Cool Points
Cool points = confidence × manners. Why pre-teen boys scramble to look cool — and how grappling helps them become both confident and respectful.
Garbage Techniques
Is that technique garbage, or is it you? It depends on whether it’s a fundamental, an Instagram trend, or your own late-night experiment.
Shut up and listen
There have been times when a student questions my advice on the mats. I generally encourage students to explore and challenge ideas, but it is possible to take it too far.
That’s exactly what I did as a white belt. I (re)started my jiu jitsu journey at the age of 32 after completing a PhD… and somehow managed to retain just enough ego to argue with my instructor.
One day he had enough. Later I asked myself the obvious question: Why was I arguing with the person I was paying to teach me?
That moment changed how I train and how I teach.
