Dear Ask a Black Belt,
What strategies do you use when you roll with white belts? Does this change as you go up the ranks? In other words, how can higher belts get more out of the time they spend sparring with white belts? It seems like everyone wants to roll with people better than
Dear Ask a Black Belt,
Many times I’ve heard the saying, “A black belt is a white belt who never quit.” But recently I was speaking to someone whose opinion I respect deeply who told me that, in his opinion, not everyone has it in them to become a BJJ black belt. That made me
Dear Ask a Black Belt,
Do you have any suggestions for warm-up drills that are flowy and fun? I’m looking for things that encourage movement but (at least mostly) don’t allow submissions. It seems like a lot of the beginner ladies at my academy tend to play really conservative jiu jitsu because they’re scared of
Dear Ask a Black Belt,
My teachers and other upper belts frequently tell me that I need to relax when I train. I try, but the feedback I get is that I’m still a spaz. Do you have any advice on specific things I can do to relax while I’m rolling?..
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Dear Ask a Black Belt:
As a middle aged man (early 40s) with a full time job and becoming a black belt in BJJ, I have trouble trying to get into competition weight. I do not gain much weight but I cannot become any leaner. I know as a get older it is harder to
Dear Ask a Black Belt,
I’ve been a brown belt since October and have been going seriously on and off with training lately for a number of reasons. Have you ever taken a reasonably extended break (at least two weeks minimum) and felt really apprehensive coming back to the mat specifically because you were a
Dear Ask a Black Belt,
I have a question for you…though it’s one you’ve addressed somewhat before. How many hours a week do you typically train? How do you know if you’re overtraining? What do you do to supplement your training (e.g. getting a massage, visiting a chiropractor, strength and conditioning classes, lots of sleep