Kimura. I hope this video is helpful!

Thanks!
-Chewy
—————–
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Here is a powerful Kimura setup from Guard that works off of a Basic Guard break many White Belts (and just people in general) will use in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

Many times setting up the Kimura from closed Guard can be tough because people are very conscious of their hands and arms and don’t allow someone to isolate them. If you’ve train Brazilian Jiujitsu you get a 6th sense about not letting your arms get over extended or pulled away from your body.

This is why you 1st have to focus on breaking the posture of the person rather than attempting a submission. It’s similar to the way a Judo player will explain a throw.

In Judo, before you can worry about the actual throwing technique. You have to focus on Kuzushi. Which is the pushing and pulling that causes a person to be off balance and open up the attack.

Attacking from the Guard on the ground is the same way. Before you begin to attempt the throw. You 1st have to knock the person off balance and break their posture.

Once the posture is broken. We can then attempt our actual attack.

In this video I try to share some of the simple details that can make the kimura from Full Guard work.

1. Isolate the arm.
2. Secure the figure 4 armlock for the Kimura / Ude Garami.
3.Move the body to the finishing position.
4. Use the WHOLE body to finish! Don’t just focus on pushing with the arms.

To drive home the idea of the 4th part of that list. When doing a submission in BJJ. Remember that the idea of a submission is to attack a part of our opponent’s body (arm, shoulder, knee, etc) with our WHOLE body. In the case of the Kimura. Recruiting as many muscles as possible will help to overwhelm our opponent’s strength with our shoulder lock.

If you’re a BJJ White Belt or you just enjoy the Kimura. I hope this video is helpful!

Thanks!
-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.

Are you a White Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu who feels better when they roll with a Higher Belt?

This is the question I received from Brianda who asked,
” I’ve been training for four months and I know I’m improving a lot (everybody tells me), but when I roll with white belts. Why do I feel like I can’t do anything? When I roll with higher belts everything goes better and I can practice all the movements and submissions I’ve learned, is it normal?

In this Chewy ramble video I discuss this common situation in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. When it boils down to it this is caused by a couple things.

A higher belt (Blue Belt, Purple Belt, Brown Belt, Black Belt) is in much better control of the roll and is much more relaxed. And oftentimes higher belts will play down a little bit during BJJ training to allow the newer students to move around and attempt their techniques a bit.

This relaxed state is usually fueled by the fact that the higher belt can finish the roll and gain the upper hand at any point.

In contrast you might roll worse against a White Belt. This is because a white belt does not have the security of being more advanced technically. So, instead they are fighting life and death when pitted against another beginner during a Brazilian Jiujitsu class.

The roll then takes on a much more aggressive nature and makes it more difficult to execute techniques.

I go into more detail in the video and share a few stories. But in short, yes this is a normal situation.

If you’re running into this as a BJJ White Belt. I hope the video is helpful!

Thanks!
-Chewy

—————–
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Are you a White Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu who feels better when they roll with a Higher Belt?

This is the question I received from Brianda who asked,
” I’ve been training for four months and I know I’m improving a lot (everybody tells me), but when I roll with white belts. Why do I feel like I can’t do anything? When I roll with higher belts everything goes better and I can practice all the movements and submissions I’ve learned, is it normal?

In this Chewy ramble video I discuss this common situation in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. When it boils down to it this is caused by a couple things.

A higher belt (Blue Belt, Purple Belt, Brown Belt, Black Belt) is in much better control of the roll and is much more relaxed. And oftentimes higher belts will play down a little bit during BJJ training to allow the newer students to move around and attempt their techniques a bit.

This relaxed state is usually fueled by the fact that the higher belt can finish the roll and gain the upper hand at any point.

In contrast you might roll worse against a White Belt. This is because a white belt does not have the security of being more advanced technically. So, instead they are fighting life and death when pitted against another beginner during a Brazilian Jiujitsu class.

The roll then takes on a much more aggressive nature and makes it more difficult to execute techniques.

I go into more detail in the video and share a few stories. But in short, yes this is a normal situation.

If you’re running into this as a BJJ White Belt. I hope the video is helpful!

Thanks!
-Chewy

—————–
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Jose commented on a recent video asking about a Butterfly Sweep to Rolling Back Take combo that was in the video.

So while I was working on videos for my new White Belt series. I wanted to answer his question.

I’ve placed chunks of the BJJ class where Adam and I were rolling. In the video I countered his reverse Half Guard position and switched it into a Butterfly Sweep. I attempted to sweep him to one side, it failed so I came back up to a square position. Then I switched the Butterfly sweep to the other side.

Right after the sweep he shot into a Deep Half Guard. I countered this by keeping my hips back which caused us to land in a Quarter Mount position.

From there I did a very simple rolling back take. Literally, it’s a glorified front roll. So if you try this move. Don’t over think it.

When you watch these techniques being used. It seems that it’s some sort of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu combo that I have because they flow together smoothly.

But it isn’t! What happens often during Brazilian Jiujitsu is that you do moves based on the circumstances. Your opponent does this, so you do this. That kind of thing.

This is just a situation where I’ve done the Ghost Sweep (as I call it) countless times as well as the forward roll to the back. The moves connected together without any sort of grand design. I didn’t plan on taking the back when I initiated the sweep.

Lastly, in the video I share a few quick details on attacking the rear naked choke right off the back. Instead of just getting to back mount and holding. I really like coming in for the finish right off the bat.

Thanks for the question Jose! And I hope the video is useful to any of you playing from the Butterfly Guard or if you get caught in the Quarter Mount / Quarter Guard position.

—————–
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I learned this submission about my third week in Jiu Jitsu and I have been using it every since. A lot of newer white belts try to break guard by using their elbows, so this submission works perfect!

A key point to this move is learning how to shoot your hips in the air. You will start by shooting your hips up and crossing your feet to break your opponents posture, then adjusting to get the angle.

My most successful Triangle set ups http://www.chewjitsu.net/chad-

For any questions please click the link above and send them to my email or comment down below. Thanks for watching!

Does your physical appearance bother you at all when you’re doing Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, either in the gym or in competition?

Our friend, who wished to remain nameless, is having this issue. He isn’t comfortable with his physical appearance right now and it’s getting in his way with competing.

He says that he’s lost over 50lbs since starting BJJ. But he still isn’t comfortable. And he’s wanting to compete in bigger BJJ tournaments. But the big tournaments don’t allow people to wear rash guards or t shirts under their gi.

In this video I share experiences from my childhood when I was a fat chubby kid who had man boobs. And I had little to no confidence. My insecurity was so bad at one point that I developed a stutter.

I was in the same boat as Bob in regards to being overweight abd ashamed of my physical appearance.

Then I started wrestling, eating better food and lifting more effectively. By the time I got into BJJ. I was a successful wrestler and even had abdominal muscles showing. But. . . I still felt awkward with my shirt off in front of people.

So in the video I try to share how I overcame my awkward, insecure feelings with my clothing off and hopefully it will help Bob on his desire to compete at bigger BJJ competitions and BJJ tournaments.

Thanks!
-Chewy

—————–
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In this video myself and Mike ( Aka Mr Jiujitsu from Facebook) sat down and answered a few questions. Mike was in town so we’ve had the chance to train together a bit and decided to have fun and do a video together.

We definitely answer the BJJ questions in different ways and from different perspectives.

The questions look something like this. . .
1. What should I do when my significant other is trying to take time away from my Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training?

2. My Brazilian Jiujitsu coach is wanting me to start wearing the gym gi. I’m wondering if this is normal or if it’s McDojo.

3. What’s are our thoughts on cross training at other Bjj gyms in the area.

But I hope you enjoy the video!

-Chewy

—————–
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The Scissor Sweep is one of the first Sweeps from Guard that most BJJ White Belts learn. And in a recent video where I covered some simple adjustments to the Keylock. Several of the White Belts that watch the channel asked for some tips on some of the really basic Brazilian Jiu-jitsu techniques that White Belts use.

So I decided to cover the Scissor Sweep since this is one of the 1st sweeps most White Belts learn. In addition, the movement used for the Scissor Sweep will be used over and over again in Brazilian Jiujitsu. Whether you’re trying to sweep of if you’re trying to open guard and transition to other positions beside the full guard.

In this video I show some simple adjustments and tweaks to the Scissor Sweep that have made this BJJ technique useable for me as a higher level belt and in addition been very helpful to many of my students.

Simple things like turning the wrist over, grinding the hips up rather than simply coming up to the knees in mount have really helped.

Try combining these adjustments with some of the instruction your BJJ coach teaches you at your gym.

I hope this video helps your BJJ Scissor Sweep regardless of whether you’re a White Belt or not.

Thanks for watching!
-Chewy
—————–
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Do you struggle with getting choke in BJJ? Does it freak you out a little or make you panic?

Recently I received a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu related question from Aline who said she was struggling with getting chokes during her training.

In spite of training hard doing Brazilian Jiujitsu, MMA and other combat sports. She still struggles when she get’s choked. In particular she says the triangle choke freaks her out. She even says that sometimes she will cry because of the feelings that happen.

I relate to her. Because in the beginning when I was a BJJ White Belt I used to freak out and hyperventilate when I would be stuck in Mount. To the point that during training I would just tap out. Later on I found myself struggling with the same choke as Aline in BJJ. The triangle choke.

It became my kryptonite and when someone applied the choke in a BJJ competition or rolling. I would freeze up and just give up mentally.

In this video I discuss the problem our friend is having and I also go into detail with how I overcame the issues. The biggest piece of advice in the video is simply desensitize yourself by going into these positions more and more.

If you’re having a similar issue as this, then I hope the video and short Chewy Ramble is helpful.

Thanks!
-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.