Effective Brazilian Jiu Jitsu demands three things from us: Right technique, right dynamic energy, and right mindset. As a brown belt, I've edged closer to right technique. And when I became a purple belt, I began to integrate more dynamic energy, letting rolls evolve and transition rather than holding. But right mindset remains a work in progress.

On a recent trip to Boston, a private session with a sage-like black belt unlocked something in me -- something that I had suspected was a problem for a long time, but didn't know how to address. Maybe this black belt's advice will unlock something in you, too.

Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations.

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Rupture is the moment when our worldview stops being useful. You might have felt this at some point during the pandemic, or after 9/11, or if you're old enough, after Pearl Harbor. The way of thinking that brought you to a given moment won't get you to the next.

In a smaller way, Jiu Jitsu does this to the beginner over and over again. It happens less frequently as a grappler becomes more experienced, but the potential for rupture persists.

We can avoid it. Insulate ourselves. Protect our egos. Or we can embrace it, learn, and transcend.

How do we embrace rupture? And how do we gently guide students through it?

Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations.

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On a long enough timeline, life trends toward zero. As I age, I feel this more acutely on the mats. I don't bounce back as well as I used to. I can't push as hard as I once could, not without consequences.

But this added challenge makes Jiu Jitsu all the more alluring and rewarding. It's also not an insurmountable challenge.

It just requires a few tactical training adjustments. Physical, mental, and emotional training adjustments. Here's what's helped me.

Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations.

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It's the early '90s. There's no high-speed internet. No smart phones. No artificial intelligence. All I have to occupy me is seasonal sports, a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Karate.

I train at a real school with Kumite that includes face strikes. I love it. I hate Kata.

Only now, at 36, do I see the point of Kata, how it unites mind, body, breath, and martial force into something meditative. We can contemplate the nature of each strike and block.

Does Jiu Jitsu have a Kata equivalent? No. Does it need one? No, I think it's fine the way it is. But how do we bring that grounding artistry into our lives?

Some weird thoughts and reflections on all of these things in this week's BJJ Meditations.

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Ever tell a significant other to relax during a heated moment? How well did that work out for you?

Generally speaking, telling someone to relax during or after a BJJ roll goes about just as well. Why?

In part, it’s because many of us do not know what it feels like to relax. Our baseline operating level of stress is about a simmering six or seven out of 10. Add a violent combat sport into the mix and the probability of relaxing is comparable to that of another Jets Super Bowl win in my lifetime.

The other problem is that modern life incentivizes for theoretical rather than participatory ways of knowing. Simply put, we’re all head and little body and soul. Fortunately, Jiu Jitsu can help solve both problems. But only with the right mindset and the right coaching.

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Jiu Jitsu is an apocalypse. Not in the sense that it's a cataclysm (though it can be), but in the sense that it's a revelation. When we train Jiu Jitsu, it reveals technical and tactical deficiencies in our games, but also thematic deficiencies in our lives.

This can be incredibly useful. By training Jiu Jitsu, we can realize that we struggle with transitions, or that we have a hard time accepting what we can't control, or that we lack grit or resolve.

How do we do this systematically? And how do we open ourselves to this daunting work so that we might receive the revelation?

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In Jiu Jitsu, instructors give you the seeds of what will become your game. But ultimately, it falls to you, the student, to cultivate those seeds.

We can take this lesson and apply it thematically to life. We must find our own way on the mats, and we must find our own way through life. How can we improve this process?

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In Jiu Jitsu, how do we maintain the right level awareness to roll optimally for ourselves and our partners?

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What do we want from Jiu Jitsu, and what does it cost us in return?

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A short story and cautionary tale. How do we know that the right way to act in Jiu Jitsu is indeed the right way to act?

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