BJJ Mental Models

In this week's mini-episode we discuss air choke mechanics! Air chokes involve cutting off your opponent's ability to breathe by either compressing their trachea ("windpipe") or covering their mouth. Air chokes often don't act as quickly as blood chokes, but there are ways to speed them up by triggering the gag reflex. We also talk about why air chokes are legitimate techniques and should not be thought of as "dirty." Listen to our prior mini-episode on blood choke mechanic...

29 Aug 202410min

This week we're joined again by Adam Medlock! Adam is a Braulio Estima black belt and a lead educator from the UK. In this episode, Adam discusses the challenges of student assessment, or how Jiu-Jitsu coaches can measure student progress and the effectiveness of the curriculum. Key points include the introduction of the TLA cycle (Teaching, Learning, and Assessment) and the concept of cumulative disfluency, alongside a critique of one-size-fits-all curricula and seminar-sty...

26 Aug 20241h 2min

In this week's mini-episode we discuss blood choke mechanics! This is the concept behind all chokes we'd classify as "carotid restraints," where compression on the carotid arteries cuts off blood flow to the brain. We'll discuss the simple "triangle around the head" concept that helps tighten all blood chokes including rear naked chokes, collar chokes, triangle chokes, and head and arm chokes. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.co...

22 Aug 20249min

This week we're joined by Mandy Schneider! Mandy is a BJJ Mental Models sponsored athlete competing at purple belt out of SOUL FIGHTERS Martial Arts in Allen, Texas. Mandy just underwent surgery for chronic bursitis in her elbow, and in this week's episode, Mandy shares her experience working around injury in Jiu-Jitsu. Topics include the challenges of training through injuries, distinguishing between manageable injuries and those requiring full rest, maintaining mental sharpness ...

19 Aug 202449min

In this week's mini-episode we discuss dominant angles! The concept of dominant angles is more complicated than "being behind or beside your opponent." It's more about positioning your body relative to theirs such that their arms, legs, and other weapons can't come into play. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro Don't forget to check out BJJ Mental Models Premium! If you love the podcast, you'll definitely love our ...

15 Aug 20248min

This week we're joined again by David Figueroa-Martinez! David is a black belt, instructor, and writer training out of Gracie La Mesa in California. In this episode, David discusses one of the most difficult — but sometimes essential — decisions that many grapplers will face during their journey: the decision to leave their gym. Follow David on social: https://www.instagram.com/dfm.2099 https://www.threads.net/@dfm.2099 David's website: https://dfm2099.me/ Support David via Daw...

12 Aug 20241h 3min

In this week's mini-episode, we discuss countergripping! There are three ways to counter a grip: breaking the grip (stripping their fingers),inverting the grip (pummeling to make the grip our own), orchanging the angle (which can render the grip useless). In general, breaking the grip is the least efficient option, changing the angle is the most efficient, and inverting the grip is in between. Note that we want our grips to be dominant grips, meaning that they give us more control tha...

8 Aug 20247min

This week we're joined by Tom "TP" Grant! Tom Grant, also known by the writer's handle TP Grant, is a BJJ black belt under Issac Riggs and an MMA/BJJ writer best known for his work at Bloody Elbow and Bleacher Report. In this episode, Tom discusses the importance of adapting on the fly. Techniques are rarely executed exactly as taught; they're usually improvised. Read History of Jiu-Jitsu, by TP Grant: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/654500-history-of-jiu-jitsu-coming-t...

5 Aug 20241h 1min