Today's question is about not improving in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu even when you're training harder than ever. This is the basic situation going on for John who's hit a plateau in his BJJ progress. Now he says he's training even harder than he used to in order to break out of the plateau, but he's still stuck. So, in the video I'll share why I ditch rolling harder or training harder when I'm trying to break out of a BJJ plateau. Now, keep in mind I'm still training hard. I love training hard. B...

Today's BJJ technique idea is a simple Kimura / Kimura Sweep to Guillotine to Triangle Choke from a full guard position. I like to use the kimura or bump sweep in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to setup techniques because it's a powerful tool to knock people off balance for a moment. And while they're off balance you have essentially put yourself a step ahead of them. This makes it easier to setup the submissions you're after. So, if you like closed guard, guillotine chokes and triangle chokes then I...

Today's question is a simple one. Should you wear a cup for BJJ practice? So, in this video I'll give my quick thoughts on wearing a cup for BJJ training and rolling. I also share a slightly silly, slightly gross story about an MMA fight where I shared a cup with one of my fellow teammates. In the video I mention a cup I personally used. The link for that is below. Here's a link to the diamond MMA cup I mentioned earlier in the video: https://amzn.to/3KECXFb If you're getting into BJJ an...

Today's Q&A video is from a brand-new White Belt who gasses out too fast during BJJ training and wants to improve his cardio. Now his request is for options other than just the obvious, roll more solution. So in this video I share 2 ideas that will help improve your cardio or "gas tank" for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. I've kept the tips as simple as possible. Doesn't mean they're easy, but if you act on the 2 suggestions I give in the video I guarantee you'll be able to roll longer and have more e...

In today's BJJ Q&A video I answer a question about a Blue Belt who is smashing people in side control. The question comes from a guy who is a higher belt in his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gym and has recently seen a Blue Belt smashing people in side control. And once he gets there he doesn't move, he just sits and squeezes. And the higher belt is curious as to whether or not he should say something because a lot of people don't want to roll with the Blue Belt because it's boring to them. In the...

In today's video I answer a question from a young BJJ Blue Belt who's been winning a bunch of competitions and is obsessed with the goal of getting his BJJ White Belt in 1 year. Currently he's been training about 10 months. Now he wants to know ideas t impress his coach which I'm not going to do since I guarantee his coach is probably impressed by his performance in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Instead I try to share some ideas on finding meaning in between the goals he's chasing. I do this becau...

Today's video will show you some simple techniques to make your armbars safer and more effective as a BJJ White Belt. The video comes from a question I got from a White Belt who's afraid of falling off too fast with armbars from top position becuase he doesn't want to injure his training partners or lose the submission. So in this video I'll show you how to use the arm you're not attacking (when using an armbar from top) to anchor yourself to their body and slow the armbar down. This will...

Do you get nervous before competitions? Do you feel like the nervousness negatively affects your performance? If so, then hopefully this video will help you. I answer a question from a young guy who says he lost his match because of his nerves and wants a way to overcome them. In the video I share some ideas on the subject and give some useful ideas of how to convert the anxiety before matches into something useful we can use to make us better when we compete. Hope you enjoy the video, ...

Martial arts are excellent for building confidence. Obviously most of my followers are Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners. But I know I have others that aren't. But either way, most martial arts involve certain things that builds confidence in a person. In this video I answer a question from a guy who's trained Krav Maga for a number of years and is now shifting into BJJ training. His question to me is about my ideas on competing and how I say you need confidence, but at the same time you ...

Today's video comes from a 6 month BJJ White Belt who's also a Judo Brown Belt. He's loving his beginning in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and has plenty to work on with the ground game. He recently had an experience where he was called a sandbagger by someone at another gym during an open mat. I'll get into details about it in the video. But his main question is about whether or not he should divulge details about his previous Judo experience to people in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu when he travels to oth...

In today's BJJ Q&A video I answer a question from a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner who's been called "Too Soft" by his coach. Now, Jacob, says that even though his coach says this he's still won numerous tournaments and does well in the BJJ gym during training. And so he was curious about my thoughts on the idea. Now in the video I explain the style of rolling Jacob uses. And I also share why I think it's a great idea! In fact, it's very similar to my style of rolling at this point in m...

If you've played Half Guard long enough then I'm sure you've experienced the situation where you get smashed by the person on top squeezing you. It happens to all of us. Well, in today's BJJ technique video I'm going to show you how to escape a tight half guard position and get unstuck by using the Lockdown position (most commonly known from 10th Planet) to get the person off balance. I'm also sharing this position in part because I know a lot of beginners in BJJ (White and Blue Belts) fi...

In today's video I share a simple breathing exercise to try the next time you're rolling in your BJJ gym. It's a simple idea that can help you slow down your pace, not be so pazzy (if you're a white belt) and even help you out last someone else. I started doing this type of breathing back in 2018 after reading a couple of books that got recommended to be from a friend. And initially it was a struggle to breathe in the way I talk about in the video. But now after doing it for several years i...

In today's video I answer a question from a new BJJ White Belt who's struggling to find the balance with Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and all of the other activities he does. He says that he's already a physically active person who does lots of other activities. And this combined with BJJ is leading to a lot of soreness, fatigue and some injuries. In the video I'll share some ideas on abandoning the idea of balance for periods of time in your life. I'll share how I've done it in the past with vari...

In today's BJJ Q&A video I answer a question from Matt who says he fails to turn up the intensity in BJJ training and gets beat by people who aren’t as large, athletic or technical experienced as him. ​ He wants to be nice to his training partners in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and has trouble tapping into the tougher side of himself. He also feels bad applying knee on belly or heavy pressure to people. ​​ He’s a BJJ Blue Belt now and becoming more aggressive has been one of his main focuses since W...

Recently on the Chewjitsu Podcast we had Rickson Gracie Black Belt Henry Akins on. You can listen to the podcast in full using the link below. During the podcast there were several amazing nuggets of information about training practices and techniques. 1 of which is something I do all the time, force my students to do and is something Henry said Rickson would do all the time. This particular style of rolling is a great way to boost creativity with technique a...

If you struggle passing Half Guard then today's video is for you. In today's BJJ technique video I'm going to give you a simple strategy to chew on. It's simple, but effective. I've been using this strategy ever since I was a BJJ White Belt and have used it effectively even as a Black Belt. The key to making this work (as I'll show you in the video) is to set up multiple threats starting with the armlock. This could be a keylock, kimura, straight armlock, whatever you're best with. What h...

If you're a newer BJJ White Belt you may have experienced a situation where maybe someone refused to roll with you. And especially in the gym it can feel awkward and seem like a negative thing. This is the situation one of our friends has run into when he's trained in different martial arts. He says he's gone to several different martial arts and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gyms, and he feels like there are cliques that develop and he gets left out. These gyms talk about being a family but it doesn...

In today's video I answer a question from Asa (a BJJ White Belt) who's struggling to roll with his Black Belt coach. In the video I'll explain the mistake he's making when he's rolling with his coach. It's a mistake I believe we've all made at some point or another. And this mistake is trying to impress our coaches by rolling really well or trying to impress them. I'll explain why this is a mistake in the video. And if you're a White Belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu I hope this video makes sen...

Are private lessons or group classes better for BJJ training? This is the basic question I'll chat with you about in today's video. The question comes from Marc who asked me if I was faced with a scenario where I could only choose 1, either group classes or only private lessons, which one would I choose. And in the video, I'll explain my choice and what I think of group classes vs private lessons in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Thanks for watching. -Chewy ----------------- Free Ebook: http://...

A really difficult technique for many new White Belts in BJJ is breaking the closed guard. Many times when they try they get knocked off balance, have their grips disrupted or get swept in the process. Now I honestly prefer a standing guard break to open the legs in full guard. But for a lot of people early on the lower guard breaks will be easier to use. Kind of like standing guard passes. I tend to find lower, tight, guard passes are easier for newcomers whereas standing guard passes take...

Today's video comes from a newer BJJ White Belt who discovered Brazilian Jiu-jitsu like many people (at least in my gym). He started listening to Joe Rogan, then Jocko and then somewhere along the line found me. His main question to me is about discipline. He says he wants to develop more of it but he's never really been a disciplined person. And so, he's wondering if I have any tips on discipline. So, in this video I talk about what I really consider discipline. Because I think it can me...

In today's video I answer a question I get from a lot of wrestlers in BJJ. And in the video I'll share an idea that I think will help any former wrestler getting in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. But I also think it's an important idea for ANYONE getting into BJJ that's been good in another sport before. The idea comes from the works of Joseph Campbell who's work I absolutely love. Check out his work if you haven't before. Hope you enjoyed the video. -Chewy ----------------- Free Ebook: http://www...

Today's video comes from a newer BJJ White Belt who's wondering if BJJ is worth all the injuries. He says he's curious because he sees all the "old timers" in his gym and realizes they've all had an injury or two. And as a young guy who's just getting into Brazilian Jiu-jitsu he's wondering, is it worth it? Now while this question is super subjective. I try to give the young guy something to think about regarding the ideas as to whether or not BJJ is worth the toll it can potentially take...

Today's video is in response to a question I got from a small guy who's struggling with big guys during his BJJ training. He's a self-described bean pole who's struggling to hold top position against his training partners. He says he tries to hold mount a lot. And he also says that since he's a good guard player he often feel comfortable to just sit back and allow his opponent's to come up on top. In today's BJJ strategy video I'll give you a few ideas to chew on regarding this situation ...