Jiu-jitsu, the Olympics, and the Sport Trap

/
Jiu-jitsu, the Olympics, and the Sport Trap

The problem is not with the sport aspect of combat arts, per se, but rather when the sport aspect becomes the driver of the direction of the art.  This usually happens when, in order to gain popularity, the powers that be try to steer an art into the realm of sport. Usually this requires that the safety of participants increase, and that the art become more spectator friendly.  As such, rules are set in place without regard for whether the art remains realistic (i.e., how many times have you witnessed a street fight go to the ground, only to thirty seconds later of inactivity have a third party bystander stand up the two fighters?)

Read More

More bad arguments about lifting and BJJ

/
More bad arguments about lifting and BJJ

The arguments as to why bodyweight exercises are superior to weightlifting are twofold; the use of instability training, and that they better prepare the body to move. Generally speaking, these arguments fail for two reasons; there’s a ‘some is good, more is better fallacy’, where there is an assumption that an exercise is “better” because it trains more than one attribute at a time. The problem with that is it assumes that you need to train more than one attribute at a time while ignoring the question as to whether those attributes are being optimally trained. Moreover, there are some seriously flawed assumptions both about weightlifting and bodyweight exercises; specifically that there is no inherent magic to bodyweight exercises, and that some of the ancillary benefits for bodyweight exercises can be found in weightlifting. Moreover, some of the argued flaws with weightlifting can be found in bodyweight exercises.

Read More

Women, Self-Defense, and Victim Blaming

/
Women, Self-Defense, and Victim Blaming

What happens when all of the lessons taught to boys not rape fail?  Then what?  We have to live with the reality that even those taught not to rape will rape (who does not know murder is wrong, yet in 2013 we had over 15,000 homicides in the U.S.).  Moreover, by turning this is into a social problem (and thus a social solution), in essence we are saying women are helpless to prevent this from happening.  How is that empowering, and not infantilizing, women?  I sincerely cringe at some of things that my daughter will be told in her life, and the notion that she is without choices to help minimize risk to her body is one of them.

Read More

Jock Willink: Jiu Jitsu is probably the No. 1 activity that I could recommend to someone to improve their lives overall.

/
Jock Willink: Jiu Jitsu is probably the No. 1 activity that I could recommend to someone to improve their lives overall.

Jiu Jitsu is a great workout both mentally and physically. You want to be strong for it and flexible for it. You want to have explosive energy and you want to have endurance. So it’s a very good all-around physical conditioning tool. Jiu Jitsu is probably the No. 1 activity that I could recommend to someone to improve their lives overall.

Read More

Fiercely Feminine

/
Fiercely Feminine

Our gym is amazing, and it is an atmosphere that enables women to embrace their inner strength; whatever that seems to be. There is not set definition/label or list of criteria you need to display in order to come train at the Academy. We have women who are tall and thin, whose hair cuts and styles are considered "alternative", express ourselves through tattoos, own quirky personalities, and can "hang with the guys". We get to roll with the toughest men in the room on any given day, and pour every ounce of our hearts, sweat and even tears onto those mats in efforts to redefine beauty; to be fiercely feminine.

Read More

Embrace the Opponent (Empower Women Tournament)

/
Embrace the Opponent (Empower Women Tournament)

He also remarked that what he saw at the tournament wasn’t what you expect when you look at me. His description sort of trailed off “Based on how she behaves and the way she looks…”  Let me fill that in for you – I am a cheesy dancing late 30-something IT office worker with a tall girl slouch. If you look at a photo or watch me hang around the gym, I am no one’s image of a bad ass. And despite having shorts that say something contrary across the back, I don’t really consider myself a bad ass either. I didn’t consider myself who had praise-worthy heart or gameness.

I struggled with this praise for a little bit. And I still I feel like anyway I describe it might come off badly. My thoughts felt rude or ungrateful. But let me just lay it out:  I felt conflicted because the praise was great, far beyond what I expected, but I already knew I had that heart.

Read More

Recap of my First Tournament

/
Recap of my First Tournament

A little over a week ago now, I competed in my first BJJ tournament down in Mass. I've always been a competitor of various athletics growing up, so I made the assumption that this event would be very similar. Of course, I haven't competed in several years, but naturally my body would respond the same, right? I mean, how could it not? Surely, it will all come back to me the moments leading up to the mat.

Read More