John Will: BJJ Black Belt, MMA coach, Author and Life Coach: Johns personal Blog

2012-01-31T17:21:00.002+11:00

Following on from my last blog – I will offer up one way to go about the design and construction of a game. Before I begin though – let’s remain clear on what I mean by the term ‘game’.

A game is basically a ‘plan’ – that is; we go in with a definite and clear idea of what we want to achieve; rather than just rolling for fun and dealing with whatever situations arise (though that kind of rolling can also have great benefits).A plan should also be systematic and linear – by this I mean, we try to initiate and carry out our pre-determined plan (technique or string of techniques). If the opponent fails to come up with any effective strategies to thwart our plan – then we simply push on and execute it. If the opponent puts obstacles in our way – we (over time) come up with ways to overcome, remove or take advantage of these obstacles – and thereby ‘develop’ our game.

We do all of this – ONE POSITION AT A TIME. IE: We develop a GUARD PLAN, a PASSING PLAN, a SIDE CONTROL PLAN, A MOUNT PLAN, etc. Again – all this takes time! You develop a plan ONE POSITION AT A TIME!

There are many ways we can think about what this concept could look like as two dimensional image – it could be perhaps most accurately depicted by a systemic flow-chart (IE: we do this – if he responds this way, we do that – if he responds that way, we do this, ETC). The way though, that I like to think of it, is a little more conceptual and can be likened to the shape of a galaxy. The center is your basic plan – what you will do if there is little or no resistance – then as we spiral away from the center – we are adapting/developing our plan, according to our opponents reactions – as we keep spiralling away, the whole thing becomes a little tenuous as we are now dealing with highly exotic or unlikely reactions and are being taken further and further away from our CORE idea. One could keep working to overcome an opponent’s reactions to a basic plan – forever – but at some point I find it more useful (and interesting) to just go explore another galaxy. And start to develop a new plan – for a new position.I hope this helps – best wishes:JBW

Got Game? Pt 1 …

2012-01-30T10:38:00.001+11:00

There are many ways to approach the study and practice of martial arts – and there are also, many ways to approach the study of practice of even one specific martial art.BJJ has many faces. We can take it on as a lifestyle – a way of being, looking at or living, in the world. We can approach it as a problem (or infinitely evolving serious of problems) and reap joy and understanding from solving those puzzles. We can approach it as an athletic endeavor – a physical and mental challenge to urge us toward better fitness. We can take it on as a self-improvement vehicle; and through practice, gain better and deeper understanding of ourselves and others. We can take it on as a sport; providing us with an arena in which to compete against others … oh yes, and then there is the ‘self defence’ aspect to boot …As far as the sporting face in concerned; we need to build (over time and after we have established a solid foundation of basics) ourselves a ‘game’. Many people ask me these sorts of questions – ‘what is a game?’ – ‘what sort of game should I be working on?’ – ‘is there a best game?’, etc. Now even though this is a large topic (among many topics) – I’d like to offer my two cents worth on ‘game development’.Pre-blue belt – my opinion is that we should be learning and focusing on rounding out our understanding of the ‘fundamentals of BJJ’ – including, how best to deal with the more common ways that we can be assaulted (headlock defences, grab defences, etc). Once we have an understanding of the basic principles and techniques of BJJ, and have been rolling (grappling/wrestling) for some time to hone these techniques and instill them into muscle memory – we need to begin working on or developing our ‘game’. And remember, this ‘game’ will continually evolve and transform over time … and initially, will to a large degree be driven by what is happening on our mat. (eg: if everyone is standing up to initiate the guard pass – then back-sweep will become an important part of our game – if not, then it won’t – simple as that)But how to begin … ? Sorry – gotta run – time to hit my Monday morning workout … will continue in a day or two ….

Leave your ego at the door

2012-01-28T10:40:00.003+11:00

Ego can be a crippling thing.

Behind our ego lies a subtle intelligence; one, that, if sensing we are likely to fail at something, quietly offers up rationalisation for why we shouldn’t even try. It guarantees that we never fail by not letting us attempt in the first place.

Paying less attention to the voice of the ego is the first step in putting ourselves on a path to greater learning. When I became more and more content with being able to try and fail, I began to improve my ability to acquire new skills at an ever-increasing rate.

Children are the best example of effortless learning; and the reason they learn so quickly and without apparent effort is because they are simply more okay with failure than are most adults. As children grow up and turn into teenagers and adults, they generally become more and more self-conscious; and this is precisely when they become far less willing to take risks.

Risk-taking is absolutely necessary for growth, discovery, learning and understanding. One of the most important functions of a teacher is to create an environment wherein students are comfortable with risk-taking.

JBW

2012-01-23T20:50:00.000+11:00

Life takes many an unexpected turn. We cannot predict it’s every twist; nor what unexpected opportunities can arise out of hardship and difficulty. We can though, know with complete certainty that our lives will eventually come to an end, and so we can never afford to put off the living of such; not even for a day. What lies around the corner, none of us can fully know. Whether we accept it or not, life is, and always will be, an exploratory journey. As is the case with all exploration, if the unfolding trek doesn’t succeed in killing us, it will almost certainly provide us with instruction. The unexpected, and how we react and learn from it, can be one of the most powerful drivers of our existence. Don't just expect the unexpected, revel in it: JBW

Diversity ....

2012-01-19T21:58:00.000+11:00

Diversity … a word I like.I like diversity in people. I like diversity on the mat. I like diversity in my skill-sets. I like diversity in investments. I like diversity in what I eat. I like diversity in the places I travel to. I like diversity in my training. I like diversity in the thoughts that run through my mind. I like diversity …. in the world. Diversity keeps us awake – keeps us interested – keeps us in a state of childlike wonder. When we are children, we marinate in diversity – when we become adults, it is very easy to fall into a set routines, patterns and habits that keep us blinkered to the possibility that diversity offers.Diversity …JBW

Head in the GAme

2012-01-16T15:53:00.003+11:00

There’s ‘going through the motions’ and then there’s getting your ‘head in the game’. We lift performance considerably when we apply our full attention to what we are doing. This may sound and obvious and easy, even natural thing to do; but in today’s world, where things pull our attention to and fro, it can be almost counter-intuitive to place all of our attention on the thing we are trying to do.I know in my own case, I am guilty finding some pleasure in the act of multi-tasking. I can write (as I am doing right now), have something playing on TV, something also playing on my laptop, while carrying out some kind of broken conversation with my wife Melissa … it is fairly easy for me to do this – as I guess it is for most people – and I have to say, most times, the more action going on, the more I like it …But when we really want to do well, we should invest most or all of our mental faculties on the task at hand. Keeping our head in the game requires, at least in my own case, a certain discipline. My natural state of being is to entertain random and oblique thoughts – (I think my teachers used to call this ‘day-dreaming’) – but I do almost always do better (except when what I am doing requires a certain level of creativity) when I get my head in the game – and keep it there.JBW

Driven by what others think ...

2012-01-12T14:51:00.001+11:00

For most people, the need for social acceptance is a very powerful force indeed. In fact, it is the hidden driver behind many of our behaviours, particularly when we are young. This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective – to put it in the simplest of terms: if the tribe didn’t like you – your chances for survival were dramatically reduced. If your tribe liked you a lot – then you had ‘credit’ in the bank with them, for those times when you needed care or protection. When I was a youngster, I had very few friends, particularly, between the ages of 10 to maybe 15. I remember feeling lonely, isolated and became very self-conscious about what I said, what I wore, how I looked, etc. I did not enjoy that period of my life very much. For me, things changed when I took up martial arts training – beginning with amateur wrestling when I was about 15 years if age. This built in me a kind of confidence that I had not previously possessed. That inner confidence allowed me to care less and less about what others thought of me – which in turn made me less, self conscious about what I wore, what I said, what I looked like. It was only when I became physically confident, that my mental confidence began to improve. In a relatively short space of time, I found that I didn't need to conform to earn te respect of others. The most that conformity could offer, was a way of blending in – a way of not being noticed. Now that would have been great, during those times when I felt victimised – but now that the bullies were looking elsewhere for their much-preferred easy target, I didn’t need to ‘travel unnoticed’. I began to more highly value my own ideas, my own way of being in the world, my own opinions (perhaps a little too much) and my own decisions. I no longer need the approval of others – I was no longer driven by what others think. It was that process that took me onto a path that has been underfoot my whole life. I like to listen to the opinions of others, of course, because there are many far wiser and better than I, but in the end, I make up my own mind, formulate my own opinions and decisions.Your life is your own. Learn from others - of course; but don't conform for conformity's sake. The more you stand on your own two feet, the more others will come to accept you for being your own person. There may be a teething process to go through at first - a bit of pain to begin with - but the prize is worth it - to live creatively with a real sense of freedom and self-worth.JBW

How WINNING is done

2012-01-07T09:20:00.002+11:00

Winning is done through consistent effort. Consistent effort – not to be confused with occasional effort or fine weather effort. Consistent and determined effort is about grinding it out – day after day; sometimes this is fun and joyful; at other times it can seem fruitless, or even tough going. Winning is not for everyone; nor should it be; winning is for those who keep taking steps forward when common sense is telling you to stop. Winners experience more loss that most everyone else; they lose more because they do more, try more and keep trying even though the rewards for doing so, seem so paltry and at times, just not worth it. Winners fall off their skateboards and surfboards more often, they fall off the rock-face more often; they get bitten more often, kicked more often, choked more often, lost more often, crash more often, go broke more often, etc, etc. Over-achieving isn't done by doing what most everyone else does - and nothing more - it is done by doing what others are unwilling to do. It is all about the 'doing'. Winners are 'do-ers'. It’s that simple. JBW

Another lap around the sun ...

2011-12-31T22:41:00.003+11:00

Another year - another lap around the sun.I am sitting in my chair, in my house, with my family - waiting out the last hour before we watch the midnight fireworks. I am also aware that my home is squared away in a nice part of Geelong - in the state of Victoria, in the southern part of the continent known as Australia. Australia, I also realise, is a great part of this spinning globe we call 'earth'; itself taking up the third orbital path around the sun we call sol. Sol, so I am told by those who understand better than I - is a relatively small and typical solar body, residing in the outer reaches of a Galaxy we call the Milky Way, that contains 200 billion odd other suns. Our Galaxy, is only one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in this reality we call the universe - and quantum physicists will tell you that a strong possibility exists, that for all practical (or impractical) purposes, there may well be an infinite number of universes.When I was a youngster, my father painted a dymaxion skymap of the world on our lounge room wall - he was always one for seeing the 'big picture' I guess. I like to think that I inherited some small part of his very interesting way of looking at the world and the way in which he lived his life in it. Each of us have an unknown amount of time left to live, love and adventure on this small spinning marble before we shuffle off at journey's end. I wish you all the happiest and most fulfilling of adventures. Don't be hypnotized by the mundane - go hard. JBW

We choose for now - we choose for later

2011-12-27T10:17:00.000+11:00

When we are presented with strong excuses to forgo good habits - this is when we see the exceptional make their split from the rest. It's christmas - and we are faced with mountains of unhealthy food and an opportunity to stop training for a bit. But these are still 'choices'.When we choose, we choose for now and we choose for later; and it's usually easier to make those choices based on what we would like right now as opposed to an, as yet unrealised consequence, that may, or may not, manifest at a later date. We are so very fortunate in that we have more choice available to us than most of the inhabitants of this spinning globe - but remember, when we choose - we choose for now and we choose for later.I ate more than my share these past few days - so now, I am off to do some training - and try to bring balance to the equation for vital living.JBW

Finding the thread

2011-12-19T08:20:00.000+11:00

This is the key to my most commonly utilized problem-solving strategy.We have a tendency to always look for a quick and often dynamic solution to any given problem. The reason for this can be traced to our life as hunter-gatherers – when we often didn't have the luxury of being able to ‘ponder’ a problem over a cup of tea; to increase our chances for survival in difficult situations, our brains needed to ‘gulp’ down all the information available in a split second, and come up with a rapid solution – that hopefully kept us alive long enough to tell the story at a later date. My own observation is that we still, to a large degree, react to emergencies (read: problems) much the same way. BJJ example: Stuck under side control – we ask ourselves – ‘can we escape?’ and we put in one large effort, and then get the answer – ‘No!’ we cannot escape. SWAMP example: Neck deep in the quagmire, we ask ‘can we get out? – answer again – NO!FINANCIAL example: $100K in bad debt – we ask, can we fix this? – answer again – No!RELATIONSHIP example: Bad partnership – we ask – can we make this work? – answer again – No!’Of course the answer is so very often No – because it did after all, take time for the particular problem to fully evolve. The real hiccup is this … in each of the above examples, we have asked the wrong question. The question should have been this – ‘Can we improve our situation by 5%? The answer to that question would probably have come back a resounding – Yes!If you want to rip a sweater in half – you don’t want to try to grab it in one large bunch and pull it apart – instead, you want to find the thread, that once pulled, begins unraveling the whole thing. There is almost always a thread – it is just a matter of finding it, and then focusing on it.Last thing to consider – and this goes unnoticed by almost everyone – if we have proven that we cannot notice small erosions in our situation (eg: gaining weight – bit by bit, over time – before finally asking one day ‘how did I get 40Kg overweight?) – then we have proven that we probably are incapable of noticing small improvements in our situations as well. So when we lose 1kg – we look in the mirror, fail to notice the improvement and so give up on our efforts. Getting people to notice their small incremental improvements is a very important part of high-level coaching/teaching.So don’t try to solve large problems in their entirety – instead, try to find the small thread that, once pulled, will start to unravel the whole thing. And secondly, once you start pulling that thread, notice that you are indeed, getting somewhere. There you go – that’s my Finding the Thread problem solving strategy – I hope you find it helpful. Best wishes: JBW

The Munter …

2011-12-15T08:40:00.001+11:00

This is an old-school concept – that so very often, is missing on many a martial arts mat. I do see it’s opposite every now and then; some higher rank ‘munter’, who is all about himself, and who doesn’t spare a thought about his training partner. To compound matters, our overly self-involved munter is also likely to be found paying only cursory interest (seemingly under sufferance) to what the instructor is talking about – presumably because he doesn’t want his peers and lesser mortals to think that he could possibly learn something new – as of course, he has seen it all before. Most schools have had the odd munter in their midst at one time or another – but usually, the munter (such a good word) doesn't last long and leaves for other pastures – pastures where he is given the respect he is due. But every now and then, the munter sticks around and achieves high rank – usually because there is some kind of pay-off for him; and this is when it turns into a bit of a problem. It is a problem for three main reasons; firstly, because he doesn't care about others, he injures others who are there to learn, grow and improve – sometimes causing them to seek other pastures. Bad! Secondly, he sets a bad example; a bad ‘tone’ that other, more malleable students may start to emulate; one bad apple can spoil a whole box-full. And thirdly, he can place an unwarranted level of demand on the teacher; who can be fooled into giving the munter extra attention thereby taking his focus away from the more-deserving students.I have a simple strategy for dealing with munterism; I ignore them. If they demonstrate a corrosive effect on the class or the culture of the school – which they usually do – I ask them to leave.Get rid of one munter and the students, the culture and the school will flourish. The higher the munter’s rank; the more important it becomes to deal with him. I always advise school-owners to cull their student-base of all munters; and then sit back and watch the school grow! JBW

Death of the Noticing Machine

2011-12-12T20:26:00.000+11:00

I think that to a large degree, we have lost touch with our ability to NOTICE things. The world we live in, with busy routines, endless media intrusions, technology, etc, just isn’t all that conducive to the habit of NOTICING things in our environment. 10,000 years ago, in hunter-gathering mode, I bet we would have been awesome NOTICING MACHINES. We would have had to be – our survival would have depended on it. Nowadays though, we don’t need to Notice all that much, and we can still get by quite nicely. So we don’t notice, when we put on a few extra kilos, we don’t notice when small erosions begin occurring in the landscapes of our lives – then one day we look up and ask ‘wow, how did I get so overweight? How did I lose all that money? How did my relationship become so bad? It all starts with small erosions – erosions that we fail to notice – when it would have been easy to do something about it.The flip side of this coin is that we also tend not to notice the small gains we make; the small improvements (in performance, etc) So then we tend to become discouraged, and perhaps make a change in direction – when all we need to do was keep going! Our inability to notice small changes can really bring us undone. This is why many people stop their martial arts training – they fail to notice that they are actually making great gains; for exactly the same reason that they fail to take notice of the small erosions in their lives. Failing to notice – that’s the Achilles heel of us all. JBW

I can read the future

2011-12-10T19:01:00.001+11:00

Yes – it’s true, I can. I predict the sunrise tomorrow, whether or not I am here to see it. I predict the tide will come in and go out again, etc. So yes, many things are predictable but many again, are not. But this is not enough of a reason to just ‘go with the flow’ on absolutely everything. We all may be likened to leaves floating in the current of life; the predictable part is the direction in which the river is flowing, the unpredictable part is what lies in wait just around the corner … but you can float along if you like – and enjoy the scenery, or you can paddle hard every now and then and take some control over the path you take. Paddle and cruise – paddle and cruise – knowing when to do which, now that is the trick worth learning: JBW

A Blowfish Experience

2011-12-01T06:49:00.001+11:00

Eating blowfish, by all accounts, can be a delicious experience – but if, for some reason, it is not prepared JUST RIGHT, the experience can be anything but delicious – it can be deadly. The same process, albeit it a more benign version, is at play when we learn things …There are certain techniques that if not executed technically, can result in a worsening of our situation. Ie: we try the new technique, do not execute it correctly, and we suffer as a result. Now that’s not so bad in and of itself, but our natural and instinctive reaction to that ‘failure’ is the real killer. When we pay a big price for failing at a technique (or most other things for that matter) we tend to shy away from trying it again – and we suffer the effects of a Blowfish experience. Not all techniques are Blowfish techniques – try a figure four armlock from the mount –and if it doesn't work, no biggie! But try headlock control, and if you are missing a few fundamental and vital nuances, you will end up with your opponent playing the role of a human backpack. It’s just important to know which techniques are of the Blowfish variety. The best tip is this: gain intimate and deep knowledge of every technique you do – develop the habit of technical excellence. Prepare that Blowfish well: JBW

My Teaching Style

2011-11-29T13:21:00.001+11:00

No – I do not teach STYLE … I am anything but stylish. But I do have my own style of teaching. I am often asked a question; and was asked it the other day by the excellent Travis Browne, at a seminar I took in Auckland – and it was ‘Where do I derive my teaching/coaching style from? And what are the ‘drivers’ that differentiate me from other coaches?”The full answer would no doubt be overly long and boring – but the highlights might be instructive, so here goes:- first and foremost, my teaching style stems from a place of passion. I am very passionate about my martial arts training and cannot help but love sharing it with like-minded people.- I am very analytical and like taking things apart to see how they work; I love sharing this process with other people. I believe deeply in the power of ‘understanding’ – as opposed to the idea of ‘artless mimicry’.- I derive immense satisfaction from be able to shift people from ‘unable’ to ‘able. I believe anything can be taught if the process is delineated with enough clarity.- I take risks – all the time. I do teaching experiments, all the time. I turn left, instead of right to see what happens, all the time. I am not content to stay with the tried and true, it doesn’t fulfil my need for adventure.- I enjoy seeing how the right kind of word-play effects outcomes in performance; hence at times, I come across as a little eccentric in my coaching style and phrasing. But I want results.- And regarding results; I am very outcome and results driven. My focus is rarely on my own performance levels (or looks) when teaching; I am fully prepared to look foolish if it gets me the results I want.- Finally, but perhaps most importantly of all; I love to draw the deeper lessons that I have learned in my martial arts training and bring them out and illustrate how they relate to the larger canvas of our lives. Deep learning’s are to be found everywhere and they hold so much more value than the base combative value of what we do as martial artists. And in using those lessons in our lives away from the mat, we are tapping into what true leverage is all about.So there are a few of the underlying drivers that power my teaching style – I hope they can be of use to you: JBW

Different can be good.

2011-11-27T17:51:00.001+11:00

I remember when I first began school – the teacher asked if anyone knew the alphabet, and up went my hand. When I was asked to give it a go .. I recited it backwards – because my father had taught it to me that way – a mystery as to why and I was ridiculed by the teacher as a result. I remember not feeling all that embarrassed actually – and so began my defiance of all things authoritarian. It wasn’t long before I had a ribbon tied in my hair (by a teacher) for playing on the girls swings in the playground – yikes!So in my youth – and I imagine it was this way for many of my readers – looking at things differently than most, or acting a little differently, caused me some amount of difficulty. Now though, I understand the following truth – if you want to achieve excellence in life you need to carve your own path – you need to think a little differently, you need to behave a little differently, you need to have a different attitude, you need to prepare differently, plan differently, etc. If you are happy and content to settle for average, then being different may not be the best option. But if you want something else … something other … something exciting … a little difference can make all the difference.JBW

To Gi or not to Gi ...

2011-11-22T07:59:00.001+11:00

Here in the antipodes, summer is nearly upon us. It's the perfect time of the year to shed the Gi and do some slippery mat-work. But what are the pro's and con's of no-gi training???Training without the Gi can be frustrating for the beginner and an argument can be made that it can retard their progress. This can be likened to trying to teach a child to ride a bike, and doing so, without training wheels on a wet, steep hillside. The lack of a Gi makes for a much faster fight and therefore makes it more difficult for the beginner to pick up basic strategy ... in much the same way as a novice chess player would find it difficult to play a game of speed-chess.The other consideration, particularly if a part of our motivation (especially when we start out) is to prepare ourselves for real world confrontation/violence - then we need to understand that clothing plays a very important role in the grappling dynamic (chokes, grips, etc).But now to the advantages of shedding the Gi ...A more slippery fight is a faster fight and so providing you are ready for it, the cardio element becomes more challenging. And the fact that the fight is moving more quickly, forces us to calculate more quickly and improve our processing power under duress. Another consideration is that no-gi training provides a slight advantage for the less-skilled of two opponents in most training sessions ... this is because it is a little more difficult to hold/control an opponent in the no-gi scenario and so the 'bottom' grappler have an edge that he or she doesn't usually have. This can be a good 'class leveler', squishing up the 'bell-curve' a little.No-gi can be a lot of fun and in hot weather, a much welcomed change of pace for the class ... roll on summer: JBW

Work & Play

2011-11-15T13:11:00.001+11:00

At the risk of offending some - I'd like to point out that I believe that we, as a species, have been here quite a long time. And for much of that time, we didn't live to 'make money' - we didn't live to 'top up our super' - pay off our mortgage - pay taxes - etc; rather, we hunted for our food, hiked and explored our environments in an effort to gather our food - improvised weapons and tools that made our lives more comfortable - gave extra food that we caught or gathered, to our friends and neighbours - told stories by te light of an evening fire, in an effort to both entertain and educate .... In times past, life was much simpler - status was bestowed upon us if we were of value to our tribe - if we were of no value, or had nothing to contribute, then our status would be low, and our chances of survival would be drop. The more we brought to the table (often literally) the greater our status in the tribe. For mush of our past history, life would have been tough - but things would have had a certain clarity that they no longer have today. Martial arts training, in my view, gives us back some of these things - things we have lost, as we have become more 'civilised'. BJJ offers a 'right of passage', it offers opportunities to be 'of value' to the tribe (other students at the school) - it offers an environment where 'earned knowledge' affords respect and is valued by others - it offers 'growth through physical challenge', etc. Life is today's society has us distracted at every turn, stressed, badly prioritised and often unhealthy (both physically and mentally) as a result - martial arts training is a great way to bring some badly needed balance back into our 21st century lives: JBW

The OBLIQUE VALUE ...

2011-11-08T14:42:00.000+11:00

Whenever we undertake something - learning a new technique/skill, deciding on a particular course of action - we do so, usually because there is an OBVIOUS VALUE in doing so. I write a new book, sell it, and I get a few thousand dollars in income from it (if all goes well) - that's an obvious value. I learn a new sweep, and make it work in sparring - that's an obvious value. You get te idea ...What is really worth considering though, is the less obvious or OBLIQUE VALUE thta we get from learning new things, or taking new courses of action. To re-visit the two former examples that I have given: if I write a book and publish it, I might receive a few thousand dollars income from it (obvious value) but I also learn HOW TO write a book, HOW TO get it published, HOW TO promote it (something I don't do well), etc - in short, I have acquired a new set of skills that may be used again and again, perhaps even in novel ways. This is the LESS-THAN-OBVIOUS or OBLIQUE VALUE from undertaking the task. If I learn a new sweep and get to apply it in sparring, I get that OBVIOUS VALUE from it - but I have also learned to use my body in a new way, I have a new way of moving, of thinking about things - these are skills that may serve me well in many other aspects of my game - this is the OBLIQUE VALUE that I receive.To use a wonderful example of how this works in the natural world, I will use an example that genius extraordinaire Buckminster Fuller used to cite on occasion: consider a bee, zooming from flower to flower, collecting pollen to take back to the hive. The bee's primary purpose in this activity, the OBVIOUS VALUE if you like, is to collect food - but what about the less obvious (but incredibly important) value of the cross-pollination that occurs as a result; flowers get to multiply! In my view, it often seems that the OBLIQUE VALUE can be greater (and further reaching) than the obvious value whenever we learn a new skill or take an action. Perhaps by weighing up the less obvious, OBLIQUE VALUE of actions, we can better determine whether the action/decision is a good one to undertake. Worth consideration ... JBW

2011-11-03T12:02:00.000+11:00

As a follow up on my last blog - I'd like to talk about TAKING OWNERSHIP. When starting out in BJJ, we may be exposed to only a handful of techniques and therefore we are not all that confused by choice - we either have an answer to a situation and we try to apply the technique we know to that situation, or we don't have an answer - in either case, we either have the tool for the job or we do not - not a lot of confusion. The real confusion begins to creep in, when we start to collect a lot of techniques, loads of options, for any given situation - this can lead to 'mental log jam' - which of the 40 sweeps do I use .... which omoplata do I try to set up ... which escape, etc.I am sure ost blue and purple belts can relate to this problem - and even more so nowadays, when we are bombarded with too much information (Youtube, google, etc)The solution to this problem can be found in 'ORGANISATION'. If you own one house, and only get one lot of bills (gas, electricity, rates, etc) then you might not need a filing system = you just throw them all in the drawer and deal with them as needed. But what if you owned ten houses - then you need not only a good filing system, but a method of prioritising them, etc. The more you know - the more you need to organize that information.One of the first things that is worth doing - is this - to make a clear distinction between 'resource' and 'personal game'. Everything you know and everything you will ever learn, goes into the 'resource' file - whilst those techniques and strategies that you really like to use, they go into the 'personal game' file.Not everything you will learn, will fit your game - but those many techniques that you do not like/use/find a use for in your game - those techniques are still important to remember, because they may give you some other 'less obvious' benefit - or skill - that you might indeed use in your game. And from a coaches point of view - you need to have both deep and broad knowledge so that you can help or teach all kinds of people, not just those who like your own personal 'game. I see a lot of very successful competitors trying to force their game on every one of their students - this is a classic mistake. Clearly, people are different. I have many ways to CATALOGUE techniques and strategies - but one of the most basic methods (one that I have used in more than 25 years of BJJ training) is to catalogue techniques according to POSITION. Eg: If I think SPIDERGUARD - I am immediately clear on what I consider to be the main sweeps from that position, the ways to set up Omoplata from that position, the ways to set up triangle armbars and Kimura's from that position, etc. This simple method works well, because you can add to it easily, over time - but to help you with your personal game - you should always have clarity on which of that collection of techniques (for each position) you prefer to execute first. You might have 12 or 15 techniques in the SPIDERGUARD file for example - but you are very clear that your favourite technique to try is the TRIANGLE - for example. You then, over time, become clearer on how your opponents will tend to react to your triangle - and you will come up with combinations, by reaching into the rest of your SPIDERGUARD RESOURCE file. To help with all this - a journal (of some sort) may really help. Don't be too worried about keeping it all need and overly ordered - just do SOMETHING. Even just thinking about organisation the information in your head - really helps. Best wishes: JBW

Journal up ...

2011-10-30T10:32:00.000+11:00

I have long-since developed a habit of keeping training journals. I keep various training journals – I have training journals for my seminars, in which I lay out my seminar plan - and I amend, add to or subtract from it, during the actual seminar. This allows me to better plan the next seminar for my return visit; I can go over the notes I made on the last subject matter we covered and how the students coped with it. I also keep training journals for some of my private students – it helps me keep track of what we have done, where they are in the development of their game, what they need to cover in the future – etc. And, I keep notes on my own training – things I need to look at in the future – random ideas, thoughts, new techniques – and novel approaches to teaching that I might want to try out.I still have old ‘personal training journals’ that date back to the mid-80’s. I rarely refer back to them though, as the main benefit was to be had in the note-taking itself. When we take notes, or scribble and draw – we have to process information differently in our mind. Before we describe something in words, we need to think about it, to go over the ‘process’ in our minds-eye – and it is this value that get from keeping a journal. Of course if my wife reads this – she will have a strong argument for clearing out my bookshelf. Yikes.Seriously though, I encourage everyone to keep a training journal. It doesn't have to be elaborate – it may only consist of scribbling down a few words chosen to trigger a memory – it can be highly descriptive – it can incorporate drawings, stick-figures – it doesn’t really matter. Regardless of the approach you take – I guarantee it will help you in some way. Journal –up today:Best wishes: JBW

Change ...

2011-10-24T18:39:00.000+11:00

Look around – carefully; and you will notice that everything is changing, all of the time. Raindrops are falling, each second the world is different, unique, as it was never before; each leaf moving on each tree, constructing a new and unique world each and every second. So too are we, cells are degenerating, regenerating; our brains think new and novel thoughts, each and every second. On the mat, as we roll with our friends, each moment is different than the last, each grip is slightly different, pressures ebb and flow, the fight unfolds differently this time than it did last time.When people tell me they are bored – I tell them to open their eyes: JBW

Monkey on the back

2011-10-20T11:49:00.000+11:00

Fear ... can be a crippling thing. It can be like having a monkey on your back that just won't go away. Most of my readers may not be able to relate to this post - as 'fear' may manifest only as an occasional disturbance in an otherwise comparatively pleasant existence - but for those who live with fear, 'day in day out' - life can seem very difficult if not completely pointless, at times. But that monkey can be tamed - and even befriended - with some considerable effort and a willingness to change for the better. I have had the opportunity to teach quite a number of people, who have been in some way or the other, partially paralysed by the fear that sits on their back. The first step in the taming of the monkey, is to acknowledge that you are not alone, others have been through the same thing, and have come out better and stronger for the experience. Start small, embrace something unfamiliar, something outside of your comfort zone - go through it - experience it, marinate in it - feel the feelings - then ask yourself afterward - did it kill you? yes - that's right, you are still here - and more than likely, none the worse for wear. JBW

Uncertain Times

2011-10-17T10:05:00.000+11:00

“What lies around the corner, no one can know. Whether we accept it or not, life is, and always will be, an exploratory journey. As is the case with all exploration, if the unfolding trek doesn’t succeed in killing us, it will almost certainly provide us with instruction. If we want to learn things that others do not know, we need to be willing to do the things that other people do not do.” - Excerpt from the Rogue Black Belt series.My travels this year, both domestic and international have highlighted to me that the world is a little more uncertain than perhaps it has been during the decade just gone. To keep it all in perspective though, the world has pretty much always been an uncertain place – for the larger part of man’s history, we have never known what has awaited us around the corner; in short, we are generally short-sighted and have a very poor record of being able to predict the future. It is only when we have lived through a few months, or years of relative stability that we convince ourselves that this is the natural state of the world – when in fact, I do not believe it is. The world is a dynamic environment that is full of surprises and unexpected turns, some pleasant, others, not so. But what is it about us, as a species that has allowed us to flourish and do so well? For my money, it is largely our ability to adapt to rapid change that really sets us apart from other species on the planet. Life is uncertain, we can of course, make plans and have some idea of how our futures might unfold but in embracing our natural talent for adaptation we can more easily roll with the punches that life will no doubt throw our way. Both on and off the mat; we need to embrace this special talent.JBW

No Growth in Comfort

2011-10-13T07:29:00.002+11:00

The unfolding adventure that is our life should be exciting, instructive and always filled with a little uncertainty; the uncertainty is what makes it an adventure. As we live this adventure, we succeed, fail, learn, love and slowly gather our power. The way forward becomes a little less rocky and more full of possibility. As we learn to better know ourselves and better know the world, we equip ourselves more suitably for the unknown that is the future. - Excerpt from the Rogue Black Belt series.

I am often asked, particularly by beginners, for advice concerning the uncertainty and confusion they sometimes feel on the mat during their first year or so of training. Although it is true that this feeling of uncertainty, can to some extent be mitigated by designing a basic ‘game-plan’ that suits their particular physical and mental capabilities, it is this very feeling of uncertainty that is in itself highly instructive. It is good to experience a little uncertainty in our lives; as this builds and strengthens our ability to adapt and overcome; the last thing we want (if we want growth) is to have the same experience, day in, day out. Or as my good friend Geoff Thompson likes to say – “There is no growth in comfort’. How very true – thanks Geoff: JBW

Life Instructs

2011-10-10T06:13:00.000+11:00

Day two of our holiday in Aitutaki (in the Cook Islands), my boy Felix was impaled by a Stonefish; a highly venomous species of fish that inhabits much of the pacific region. Apparently, it is about the most painful thing one can endure – in rare cases, people die from the venom. So Melissa and I were fairly stressed as we had to sit back and watch him endure hours of pain – before a combination of local remedies and modern medicine brought things under control. He is almost back to normal now – some 6 days later – but then today, being unable to swim after the stonefish injury, he was wading around the edge of the lagoon (super frustrated) when he forgot he had his beloved Ipod in his pocket, and he walked into the water again, submerging it and killing it completely. Needless to say, he was heartbroken. He has had his share of both physical and emotional pain this past week – but this is exactly how we learn. We experience; and we learn. These are not the kind of things you can learn from listening to others or from reading books; this is the kind of stuff you can only learn by experience. Life instructs: JBW

Quality not Quantity

2011-09-29T17:17:00.000+10:00

People who excel – really excel, are not necessarily doing more work more practice, more more, more … they are, rather, doing things differently, better, better, better. It is usually the quantitative difference and no the qualitative difference that sets true champions apart from other people – in most aspects of life. People who do marriage better than everyone else, are doing it differently, people who are doing fitness better than everyone else are doing it differently, people who are doing jiu jitsu better than everyone else are usually doing it differently. World-class Jiu Jitsu athletes (or any other world class athletes for that matter) are not just doing more (quantity) of the same thing that other hobbyist athletes are doing – rather, they are doing things diiferently; ie: better, more deliberately, more accurately, always refining, etc.Another thing that differentiates world-class athletes, (or again, any other experts for that mater) from the ordinary or mundane, is the fact that they usually spend time in the company of like-minded people; others who take a deliberate and refined approach, who want to excel and improve the quality of their practice. Better practice – quality practice means more focused practice, more deliberate practice, more well-designed practice and practicing with the right kind people. We don’t want to just ‘spin our wheels’ – we should think it through and be deliberate, and focused in how we spend our time – big results await. JBW

Rollercoaster

2011-09-27T16:02:00.001+10:00

Life has it's ups and downs - few of us, if any, feel great all of the time. We have good times, then bad, invariably followed by good again. This happens in most areas of our lives - in the sharemarket, with our health, in our relationships, and on the mat. Sometimes, we are down, other times we are up - the thing to keep in mind, especially when times are not as good as we would have them be, is that EVERYTHING has a 'use by' date - even bad times. When we are ill - it's hard to remember what it feels like to be in full health - but most of the time, we come back to full health - eventually. When the stock-market crashes - everyone panics and sells - forgetting that, the on tens of thousands of other occasions, it came good again. When we are having a hard time in our personal life - it can seem like we are getting nowhere and are cursed by bad luck (as if such a thing had a life of it's own and was out to get us) - and we can find it hard to imagine that good times are waiting, often just around the corner. On the mat, (and in martial arts training in general) there are times when we all feel we are not making improvements - and at times like these it is important to push on, because invariably, improvements are right around the corner. There is NO SUCH THING as STEADY UPWARD IMPROVEMENT - at least not in my experience - training and life are both a bit of a roller-coaster ride. And, in actual fact, we need those downturns, so we can appreciate what it's like to head upward a moment later. Take the temporary downturn with upturn, the loss with the gain, the rainy days with sunny ones - it's all temporary - nothing is forever: JBW

Partners ...

2011-09-22T21:45:00.000+10:00

Much of life is about relationships. Great ones make our life a joy - bad ones make out life a misery. And it's not all tat different on the mat. Great partners are those kinds of people that will work with us to help us solve problems - and we are great partners when we respond in kind. Problem solving is more often than not, a collaboration. two minds working on a problem are far more likely to come up with a workable solution than is a solitary effort. A great training partner has us leaving the mat with a smile on our face and looking forward to geting back there as soon as possible - a bad training partner has exactly the opposite effect. Before we start looking around for that perfect training partner - we should perhaps stop for a moment and ask ourselves this ... what kind of training partner are we ourselves? be the first on the mat to be a great training paertner - the idea will catch on - and soon the culture on the mat will improve for the better. I have seen this effect take place on even the worst of mats. it always starts with ourselves! JBW

Skill up ...

2011-09-19T13:05:00.001+10:00

This is the one thing that none of us, except perhaps those living in poverty, should baulk at spending money on – skill acquisition.Our skills - to a large degree, define who we are. Over the millennia, one’s skill-set within the tribe has to a large extent, determined our status – our importance to the tribe as a whole; no skills, would often mean early death; sought-after skills, would guarantee security, basic necessities of survival and the esteem of peers.I like to skill-up; on many things. I find learning to be a very enjoyable experience; and I am very willing to pay good money for any investment in my self. There are so many things to spend money on nowadays; so many commodities, things, stuff … but to spend money on ourselves; to invest in ourselves – this is perhaps the very best way to spend money of all.JBW

Two Creatures ...

2011-09-15T15:15:00.000+10:00

Rigan was talking to a few of us this morning - about how we are composed of 'two creatures' - the mind - and the body. The mind - may fully remember a technique; it may understand how it works; the underlying mechanics and leverage of it, etc - but that doesn't mean much when we lack the physical experience of the technique. That's where the other 'creature' comes into play - the body (muscle memory). This creature needs to feel the success of the technique; because if it has a bad or negative experience - say by trying the new technique against a larger, stronger or more experienced grappler - then it's natural tendency is to want to discard it as an ineffective survival strategy. Rigan says we need to 'trick' the physical creature into accepting the new technique as being effective - and the best way to do this is to try it with beginners - ideally, lighter and smaller novice students, until we get the 'taste of success'. The mental creature is the easy one to convince; it is the physical creature that we need to trick - we do this by repetition, drilling and easy and progressive trials against opponents who present little or no difficulty.JBW

In the Arena

2011-09-13T21:00:00.002+10:00

One of my favourite speeches - by Theodore Roosevelt"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."-Theodore Roosevelt

The Gathering ...

2011-09-12T17:25:00.000+10:00

What a weekend. We had an absolute blast, with competitors coming from Australia-wide and of course, New Zealand. The competition ran perfectly smoothly and we were treated to some excellent matches. Rigan MAchado commented how he thought it was getting better and better each year.The next morning, we were treated to a couple of seminars - where our advanced group learned a stack of new and novel set-ups and entries for the Darce Choke - followed by some Deep Half Guard work. Then Rigan taught a white-belt seminar, where he went through a progressive series of drills to develop armbar and triangle combinations. The feedback I have already received has been overwhelmingly positive - I am getting requests from people asking if they can reserve their spots for next years session. unfortunately, we cannot do that - next years session will be held on a first come, first served basis. First 60 people turning up for each seminar will get a spot. Rigan will be here for the remainder of the week, before heading to Perth to visit four of our academies over there. Have fun everyone. For results of the competition - see the news page on our website.

COUNTDOWN ...

2011-09-08T13:23:00.002+10:00

I just picked up Rigan Machado from the airport - and we are now in final preparations for this weekend. It's a hectic 72 hour hours ahead of us - beginning with a big day tomorrow (we'll slip a H.I.I.T training session in there in the morning) with comp draws and set-up. Then the big day itself on Saturday - with the kids competition kicking off at 9am - followed by adults at 11am.Entries close midnight tonight - and draws will be done tomorrow - so if you want to be a part of it, get online right away and enter. Our bonus - Competitors Edition Omoplata/Kimura DVD is ready for each and every competitor! REGISTER ONLINE NOW!On Sunday, Rigan will be teaching his annual seminar at Dominance Mixed Martial Arts Academy at 555 Victoria St - in Richmond. Coloured belts at 10:am - followed by white belts at 12 noon. Don't miss out, on this opportunity to train with one of the best competitors to ever come out of Brazil - and more importantly, in my opinion - one of the most sincere and nicest coaches you could ever hope to meet. I have often talked about opportunity - and what it means to notice and act upon the opportunities that cross our paths during the course of our lives - well THIS IS ONE OF THEM. This is OPPORTUNITY KICKING YOUR DOOR IN AND WALKING UP TO YOU, AND SHAKING YOU HARD! Take full advantage.Have a great weekend everyone - we do this for the benefit of our extended BJJ family. Make sure you chat to some people you don't know - mingle - network - compete - learn and enjoy! We will dedicate this event to the Loving memory of our fallen brother - TROY FLUGGE.See you there: JBWREGISTER NOW!

I WANT MY OLD SKILLS BACK - or some superior approximation thereof.

2011-09-03T13:30:00.000+10:00

Of late, I seem to be bumping into more and more martial artists from the past - most of whom are now, for one reason or another, shadows of their former selves. For many, life has simply gotten in their way - many are overweight, out of shape and have slid into a side-line teaching role - or have let their martial arts practice completely go. Now - I am not judging - because maybe they have 'made up for it' in other aspects of their lives; but the actuality is this - it doesn't take all that much time and effort to improve our fitness or our skill-sets ... even one training session a week is infinitely better than none. But seriously, who hasn't got three hours a week to spare? The right blend of martial arts training and supplementary strength and conditioning work can produce amazing results. Life is simply too short to accept mediocrity - particularly, when it costs us so little to 'rise above'. Most people pay insurance premiums of one sort or another - and get very little, if anything, back for it. Well how about paying a three hour a week insurance premium, which we will call 'training' - and reaping the benefits from it, every day of our existence.JBW

Pressure makes Diamonds

2011-08-30T21:31:00.002+10:00

Pressure - a lot of us don't like it. But 'pressure' in it's various forms, forces us to grow, change, adapt.
The pressure that a H.I.I.T (High Intensity interval Training) workout places on our metabolism, forces us toward a better state of fitness - the pressure of competition forces us to improve our BJJ game - the pressure of needing to support our family forces us toward better financial fitness - the pressure of needing to remember something (for a test or exam) forces our memories to improve - in short, pressure forces adaptation. What we need to do is, if possible, be more selective about what kinds of pressure we subject ourselves to. But when utilised to effect - pressure can build diamonds.
JBW

Accepting Trial & Error: Means the acceptance of error

2011-08-29T13:54:00.003+10:00

Strict adherence to what we know is a sure-fire way to live out our own personal groundhog day. In opening ourselves up to the possibility of failure, we carve out a path to success. In staying with the familiar, we also tend to develop for ourselves the habit of ignorance.

There is the way we would all like the world to be and then there is the way that the world actually is. Being in denial about how things work in the world is a sure-fire route to mediocrity and frustration. It is always worth investing some small portion of our energy in learning how leverage works in the realms of finance and business. Denial of a basic understanding of these dark arts usually comes down to either ignorance or laziness. Both are curable.

My good friend Dave Meyer has great label for the ignorant position – he calls it the crocodile state … wait for it … yes; because crocodiles are found living in de Nile. Awesome! Classic Dave Meyer. Love him.

Eyes on the prize!

2011-08-22T19:24:00.004+10:00

To quote a favorite maxim of my Uncle … ‘When in doubt …. Attack!’
Don’t read too much into this – I am just mentioning it to attract your attention. It is though, somewhat relevant to what I want to talk about today; and that is the original idea behind the development of BJJ – and that is – to incapacitate the opponent.
Now, there’s no doubt that organized competition has impacted hugely on how BJJ has evolved over time; especially so during the past three decades. But, as with all things, for every ‘pro’ there is a corresponding ‘con’. The downside of competition (although in my view the positives well and truly outweigh the negatives) is that people can begin to rely more and more heavily on strategy to win matches, and possibly lose sight of the original concept – which is, to repeat myself, to incapacitate an opponent.
I was fortunate indeed, that I received all of my foundational training and most of my subsequent training from the Machado brothers; most of whom placed the focus on winning by submission, as opposed to a ‘points victory’ – or more flimsy still, a victory by advantage.
The idea – at the end of the day – is to control our opponent and then ‘submit’ him/her. Let’s not lose sight of the prize!
It is, it seems, human nature to lose sight of the prize. We work to make money, to improve our lifestyles and better enjoy the time we have on this planet - but how many people become absorbed and owned by their work - and make the accumulation of wealth their reason for living?
There's on old story that goes something like this:
' There was a man who used to love to go fishing with his son. One day a wealthy entreprenuer bumped into him and began to advise him as to how he could use his talent for fishing to make a lot of money. He explained that he could become a professional fisherman - and after a year or two he would have enough money to buy several more boats and then would be able to employ others to help him catch even more fish. A few more years of hard work, he explained, and he would have earned enough to buy a fleet of fishing boats; he could then control the whole fish export market of his region. A little more work and he could buy the markets and he would become the wealthiest man around.
But the fisherman then asked him 'So what ... what would that give me? What could I do then?'
The man replied 'Well, then you would have the time to do whatever you liked. You could go fishing with your son ... whenever you wanted!'
The fisherman shook his head and simply replied 'But that's what I am doing right now! No thanks!'
And walked off down the beach with his son.

A nice parable about how easy it is to lose sight of the prize.
Best wishes all
JBW

Choices

2011-08-18T21:04:00.003+10:00

It is intuitive to think that choice is good – and that more choice is even better. But in some circumstances, this is not necessarily the case – both on the mat, and off the mat in the wider landscape of our lives.
Forty-four flavors of ice-cream; better or worse? Sometimes, having more choice just makes it much more difficult for us to make an actual decision. Think about it – you walk into a store looking to buy a new plasma TV – and you are bombarded with choices, different brands, different prices, different colors, different features – most of which, we know very little about. Does more choice, a greater amount of options, make our ‘choosing’ any easier … I think that it often just makes it far more difficult.
On the mat, or during any other ‘action-infused’ environment or circumstance, more choice just slows us down; this has been referred to as ‘MENTAL LOG JAM.
SO, when we are confronted with lots of options – and in today’s world, we have more available than ever before – how do we ‘prioritize’? We need to prioritize, so that when ACTION is required, we do something, we pull the trigger.
Well, on the mat for example, when we have say, half a dozen ways to pass the ½ guard, we should (if circumstances permit) choose the option that sets us ON THE PATH to our preferred side control attack. When we have options, and we have the wherewithal to choose, we should choose the option that sets us ON THE PATH to achieving a goal we have set for ourselves. We should choose the option that allows us to spend more time with the people we care about; we should choose the option that puts us one step closer to being where we want to be, or doing what we want to do.
When we choose – when we make decisions, we set ourselves ON A PATH – but where is that path going? And who else is on that path beside us? Every path we choose, sets off a series of consequences – which in turn, impacts on the kinds of choices that will be available to us as our futures continue to unfold. Choice begets choice – so cultivate the habit of choosing in a way that puts us on the path we would prefer … sounds simple, but I see many people making extraordinarily bad choices … when even the smallest choice sets us on the path leading to our future …
JBW

All or nothing?

2011-08-16T20:48:00.002+10:00

Many athletes – indeed, many people – seem to posses an ‘all or nothing’ attitude. I know that I was very much like this at one time (not so long ago). Some examples of this would be:
- If I can’t climb to the top of the mountain, I won’t go near it at all
- I’ve fallen off my diet this weekend, so I won’t bother with it come Monday
- Something has disrupted my workout routine, so I won’t bother to start over again next week.
I think that this type of thinking, really restricts us and holds us back. Nowadays, if I fall away from an eating, training, or any other regime that I have set for myself (for whatever reason) – then as soon as circumstances allow, I get right back on track. It’s not our ability to stay on track that counts for much – it’s our ability to GET BACK ON TRACK – that really sets us on the path to success. Life will throw stuff in our way – we cannot predict everything – the better we are at getting back on track, when this does happen, the more joy, success and fulfillment we will have in our lives.
JBW

On Mission

2011-08-11T11:41:00.002+10:00

The road from white belt to black belt - particularly in the art of BJJ - can be a frustrating and sometimes confusing one. There are just so many variables, that this in itself can lead to confusion. At times like that, when we become confused or frustrated, it is often a good strategy to pick one idea/position.technique - make it your 'mission' and then every time you hit the mat, focus the larger part of your attention on making it happen (or perhaps making a part of it happen). That's another thing that is often misunderstood - we don't need to make the whole 'technique' happen, we might just start with the first part of it - perhaps a 'grip' or something; we just need to have a clear goal in mind and start taking steps toward achieving it. Rock-climbers, attack difficult climbs like this - they abseil down from the top of the climb and work away at te difficult part of the climb - (siege tactics) - until the master it. Only then do they go to the bottom of the climb, and do the whole thing. So - feeling frustrated? - then pick something, a sweep, a position, a submission - or maybe even just a grip - and make it your mission.
BTW: same thing goes for everything else outside of the mat - feeling frustrated with your fitness, health, finances - choose one thing to improve, and make it your mission.
Best wishes
JBW

Specialise in everything

2011-08-08T18:34:00.004+10:00

Stock market crashes - tsunami's - earthquakes events - floods - and on it goes!
How can we prepare for unexpected events like the and the many others we cannot yet imagine? Our ability to adapt to the unexpected is a big part of why we humans have been so successful when other species have not fared so well. We adapt - we survive - we flourish. Unexpected events (the bad kind- as opposed to the good kind) still have their 'positives' - the more we are are exposed to these events, the better we are able to adapt to them - and make the best out of a seemingly difficult situation. At the end of the day, it's often 'perspective' that allows us to smile in the face of seeming misfortune. The stock market crashes - but we are still eating good food, breathing good air and still have our family and friends. We get tapped out by a lesser rank, but we still have our health and we are still driving our car and not walking twenty kilometres a day to school like the many less-fortunate people in other parts of the world. Our car gets a flat tyre - but seriously, is it that big a deal? A person who loses his shoe only has to spend five minutes with a man with no legs and things don't look so bas after all. We adapt - and our ability to do so, to a large extent, defines us as a species. We are the ultimate adapters ... we adapt because the world and our environment requires that we do so. Our ancestors, every one of them dating back as far as we can imagine, were gifted adapters ... adjusting to the unexpected, many of them, on a daily basis. Only the over-specialised find it difficult to adapt. The 'deep generalist' specialises in everything - and flourishes in an environment that throws up the unexpected at every turn.
JBW

Risk takers

2011-08-04T15:01:00.004+10:00

Innovation is naturally driven by necessity and circumstance, and our capacity for creativity seems boundless; but it is when we are cut loose from the confines of familiarity that we can truly tap into our innovative potential. Becoming more innovative is more about familiarising ourselves with risk, and less about staying with the tried and true. Living, working and training in an environment that allows for, or even encourages, risk-taking, provides us with a sure-fire path to betterment. The more we are 'punished' for taking risks, the less inclined we will be to do so, and the more opportunities for growth we deny ourselves. Most of us are risk-averse; naturally so; for this trait has been passed down through the DNA of our ancestors - if they were not risk-averse, we probably wouldn't be here today. But the world we live in has a very different set of risk factors than the one occupied by our ancestors - we can go to the shop and try a new food, without much risk of dying from it .. but how many of us choose to do this? An how many, find great comfort in staying with the tried and true? Someone had to ride that first horse; someone had to eat that first olive; someone had to build that first bicycle. On the mat, when we try out new ideas, we are taking risks - but think on it - what price do we pay for messing up? Easy .. tap out; start over and try again? Risk = Zero!
JBW

Talent is over-rated.

2011-08-01T15:14:00.005+10:00

Talent is over-rated! As is 'potential'. What counts is action - and plenty of it! I have talked about this before - the 10,000 hour rule. it had become an accepted standard, that if you wish to achieve real expertise in any given subject - do 10,000 hours of focussed practice. Another way to interpret this is to practice for 20 hours a week, for a decade. That's the bad news! The good news is that genetic factors don't seem to come into it at all - so called 'prodigies' (mozart, tiger woods, etc) have just done the work - when you dig into their backgrounds, they all have one thing in common, they had notched up their 10,000 hours of practise, well before their peers had. In other words - and I like this - ANYONE CAN DO IT - just do the work!
One would think that we can often shortcut the road to expertise by going and asking an expert how he does what he does - and then just 'skipping' straight to that - but the problem with this approach is that the expert usually has a very limited idea of how he or she does what they do; the reason for this is due largely to so-called 'expert amnesia'. Expert amnesia refers to the lack of conscious understanding that most experts suffer from - due to the fact that the evolution of their performance took place over 10,000 hours or so of practise and the hundreds of minute (barely noticeable) improvements they made during that time sort of 'crept in' under the radar - resulting in an invisible/difficult to define set of small behaviours/skill-sets that account for much of their expert performance. When you ask them what they are doing - they usually describe their performance by saying things like 'I have a kind of gift' - 'I was always able to do this' - 'It's like a sixth sense', etc. often they don't mention their 10,000 hours of practise! I remember learning my first armbar from mount - and then immediately being asked to perform 1000 reps. Had trouble walking the next day - but I got a hold of that armbar concept pretty quickly. Within the first month of training, I had knocked up my 10,000 armbars. Secrets out! Go for it!
JBW

Choose wisely ...

2011-07-28T15:08:00.002+10:00

I have heard somewhere that each of us is an amalgam of the five people we spend most of our time with; and that is why it is so important to choose carefully who we surround ourselves with. I think there is a lot of truth to this idea – and as we go through life, and the group of people who most influence us continues to change and evolve – so do we change and evolve.
I think to some degree, the same can be said of our BJJ game. Our personal games are to a large extent the product of having regularly wrestled with a small group of influential training partners. My personal game for example, is largely influenced (even now) by Rigan and jean Jacques Machado, David Meyer, and several key players on my own mat. Other influences come in now and then, for certain, but ultimately, our games are pressure-tested and consolidated by who we regularly roll with.
I have friends who have amazing marriages, friends who are masters of investment, friends who are into living their lives to the max … each in their own way helps to shape and evolve the way I live my own life.
The moral of this blog: choose carefully who you look up to, spend time with, learn from … because the dynamic works the other way as well. As the old saying goes ‘you can’t fly like an eagle if your hanging with turkeys’.
JBW

Homeward Bound

2011-07-25T15:00:00.003+10:00

Finally finished my work in Las vegas (for the 2nd time in a week), flew back to Los Angeles, met up with Rigan Machado and headed out to lunch. After lunch we walked and chatted for a bit, then went back to his place, slapped a few mats down on his loungeroom floor and worked on some BJJ technique for the latter part of the afternoon. The he, Dave Meyer and I headed out again for a bite of dinner before I was dropped at the airport for my late flight home. Boarding shortly.
Here are a couple of pics - The first of me surfing the invisible wave with Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce champion and latest UFC sign-up)
Another of Rigan and I on his lounge-room floor.
And finally, a nice one taken just before I left Vegas after breakfast with a nice group of friends (LtoR: Fariborz Azhahk, Benny Urquidez, martial arts legend: Jhoon Rhee, myself and David Meyer).
I have had a great trip - but must admit will be glad to get back home to my family and my students in Geelong. Looking forward to returning to my usual routine this week. More soon - travelblog complete.
JBW

Last few days

2011-07-21T14:46:00.002+10:00

Here in San Francisco now, for the last night. Heading back to vegas tomorrow for the MAIA show, then home on Sunday night after I spend the day in Los Angeles with Rigan Machado. I have had a busy time of it, after Seattle and Vancouver, I came back to SF with Dave Meyer. Took Dave through a tabata workout yesterday, then went to Gilbert Melendez's gym where we also met up with Denny (Eddie Bravo's first black belt) and a couple of other fighters. I took a two hour class, and led them all through some entries, angle drills, etc. Very well received - Gil owes me a Churro.
Today we caught up again at Fairtex gym, where Gil's main training partner Jake Shields also joined in on some ground transitions and finishes we were working on. Gil owes me a 2nd churro. Love those things - fond memories of eating them when my wife Melissa and I visited Mexico twenty years back.
After Fairtex, I accompanied Dave on a home-buying excursion in the beautiful Marin county part of San Francisco - we may be close to having him in the market. Nice. An early start tomorrow, back to Vegas, then home on Sunday. Miss my family - but it's been a blast. JBW

The trip so far ..

2011-07-18T02:02:00.003+10:00

What a great day - waking up to a beautiful Canadian morning.
My trip thus-far, although hectic, has been great. After spending a day in Los Angeles, I headed to vegas, met up with my friend Dave Meyer and taught at Chuck Norris's annual UFAF convention. On the thursday, I spent time with top thirty or forty instructors, lecturing on coaching models. The reception was very positive - so it looks like a repeat performance will be called for next year. On friday morning, I taught the main group of Black Belts, (see pic) before saying my goodbyes and heading north to Seattle. On Friday night I taught at Andy Wilson's MKG gym - a fun MMA and reality-based self defence class which was hugely attended. Again we all had a blast - and the sign-ups for next year have already started!! On saturday morning I taught at Black Belt student Brian Johnson's school to a packled mat. Afterward, we had a BBQ and social gathering for all of his students, a great day! Then we drove north to Canada with good friend Perry Bateson - had a bite to eat and hit the sack. This morning I am heading to PErry's gym for a bit more fun with good friends before heading back to Seattle this afternoon and then on to San Fransisco this evening. Time to get moving.
best wishes to all,
JBW

Getting beat up and not knowing it ..

2011-07-14T11:47:00.000+10:00

I took up martial arts when I was a youngster, as a way of trying to quell the insistent voice of fear that murmured inside me … after having been beaten up a couple times, as a young kind, I began my quest for super-powers. Fear can be a powerful motivator – the more scared I became, I more I would over-compensate. I was pulled off the unconscious body of the biggest bully in school on more than one occasion. Yikes!
There is though, a much more insidious threat that I didn’t perceive until much later in my life. And my response to that new threat – I beat the crap out of it!
When we are beaten on the mat (or on the street) we at least know it … the much worse beating to take is the one we don’t even perceive; the soft beating; the beating we take day after day without even realizing it.
People are beaten down by the way they live their lives; by advertising, by the foods they consume, by the conversations they have, by the habits they acquire, by the work they do … and all the time, they think ‘that’s just the way it is’.
I have always rebelled – and have been punished for it. But I won’t be beaten down! Never.
JBW

Surfing the Bell Curve

2011-07-08T14:36:00.000+10:00

Everyone falls on the Bell Curve – there are really, really good people, and of course, at the opposite end of the curve there are the counterparts – really, really bad people. There are the extraordinarily wealthy and the extraordinarily poor, the extraordinarily fit and the extraordinarily unfit – and so on. There is always that certain person in any martial arts class who is such a positive force for the school, always positive, always encouraging of others, always raving about the benefits of the school to their friends, etc – and then of course, there is their exact opposite, the person who is gloomy, who finds fault with everyone, etc … that’s the person you want to get rid of – and fast – life’s simply too short!
The bell curve is an interesting concept – and we all surf it whether we want to or not. What I mean by this is that we may sit nicely to the right of the bell curve in some areas of our lives, right smack in the middle of it in other areas; and way to the left in other aspects still. A genius at making money might be terrible at his personal relationships; a great family man might be lacking in fitness; a seriously fit athlete might be no good at making good life choices, etc.
I like to think that we all have the capability to surf that Bell Curve in the direction we like, I like to think we are all capable of moving to the right – from very mediocrity to acceptable – from acceptable to very good – from very good to excellent. Moving to the right of the Bell Curve makes us happy; we feel good about ourselves, especially when we notice that we have made the move. Noticing is very important – not noticing that we have made improvements is a sure-fire way to let our behavior and habits slide back to the left side of the Bell Curve. When we make a decision to shift one of our positions on the Bell Curve, we have already made progress. Nothing is fixed! Life is short … get surfing.
JBW

Switching On

2011-07-06T15:07:00.002+10:00

Switching on – is the opposite to sleeping – but those are just the extremes on the bell-curve – there is a lot of grey area in between. Some of the in-between states are what we experience when we are daydreaming, awake but non-attentive, bored, etc.
Being switched on is about being in a state of high arousal; being acutely aware ; having our attention turned up to full volume. We can be switched on and highly focused, with our attention tuned almost exclusively to one thing that we are concentrating on – or we can be switched on and very broadly focused, taking in as much information from our environment as is possible.
Switching on while we are training has obvious benefits – in fact, I think that is one of the reasons many of us are attracted to ‘action-based sports’ – we need to switch on so that we aren’t injured or killed – and we like the feeling – the feeling of being fully switched on. You don’t ski down the steep side of a mountain in a state of boredom – you are fully switched on – fully invested in the moment – fully alive. The same goes for fighting – fully switched on – fully alive and completely in the moment.
If we experience being switched on in one facet of our lives, we can try replicating that ‘state’ of being while we are experiencing other facets of our lives. I have taken the feeling of being switched on – on the mat – off the mat and into other areas of my life. This is a skill I am glad I have developed – to whatever small degree that I have.
JBW

WHY DO FIT PEOPLE NEED TO TRAIN SO HARD?

2011-07-03T21:48:00.000+10:00

That’s how they became fit people. Why do millionaires need to be so frugal – that’s how they became millionaires. Why do good fighters need to work defence? That’s how they became good fighters.
It’s all about a mixture of the right ingredients.
Physical fitness is about not only doing sufficient exercise, but it’s about eating the right foods and getting enough rest so the body can do the repair work. My preference is a high intensity-style of workout, coupled with my martial arts training – eating good quality smallish meals, usually four times a day and resting in between.
Financial fitness is about setting up more than one stream of income and then making sure to spend way less than what I make. It’s not so much about the amount of money we make, but how much we tend to accumulate, that ultimately determines whether we are financially healthy or not.
Fighting fitness is about training in the variety of skill sets that best prepare us to be comfortable across a range of scenarios. This includes pre-fight strategies, kickboxing skills, takedown skills and ground skills – then there are those skills that deal with edged weapon attacks, multiple assailant scenarios and the like. There is no room for boredom on this landscape.
So why are millionaires so frugal - because that’s how they became millionaires. Why do great martial artists need to train so much … etc? Kind of obvious isn’t it?
JBW

BJJ/CHESS

2011-06-29T20:45:00.003+10:00

The number of opening moves in a game of chess is 20. Of course, the number of ways in which your opponent can respond to your first move is the same number – 20; but after that, things get tricky. In fact, the number of different possible games of chess (the way in which it could unfold from beginning to end) is greater than the number of protons in the universe. Seriously. That is a large number!
It is easy to see the game of chess as a metaphor for life – the different pieces on the board can be thought of as representations of the different elements and forces at work in our lives – different situations require that we make different choices – favorable outcomes depend on good choices – sometimes we need to sacrifice something to gain something, etc.
BJJ has been likened to Chess – most often because it is similarly complex and you only need a little experience to be able to trounce someone who has no experience. BJJ though, is also like chess in that the goal is to restrict your opponent’s movements whilst giving ourselves the most options for movement (attack). All this is very obvious – but here is something that some of you may not have thought of – when you play chess (for those who don’t know the game) the object is to checkmate (kill the opponents king) – but in the actual playing of chess, the game comes to a conclusion the move before we actually take/kill the opponents king. In other words, we don’t need to grab their king and remove it from the board to have won the game – and in BJJ, we shouldn’t need to apply a submission to the point of pain before the opponent concedes defeat and we take the tap. If we think like this – and roll like this – we will have far less injuries on the mat.
JBW

In and Out of the box …

2011-06-27T09:45:00.001+10:00

Thinking outside of the box is a concept my father fed me from a very young age. And I must have listened – as I have lived my life very much outside of the box for most of the 54 laps I have taken around our sun. I never really planned to live life out of the mainstream (at least not just for the sake of it) – it’s just that I have never been able to easily tolerate the path that others seems to walk so effortlessly; when I think of it – even when bushwalking – I abhor trails. I find joy in exploration, even though this comes at a price. No – living outside of the box is easy; it’s getting back into the box when life demands that we do – that’s the challenging part.
Of course, it’s easy to remain outside of the box, but this almost always comes at a price. I have known geniuses who have paid this price – people who are kind of proud of being highly functional at one thing, to the exclusion of everything else; for me though, real genius is about being able to ‘live well’ – being able to think about things in novel ways, come up with new and innovative shifts in thinking but then also being able to relate well to others, have a great marriage, arrange financial independence and enjoy life. Miyamoto Mushashi said it well ‘to know one thing is to know ten thousand things’.
Getting out of the box is the easy part – being able to get out and back in again at will – now that’s the real trick.
JBW

10,000 hours practise

2011-06-26T15:20:00.003+10:00

I am very often asked where I learned to teach/coach? University? What books did I read? Etc, etc. I don't know if people quite believe me when I give them my simple answer - but it is in fact, the plain and simple truth - I have taught around 25,000 classes - and I imagine that most people, if they had taught 10,000 classes or more, would have worked out a lot of things about teaching.
there are several things that most (so-called) experts have in common, and one of those things is that have done at least 10,000 hours of focussed practise in their chosen area of expertise. Whether it be 10,000 hours working on fixing cars, 10,000 hours fishing for trout, 10,000 hours studying the stock-market or 10,000 hours teaching the martial arts - this is a very simple key to success and basic expertise. Couple that amount of practise with passion (you probably won't get to the 10,000 hour mark without passion) and desire, and you have yourself a simple but very WINNING formula ... so start your stop-watch and get to it. Time goes by whether we want it to or not - the rest is just about how you spend it. JBW

Our Strength is our Weakness

2011-06-23T03:36:00.002+10:00

Human beings can tolerate just about anything … extreme heat, extreme cold, hunger, thirst, poverty … etc. In many ways, this is why we have survived, even thrived as a species. But this special adaptive strength that we have is also our weakness. Our ability to ‘put up with something’ is also a major obstacle to growth and development.
‘Oh – I can put up with being overweight’ – ‘I can put up with this job I don’t like’ – ‘I can put up with the abuser that others heap on me’ – true, we may be able to put up (cope) with these things – but our ability to cope comes with a huge price-tag; it can prevent us from taking action and moving away from these ‘oh so easily accepted’ paradigms.
If we couldn’t put up with these things, we would change – we would all move, grow, shift, develop. Our strength is also our weakness.
On the mat – perhaps we just resign ourselves to being squashed under side control – we can cope with it – we learn to adapt and more easily accept the situation – eventually the uncomfortable becomes comfortable. On the other hand – we can be a little less accepting of it and put more effort into developing our Guard or our escapes … our strength is our weakness – humans can adapt to almost anything; but should we?
JBW

Islands in an endless ocean

2011-06-20T15:00:00.002+10:00

When people begin their journey in the BJJ world, they often feel a sense of frustration and helplessness – it’s my guess that most of the ones who keep going are the ones who recognize that others are feeling the same way – and besides, they look around and see proof that others have acquired real and demonstrable skills and therefore it might only be a matter of time before they too will acquire these skills.
I have had a lot of students over the years, ask for advice and direction on how they should proceed in the formative years of their training … and although everyone develops slightly differently (there is no specific cookie-cutter approach), there is a way to look at it that makes sense and seems to help a little …
How do we start – the answer is easy: one position at a time. We choose a position that we think is attainable (it may be the guard, sider control, mount … whatever) and we focus on getting there from as many situations as we can. We focus first on getting there – and then we focus on being able to maintain that position. Once we can get there, and keep it – we begin to build attack skills from there.
A simple analogy I sometimes use is to liken the start to being dropped onto a world that is entirely covered by water – you start treading water, learning to float until off on the horizon and island emerges. You make your way to the island – and once there, you are much, much better off – after a while, the island becomes familiar ground.
Eventually, other islands appear, some bigger than others, each offering unique opportunities. as we become more familiar with other islands, and we begin to develop the skill to get from one to the next, the world becomes a much more inhabitable place. Eventually, much of the water becomes replaced by familiar ground – although we may find ourselves in deep water from time to time, we are never that far from dry land.
BJJ is just like this – it takes time, it takes effort but eventually you mostly find yourself inhabiting familiar ground. So for those starting out on their BJJ journey – although you might be treading water right now – it won’t be long before you spot your very first island on the horizon. Everyone starts this way - you are not alone …
JBW

Interesting

2011-06-16T08:37:00.002+10:00

I like interesting things. Who doesn’t? But what is it that makes something interesting? With full understanding comes familiarity, which is often followed by disinterest. Once we think we fully understand something, it loses something of it’s fascination. I love to be fascinated … in fact, I am more fascinated in more things now, than I was when I was 20 years old. The more closely we look at things, the more we see – the more we see – the more we realize that there’s even more we do not understand – and so our fascination grows; at least that’s how it is with me. Some things are immediately and obviously interesting – for me, puzzles are interesting – and the martial arts is like one huge constantly-evolving puzzle – way interesting. People are very interesting. Less interesting to me are things like, wine – I couldn’t taste the difference between cheap wine and the best wine – I have absolutely no palate for it (or any alcohol for that matter). I guess that’s what it comes down to – what is palatable for each of us ... and I suspect that an educated wine palate is capable of noticing subtle differences that other less-educated palates would not notice. I have a palate for martial arts and for living – but not for wine. Sometimes the most interesting things are those things that do not make immediate sense to us – we look at something/someone and something is a little whacky, a little off-center, a little unusual – interesting. All we need to do, to see something interesting, is pop our heads up – take a close look at our immediate world – it is replete with interesting things, phenomenon, people, behaviors, etc. BJJ is an extraordinarily interesting art (to my palate) which has layers of complexity sufficient to hold my attention. Way interesting.
JBW

Balance is a pivot point …

2011-06-13T14:40:00.006+10:00

Something I have heard a lot talk about this past decade is the concept of Balance. The need to have balance in life, just the right amount of work, juxtapositioned against just the right amount of play, just the right amount of food, just the right amount of exercise, etc.

BORING! BORING! BORING!

I prefer to live my life orbiting the point of balance - rather than sitting on it. For me, a bit of hard work makes that time off all the more fulfilling and enjoyable. I could think of nothing worse than going out fly fishing every day, and every day catching a ten pound fish. Routine is good – in fact I am to a large extent, a creature of habit – but a little adventure and ‘out-of-balance’ – extreme – pushing-the-envelope action can be very rewarding also.
I think that BALANCE is a pivot point around which we swing and pendulum. In theory, it is exactly what we are looking for – in practice though, I think that perfect balance lacks MOMENTUM – lacks the high’s and lows, the hot and cold, the feasts and famines that propel us forward in our thinking and in our lives. What makes the ride fun - is what we feel as we whizz past the balance point. A see-saw that didn't give is the high's and low's - would be a pretty lame ride.
JBW

SQUELCH ...

2011-06-11T11:41:00.005+10:00

Here it is: one of my biggest problem solving secrets … and although I have talked about this before, I want to elaborate here and explain the mechanics of this interesting phenomenon …
WHAT HOLDS PEOPLE BACK FROM SOLVING THEIR PROBLEMS? Want to lose weight, want to fix the financial problem, want to repair the relationship, want to escape a tight side-control? Can’t do it … perhaps you are asking the wrong question … when deep-in-the-shit most people ask the wrong question; they ask “CAN I FIX THIS?” – and the answer comes back, a resounding “NO WAY!”
MY ANSWER: Ask the right question – one that will give you a YES answer. And that question is this … “Can I improve my situation by 5%?” Answer: Well, yes .. I CAN do that!
So far so good … now for the tricky stuff …
Once you improve your situation by 5% - you need to RECOGNIZE that you did so; most people fail to do so – and so quickly revert to their sense of helplessness.
Imagine you want to lose 30 lbs: You ask the right question, which is “CAN I LOSE 2LBS? You get yourself a YES answer … of course you can do that! And so you do, in one day! But then you look in the mirror and what do you see? The same thing … the real tragedy here is that we don’t tend to notice the 5% gains – we look in the mirror and don’t notice the 2lbs are gone … so the hopeless mindset comes back and we drop back into our old habits. If we NOTICED the 5% improvement, we would be motivated to pursue another 5% improvement and suddenly the problem would melt away. The big thing here is that we FAIL TO NOTICE.

We fail to notice, for exactly the same reason that we fail to notice that first 5% step into decline that we take in the first place.
If we were only 2lbs overweight, we could easily remedy the problem in a single effort (step) – maybe over the weekend. The problem is that we FAIL TO NOTICE that we have put on 2lbs, (or are $1000 in debt – or that our relationship has formed cracks, or that our opponent is passing our Guard). Next time we pop our heads up to take a look – we are 30 lbs overweight – and it’s only then we ask the question – USUALLY THE WRONG QUESTION: “CAN WE FIX THIS … NOW – IN ONE GO?” Answer: Nope!
Imagine we are bushwalking: on solid, dry ground – then suddenly, SQUELCH! The ground has become soggy – but we fail to notice. Next thing, we are neck deep in the swamp – asking the wrong question. If we noticed the SQUELCH, we could step back onto dry land easily – problem averted! But we fail to notice these 5% declines … just like we fail to notice the 5% improvements.
Noticing the 5% declines – and noticing the 5% improvements – is a huge key to both avoiding drama and fixing drama. 5% is HUGE! Notice it … at both ends.

JBW

WHY I TRAIN: simplicity and complexity

2011-06-09T09:22:00.003+10:00

This is a question I have answered in different ways at different times of my life. The reasons why I have continued to train have evolved and changed over the years – some are no longer valid others are continuing to mean more and more to me …
Once upon a time …. I was very much lacking in self-confidence; and so I turned to the martial arts, seeking super-powers and extra-ordinary athletic ability. As it turned out, these things seemed always just out of reach, and so either stubbornness or desperate hope, kept me at the game. Eventually, I became over-confident – my problem had swung the other way; and by that time, it was the physicality and athletic challenge of martial arts training that kept me there day after day, year after year. Slowly, I think my over-confidence gave way to a more balanced appraisal of my true self and I began to realize that I was in it for the adventure. Far-flung and exotic styles were as Christmas presents under the tree to an over-excited child; I couldn’t get enough of the adventure of it all. Slowly I settled, and organically developed a more steady and professional approach to training – in an effort to learn and develop, I found that I had to acquire skill-sets other than the purely physical. I became addicted to problem-solving, to unraveling the science that lies beneath extra-ordinary physical skill. It’s all been a process – and my own personal development as a human being has been underpinned by my approach to and practice of the martial arts.
Present Day: Now it is a paradoxical mix of the simplicity and complexity of the martial arts that holds my attention. I see parallels to life (and how to live) at every turn; the discovery of principles that cross over into the living of our lives as I believe they should be lived continues to rivet my attention.
The simplicity of the underlying techniques and strategies makes for highly effective martial arts practice and so satisfies my need for functionality; while the complexity of it all, as I peel back the layers of those techniques and strategies, keeps me there doing the work – every day.
I love it. And I love sharing it!
JBW

The lost art of the Jetti .... Vajramushti.

2011-06-06T12:37:00.005+10:00

Every couple of months I receive an e-mail from India, usually from a scholar or a martial artist there who has an interest in the art called Vajramushti. I have written about this ancient art form and about the Jyesthimalla clan who practised it, on several occasions - the original article is available HERE.The Jetti's (as the Jyesthimalla family are now known) were an amazing group of people. They trace their history back nearly one thousand years; and over that time their sole occupation was professional fighting and bodyguard work, They have ben employed throughout the centuries by various kings and sultans in India as 'inner circle' bodyguards; they have also risen to high positions in various military groups and were known as exceptional athletes and teachers/trainers to the Kshatriya, India's warrior caste. The Jetti's were also well renowned for fighting with the Vajramushti, a knuckleduster worn strapped to the right hand; and they practised this art from a young age - it was their art, as far as I can ascertain, they were the only ones to develop and practise it as a family tradition.

I was fortunate in te extreme to have had an opportunity to train with some of the last practising Jyesthimalla's during a training trip to India in the 80's. Instead of a real Vajramushti (pictured here) we wore a cloth woven between the fingers of our right hands and dipped in red ochre - as a 'safer' way to train. The style was a submissionary wrestling style, with strikes being allowed. I recall one of the techniques I was taught, was an 'omoplata' (BJJ practitioners will know what I mean) from the open guard. Another was a fireman's carry after trapping the weapon-wielding arm. I remember feeling 'untalented' and 'goofy' trying to make it all work, even though my partner was only punching me slowly! But it was definitely the most fascinating martial art I had come across to that point.

Unfortunately, I trained with them before taking up BJJ so I was in no position to make technical comparisons - and I had very little ground skill to speak of (wish I had a time machine!!!) But it was amazing training and I dare say, I was probably the last person to train in that style as far as I am aware. Nowadays, a couple of old practitioners are wheeled at once a year to put on (from what I gather) a pre-rehearsed exhibition bout for the royal family of Mysore at the palace during the annual Dessera festival. Again from what I have gleaned from researching, this is a pale representation of the original practice. Who, after all, wants to embrace a form of MMA, where a knuckleduster replaces the glove? It's hard to make a living in this day and age, doing that! This is so sad for me personally; that such an amazing family is in the throes of completely losing the tradition that defined them as a people for nearly one thousand years. Who am I to feel this sadness? And why? I can't answer that - but I am! I had only a small taste of the amazing way these warriors used to live - and 'be' in the world - but it did effect me profoundly - and in many ways, drove me down the path I have walked since. So today, after two days of online research, I am inexplicably saddened. my old friend Ron O'brien, was there with me when I took on the Vajramushti training - but he has recently passed away; perhaps that is the source of my discontent. Time moves on, things fade into oblivion ... sad. Sorry folks!

Anyways ... over my reaearch of the past several days, trying to locate some surviving member of their caste who is interested in the preservation of their art (havn't found anyone as yet) - I came across this old account of the Jyesthimalla fights from James Scurry, who was in the late 1800's, a prisoner of the Sultan, Tipoo ... hope someone out their enjoys it.

“ The Jetti’s would be sent for, who always approached with their masters
at their head, and, after prostration, and making their grand salams, touching
the ground each time, they would be paired, one school against another. They
had on their right hands the wood-guamootie (vajramushti) of four steel talons,
which were fixed to each back joint of their fingers, and had a terrific
appearance when their fists were closed. Their heads were close shaved,
their bodies oiled, and they wore only a pair of short drawers. On being
matched, and the signal given from Tippu, they begin the combat, always by
throwing the flowers, which they wear round their necks, in each other’s faces ;
watching an opportunity for striking with the right hand, on which they wore
this mischievous weapon which never failed lacerating the flesh, and
drawing blood most copiously. Some pairs would close instantly, and no matter
which was under, for the gripe was the whole ; they were in general taught to suit
their holds to their opponent’s body, with every part of which, as far as concerned
them, they were well acquainted. If one got a hold against which his antagonist could
not guard, he would be the conqueror; they would frequently break each other’s legs
and arms."

HIGHLY MOTIVATED …

2011-06-01T21:14:00.002+10:00

Throughout decades of teaching, I have noticed a couple of different types of motivation in effect on the mat … one seems to be more effective than the other; here’s my two cents …
The first kind starts out well but usually has a pretty short shelf-life; and that is the repellant kind of motivation. In other words, we feel motivated to move away from something – being overweight, being scared, being weak, etc. This starts out with a bang but the problem arises when we have successfully removed ourselves to some degree from the thing we are moving away from; for then, the motivational impetus tends to lose momentum. The further we remove ourselves from the picture/idea/feeling we are trying to escape then the weaker the motivational force becomes.
The other style of motivation (that I actually prefer) is when we moving TOWARD a new paradigm rather than away from one. The thing about this style of motivation is that when we begin seeing results (we are in fact getting in better shape, feeling more courageous, etc) the motivational force tends to become stronger; we build momentum and move closer to our goal.
This style of motivation is also a much more positive way to think but it does come with a few problems; the main one being that we don’t tend to recognize and applaud ourselves for those first small incremental gains. When we make small gains but fail to recognize that we have, we tend to mistake this for ‘wasted effort’. Eg: We lose one kilogram (out of 15 that we need to lose) but we fail to see a result in the mirror and so we may give up thinking that our efforts are wasted. This is a great pity, because the big secret to success is to aim for small incremental gains and recognize them when we achieve them. When we improve our situation by 5%, and we recognize that we have done this, we can more easily do it again and again until we begin to see obvious results – at that point in time, momentum takes over and our motivation increases exponentially.
Recognize your incremental achievements – roll on.
JBW

Attention to detail

2011-05-30T12:53:00.002+10:00

Now this is something that lies at the very heart of my own martial arts teaching and practice. It is something I have also tried to instill in all of the instructors I have taught. As human beings we do have a tendency to adopt behaviors and technologies that have proven to be successful without analyzing our thinking about them all that much. In short, if it works, we don’t feel a need to think about it too much – we just use it.
I like to think about what makes things work, what makes a behavior successful, what causes this or that effect? I guess this is a scientific approach – although strangely enough, I didn’t do to well at science whilst in school. But I love doing the science of the martial arts; I want to understand what makes a technique work (or fail); I love detail, just can’t get enough of it in fact.
In my view, paying close attention to the underlying detail of a technique or strategy and then walking others through that same exact process goes right to the heart of what teaching is all about. I really get huge satisfaction from seeing other people realize there is much more to the study and understanding of the martial arts than they may have first thought possible.
There is depth in everything – anyone can do ‘breadth’ – but depth is something else again …
JBW

A.C.T Action ....

2011-05-24T18:35:00.003+10:00

I am sitting at the airport in Canberra, awaiting my flight home. It's been a buig three days - a great BJJ seminar on Sunday, hosted at Travis Faure's school and attending by hist students as well as those of Danny Weir and Ben Langford. I had the absolute pleasure of being able to present Danny with his BJJ Black Belt - big congratulations Danny, you are the driving force of BJJ in Canberra and the ACT owes you a debt of gratitude. Well done indeed my friend.
Monday and Tuesday were big days as I was doing military work from dawn till dusk. I wont go into details, suffice it to say that it was also a bit of a reunion of some old friends - go the perth next weekend for another series of seminars. The beat goes on.
JBW

Pic: The Sunday BJJ group. What a great group!!!

Know when to go ...

2011-05-17T08:33:00.002+10:00

There are many challenges for the student to overcome in trying to make the considerable leap from the learning environment to real-world environment/scenarios. One of the biggest hurdles is that students can easily become over-reliant upon the verbal commands of their teachers – when to move, what to do, when to start, when to stop, etc – whereas in real-life they are on their own.
One example of this can be seen when students are told to hit the pads, or do the technique – on verbal command. On the surface of things, this seems like an orderly and good idea; the student even develops good technique; but then if the situation should ever arise in real-life, where the student needs to use the same technique – how do they know when to go?
Eg: On the firing range the new police officer is clearly told – ONLY FIRE WHEN THE COMMAND TO FIRE IS GIVEN. Sounds good – safety and all that – but what happens in real life? The bad guy aims his gun at the officer, who has even drawn his weapon and is looking down the barrel at the nasty perp – but what needs to happen before the officer pulls the trigger? There is no-one giving him or her the command to FIRE. This can lead to problems.
The fix is simple: in the classroom, we might well start out by giving the students verbal commands as we walk them through the technique or combination – but at some point it is a good idea to wean them off a reliance on those verbal commands and transition to a model where they are responding to a visual cue given to them by their training partner instead. Eg: our partner drops his right shoulder back – we hit the pad; our partner puts his hand up to push at our face – we armbar, etc.
Learn to

Passion - Focus - In the Service of Others

2011-05-12T15:36:00.000+10:00

I know a coffee shop, hidden in an industrial estate, where sometimes the queue runs out the door and into the street. The guy who runs is almost certainly not in it for the money, he isn’t driven by a business plan, he didn’t wake up one day and say ‘hey. I’m going to make a great living out of making coffee’ – her is just totally into it – really, really, into it. The first time I went there I asked for a latte – his response was ‘NO!’ Then he set out to make me a coffee, which I had to drink black, with no sugar – because of the particular beans he was using from Ethiopia that month and how milk didn’t quite go with them or some such thing – I call him the Coffee Nazi (Seinfeld Soup Nazi reference). I admire him greatly – he is an individual driven by passion – he lives for his coffee. And as a result, has a queue of people outside his door. He didn’t have to market to them – they found him!
And so it is with the odd martial artist. When we are driven by passion and a strong sense of purpose, the world beats a trail to our doorstep. For me, it’s all about passionate commitment to solve the puzzle that is martial arts and to help other people find what they need within in it’s landscape. I believe that martial arts teachers should be clear on the idea that they are in the service of other people – if not, then they should forget about teaching. It’s never about showing others how good we are at what we do – it should be all about deepening the experience that our students have when we are on the mat, in the ring or on the floor with them. When we are truly passionate, we want others to share the same experience that we ourselves are having – just like my coffee nazi. Bless his cotton socks. JBW

Do me a favour: Support this site: Fighters Against Child Abuse Australia

Consider Carefully

2011-05-07T10:02:00.002+10:00

Further to my Looking Good and Going Nowhere blog – please indulge me in one of my passions: taking lessons I have learned on the mat and bringing them into the broader aspects of our lives …
I am going to list some of the most common behaviors I see in the martial arts landscape and compare them to their respective success-oriented alternatives – these things, I have found, apply both on and off the mat …
Stay safe – remain the same VS Constant experimentation regardless of outcome
Maximal effort – minimum result VS Minimum effort – maximum result (leverage)
Respect my rank VS Respect my efforts
Need admiration of others VS Uncaring of what others think
Wanting the payoff now VS Willingness to sacrifice now for payoff later
Favoring offense over defense VS Placing equal value on offense and defense
One maximal effort VS non-stop incremental improvements
Gravitate towards convenience VS Un-phased by the inconvenient
Micro-specialization VS In-depth diversification
Focus on goals VS Focus on process

Thoughts ... JBW

Norske time

2011-05-05T06:01:00.002+10:00

Here in beautiful Norway - after two nights of great training at my friend Kenneth Fjeld's school in Drammen. They say it gets cold here, really cold - as in minus 35 degrees - I think this is a ploy to keep visitors away because whenever I ma here it is bright, sunny and not a breath of wind - absolutely beautiful. Last night we did a BJJ seminar and tonight and MMA session - we had a ball, with kenneth translating for me - jokes and all! One of my little Norwegian friends is pictured here (ten year old Stian Haave) with a drawing he did of Professor Will - nice! I have it packed away in my suitcase for tomorrows journey back to heathrow, London, onward to Hong Kong and finally to melbourne on Saturday. It's always sad to leave my Norwegian friends - they are so very friendly - in fact last night one cooked a traditional Norwegian dish for me, as he had promised on my last visit - lamb and cabbage (sounds questionable but it is in fact really delicious) - I am already looking forward to my return next year. To everyone at Kenneth's school - Tusen Takk.
JBW

LOOKING GOOD AND GOING NOWHERE

2011-05-03T20:13:00.002+10:00

I have mentioned this concept several times during this trip to the UK – and it has elicited quite a response from more than a few people. Initially, I was describing some of the things that hold people back from progress on the mat; one of them being a need to not look silly – not fail – which keeps us bound to the predictable and the same ‘ol same ‘ol.
The desire to LOOK GOOD - be cool – be well-liked - is something that most of us can identify with. It begins for most, in the school-yard, where the need for social acceptance is strong. Many, many people, carry this need well into adulthood and fail to realize what a crippling effect it can have on the course of our lives.
If we are okay with looking goofy on the mat, trying new techniques and failing (perhaps even being punished for the effort) – then we cannot help but improve and develop. If we are overly obsessed with LOOKING GOOD, we almost guarantee our stagnation.
But how does this need to LOOK GOOD effect us off the mat? How does it impact on our lives? In many, many, many cases – it has a profound effect.
For instance, I have seen a lot of people held back by their overly consumptive lifestyles – the need to LOOK GOOD (living large) seriously impeding the possibility of them ever achieving real financial freedom. You don’t need to earn a lot of money to become a millionaire for example – but there are many people earning very high incomes that will never achieve even that modest milestone – largely because they need to wear the right suits, sport the best watch, and be see by others to be living the LIFE. Quite a few of my friends who count their net worth in the millions, wear plain clothes (bought off the internet), enjoy inexpensive hobbies, many even have modest incomes - but they do not have a burning desire to LOOK GOOD – they accumulate wealth easily and most do not care much at all what others think of them.
We do need to have standards – sure – we all want to look good to a degree; what I am saying though, is that we shouldn’t let this dominate the way we live our lives or allow it to adversely effect our situation. Overly caring about what others think of you can really impact negatively on our learning, on where we live, on how we behave, on the amount of savings we have – and ultimately, on how happy and fulfilled we are.
JBW

London town

2011-05-03T06:06:00.005+10:00

I finished up in Coventry yesterday, said goodbye to Al Peasland, Mick Tully and new purple Rich Green before spending the last hour of the day with Geoff Thompson and his son Louis.
One of Rich Green's students, Elliot, kindly drove me down to Slough in London this morning, where I held a session (despite the public holiday) for Ken Pankiewicz's students. Ken runs Kickfit - a family oriented TKD school. After our session, we headed back to Ken (and lovely wife Anne Marie's) place for an Aussie-style BBQ. Surreal - but delicious. In the morning I am off to Heathrow where I board my British Airways flight to Norway, where I am teaching for Kenneth Fjeld. I am mildy amazed by the weather here - it's sunny (hence the Aussie barbie) but I suspect that Norway will be a lot colder - all will be revealed tomorrow. It's been quite a week in the UK, with the Royal wedding and all - an amazing phenomenon with over a hundred thousands brits hitting the streets for the celebration.
Anyways, it time for sleep - back to usual style of blogging shortly. Best wishes all
JBW

Top pic: Al Peasland, myself, Mick Tully and Rich Green
other pic: The Slough crew who turned out on a sunny public holiday - kudos!

Leaving Coombe

2011-05-02T04:15:00.004+10:00

My last night in Coombe Abbey - sad.
I had a great day today teaching the Cov group again. I had the real pleasure of being able to present long-time coach Rich Green of Coventry MMA with his BJJ purple belt - nice! Al Peasland and Mick Tully were great hosts - and together with Rich, put togetehr a great seminar! Geoff Thompson came along and sat in for the last hour of todays session - so that was a special bonus. After the session wound up I headed off to give a lesson to Louis Thompson (Geoff's son) before heading back for my last night at the Abbey. Tomorrow, I'm off to London, then onward to Norway the day after. heading back to Australia on Thursday - looking forward to seeing my family. Everyone should keep an eye out for future offerings from Geoff Thompson, he is a prolific author and film-maker - and I hear whispers of great things in the offing. Stay tuned - or should I say - watch out!
Time for food - more to come. JBW

Big Day ...

2011-05-01T04:32:00.002+10:00

After a late night last night teaching at Factory BJJ for the ever-awesome Adam Adshead - I said my goodbyes and thanks to all those who made the effort to be there (some coming all the way from Scotland - big love to Rick Young!).
Mark Collet and I awoke early for the two hour drive dow to Coventry where I held the first of two sessions for a group of 50+ Coventry-ites - we had a blast and I am back for more tomorrow morning.
I just installed myself in the wondrous Coombe Abbey - and my good friend Geoff Thompson was dropped off by his lovely wife Sharon for our usual walk through the woods and early dinner. We always have a great time - and will no doubt catch up again tomorrow. I may awake early and watch the UFC match between Jake Shields and Georges St Pierre - (Rocky vs Drago) - it's at 2am - not a good start to my day! Tomorrow I have a big day back with the Cov lads ( an awesome bunch), another catch up with Geoff T - an hour private lesson fort his son louis - and then an early night and much needed sleep. The day after I am down to London where I will teach for my friend Ken Pankeiwicz of Kickfit Academy - before heading across the sea to Norway to see Kenneth Fjeld and his students. That's it for now - I shall lie back and soak some of the tangible history that pervades this beautiful 13th century Cistercian Abbey (complete with moat!)
Warmest wishes to all: JBW

Travel Blog: upward and onward

2011-04-29T19:36:00.002+10:00

I had a great time down in Cheltenham - visiting my friend Tony Terranova and his students. I spent time with him and his inner circle in the late afternoon - and then conducted a general seminar in the evening. The next morning my friends Mark Collett and Roger Gilbert took me to the original Superdry Store in Cheltenham - ARE THEY TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING - before goodbyes were said and I headed north with Mark, for Macclesfiled. LAst night I held a no-gi session at the VOODOO Gym for Dave kari, who supplied a great Chilli feast afterward - thanks Dave - it's hard to find food i MAcclesfiled at 11pm! Much appreciated!
Today I'm heading to Stockport near MAnchester to work with Adam Adshead at Factory BJJ - looking forward to catching up with the Factory Crew again! Then tomorrow it'll be an early start for the trip to Coventry where Rich Green and Al Peasland are joing forces to organize the two-day training event. I'll be having dinner with my mate Geoff Thompson tomorrow night - so that'll be fun as well. Gotta run - new Superdry clothes to put on - seminars to teach.
JBW

PIC: Tony Terranova's Fighting Fit - inner circle.

Travel Blog: Caged Steel Gym

2011-04-27T20:25:00.004+10:00

We had a wonderful session at Danny Mitchell's Caged Steel in Dewsbury last night. With fifty odd people on the mat, the place was packed - we even had to put a couple in the cage. Thanks to Danny for making it happen - and a thanks also to the crew who drove up from Liverpool - UFC fighters: Paul Sass, Mark Scanlon, Kam Atakuru and the rest - you guys were a coaches dream with your unswerving level of engagement and work ethic to go with it - nice.
The focus of the night was on side control escaping strategies, dovetailing into leg shoots. It was hard to leave - despite my jetlag, the adrenaline-response kicked in and I found myself fully wired up at midnight - and so Mark and Roger decided we should make the two and a half hour drive back to Cheltenham where I am at present. A few hours sleep at my good friend Tony Terranova's house, and I am beginning to turn my thoughts toward this afternoons session for Tony's inner circle. I have a great session planned fore this evening, after which I'll crash another night at Tony's place (in the beautiful Cotswalds) before heading north again with Mark Collett to Macclesfield and Manchester. HAve Gi - will travel,
JBW

TRAVEL-BLOG: Part 1

2011-04-26T00:36:00.002+10:00

20 HOURS IN THE AIR – straight to the mat
I arrived in London on time – after a brief stopover in Hong Kong; bleary eyed but good to go. Headed north to Lincolnshire, a few hours drive from sunny London, just in time to hit the mat for a Sunday evening class. Our first session in Lincolnshire was devoted to evaluating what the students had been practicing since my last visit. After a few tweaks here and there – and some advice on future practices I had a bite to eat with Dan and Rick and headed back to my hotel for some much-needed sack-time.
Late next morning, I kicked off my Lincolnshire seminar, after first spending time on the mat with some of Dan’s higher-level students. We squared away a few rolling ideas before getting into the seminar, which was well attended by a great bunch of enthusiastic students. We worked a very technical session on the butterfly guard – and the three hours just flew by. The feedback was overwhelmingly good – making goodbyes all that much harder.
My good friends Mark Collett and Roger Gilbert are coming up from Cheltenham in the morning – and then we’ll be heading to Doncaster to meet with Danny Mitchell. Danny is a pro MMA fighter and teaches at the Caged Steel Gym in Dewsbury - I'm looking forward to seeing him again. Now it’s time for some food and a nights rest – before the week gets into high gear. JBW

Into the Blue ...

2011-04-23T14:11:00.003+10:00

Well - here begins another mini travel-blog series, as I am heading to the UK and Norway for ten days. I fly to Hong Kong tonight, and after a brief stopover, off toLondon tomorrow. Once there, I'll be teachiong for Dan Wait up in Lincolnshire, after which it's over to Dewsbury in Leeds where I'll be teaching at Caged Steel for Danny Mitchell. Then it's off of MAcclesfild for Dave Kari at Voodoo Gym followed by Adam Adshead at Factory BJJ in Manchester the night after. Then it'll be down to my friend Tony Terranova of Fighting Fit in the beautiful Cotswalds, then aback up to Coventry for Rich Green and Al Peasland for a two-day event. When in Coventry I'll be catching up with mater Geoff Thompson - hopefully, we'll have a chance to watch the JAke Shields and GSP UFC fight whilst dining on tea and scones. After that it'll be down to London to visit Ken Pankeiwicz of Kickfit - before heading to Norway to teach for Kenneth Fjeld. So that's the overview - depending on internet access I'll do my best to keep the odd report coming during my travels. Stay safe all ... more from the road
JBW

Colouring inside the lines

2011-04-21T11:22:00.004+10:00

Colouring inside the lines affirms our sense of order; things are where they should be.
I have never been too good at colouring inside the lines, I remember once being told off by my teacher at school, for colouring everywhere BUT inside the lines. I think the picture looked better as a result - the only white space on the page was the animal surrounded by a pageant of color. Needless to say, I flunked art!
In my defence though - although boundaries are important (it's good to know where the 'line in the sand is' - they do by their very nature suppress our creativity in many ways. Boundaries restrict - obviously. Boundaries usually exist as a safety precaution but with the price we pay for absolute safety is lack of experience in the extraordinary. Discovery requires risk. Colouring outside the lines often results in nothing morte than a big mess - but sometimes .... just sometimes ...
JBW

A typical weekend

2011-04-18T09:39:00.003+10:00

On friday night I flew to Sydney, where long-time student and excellent Black Belt Sean Kirkwood picked me up from the airport for the two hour drive to Newcastle. We had a great seminar in which I covered some MMA work, beginning with a rapid-fire Tabata warm-up, some superman punch drills and the like. The we hit the ground for some technical details on establishing and maintaining the Seatbelt grip. The highlight of the night though was the presentation to Toby Whittle of his BJJ Black Belt. Congratulations Toby - your unswerving dedication to training over the past decade has been outstanding; you are so very deserved of the new rank - you have made Sean (and I) very proud.
The next morning at 7am, Sean and I headed off to Sydney to run the first of three seminars for my friend George Adams. Here I spent the entire time on details of the Turtle position (defending and attacking from there). After saying my goodbyes to Sean (he headed back to Newcastle), George drove me over to Black BElt Simon Farnsworths place at Castle Hill where we worked for two hours on the Two-on-one control from Butterfly guard. We had a ball. (Thanks for the Gi Vince - I'll give it a run this week)
After that it was a quick trip to Fari Salievski's school in lIverpool, where we had a good showing of very keen BJJ'ers on the mat. The session's focus was different again, as we worked on Cross Control grips from Guard, setting up a variety of 'old school' sweeps. The session finished, a few pics were taken and then I sprinted to the airport, to make my flight with only 10 minutes to spare. I got home just after nine pm - in time to spend a few hours of my birthday with my family. 54 laps around the sun - it's true - so I caved, and ate some cake. Nice.
Sunday I enjoyed with my family - although a few friends from Melbourne made the trip to Geelong for a visit; nice. Monday morning now - time to shake off the rest and get to my strength and conditioning workout with Tahi Reihana and a couple of diehard friends. I better get some whey protein into me right now ... let the metabolic resistance training begin ...
JBW

WHAT IS THIS 'IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT' - BULLSHIT?

2011-04-13T13:33:00.004+10:00

Many of us, as professional coaches, or even as athletes ourselves, can at times find ourselves gently sliding into the rut of daily routine and habit. People, as a rule, gravitate toward habit; we like to get up at the same time, we like to drive the same routes; we like to eat the foods we ate yesterday, etc. The reasons for this are many, but the most powerful reason is this: it worked yesterday (meaning that it didn’t kill us) so we should repeat it today. This ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ attitude though, is perhaps the single most powerful inhibiter to growth, development and future discovery.
Now, in the competitive arena (read: marketplace/competition) if no-one ever developed any new ideas, or made any improvements to the way they did things, then it may not matter too much if we adopted the same approach (ie: change nothing) – but the fact is that there are always people leading the way toward new ideas and new ways of doing things. In the competitive market-place, it is not only important to ‘Keep up with the Jones’s’, but if we really want to make a difference we need to leave the Jones’s in our wake.
Professional coaches and athletes should have a large part of their attention focussed on outcomes. As professional athletes and coaches we should want results (and extraordinary results at that) simply because people are paying us for exactly that – this goes to obligation! From a professional coaches perspective, it is important to understand that people are trading their precious time; time which they cannot get back; to listen to and learn from us – we are OBLIGATED to provide excellent instruction. To settle quietly into a routine that just sees us GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS - is the first step on the path to mediocrity. Is that who we really are?
JBW

CONDITIONING

2011-04-10T14:52:00.008+10:00

Functionality is everything. The kind of conditioning that the BJJ or MMA athlete needs is the kind that results in greater outcomes for less physical effort. The Combat Athlete needs to have great cardio, great anaerobic fitness, muscular endurance, flexibility, core-fitness and co-ordination.
The kind of single-plane strength one gets from a bench press does not necessarily translate to the rigors and demands of the BJJ or MMA environment. The Combat Athlete needs to be strong and capable at weird angles and both ends of the range of movement; he or she needs to be able to provide/construct their own stable base from which to apply power/force to an opponent who is not co-operating like a machine would co-operate. In short, the Combat Athlete needs functional strength and fitness.
First things first; the Combat athlete needs to build a strong aerobic base. A good aerobic base is necessary so that we can participate properly in the style of training we need to get real results. In short, we need to be fit to do the right kind of training and a good aerobic base underpins everything. We need a aerobic base to be able to maintain intensity and good form while we train; if our aerobic base is sub-standard, our form will go out the window and then, we not only achieve less result for the effort we are putting in but perhaps more importantly, we become very susceptible to injury. A good aerobic base is crucial.
I use a constantly varying mix of strength and conditioning exercises done at very high intensity for short periods (eg: 30secs) – with small recovery periods in between each exercise (eg: 10-15 secs). My average workout lasts no longer than 30 minutes – but the intensity is through the roof. Here are a few pics from a session last week.
JBW

Three out of ten beats one out of one.

2011-04-08T08:39:00.004+10:00

(A FAIL AT SCHOOL MAY MEAN A WIN IN REAL LIFE)

Often I have seen students free-wrestling and I see an obvious opportunity for one to attempt a submission or a sweep – but the student doesn’t ‘go for it’. What the student needs to understand is that when we are training, this is the perfect opportunity to ‘go for it’ – as there really are no bad consequences.
Many people wait for the perfect opportunity to arise before they have a shot at something; and it is this endless waiting that really impedes their progress. The bottom line is this – if you wait for the one perfect opportunity – and then you go for it and succeed – you have scored ONE success – but if you go for it ten times (not needing things to be perfect before you do) and you succeed three times – even though the school-score is Three out of Ten (in many circles this is considered failure) – in my view: THREE still beats ONE!
I would rather try ten times and succeed only three, than wait till things are perfect and try once only to succeed once.
The other benefit of this approach is that even though you have not succeeded seven out of ten attempts, you get to see what unfolds after each of the failed attempts; and you learn.
JBW

The Yellow Card

2011-04-04T10:03:00.003+10:00

Here is an interesting training strategy that I came up with some time ago. I call it the ‘Yellow Card’. When a student is Yellow-carded, they can no longer go for any submissions during the wrestle; in fact, they need to give their opponent opportunities to win. This has several effects, the first being the obvious: the less-skilled student (of the pair) gets to feel what it’s like to get good position and attack someone who would perhaps more usually, be dominating them. But the real benefit goes to the student who is Yellow-carded; he or she becomes freed up to ‘relax’ and ‘observe’ during the roll; and in doing so, open themselves to working aspects and areas of their game that may otherwise be ignored. There is a lot to be gained by ‘kicking back’ and playing a less aggressive/competitive game whilst grappling; we see things we would not normally see, try things we would not normally try – we explore, discover and spend time in positions that usually we would prefer not to be in. The Yellow Card strategy gives us permission to do just this.
JBW

Survival Training

2011-03-31T13:22:00.002+11:00

Working defence is a great way to BE on the mat. It’s easy to do, as most opponents are more than happy to attack you if given the opportunity. It’s also a less-competitive way of rolling and therefore a good alternative if you have an injury or for some reason or other want to back off a little on the ‘pace’.
By digging ourselves a deep hole (letting our opponent really consolidate their position) and then finding our way to escaping – we develop strong ‘last-chance’ escape skills. I like to call this ‘survival training. My coach Rigan Machado used to have us work this way on a regular basis. He also used to put us in an opponents guard and just stay there and ‘survive’ while our opponents did his best to attack or sweep us. In doing this, we were able to focus all of our attention on what was going on, rather than spend any of it thinking about what we wanted to do – in other words, it kept us ‘in the moment’.
Survival training can be just that – just survive – don’t let the opponent submit us or improve his position. Or it can be taken to another level, in that we can not only survive – but we can try to improve our situation while doing so (escape, etc).
One thing for certain, survival training improves our confidence in bad situations. This can be a very empowering experience – more so, in many ways, than learning to improve our attack capabilities.
JBW

The evolution of a technique

2011-03-27T14:07:00.003+11:00

Techniques evolve over time, for the same reasons that anything evolves, as a result of how well it performs in a given environment. In short, if it keeps working, it stays the same; if not, it changes, evolves or it gets dropped from the menu.
All that is pretty straight forward – it goes like this: a technique is thrown onto the mat - someone starts executing it on everyone – some people begin to develop counters to it – and now, if the person trying the technique wants to keep doing it, they need to modify it and develop ‘work-arounds’ for the counters – we have evolution. Simple.
But now for the not so obvious …
Most people think that the final ‘evolution’ of a technique is the best one – after all, the best athlete is doing it ‘that way’ so shouldn’t we do the same? The answer to this question is more often than not – no! But why …?
The final evolution of a technique is usually one that addresses the latest (and very specific) counter-measures that our class-mates have developed as a response to our efforts; mostly though, the most basic ‘model’ of the technique is all that is needed against the majority of opponents – in fact, the most basic ‘model’ of the technique may be even more suited to ‘usual’ circumstances than the latest evolution of itself. Quite often, things can evolve to become ‘highly specific’ – and by this I mean ‘too specific’ for general use. Food for thought
JBW

Simplicity/Complexity

2011-03-22T21:52:00.002+11:00

What is it about BJJ that is so very addictive? What is so intoxicating about this art that attracts tens of thousands of people to the mat and keeps them there long after they have acquired the skills to defend themselves?
These are difficult questions to answer. For me, one of the most attractive and fascinating things about BJJ is that it embodies a beautiful balance between simplicity and complexity.
In the beginning, it’s the simplicity of the BJJ basics that are so appealing. A basic understanding of how to effectively transition from position to position and how to prevent our opponent from doing so can be a very empowering process. The beginner has many a ‘wow – I can do this’ experience when they begin their BJJ journey; and that in itself is a powerful motivator.
Later on, as understanding and skill increases, the complexity is what appeals. There never really is a sense of total mastery, there is always more to learn, new problems to overcome, new strategies to master. In this way BJJ is like the strategic game of chess – the challenges are never-ending; the complexity draws you in.
Both the simplicity and the complexity keep you there; and in being there, spending time on the mat, you cannot help but learn and improve.
JBW

Delight in the simple things …

2011-03-18T10:31:00.001+11:00

Being childlike in our training attitude is a wonderful trait to nurture. A child doesn’t think too much about winning or losing – a child just delights in the action. A child doesn’t recoil from the unknown – a child explores and discovers. A child doesn’t need complexity for complexities sake – a child can wonder at the simplest of things. A child doesn’t need to have a reason to do something – a child will wallow in experience for it’s own reward. A child doesn’t fall from the bike never to alight it again – a child will fail, try, fail, try, fail and try again. Perhaps most important of all, a child doesn’t spend the larger part of their time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future – a child finds it easy and natural to live fully in the present.
JBW

Looking for patterns

2011-03-15T16:22:00.001+11:00

Imagine this – you are hired to do a study on traffic patterns; you need to identify certain patterns at certain times of the day; perhaps how flows on one road, effect flows on an intersecting road, etc. Anyway, you’ve got he idea …
Now the question is this: do you undertake this study from within your moving vehicle, as part of the traffic problem or from the comfort of your deck-chair from a point removed from the traffic. No trick question here – the obvious answer is that we would want to be outside of the thing we are studying.
Now let’s apply this thinking to grappling. If you want to study the patterns that unfold during the course of grappling, it is often very useful to observe these from the ‘outside’. In other words, when you aren’t overly concerned about the outcomes, you can free up a larger part of your awareness and just watch your opponent. Now you can do this anytime you like – the trick is to just ‘flow’ and not worry too much (or at all) about trying to win.
As a coach, every now and then I try this strategy with my class: they pair off, play paper,rock, scissors to determine who will win the match (not unlike WWF) – and once that’s out of the way, there is absolutely zero-pressure for the person who lost the game – and they can just kick back, relax and watch everything their opponent does as he sets out on his quest to win. Zero-pressure equals more free brain power available to observe and ponder – and those are great skills to develop. Food for thought …
JBW

Just for the sake of it …

2011-03-11T08:23:00.000+11:00

Some people, many people in fact, seem to need a clear, concrete reason to train, to be fitter, to stick to their diet … perhaps something along the lines of ‘I am training three times a week so I can win an upcoming competition’ – or lose this amount of weight, etc. I DO NOT!
Although it’s certainly okay to have goals to work toward – but if these goals are the only reason we are doing the work, then what happens when we achieve those goals – what happens to our motivation.
For myself, I like to train just for how it makes me feel, for the intrinsic value that I get from it whilst doing it. I like to eat well and work on my fitness just for how it makes me feel; not because I am trying to hit a certain weight, look a certain way or get ready for a particular event. I like learning, just for the sake of it; for how it changes the way I think; not just because I have to pass an exam, etc. I like improving myself just for the sake of it; the fact that I get certain other ancillary benefits is a total bonus.
It’s a great thing to be able to find joy in the simple doing of things. A big part of what it takes to be happy.
JBW

The Fluid Game

2011-03-10T08:23:00.002+11:00

Over time, we all collect techniques, some of which click together well to form solid combinations, others seem to be only suited to very specific situations, others still have perhaps novelty value alone.
Eventually, driven by environmental factors (on the mat this = partners we are rolling with) we sort and collate our collections of techniques into little game-plans. Eventually we develop little game-plans to cope with the most commonly arising situations – and we call this – our Game.
Over time, as we refine and further develop our Game, we construct a kind of structure upon which we can add other new, compatible techniques. Our Game grows but it also becomes a ‘storage mechanism’ for more and more information.
Tiny drops (techniques) become larger blobs (mini-plans), which in turn begin to form the basis of our Game. Techniques are not all that flexible/adaptable – games on the other hand, by very definition, can adapt and change moment by moment – driven by the forces of the struggle. Games should be, by their nature – very fluid.
JBW

Learning Techniques VS Developing a Plan.

2011-03-08T13:31:00.003+11:00

When we start out in BJJ, we begin a journey of collecting techniques. With enough of them under our belt, we eventually become Blue Belts. Tis begs the question: where to from there? Is a Purple belt just a blue belt with more techniques in his collection - or is he/she something more?
In my view, the approach to purple is very different from the approach to blue. For me, this part of the evolution marks the transtiion from learning techniques, to developing plans. In an ideal world, the purple belt doesn't just have (for example) a 1/2 guard technique - he/she has instead, a 1/2 gard plan; a passing plan, a side control defence plan, a turtle plan, etc. This takes time and experience and that's why it is usually around purple belt level that we start to formulate a large enough series of plans that we tend to 'FLOW' from one to the next as the fight evolves and changes.
The transition from TECHNIQUE to PLAN can be likened to the difference between having work for one day or having a fulltime job; like having a fish or learning how to fish, etc. it is a very big transition in the evolution of ones game - and one that should be understood. Eventually, over time, we develop different plans for different situations; ideally, for every situation (again, this takes time) and over even more time, those plans each become more clearly defined and can be executed with increasingly greater levels of skill.
For those who are just beginning to make such a transition - start building your first plan around the situation that comes up the most when you wrestle. Then, over time, build other plans, for other common situations that occur; eventually, having a plan for every situation. Then you are living in what is known as - a familiar landscape.
JBW

High percentage techniques …

2011-03-03T12:30:00.002+11:00

Some techniques are high percentage while others are difficult to pull off.
While it is true that with enough practice and enough repetition, we can make almost anything work for us – some techniques are just easier to make work than others.
Most techniques require the correct execution of a series of small steps; if the technique is relatively simple, it might be two or three steps; if fairly complex it might be six or seven steps. In my view though, whether the technique is easy to execute does not so much depend on the number of steps but rather how easy it is to execute that single, all-important, first step. If the first step in a series of steps to any given goal is difficult then the chances of most people achieving that goal is fairly small; if on the other hand the first step is quite manageable, then the chance of actualizing the goal is fairly high.
That first step – is VERY important. What stops people from achieving is INERTIA. Once we get going, we are hard to stop.
With any technique (or goal) get real clarity on that first step (grip, position, etc) and put all of your efforts into achieving it. From there, it’s just practice.
JBW

All in !!!

2011-02-27T10:08:00.006+11:00

For those who have read my books, you may be familiar with the name 'Ron O'brien' - Ron has been a friend of mine for some 35 years. He accompanied my on many adventures, To Brazil in the late 80's for BJJ training, in Indonesia well before that, In India, Mongolia as well as countless hiking trips into the wilds. Last weekend we went on another hike, this time into the remote regions of the central plateau in Tasmania. The weather started out allright, but by the third day we were three foot deep in snow. The walk out was very hard for him, despite my carrying his load and taking frequent rests. Luckily my friend Craig was there to lend moral support. We made it out, and after good serving of chocolate pudding on the ferry trip back home, Ron seemed to have recovered quite well. As it turned out though, my great friend of three and a half decades and stalwart partner in many an adventure, had taken his last trip. Two days ago, his heart gave out -and after several serious attacks, he passed away late last night. Ron was a man who lived his life on his own terms, he pushed the envelope in every respect - he extracted more juice from life than anyone else I have ever know. He poured wisdom, he exuded love, he was the most truly vital person I have ever met. Always - he was all in! I shall miss him dearly.
JBW

Masters of our own destinies ...

2011-02-22T14:19:00.002+11:00

Sure, you can outsource stuff; get that graphic designer to do the artwork; then give the product to a marketing guy, who will probably schedule a series of meetings with you, until finally a decision is made and your little old pamphlet is done. How many businesses or martial arts gyms have gone this route?
OR …
You can invest some time in learning these skills yourself and once done – do the whole job yourself in an easy afternoon.
We live in a world where it is soooo easy to become dependent upon a whole team of other people to get even the simplest thing accomplished. The self-reliance of the past generation seems to have become an increasingly rare bird. We can always outsource right? We can always ask GOOGLE; we can always locate that technique on Youtube or look up our passport number on our new i-phone.
Don’t misunderstand; I am all for the convenience that technology offers; but not at the expense of sacrificing my ability to learn, remember and use my mind. I don’t poo-poo the wonders of the GPS – but I can also navigate by the stars, by compass and I can read both map and terrain. It doesn’t cost much to take ownership of skill and knowledge – and empowering ourselves by owning and using learned knowledge empowers us to become people of action.
If you don’t act because of something you don’t know – then realize this is an opportunity to learn and do! A lot of the time, when we find ourselves stalling or postponing … it is simply because we havn’t yet taken ownership of all the necessary skills to complete the task. Get those skills … at every opportunity.
JBW

A prelude to action ...

2011-02-16T14:45:00.002+11:00

What stops people from taking action – in anything – a technique in the heat of the struggle – buying that first property – clearing e-mail from inbox – distributing that new pamphlet for a budding business?
This is a very interesting topic – to myself at least. The difference between pulling the trigger and taking action and endless weighing and pondering is more often than not, the difference between living an extraordinary and successful life and one of mundane sameness.
There are usually a number of factors that inhibit people from taking action – but among the most powerful of them is that of ‘lack of ownership’.
I have talked about this recently in some of my seminars. One of the things I insist upon is that participants remember the techniques that I teach one week after I have finished teaching them. This seems like an obvious and easy request but in my experience, the majority of people cannot remember or replicate what was taught to them in a seminar, after even s single nights sleep has come and gone. When I teach, I try to do so in such a way that maximizes the possibility of everyone remembering what we have covered; I do so because I understand that REMEMBERING is the first step toward taking full OWNERSHIP of any form of knowledge. WE need to bring new knowledge into our minds in the kind of way that allows us to DO SOMETHING WITH IT at a later date. One of the first things we need to do is to make a clear distinction between ACCESS TO INFORMATION and the OWNING of it.
We live in a world where oral traditions are rapidly becoming a relic of the past. Many would argue that we needed hold information in our headspace, when we can easily access it on the internet, in books or on DVD’s. In my opinion however, these things are just tools that should be not be overly depended upon.
I feel that the reason people often fail to take decisive action is because they do not properly OWN the knowledge they have momentarily borrowed from outside sources. Once we take knowledge of a subject into our mind and have truly digested and taken ownership of it, some sort of ‘critical tipping point’ is reached and we allow ourselves to ACT.
Make a clear distinction between the state of having been exposed to knowledge and the state of having taken ownership of it.
JBW

Modifying our Drilling methods ...

2011-02-14T09:52:00.002+11:00

An important part of BJJ training is the drilling of the techniques we have learned. Getting those reps under our belt builds muscle memory, understanding of the technique, etc. There are though, a couple of important skills that we don’t get from ‘drilling’ …
To apply a technique in the heat of combat, we need to also RECOGNIZE THE OPPORTUNITY that calls for that technique. This is something we don’t get by drilling. When we drill/do reps, we are not necessarily developing our ability to spot the situation (out of the hundreds of situations that crop up) that calls for that particular technique.
Secondly, drilling a specific technique doesn’t necessarily develop our ability to MAKE THE CORRECT SELECTION of a technique in any give situation. When we drill/do reps, no SELECTIVE process happens, we just do the movements over and over. In real combat, we need to select the right technique, for the right situation (round peg – round hole – square peg – square hole) from the hundreds of techniques we know.
These two skills – RECOGNIZING THE OPPORTUNITY AND BEING ABLE TO SELECT THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE FOR THE RIGHT SITUATION - we usually develop in sparring. But we can often modify our drilling methods to help out a little. Eg: rather than drill a technique on it’s own – we can drill three or four at a time. Our partner ‘feeding’ us various situations, thereby forcing us to RECOGNIZE and SELECT . We still get to ‘do the reps’ – but now we are building these other important skill-sets as well. Food for thought.
Train smart.
JBW

Seek similarities - or find differences?

2011-02-12T06:13:00.003+11:00

To better organize and understand things in my mind (read: techniques) - I have found that when I am dealing with a group of things that are all very similar (say 10 entries/variations on Darce choke) then I focus on or emphasise the DIFFERENCES between each of the techniques. if however, the techniques are all quite different (a group of seemingly unrelated techniques) then I take the opposite approach and focus on or emphasise the SIMILARITIES between them. In thinking about it - it seems I also do this with lots of other stuff.
I have perhaps taken this approach with people as well - when dealing with different cultures, I tend to focus on what similarities we share - when dealing with people who outwardly appear the same as each other, I try to tease apart what makes them unique as individuals.
There you go - it's early, I am not sure what it all means - I just know it helps me. After a only a few hours sleep - I am stuffing some pasta into my belly as I wait to board my flight to Auckland. A big day ahead ... looking forward to it.
JBW

Do we notice?

2011-02-09T12:24:00.003+11:00

You know how it is when you go away for a few weeks, return home, and marvel at all the obvious changes that have taken place - in and around your town/city? Or your child heads of for a week or two of summer camp and when he or she comes home, you are amazed at how much they have grown? The point is this: every day, small changes are occurring, all around us, and within us; but we barely notice them, if we notice them at all. This sis certainly true on the mat. I cannot count the number of times I asked myself why I wasn't improving; why each night seemed as difficult as the previous, especially during my first few years of BJJ practice. The truth of course, was that it was difficult to measure any improvement, because everyone else (whoI was measuring myself against) was improving also. It was only when someone new came onto the mat that it became obvious that I had indeed made considerable gains.
This morning, during my Tabata-based workout, we went back to a more classic style of routine, one similar to the routine I went through when jumped into this kind of training as rehab after my last knee op. We did twenty seconds of pulling-chain exercises, had ten seconds to get to the next station, then twenty seconds of pushing-chain - times eight exercises - a one minute break after which we repeated it three more times. it was all done at maximum intensity - and I felt good throughout the whole thing. After it was all said and done - I asked myself a simple question "Could I wrestle well, right now?" the answer came back in the affirmative - and so I noted my improvement. it was still hard and challenging, but not like the first time I did it, when at the end of it all, I could barely get up onto my feet and walk (let alone wrestle). So we all make improvements - all the time - but it's only when we do careful measuring that we tend to notice what we have achieved.
On the mat, I notice many of my students making great gains - that is all well and good - but in the end, it's they themselves, who need to notice the gains; this is important if they are to remain motivated.
Good training
JBW

Thinking ...

2011-02-02T08:35:00.002+11:00

My father told me, more than once when I was a youngster, ‘What separates the men from the boys - is THINKING’. My father always saw the big picture; in fact, as evidence of this, I once saw him paint a Dymaxion skymap of our planet on our lounge-room wall – south America was on the right hand side (nearest the kitchen) and the African continent was on the left. He showed me that it was almost possible (barring the annoyance of the Behring Strait) to walk from the bottom of south America to the southernmost tip of Africa (When I later tried to explain that this was possible to my primary school teacher, I was ridiculed in front of the class – yikes). My father was a big picture kind of guy – but he was also good at details; and taught me to take the same view.
Every day, I find time to let my mind do it’s thing; to wander, to muse, to connect things, ideas and notions in unexpected ways. I always find time to let my brain yell, sing, wander, question and wonder. Finding time to ‘wander from path’ of usual thought opens the door to truly creative thinking. I love especially, to do this with my thinking on the martial arts. Keep the twitching down to a minimum of you want to retain your friends – but find some time, even a few mounted a day, to let your mind cut loose … and think.
JBW