One of the questions hated by most coaches in BJJ is something like this; Hey coach, where's the first aid station?  I need a band aid because I cut myself at work. Or, do you have nail clippers? I need to cut my nails!

First things first. First aid stations are for first aid, not your cut or blister that you got at home or at work. If we handed out items from our first aid kit, we wouldn't have anything for a real first aid situation.
Nail clippers, hell I don't share mine purely for the fact that I don't know what fungus resides in your nails or on your skin.
​
One of the main things that is needed by all Jiu Jitsu athletes is a simple first aid kit.

Now, I'm not talking about carrying something that resembles the back of an ambulance, or that resides on the wall at the workplace. That's just plain ridiculous. I'm talking about something simple as a Tupperware container with some items that will help you stay on the right side of your coach and teammates, and prepare you for any mishaps on the mat.

Item 1 - Nail Clippers
If you can scratch your own arm with your fingernails or your leg with your toenails, chances are you will inadvertently so the same to your teammates. 
Keep them trim and you won't have to share your first aid kit with someone you've cut.
Don't share them, be selfish. Heck, I am.

Item 2 - Band Aids
These come in super handy if you've just wrestled someone that has got long fingernails, or you have split the skin somehow pre or at training.
Don't get plastic latex ones, get the tough durable material ones. They seem to work really well in conjunction with strapping tape.

Item 3 - Fixmol Tape
This stuff is amazing for wounds such as blisters or abrasions of the skin. 
When I was in the Army either out field or on operation, this stuff was used for open blisters, cuts and abrasions.
you stick it straight on a clean wound and leave it. The wound will heal naturally even though you have this tape directly on it. This tape helps reduce the bacteria from entering the wound.
Allow the tape to come away from the wound over time otherwise if you take if off, you may just take the scab off.

Item 4 - Rigid Strapping Tape
For people that know who Andrew Carey was back when he played AFL for the Roos, you would have seen his shoulder taped right up with this stuff.
Rigid strapping tape is used for taping ankles, thumbs, shoulders, the list goes on. 
What it does is help with keeping a joint stable through its normal range of motion, and eliminates any excess movement. But that's only good for about 30 or so minutes as it does stretch (not much) and it will give way.
I personally like to purchase a 1 1/2 inch - 2 inch roll as I can tear it to make my own finger tape or use it to strap parts of my body that need support.
The BEST part about this tape, is to use it if you have a band aid on. Wrap the band aid once maybe twice and your band aid will not come off.

Item 5 - Kinesiology Tape (Rock Tape)
This stuff is expensive and I don't really use much of it.
The premise behind this tape is to tape your body or limb so that as you get into a 'range of motion' it starts to become tight and in turn help you identify the limit of your current injury/restriction.
I have this tape pre cut into squares and I only use it for my elbows. There's a long story there but I acquired some injuries during my time in the military and this tape has helped me over time.
Cross fitters love the stuff, probably because of the funky colours it comes in, and maybe the odd injury here or there.
If this hasn't been prescribed by a physio or sports therapist, don't go and buy it.

Item 6 - Panadol/Disprin
I use panadol or disprin more prior to competition than training.
I might chew the prescribed amount and I find it helps take the edge off any niggling pain sensations I might already have.
It's also good if I'm starting to get a headache prior or during training as well.

Item 7 - Nasal Spray
The same stuff that's used for a cold or flu.
I use this when I'm competing. A couple of squirts up the nose and I'm good to breath through my nose just like a set of extractors on a good car.

Item 8 - IBJJF or AFBJJ Cards
When competing you are required to provide some form of identification. When competing at these specific tournaments keep them in  your first aid container with you, That way you'll never forget them.

So there you have it team, your very own first aid kit to help you for the future regardless of whether you are a competitive athlete or not.

Just remember, your cuts and abrasion (along with your nails) are yours and you should look after them yourself prior to getting on the mat, not ask your coach or admin staff for stuff because you have forgotten or didn't think about it.

Reading into the current restrictions and regulations for a small business owner is very difficult. In fact, it's like watching a really bad horror movie where you can tell exactly what's going to happen about five minutes before it actually happens.

Not only that, it has become so confusing that you might as well add comedy to the horror movie.

To say it's frustrating is an understatement.

Irrespective of your personal view regarding the restrictions, regulations and vaccinations, we are a small business that just wants to share our passion with the community. As such we will follow the rules and regulations as mandated by the Victorian government in order to ensure first and foremost the health and well being of our athletes and members. Secondly, to ensure that we can stay in business.

Please do not post on social media or share your opinion of how we are managing the current situation as it is very embarrassing and uncomfortable for both parties especially if you only follow the rhetoric on social media.

As you read on, all links to this literature are available by using your thumb.

The Roadmap to Deliver the National Plan sets out how we can safely reopen, while also supporting our health system to ensure Victorians can still get the healthcare they need, when they need it most.
The Roadmap has been developed based on expert modelling from the Burnet Institute and is set against COVID-19 thresholds including hospitalisation rates, and the vaccination targets already set out in the National Plan to transition Australia's National COVID-19 Response. 

Victoria's Roadmap can be read HERE

People who are considered fully vaccinated.
You are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 for the purposes of attending a venue if:

• you have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, or
• you have a valid medical exemption to COVID-19 vaccination issued by an authorised medical practitioner, or
• you are under the age of 18 years.

If you can show evidence of any of the above, you can enter a venue as if you are fully vaccinated. See below for how you will be permitted to show your vaccination status.

Getting asked about your vaccination status
People working at venues that are open for fully vaccinated people are required to check your vaccination status, which they will usually do on entry to the venue through the Service Victoria app.
If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and have been refused entry to a venue for this reason, please be aware that these workers are doing their job and following the laws in place in Victoria to keep you and others safe.
Any incidents of violent, abusive and aggressive behaviour towards workers - including damage to property - will not be tolerated. 
How we live: Vaccination status can be read HERE.

Physical recreational facilities  
Open – a density quotient does not apply.  
 Notes
A COVID Check-in Marshal must ensure patrons check-in via the Service Victoria app and that customers over 18 years show evidence of their vaccination status or valid medical exemption.
For more information regarding Physical Recreational Facilities can be read HERE.

As we are NOT a community sport all applicable rules and regulations dictate the manner in which we are available to the Vaccinated community.

I hope you enjoyed reading all this information as we have (not) and look forward to seeing you on the mat next.

I remember some time ago when I was discussing with a parent how expensive BJJ is and to gain some perspective I asked them to compare the sport with another that their child was training in. The comparison was against AFL.

I asked how they perceived BJJ to be 'expensive' and they began to tell me that the mat fees each week was a deterrent and the uniform, that was 'expensive'. 

Now this family had only been participating in the sport for approximately two months and had not yet grasped the competition side of the sport.

To make the comparison clearer against AFL I started with the uniform.

Now I just want to make it clear that there is a big difference in value between a child's uniform and an adult's one and dependent on the size of the athlete, well that will determine price difference. 

So I asked about the boots, the socks, the shorts the t-shirt, the jumper. In most cases the child 'rents' the jersey so it can be recycled for the following year.  Not only this, the athlete will more than likely go to footy training in clothing that is not conducive to the sport and will see jumpers, t-shirts and shorts get torn and stained.

In comparison, the BJJ uniform Vs the footy uniform one.

Fees for the year. This was considerably cheaper for AFL than BJJ as it covered registration and insurance (insurance for the footy club not the athlete as most people don't realise this).

The score between BJJ and AFL is 1 each.

Comfort for the athlete. We are very lucky as we have air conditioning and heating (not that we need the heater when we are training). Leading up to summer we have the AC on as it can get pretty hot and stuffy. The spectator that comes with the athlete can sit in comfort in all types of weather, not get wet when it rains, not freeze in the winter, and find it comfortable in the air-conditioning. 

Looking at this I'd say BJJ wins making the score 2-1.

Competitions. If the athlete is competitive there are registration fees (AFBJJ and IBJJF), and as the IBJJF only has one tournament in Melbourne a year (PanPacs) for most athletes it's just not worth it. The AFBJJ registration can be purchased for a single or multiple years and is quite cheap. Unfortunately competitions can become a little costly as we are not in the city the purchase of fuel, food and accommodation needs to be factored in.

Footy on the other hand is competed for almost six months of the year. Depending on the league that the athlete plays, travel maybe two hours away every second weekend. So obviously fuel is required more, after the game there's always the hot dog or meat pie (don't forget the drink and maybe a lollie). Then the rest of the family that has gone along to watch are also looking for a bite to eat and drink. So the cost now has gone up.

You could now say that they are even on that one and we'll make the score 3-2. But, what if your child isn't competitive, then the score is 3-1.

Training availability. BJJ is all year round (except school holidays), AFL only for a portion of the year.

So, I'll be bias and say the BJJ is the winner and give it a score of 4-1.

But parents forget what BJJ does for the athlete that AFL won't is that BJJ teaches the child athlete so much more. Resilience, confidence, decision making under pressure and stress inoculation. These are just some of the things your child will learn irrespective of what BJJ Academy or club they participate in. Not only this they learn self control, self discipline and self defence. 

Anyone that knows how to fight very rarely gets into a fight as they know how some fights can end up.

In conclusion, the parent is the one that ultimately makes the decision but the next time you think that BJJ is expensive you have to ask yourself, is it really?

All my life, I’ve operated under the unspoken (and often unrecognized) rule for myself that if I’m not immediately good at something, I just don’t do it.

When I was younger, I was considered “very smart.” I got straight A’s without ever having to study. I was in the gifted program at school. I read well above my grade level. But as I entered high school and encountered tougher subjects like physics and calculus, I started to struggle.

I wasn’t immediately good at these subjects, and I didn’t know how to study because, well, I never had to learn how to study. My teachers would pull me aside about my declining grades, telling me, “I know you’re smarter than this,” and I didn’t know what to tell them.

The feeling of disappointing people who expected more from me over the years got to me. I felt like I was being asked, “Why aren’t you taller?” and I was terrified to walk on stilts and fall on my face anyway. So instead of learning to try, I just accepted what I was good at and rejected what I was bad at.

This pattern continued into my career — I’m not a writer because I studied hard and pushed myself in college. In fact, I dropped out of college after a year. I’m a writer because I’ve always been good at it.

But jiu-jitsu… well, I’m not good at jiu-jitsu.

Techniques go in one ear and then leave out the other the moment I walk out of the gym. I half-joke that my greatest struggle is figuring out the difference between my left arm and my right arm. And just like in school, my instincts are good, but my knowledge is lacking — I regularly find myself landing cool submissions or escaping from tight spaces, and when someone asks how I did it, I can’t give them an answer.

That said, six years after I started jiu-jitsu, I’m still here, and more importantly, I’m still trying. Of course, it’s not easy, and the struggles I endure during every class are just as much mental as they are physical. My poor (but wonderful) coach has to regularly reassure me that I’m doing fine when that voice in my head tells me, “You’re a purple belt. You should already know this,” whenever I struggle with a new (or old) technique. And as much as I have tried to kill my ego, it still rises from the dead when I get clobbered by someone I “should” be able to dominate.

The emotional and physical struggles I encounter every time I train should have pushed me to just quit and try something easier, given my track record. But instead, they’ve taught me how to keep going. The small daily challenges that arise in each class have prepared me for larger challenges, like matches in sub-only tournaments that have gone on for over an hour straight or, more significantly, my intense desire to quit when I was a blue belt. Jiu-jitsu has essentially trained my brain to let go of my need to be immediately good at something and find fulfillment in the success of continuing even when it’s easier to give up.

I don’t know why jiu-jitsu has helped me push past this. Maybe it’s because the satisfaction of small improvements adding up over time is greater than the disappointment of repeated failure. Maybe it’s because I see so many other “nerds” like me struggle and then succeed in the sport. Maybe it’s because, for whatever reason, I just love it so much that I can’t let it go. I don’t know the “why” of it all, but I sure am grateful for it.

This personal battle I fight with myself hasn’t abated completely. I still rely heavily on my guard (which I’m good at) and want to throw a tantrum when I have to drill takedowns (which I suck at). I still have a small existential crisis every time an editor offers polite, constructive criticism on something I write. And if someone handed me a physics worksheet, I’d probably just vomit all over it instead of actually attempting to do it. But I’m trying to be better about trying, and in this case, jiu-jitsu is the teacher I never knew I needed.

Article by Averi Clements of Jiu Jitsu Times

“My lineage is better than yours!” this is one of the things that make grapplers seem like kids more than anything. BJJ lineage is a huge source of pride, or controversy, depending on what the roll of the dice has brought you.

While linage is an age-old thing in martial arts and does hold value, should it really define grapplers as much as some people think? After all, how much does it really matter who gave a black belt to whom? Or how many people there are between you and Helio Gracie, for that matter?

Let’s explore if being a part of a “superior” BJJ lineage is really going to do anything to improve your grappling skills.  
The topic of BJJ lineage is not one of those topics that’s always on top of the controversy charts. The BJJ Gauntlet, being a Creonte (cree-onch), and several others seem to be firmly in the lead there. However, from time to time, you’ll see lineage become a huge thing.

Sometimes it is between grapplers, and others, more often, academies. 

Don’t get me wrong, paying respect to those that came before is important. It is also important to respect your instructors/professors. However, it doesn’t mean that training with someone is enough to turn you into “BJJ royalty”. Quite the contrary, while there is merit in lineage, let’s take the sensible approach and only try and look at it when it is really important – in the case of fake belts, for example.   

What is BJJ Lineage 
Looking at any martial art, you’ll notice a system of “lineage”. That means that people who get a certain belt or degree, that most often being a black belt and all further acknowledgments, readily recognise who gave them the highest rank.

Moreover, the lineage is there to honor all the people that came before that immediate instructor that promoted you. In a romantic sense of a way, it is a great way to demonstrate respect. However, in modern times, this is easily taken out of context. And BJJ is no stranger to that as well.  

In terms of BJJ, we all know that it all starts with Mitsuo Maeda and Carlos and Helio Gracie. From there on, though, things are so branched out, that there’s no real way of keeping track of all the lineages in existence.

That said, that doesn’t make someone who has a lineage of 12 people a worse black belt than someone who is a Gracie Barra (Baha) member and got a belt directly from Carlos Gracie Junior. The length of the BJJ lineage nowadays can vary greatly, given how widespread the sport is.  

IN terms of the legitimate lineage, there are official records that show whether or not someone is a black belt in BJJ.

However, many people tend to simply go with the flow and might never register. In Jiu-Jitsu though, it is not hard to actually discover whether or not someone’s lineage is legitimate. It is all a few e-mails away. However, when comparing two grapplers of legitimate linages, does the origin of it all really help determine how skillful you’ll be. And, as such, is it all really worth the fuss some people make?   

How Important is BJJ Lineage Really?  

In a perfect world, we’d all start in an academy with a great reputation and an impressive lineage. In an ideal world, you’d be able to start training with a world-renowned Professor and remain there for your entire BJJ journey. However, that’s hardly possible for most. First of all, people that just start training are not really that informed about stuff like BJJ lineage. Instead, they tend to look for the closest spot where they can train. As they start growing into the sport, they might end up in a different academy in quest of a different style, or a competitive career.  

In fact, changing gyms/teams/instructors nowadays is pretty much the norm. So, how does that fare in terms of that all-important lineage? If you’re one of the lucky ones that have stumbled upon some of the top coaches in the world then good for you.

However, for most other, changing affiliation a few times, whether it is as a beginner or an advanced student means you’re switching your lineage. In certain cases, people have different lineages for all their belts. Guess what? Some of them turned out to be world-famous names in the Jiu-Jitsu community nowadays. So much for the case of BJJ lineage determining success.  

One other thing to consider when talking lineage is how you extend your own. If you’re a brown and black belt, you’re most likely already involved in promoting students. That brings about great responsibility.

​Those students will go on to tell everyone that you are the man behind their belt. As such, is linage really key, or is it the style you’ve formed and the way you’re teaching the ways of the Gentle Art? Makes sense, right?  

Fake Black (And Other) Belts  
One positive aspect of actually knowing someone’s BJJ lineage is important in the case of fraudulent belts.

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon today. There have been several accounts of people posing as black or brown belts.

Although they were exposed and dealt with, that’s not the full extent of it. The reality is that there are also many that remain hidden. Some of them even have successful McDojo type academies where everything is about the profit and nothing is about the art.

In those cases, BJJ lineage can actually help expose a fake claimed belt, as that‘s very ready to check. That’s one aspect of linage that’s definitely irreplaceable.  

Conclusion 
Let’s drop all the high-school drama and act like adults. No, it shouldn’t bother anyone if you train in more than one academy, as long as that doesn’t involve a competitive rivalry between them. No, it doesn’t matter if you’re a blue and purple belt under the Gracie Barra lineage, brown by Marcelo Garcia and a black by Christian Graugart of BJJ Globetrotters. It won’t matter when your own students tell people that they have a certain belt by you.

So, why should you make a fuss about it? Put a Gi on and go train, and leave all the dumb stuff out of the way. Those more concerned with lineage and creonteism will fade out of the grappling community anyway. 

Article written by BJJ WORLD

Helicopter parenting, do you do this?

The term "helicopter parent" was first used in Dr. Haim Ginott's 1969 book Parents & Teenagers by teens who said their parents would hover over them like a helicopter. It became popular enough to become a dictionary entry in 2011. Similar terms include "lawnmower parenting," "cosseting parent," or "bulldoze parenting."

I was a helicopter parent with my son, nothing he did was good enough and everything he wore was terrible. I coached him in Aussie rules footy, so you could imagine how ‘good’ a coach I was to him.

I often say now that I am a better coach than I was a father, as my son and I had a fractured relationship for many years. It probably wasn’t until about two years ago we connected and rekindled a father son relationship. That being said, I have to text him first to see if he can talk otherwise, he won’t pick up.

Why am I telling you this? Too often I see and hear parents either coaching from the sidelines or making comments that are not encouraging for the child athlete.

When we first opened, we allowed parents to sit by the side of the mat as it was a good opportunity to allow them to see how their children train and maybe understand the sport better. But as time went on, we saw this was a negative aspect to the child’s development in the sport as they would forever be looking over their shoulder towards their parent in case they were being reprimanded by either a look or verbally.

When our children are drawing or painting, we don’t stand over the top of them telling them what colour to use or how they should draw. We need to be like this with sport irrespective of the sports they play.

For BJJ, more often than not, the parent has never felt what it is like to be pinned to the floor unable to move let alone stepping on a BJJ mat and feeling what the sport is like.

When the child athlete steps on the mat to train, it’s their time for fun, to learn, get physical and problem solve.
Should the child athlete ‘play up’, well that’s the coach’s job to reprimand and correct the behavior.

I’ve also seen and heard from plenty of parents who find watching their child at training stressful because of the way their athlete interacts. But I’ll let you in on a secret, more often than not they ‘act’ this way because the parent IS there watching.

At the end of the day it comes down to control, and when your child is playing a sport, you don’t have control. We want to guide them and make sure they make all the right moves but we can’t be there all the time and this is where the child’s path of self-discovery is so important.

Let them make the wrong moves, let them learn. But don’t chastise or ridicule them for what happened. Ask them why they did what they did and if they were in the same position or situation, what would they do differently?

Praise them for being there.

Tell them you saw them doing something good.

Ask them about what they did that they felt good about.

Ask them about a technique they used.

Tell them you were proud of their hard work and effort at training. After all, the more you encourage your child athlete to participate in the sport, the more they will enjoy it.

Have you ever heard your coach tell you that you need to be more aggressive and not understood, or they’ve indicated that you are being too aggressive?

Hopefully this article will help you if you are an athlete or a parent of an athlete determine what aggression is in the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Aggression can be defined as a forceful and sometimes overly assertive pursuit of one's aims and interests. Aggressiveness in life is often applauded. However, there are many circumstances where it can be deemed as inappropriate at best and offensive at worst.

Aggressiveness, if not used strategically, can be a recipe for disaster. Few endeavours in life are successful without aggressiveness. The same is true for the mats. There is a right way to use aggressiveness and a wrong way.

There are several ways that aggression can be misused in Jiu Jitsu.

One misuse of aggression in Jiu Jitsu is with strength. While it is fine to use strength in Jiu Jitsu, in the training room, it should be used to compliment technique and not in place of technique.  I would argue that one first needs to roll without strength before they add it to their game. We all want to show heart and fight hard. However, at times, especially for the novice, strength is substituted for technique in the training room and the result is not Jiu Jitsu. Jiu Jitsu uses technique as a force multiple for strength.

Another misuse of aggression is where an athlete is ‘playing’ in a manner that is really just bullying their teammates. This is evident when the athlete may have tapped to a teammate and as soon as they reset, attempts to impose their will through emotion. Or they lose a position and their temper, and make every effort to reverse the situation and make their teammate ‘pay’ for what had happened.

Rolling aggressively can only be done correctly with the strategic application of strength. If someone wants to win a fight based solely on strength, they are better off pursuing body building and not Jiu Jitsu. Strength is an important component of Jiu Jitsu, however in the training room it is best used as a force multiplier to proper technique.

Other situations people equate aggression to, can be as a flurry of action.

Consider for example, if I am in someone’s closed guard. I can flail around aggressively and accomplish a lot of movement. However, most likely, I will not pass the guard based on these actions.

Technique and strategy need to be implemented aggressively.

One should aggressively implement their strategy for each position.  When I’m in a dominant position I want to force a mistake. 

Knowing what the strength and weakness are in any position and aggressively looking to exploit the strength is a great example of aggression.

Even beyond having a positional strategy in place for every position, one could use the aggressive threat of submission to advance position and use the aggressive threat of the position to open up the submission. For example; being caught in half guard, setting up a cross collar choke for your opponent to feel threatened, and moving to mount.

So what are some other ways to implement aggression into your game?

First, you should aggressively get your repetitions when rolling. This is the best opportunity as you now have a live opponent in front of you. When you are attempting your chosen technique in training, tapping out to your teammates isn’t a bad thing, especially if you are attempting your chosen technique. This is where refinement will come in to play. You get to see first hand what adjustments need to be made and eventually you will be able to execute your technique with precision using aggression.

There are countless more examples of things that may stop our repetitions in the training room.  However, unlike a competition or self-defence setting, tapping out does not matter when training. You should be attempting to get the repetitions in, first slowly, and when you have the movement correct implement more aggression to achieve the goal .

Another way to be aggressive is in setting goals.

Figuring out the skill to be learned, breaking it down to small pieces, practicing those pieces and then obtaining feedback. Goals are huge in Jiu Jitsu. It is extremely difficult to achieve anything of merit without having an idea ahead of time on what the goals should be. 

Aggression has its place in this violent art.

Certainly, one can roll aggressively by using a flurry of movement and strength as a substitute of technique. However, that is an example of poor aggression in Jiu Jitsu.  There are many positive examples of aggression in Jiu Jitsu. Aggressively implement your strategy for positions. Aggressively seek your repetitions. The value of a roll is not in how many times you tap a teammate, but the quality of practice achieved. Aggressively set goals and destroy them. We should not be passive in Jiu Jitsu. However, we should use our aggression strategically.
​
In summary, the best way to look at aggression in Jiu Jitsu is; being aggressive requires emotion, playing aggressively is aiming to apply your skill and technique. 

​Greg Probyn