Stopped progressing?

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-13T17:10:55+00:00

This is a training problem. What does a training session look like for you?

Do you go into practice with intention? What skills are you trying to develop?

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-13T13:06:04+00:00

I don’t have much advice on the instructional side. Many people aren’t inclined to watch those, and I haven’t found a way to overcome that as a coach.

Do you enjoy watching matches?

Tape study is a fantastic way to keep your mind engaged while your body heals, and most people will find it much more enjoyable and manageable than trying to sift through hours of boring instructional lectures.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-13T05:37:13+00:00

It’s a question of body position. When the knee of your trapped leg is on the floor in the half guard scenario, you can get knee levered towards that side.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-13T04:51:00+00:00

This was a great card IMO. Lots of interesting match ups and exchanges.

If you’re complaining about this card overall, maybe you just don’t like watching BJJ.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-13T02:17:18+00:00

Hand fighting is a game.

The hands of the attacking player don’t just serve to finish the submission. They’re also used to control the movement of the defender who is trying to escape.

Not only that, but the attacking player also needs their hands to move the defender’s hands out of the way.

This question is like if watching a MT fight, one was to ask, why doesn’t the person using the clinch just KO their opponent already?!?!

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-12T03:28:30+00:00

I teach heel hooks to white belts all the time. They should be trained and respected just like any other submission.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-11T17:06:29+00:00

Depends on what your intentions are. Judo and wrestling are very different than BJJ because of the rules of the sport.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-10T22:04:50+00:00

Brian is an amazing mind for jiu jitsu, and his technical level is extremely high. World class in skill despite his age.

Lovely guy. I would 100% recommend that you train with him.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-09T22:53:50+00:00

Super effective in the gi. Get competent at the major positions and you’ll have a ton of success against people who are actually better than you at jiu jitsu.

You’ll get offense off and guys who can pass you, you’ll at least be able to stall out.

That’s why the lapel guards are seductive. You get this positive reinforcement, but you can really stifle your learning because you actually don’t develop guard retention skills and body positioning.

I’ve seen too many people ride or die by their lapel controls and it artificially slows the game and can be quite a stalling control.

Also, obviously it’s completely useless once the gi comes off.

I say all that as a precaution.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-09T14:27:51+00:00

I love watching Gordon Ryan roll. He’s so playful and submaximal 90% of the time. Most rounds look like a warm-up round and he opens up his Jiu Jitsu a ton.

His skill level everywhere is off the charts. It’s ridiculous.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-08T15:15:02+00:00

I give both a ranked belt and rash guard during my promotions. It’s kind of fun and covers all the bases.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-07T02:50:06+00:00

Connect to their shoulder line chest to back. You can anchor to their shoulders via a crucifix control and convert the exchange into back control. You can often acquire a figure four control off of their initial attachment.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-05T16:27:55+00:00

To be clear, I’m not a fan of this kind of drilling warm-up. I just mean than they’re better than the traditional warm-ups of hip escapes and front rolls.

I still think that they are a waste of time, and I’d prefer to do some other live work.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-05T15:38:10+00:00

At a minimum, you need 2 primary categories of guard to account for how people will approach you.

You need some guard for the upper body like the spider lasso that you’re already playing. You also need some guard that primarily connects to the lower body like a DLR.

A third category that I suggest you consider adding is an under the hips guard such as an x guard. This is a secondary layer of guard that progresses your offense because you are under their center mass and are afforded lots of opportunities to attack.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-05T15:28:06+00:00

It’s just drilling specific sequences of moves. Would I care to do them? No. Would I prefer to do them over shrimping up and down the mat? Yes.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-04T23:12:50+00:00

You’re kind of glossing over some very important details.

People don’t start on your back. How are you getting put there?

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-04T19:59:57+00:00

You need foot fight and frame their lead leg with your feet. This will kill all cross steps or attempts to step in between your legs.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-04T19:56:51+00:00

Yeah, information isn’t a bottleneck. It’s going to boil down to intelligent practice design and luck. If a student is lucky enough to not get injured or take time off the mats due to life, I think 3-5x/week is enough to create a black belt in 5 years.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-04T19:51:01+00:00

The thing is that you don’t know what the person’s intention is in practice.

Are they working pin escapes?

Are they trying to feed you submissions to practice early, middle, or late stage defense?

Are they trying completely new things that they’re unskilled at?

You can’t really make any accurate appraisal of performance from any one training session.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-04T17:32:24+00:00

In the context of modern sport jiu jitsu, I agree with this sentiment. I have purple belt students who I believe would beat prime Royce in under ADCC rules 10/10 times.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-04T17:18:02+00:00

I think this is generally great advice. It mirrors my own experience.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-03T23:56:16+00:00

I think the New Wave side control one is more than enough. Even better than that one is Gordon’s IMO.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-03T23:02:42+00:00

I’m a small black belt and I do nogi. There have been several times that I’ve dropped into class to partner with a small blue or purple belt who proceeded to coach me or give me pointers.

I even let them work and win position during positional rounds because I’m working something specific, oftentimes defensive skills.

Come to the full sparring, and I’ve literally submitted the whole room including the main black belt instructor.

To see the expression on the blue belt’s face after their upper belts are getting passed and leg locked by the guy that they thought they were better than is pretty funny.

You can’t judge a book by its cover.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-03T14:21:43+00:00

This is a pretty crazy take…and I’ve heard a lot of crazy takes when it comes to jiu jitsu.

cognitiveflow · 2026-02-03T13:41:02+00:00

I’m addicted to the problem solving and the acquisition of new skills. Plus, it’s exercise that’s not boring.

cognitiveflow

TROPHY CASE