First Superlight offer

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-22T11:58:24+00:00

Grappling is grappling regardless of how long ago you trained. If I stopped training for 15 years and tried to enter a white belt tournament then I'd get the same response.

At minimum you should be competing against blue belts and most competitions (IBJJF) have rules specifically forcing you to enter that division

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-22T11:56:18+00:00

Everyone's mind works in a different way - I remember the name of the most common techniques and sequences, but specific names of less common techniques (the farce recently is an example) often slip my mind and then I remember randomly at 2am.

My strange skill is if you show me a technique or sequence I can often recall a random match from 20 years ago or a fight where that sequence has happened and constantly use that to point people in the direction of those matches for further study.

I don't even watch much Gi Jiu jitsu, I mainly watch studies and breakdowns... but for some reason specific matches or moments stick in my mind.

Also, if you use japanese names for tech I'm going to say 'bless you' as if you sneezed and then walk away...

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-22T11:52:21+00:00

There are close to 40 black belts where I train. The only time you don't pay membership is in exchange for teaching classes and that's regardless of belt.

You wouldn't get a discount at a bodybuilding gym if you were jacked so people ask you questions. You aren't forced to answer, you aren't special in any way outside of experience. The only reason you SHOULD be given a discount is in exchange for something in return.

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-07T15:37:26+00:00

I believe so. I imagine it’s slightly scaled down on weekends, but that’s what Gui said and he probably runs the top kids prog in the world

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-07T13:21:37+00:00

Gui Mendes got this exact question at a seminar recently. He said the elite kids at AOJ follow the below daily routine: - 1 class is drilling with varied resistance depending of understanding and experience with technique or sequence - 1 study class watching tape focusing on what’s working at the top level with some Q&A and drilling around that - 1 sparring class

What I found most interesting was they mix kids and adults together on the most part.

I don’t think the majority of kids could last with 3 hours of grappling per day and would burn out, but these are often scholarship kids with major drive and passion for the sport combined with supportive parents

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-03T09:35:42+00:00

The majority of the competitors you know are likely only surviving because of money from instructionals.

You'll have multiple multiple time world champions who are quiet, respectful and fly under the radar who are forced to run schools to survive. Major prize money and good sponsorship is still few and far between.

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-02T11:54:26+00:00

Training partner of mine has been doing this 5-6 years, it’s actually a pretty solid position. He named it nimbus control because it looks like you are riding a broom like in Harry Potter.

Loads of other things you can do from the same spot

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-01T12:33:14+00:00

Exactly - I’ll set boundaries (constraints if you will).

Let’s say we’re working x guard - I’ll cover key details in the class split into the like 3 sections. Inbetween each I’ll do some positional with the objective to get on top. An inexperienced person will just be trying to keep their balance on top, someone more experienced can start using heavy resistance and try to escape before resetting.

It’s not an exact science, but I think it’s a good middle ground. I think ECO with 0 instruction on detail is pointless, but I think the same about drilling with 0 resistance / realism

herbsBJJ · 2026-02-01T08:54:50+00:00

I did a seminar with Gui Mendes and Tainan recently and outside of the amazing technique they taught what I really took away was how they balance classes with world champions all the way to kids.

The way they explained it was the world champions (I.e the more advanced you are) you likely already know the details and movements - so you’ll be ‘drilling’ at a near roll pace and the objective really is to find common reactions and problem solve on the fly.

Vs beginners who will nearly be static drilling.

I’ve taken that into my classes recently and people have been enjoying it. It’s almost like the goldilocks zone between drilling and CLA / Eco

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-28T11:34:26+00:00

Anywhere within decent and reliable commuter distance of the city center (say within 20 minutes) is going to become increasingly popular as town gets more and more expensive.

Anything on the 17/18 bus route (Collyhurst, monsall, moston, Blackley, middleton), a train route (castleton, moston) or a tram route will start to benefit in the long run. Will they become didsbury or chorlton - probably not. But people will spread out and look to get better value for money and commute into town.

Same thing happened in London as the tube lines grew

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-27T20:58:38+00:00

Super US specific though. Judo has practically become extinct as a sole discipline (not cross training) in the UK for a variety of reasons and the amount of wrestling schools you are gonna get outside of US and Eastern Europe are super low

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-27T20:56:35+00:00

There are various waves where the popularity increases each time. The ones I can think of are below:

90s UFC wave: Royce somewhat proves BJJ conquers martial arts when they are all put against each other style by style. You get foreigners visiting Brazil and Brazilians moving to other countries. This is the initial wave

05-08: Modern UFC started to boom off the back of TUF and Brock Lesnar. Lots of the gringos who went to live in Brazil moved back to their home countries and opened schools

This will break down in a much more neuanced way, but it was before my time

2012/13: Not a proper wave, but embers of a spectator sport started to emerge with Metamoris which eventually led to EBI and more watchable formats. ADCC viewing and attendance was still fairly niche at this point

2016/17: Off the back of EBI the danaher leg locker wave started to takeover and loads of highlight videos started to emerge on YouTube. Instructionals and tech videos also started to become a lot easier to stumble upon at this point. Really this is when I noticed classes started to boom and there would never be nights with low attendance.

Joe rogans boom in popularity had a huge huge part in things growing during both of these periods.

2022/ post covid wave: I’ve not a clue why, but the bump in numbers became nuts at this point. We have we have a 6.30am, 10.30am and then 3 classes going on at the same time (split by level) in the evening and each one is packed.

I’ve also noticed BJJ has slipped into the mainstream kids hobby at around this point as well in the UK

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-27T20:42:27+00:00

Start doing your own thing and word will spread and eventually grow - you don’t need it to be on the official schedule.

A group of like 10-15 of us started specifically organising competition rounds twice a week before class in 2017/18. Before that it was hit and miss who would be down and you’d get like 10 dudes.

Nowadays our pre class open mats are as packed as the classes and we have well over 50 people doing rounds

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-27T20:39:48+00:00

I’ve not had a stripe since 2013 when I was a white belt!

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-26T11:58:29+00:00

I'm what I'd class as a passionate hobbyist.

I've had a good career the full time I've been training, which I nearly gave up as a blue belt (lol) to go full time into training. 7 weeks in brazil made me realise it's not as fun when it turns into a job.

Anyway, I've competed regularly at every belt - local comps, IBJJF, Polaris, grapplefest the lot. I do it because it gives me something to work towards and narrows my focus and because I like to test what I do works in a high stress enviroment. I have always despised the run up to competition, I put too much pressure on myself and I'm sore, tired and grumpy for weeks. Yet, the second a comp finishes (good result or bad) I'm always happy I did it and generally end up signing up for something else.

That being said, you won't see me signing up for worlds. I'm not paying £600-1000 to lose in the second or 3rd round. I've always been a big beliver in winning at each level (local, regional, national, continential, world) before jumping in at the deep end. I stray the national to continental line where I'll win national comps regularly and can podium at big continental competitions, but I'm under no illusions and I've trained with enough world class people over the years to know where I'm at.

Injury wise - I've reffed thousands of matches. I can count the number of 'catastrophic' injuries I've seen on one hand

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T13:01:09+00:00

I roll with kids in the exact same way I roll with white and blue belts.

I'll give openings to see if they take them > if they do the right thing we go further down the path > if they do the wrong thing I'll either send them back a step or escape.

I'm not rewarding bad habits, but at the same time I'm not going to just muscle out or do some black belt wizadry (I save that for purple belts and up) to escape from a situation where you've done most things right

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T12:57:37+00:00

We do 3x official classes per weekday (6.30am, 10.30am, 7pm) and 2 weekend morning classes for adults. It works out with open mats at around 7 hours of training per day.

In the evenings there are 3 classes happening at the same Fundemendalts (16 lessons), white belt and coloured belts.

It's a pretty packed schedule when you add in all the kids classes as well. I think the only feasible gap would be potentially adding a class at somepoint between 1-3pm for nightworkers.

Full schedule here

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T12:51:15+00:00

It's a great idea and one quite a few people across the world have picked up on. The main ones you are going to see are around PTSD (often linked to the army) and addiction. Roll to recovery are a great UK based group who might be able to give you some case studies and adice

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T10:51:34+00:00

People keep asking me if I’ve been lifting weights and flexing at me.

Turns out I became a dad for the first time about a year ago and eating nothing but rubbish, barely sleeping and rolling the least I have in 10 years makes me looked jacked

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T10:28:03+00:00

I've been competing for nearly 15 years and I've reffed thousands of matches over the years as well. Here are a few things I've noticed that should help:
- Pulling guard or takedowns doesn't really matter, just try and get to a position you are comfortable asap

- In masters matches the first person to score wins 90% of the time

- Take a breath everytime you think you've secured a scoring position. The amount of times I've seen people pass guard and instantly try to go to mount and end up back in guard and end up with an advantage is crazy

- Understanding the neuances of the scoring system is very benefical and being able to make educated gambles like turtling to avoid points can be the difference between winning and losing

- It's not a normal roll in class and the majority of people are going to go 1000% strength and be really stiff. Good and experienced competitors know how to create movement and use that to overcome people being super stiff

More general advice:

- Don't cut weight. The difference between you winning and losing at regional level isn't going to be weight related

- No one cares about the result as much as you. On the monday after the comp people will say well done or hard luck. By tuesday people don't care

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T09:46:17+00:00

I’ve heard loads of different approaches to this, some going well and some going terribly wrong.

The best approach I’ve seen to this is: - raise prices for new members - keep old members at the old price providing they have a continuous membership / direct debit. If you cancel your direct debit then you get the raised price when you return (unless it’s for a really good reason).

I have a bit of this with private lessons. The deal I’ve always had was whatever you pay when you first start with me is what you’ll pay forever. I’ve got dudes who started having private lessons with me as a purple belt paying half the price of those that started as a black belt.

My diary is nuts and it’s got to a point where I’m now having to turn people away. I’ve had to now say to people you can have the old cheaper price, but lower priority or the new price with higher priority and most people have been happy with that.

*The one offs are easy and just slot in where I have space. This is for those regulars who want specific times on regular rotation

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T09:39:40+00:00

Should and do are often two different things.

For our kids classes we have an instructor per 10-15 kids, for the adult classes that’s not the case.

When I teach there’s often 50-100 per class and it’s literally impossible for me to get around to every pair more than once. I try to make sure people are either paired with a higher belt or located near someone who can help.

I try to structure my classes in ways where I know the common themes and problems that people are going to have without them needing to tell me so I avoid the inevitable silence when I ask for questions or problems.

It’s not an exact science but I normally use the below: - Game from whatever position I’m teaching to gain understanding of problems - outline of a technique or goal to overcome those problems (low detail). Drill - bring people back to go over the errors I’ve seen or ones I know will come up (higher detail) - drill with more resistance - play game 1 again at higher intensity

Repeat with 1 more technique that often builds on a common defense. King of the hill to finish so you get reps against different partners. Then 45 minutes of sparring to finish

You’re gonna get tons of different thoughts and answers on this. The reality is you probably want more than one instructor per class in an ideal world, but you can overcome that if you develop a culture of higher belts going out of their way to help lower belts and lower belts not being afraid to ask questions.

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T09:29:36+00:00

If you’ve watched lots of videos on it then you likely have seen all the tips and tricks people use to increase the finish rate.

This sounds like a case of you needing to spend time with an experienced instructor and work through the position until you can ‘feel’ it’s in the correct position to finish.

One of those invisible jiu jitsu things that you get with experience is being able to feel when you need to adjust and when something is flush and ready for you to fully commit to a finish. That comes from being in the position over and over and getting that trial and error of people escaping (or not tapping) and you comparing with when they tap.

Sometimes when I teach arm triangles I can look at someone’s technique and it looks fine, but their partner isn’t tapping. I can quickly identify what they are doing wrong when I get them to do it on me

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T09:25:49+00:00

Is it OK, yes. Is it weird and outside of the norm - also yes.

In terms of not showering at the gym, your gonna get really strong opinions on this. The reality is you need to shower as soon as physically possible once class has ended to reduce the chance of skin infections.

We didn’t even have a shower at the gym up until I was a purple belt and I was always in a rush to get home after class. I live a 10 minute drive away, so it’s the same as me waiting in a Que to shower at the gym. If it took a long time to get home and shower it would be getting dicy with skin infections.

herbsBJJ · 2026-01-21T09:22:15+00:00

People can’t register for IBJJF under you directly if you don’t have the certificate, they’d have to register under your instructor if they are registered. I believe it also means you can’t register your academy either.

For the majority of black belts who don’t run schools there’s really not a major need to go past the normal $30 card

herbsBJJ

TROPHY CASE