Self Defense (topic): The Jiu Jitsu Quiz: What Kind of Student Are You?

Training Jiu Jitsu is akin to living and growing up in a family home. Your parents raise you, guide you, take care of you and offer advice. They discipline and ground you at times. Like the parent, the Jiu Jitsu teacher runs the house. Its his/her home, and as such, they makes the rules which the kids (students) must follow. The kids have to be willing to live by these rules in order to train under that roof. No parent (coach) is perfect but they don't have to be. They busted their asses to create a space that the kids can enjoy. It takes a tremendous amount of energy being a parent of an academy. Time, money, emotion, blood, sweat and tears.

The Coach of an Academy doesn't have to answer to anyone because they built the house. Its the perk of owning your own place.

Gyms (studios, academies, dojos) are and extension of that family dynamic. Sometimes its dysfunctional but mostly its run by caring and passionate people who want to make the world a better place. Sometimes the kids never leave home. Sometimes they venture off to see the world. Sometimes they start their own families. And sometimes, they make bad decisions. Sometimes they are disloyal, inappropriate, violent or immature. You see, the Jiu Jitsu academy is no different.

In my 30 years of doing the martial arts, I've been apart of a few families. I've grown up in several homes. But for me, I have always been loyal to my coaches. Once I start with someone, I stick with it. In the 11 years of teaching, I've seen my fair share of child (student) drama from schools. I've been lucky not to have a lot at mine because I make it pretty clear what type of house I run. But you can't have perfect kids all the time.

So, let's talk about the different types of kids in the Jiu Jitsu home!

The Home Body Kid

This student is one that will be with you forever. They have no desire to leave the city or train elsewhere. They have found their 'home' and family. They are happy, loyal and form the backbone of your academy. They do things around the gym not because they have to but because they want to. They are persistent or leaders within the academy. They have (or will) train for a life time. There is no goal or end-only constant refinement. As a parent (Instructor), you smile every time you see them and are thankful for their involvement. They are the fame that hold up the rest of the house.

Off to college Kid!

There are the students that love what you offer and they LOVE the academy but life, relationships or career nudge them in another direction. They leave your academy or city to venture out and experience new things. They may return months or years down the road but whatever is pulling them away is important. They are loyal people who love your academy. They love the coaches. But they are in a searching phase and they will most likely train at other gyms or uproot to another city. They will always speak highly of their "first gym" and will always be welcomed back.

Starting a Family Kid

There are those kids that leave the academy because they are seeking new career paths but they just don't want to just do jiu jitsu, they want to TEACH. With the blessing of their coach, they venture off to a new city and start anew. They build their own clientele and start their own journey. These kids are totally loyal to their original gym and will call themselves 'affiliates' of their home school or instructor. They will support the home school and keep in contact. They will always be family. They will bring their coach out for seminars and introduce him/her to the new set of students. Its one way to expand and spread your love.

The Excuses Kid

This student has excuses for everything. They show up seldom and progress at a very slow rate. They don't understand that there is a direct correlation between getting better and mat time. They seem to think things should be easy but fail to live by "what you put in is what you get out."  Every house has these students and if they realized the wonderful opportunity that lay in front of them, they'd shelve the excuses and come more.

The Troublemaker Kid

These kids have had all the support as their fellow brothers and sisters but for some reason, keep making bad decisions. The seem to be drinking too much. Partying too much. Or getting mixed up with the wrong people outside of the academy. The trouble they get in is nothing major but enough to start affecting their training and how often they show up to class. The coach tires to talk with them and offer guidance but the kids just seems to fall into the same pattern. Eventually, this kid quits jiu jitsu because the outside forces pull them away from the mats.

The Bully Kid

This kid fails to see the message of jiu jitsu and can't shake the inner demon of bullying. They get a thrill out of dominating others but get absolutely crushed by the alpha dogs in the school. They get angry when they get tapped out and aren't smart enough to figure out what the process is about. Coaches spend time trying to change the pattern of the bully but understand that change starts with the student and their willingness on being humbled. The bully either quits pretty shortly after starting or gets kicked out of the house/academy for not being a team player or caring for the rest of family.

The Know it all Kid (Creonte)

The know it all is the kid who constantly tries to manipulate the household. They are young and mixed up and think they know everything at the tender age of white belt/blue. They haven't spent any time in the art but seem to think they know more than their coaches. They set unrealistic goals and set demands on those who are running the house hold. They either get kicked out of the house or leave only to realize they made a huge mistake but won't be able to return to their original home. They drift from school to school, home to home, looking for something they aren't even sure what it is. They continue on a pattern of disloyalty and will change from school to school, year after year because of the self centered attitude they possess.

As the old saying goes, if you look around the room and don't see the asshole, its probably you.

The Rebel Kid

The rebel is the kid that trains with you for a while and seemingly looks like a home body kid. You put a ton of effort into them. You help them. You coach them. You offer them advice. You pay for tournaments. You give them swag. You simply place a lot energy into them because you see their potential. But the rebel has plans...big plans. They want more. They want the world and they are going to break out and start their own family. With the knowledge and love you put into them, they have returned it by simply ignoring they ever trained with you. You raising them is simply excised from their minds and lineage and they seek a new parent and banner under them. Unlike the  starting a family kid, the rebel shows their true colors by not having the honor to respect their roots.

So, not every kid will agree with the rules you set out in your home.  Some will leave for their own purposes. Most will stay and you'll build a strong family because of it. You WILL have kids that get lost. You WILL have kids that will become dishonest and disloyal but your focus should always be on the kids that want to be there and want to help keep the jiu jitsu family unit at your school strong.

If you want to get a really GOOD sense of a Jiu Jitsu home, the coach of the academy will NOT be shy on complementing their own coach and telling you who they have learned from.  

All I know is like attracts like and you reap what you sow. Support your home and for goodness sakes, be a good kid!

Self Defense (topic): Weaponizing the Mind and Body

Repost of an article I wrote some time back.

 Weaponizing the Mind and Body

How much do you really know about yourself if you’ve never been in afight?
-Tyler Durden, Fight Club

            In the 30 years I’ve been involved in martial arts training, my number one goal for doing so has never changed; self protection. I truly enjoy the sportive aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the aesthetic movements of Aikido and the classical applications of Japanese Jujutsu. But, my goal and primary reason has always been to ‘weaponize’ my mind and body. This is done by connecting the mind (purpose) and body together in one single goal.

            Weaponization is the process of adding tools to your mental and physical ‘toolbox’ which will allow you to be as combat ready as possible when violence comes your way. Martial training is as much mental training as it is physical.  If you break under pressure, all the training in the world will do you no good.

            Violence, in its truest form, is quick, unpredictable and messy.

              My weaponization started in 1992. I was in my late teens when I was confronted and surrounded by 3 males in their early 20’s whilst I was driving to work one evening. I came to a stoplight and they jumped out of their car. They began to yell and curse at me. Their alcohol-fueled rage led one of them to punch out my passenger side window. As you can imagine, I felt helpless, victimized and unsure of myself. It was a form of bullying that I promised myself I’d never stand for it again.

            I took my martial art training much more seriously after this. I began to read and study literature on combative mindset, violence, gang mentality, law and conflict. I watched and studied literally thousands of hours of footage of violent encounters. I asked questions of experts in the field. I trained harder on the mats. I began my career as a bouncer that introduced me to a completely different side of humanity. I was involved in hundreds of physical altercations over my 18 years on the rope. After each one, I debriefed myself, trying to understand what happened and how I reacted.

         That experience working the ropes shaped my martial art training and application. I discarded techniques that were cumbersome, impractical or didn’t survive the pressure test of reality. I got bashed around in those early years before I figured out the groove of violent encounters. I faced drunk, sober and high individuals during this time. It all added pieces to the puzzle.

            Some 10 years after that initial bullying event, I was again faced against 3 males while standing outside for a breath of fresh air at my work’s Xmas party in 2003. This time, the stakes were much higher. One male approached me from the left and ask for the time. His two buddies moved in from the right and were stone faced and quiet. I moved back and to the side as to align them ‘in a row’. Being surrounded isn’t something I am fond of.

            One of the quiet one’s lunged at me. The other two tried to swing at my head.
“Get his money,” one yelled. I was in the middle of a mugging. I was alone. And the stakes where high. The potential for serious injury facing three opponents was no joking matter. I head butted the first male six times as fast and violent as I could. My purpose and goal was to utterly destroy my target with a level of violence that exceeded his.  I moved in a circle avoiding being pinned down in one spot. As the other two grabbed and swung at me, I threw punches and elbows to keep them away. I used a method called SPEAR which was made famous by Tony Blauer to keep them off angle.

            After what seemed like an eternity (time often speeds up or slows down when adrenaline dumps occur. Its called ‘tachypsychia’ or time in the mind), one of my fellow bouncers emerged from the club and grabbed onto one of the assailants. We were entangled in a scrum of some sorts. That’s when one of the male’s reached into his pocket and pulled out a six inch blade.

            I yelled ‘Knife, knife, knife’ to my partner and I kicked the blade-wielding male with everything I had. My bouncer partner then tossed him 10 feet down the street.Injured and rattled, the group scattered.

            This situation made it perfectly clear to me that specific moves are not planned when violence occurs suddenly. Your flinch response and training will dictate how you react before you realize what is going on. The one thing that was clear was my mind telling me to ‘survive’.

I had put in a lot of training and personal effort to weaponizing. I was by no means the toughest person on the planet. But I didn’t have to be. I just needed to be tougher and SMARTER than the situation I was faced with.


Weponizing the Body:

Train with purpose. Train smart (or try). I have a litany of injures from training. Its something most people have if they do combat arts long enough. I am not proud of them but physicality of this nature will cause the body to break down. Accidents, trips, falls, joint locks, strikes….they all add to the list. However, it allows you to understand the limits of your body.You need to train and repeat techniques over and over in order to have it kick in WITHOUT thought when its go time.

One of the advantages to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is that it’s an art that allows full resistance of another person. You get to understand body movement, proper breathing under stress, and the aspects of grappling, joint and choke manipulation. It is awesome for combat training. One of the advantages to Japanese Jujutsu is that it gives you an understanding of standing movement,throws, weapon protection, strikes and to be honest, lethality of technique. I use the two in conjunction as my toolbox. Yours may be different.

Work out. Build up your body to be as strong as possible. The tougher the body, the more it can take when physicality comes your way. After so many years of martial arts, I finally started working out at the gym on a regular basis. I am now stronger, bigger, faster and have more endurance than I ever have had. This was a game changer for me. Combine your healthy living with your martial training. Its important.

Weaponizing the Mind:

Preparing for violence is a strange thing. You never know how you’ll react until you are in the middle of it. Physical training will help you but it is no guarantee that you’ll be ready to rock when attacked. Proper mental preparation using visualization is key. In my opinion, there is a desensitization that needs to occur. We don’t all have the ‘benefit’ of being in professions that have violence in them so you need to start to see what it looks like. You need to understand that you are in control of your mental mindset. Re-enforcement of positive  (never say die) attitude is of utmost importance. Your drive could be personal survival (which it should); it could be family related (your need to return home to see them), or the drive to protect others from harm. You need these basic goals to be burning like a supernova in your brain.  History is replete with examples of human endurance under the most extreme situations.

            So, in order to weaponize the mind and body, you need to get them in synch with one another. I am not suggesting everyone’s goals are this. You may train martial arts for sport, exercise or personal growth. Self-defense or weaponization maybe low on your list. That’s fine.

            Just make sure you surround yourself with someone who has it high on his or hers.

Stay Sharp.
The Vorpal Blade