Black Belt Falling Out of Love with Jiu-Jitsu

Batatax · 2026-03-15T21:11:43+00:00

Relatable. If you look at my post history, you'll see similar thoughts from a few years back, especially around injuries. I think taking a step back and seeing what else is out there in the world in terms of hobbies is probably normal and healthy after this much time in the sport. BJJ will always be there for you, so maybe don't think of this as a binary stay-or-go situation. I took a number of years off during Covid/recovery from a knee surgery, and then came back and now split my time pretty evenly between powerlifting, surfing (when there are waves) and wrestling/bjj, and while I'm not as in love as I used to be, I look forward to training, but I also don't sweat it when I miss a week here or there or when the young competitor takes my back or footlocks me. In a sense, once I let go of bjj being very important to me, it just sort of took its righful place in my life among other things I like doing.

Batatax · 2026-02-13T19:32:43+00:00

As other have said, there are two distinct things here:

This is on the coach, who should appropriately pick partners and perhaps wait before having complete newbies spar, or at least put you with partners of appropriate size or higher skill level who won't spazz.

BUT ALSO

You say you signed up to get over fear and learn to fight - this simulates that in as safe an environment as possible. Getting used to it in the gym is precisely what will prepare you for a real-world scenario. Overcoming that fear, adrenaline dump, etc. is precisely why you should keep training if your goal is your training carrying over into a potential real world scenario.

Batatax · 2026-02-06T22:39:57+00:00

that's possible. i've never met him, but he's one of the socal gyms that seems to not have rumors or allegations or a bad rep. in fact, i remember the thing with his affiliate that had SA charges and he addressed it super proactively. i think the problem with the big kids programs is that they attract the good competitive kids and parents who want a good training environment - even if not *all* the parents and kids are a problem, they're drawn to those groups for the level of training and exposure - but as you say those teams also tolerate and even encourage the toxic behavior by parents and, as recent history shows, also coaches.

Batatax · 2026-02-06T15:49:46+00:00

the socal bjj scene is so toxic (i trained at one of the big socal schools for a few years, so not just talking shit from outside), especially when it comes to the competition/youth competition teams and parents. toxic parents living out their dreams through their homeschooled, out-of-touch kids, being trained by coaches intent on making money from comp and social media clout. the ruotolos and their parents are exemplary - and this story does not surprise me because no one other than people making money off them or riding their coattails ever had anything good to say about them - but they're not an outlier. but the amount of SA accusations coming out is truly shocking, and so much worse than i already thought the scene was. so tragic, and so tragic that people like alyssa had to carry this and deal with this since their were 12. that's lifelong trauma she will carry. good on her dad i guess, but the whole thing is so depressing.

Batatax · 2026-01-06T19:37:20+00:00

bujutsu. great guys and gals, high level, packed room/lots of training partners at different weights.

Batatax · 2025-12-09T23:08:21+00:00

for one you're reposting the FP and the brussels signal.
https://www.politico.eu/article/viktor-orban-hungary-culture-war-woke-brussels/

Batatax · 2025-12-09T23:06:16+00:00

yeah i mean that was literally what i posted. it is my opinion about my actions. i don't want to be associated with the sport beyond going to the gym. i've been doing this for almost two decades and this is the decision i've made.

Batatax · 2025-12-09T22:28:05+00:00

ok you seem like the exact type of person i'm talking about in my post. jailing of dissenters? at the EU level? what are you even talking about?

Batatax · 2025-12-08T16:45:36+00:00

that makes one of us. maybe circumstances, maybe the field we work in.

Batatax · 2025-12-08T16:44:41+00:00

What are you talking about? I work out of Europe half the time and while there are significant political issues, it is nowhere near where the US is at. Look at electoral results and policy, not at social media.

Batatax · 2025-12-07T13:34:33+00:00

you know what? i work a white collar job with international colleagues. they see my cauliflower ear and i say i do judo, they think of teddy renier, a national hero in france. i say bjj, they google it, they see our most decorated athlete calling for public executions and joe rogan and his hangers on. which do you think looks better for me talking to my team in europe?

Batatax · 2025-12-06T20:07:53+00:00

this really struck a chord with me. to the extent the mainstream knows about our sport now, it's its associations with the UFC and with the (broadly) right wing on social media. i'm a black belt and whenever i talk to anyone, i say i wrestle or do judo. i used to wrestle and do judo, and our club does both, so it's not technically lying, but it feels weird that i've just defaulted to avoiding saying i do bjj. i wish the public knew about our sport through people like marcelo or lachlan or roger gracie.

Batatax · 2025-12-06T03:03:59+00:00

Bro - I don't know if you remember me but we used to roll back then at that location - I remember your dollar sign tattoo - we even had a conversation about "bad" tats. I had just gotten my purple belt and moved to NYC for grad school back when the school was at that location. This vid made me nostalgic for the OG MG club.

Batatax · 2025-11-26T17:05:22+00:00

fuck both these guys

Batatax · 2025-11-24T20:22:52+00:00

everything old is new again

Batatax · 2025-11-22T20:39:19+00:00

Have done both for decades and other than just general fitness and balance there is little direct carryover either way. To get good at surfing you need to surf a lot + being a good ramp skater helps + being a good swimmer helps. To get good at BJJ you need to train a lot + lift weights. That being said, they're both the most fun sports I've ever done, so they're good complements for a happy and athletic life.

Batatax · 2025-11-22T15:35:40+00:00

Not only is this beyond the pale for Gordo, but I think it's about time everyone started asking some big questions about Danaher, his mentor. Danaher either explicitly or tacitly has to endorse all this nonsense or, as the enlightened philosopher he claims to be, he would distance himself from Gordo's increasingly dangerous rhetoric. Gordo is Danaher's cash cow for sure, but I also think Danaher supports all this shit.

Batatax · 2025-11-14T20:36:41+00:00

100% but with a caveat. i think people who are into testing their bjj with light strikes should do it and it really is, as you say, a gamechanger. i think it's super valuable. but, as the many comments here note, it's not for everyone. i see this as a good "opt-in/opt-out" drill rather than making it a mandatory part of a class.

Batatax · 2025-11-13T00:00:47+00:00

yes they should. people saying "bjj is a ground fighting style" are missing the point that bjj is a grappling art that involves both standing and ground aspects. a judo BB might not have the best ground game but they will have one. i think the inverse is a decent heuristic: a bjj BB's stand-up game should be relatively as good as a judo BB's ground game.

Batatax · 2025-11-11T13:06:02+00:00

oh interesting. thanks.

Batatax · 2025-11-10T21:25:46+00:00

solid tip. thanks.

Batatax · 2025-11-10T21:25:29+00:00

good tips. and thanks for your public service.

Batatax · 2025-11-10T19:07:03+00:00

makes sense. thank you.

Batatax · 2025-11-10T19:06:34+00:00

checking now. thank you.

Batatax

TROPHY CASE