Not Reading, wRiting and aRithmatic, but the cues I think of when coaching.

Repetition

Jiu Jitsu students generally have a significantly different mindset from say wrestlers. Whereas wrestlers may be shown a technique and drill it thousands of times, Jiu Jistu students commonly have a mindset of, I’ve done it three times I now know that technique, what’s next?

That’s why I like to have the repetition, either within a class where we are building from a base position and repeating those steps to get to later techniques and positions, or across classes where there is a review of what we have done in a previous class to help embed the technique in long term memory and to help develop the muscle memory of the technique.

Recall

Again this is about helping to develop the long term memory, and also to help students realise the details in the technique that they had forgotten or skipped over. Typically when we are running a theme across multiple classes I will:

• Ask if anyone remembers what we did last time, if not I’ll prompt them with the technique or theme;
• Once someone recalls a technique, I’ll have them demonstrate it with a partner;
• If they have hit all of the points, I’ll have them demonstrate it a second time
• If there are any missing points I’ll either have them walk through it again and emphasise the missing points, pausing and discussing it at the appropriate time in the technique, or demonstrate the technique myself if there is something specific I want to show;
• I’ll then have the class do a couple of repetitions of the technique to develop muscle memory;
• Work through the remaining techniques, having a different person show each technique, and then the class briefly practice; and
• I’ll show any techniques that nobody had remembered and have the class briefly practice.

Another strategy I will use for recall is at the end of the class or seminar is to either to have individual students briefly demonstrate one of techniques until we have covered them all, or if time is short to question the students in the lineup when we finish about which technique we did during the session to at least make them think about and recall the techniques.

Reinforcement

This may seem similar to repetition and recall, but it’s not related to the specific technique. Reinforcement could be exercises in the warm up that replicate movements in the technique, it could be related techniques that connect to the specific technique, allowing greater opportunities to deploy the specific technique. It could be drills that use elements of the technique to reinforce the muscle memory.

Another method to aid reinforcement is to focus strength and conditioning sessions to build strength and skill on complementary areas, for example the core strength required to sit up when an opponent stands in closed guard, or the conditioning to be able keep pressure on you opponent that compliments the technique you are trying to apply.

As I compete in the Masters divisions on a National and International level, I notice there is two common attributes I see in my fellow competitors. In my division, it is not uncommon to have opponents who are profiled on BJJ Heros, or are third, fourth or fifth degree Black Belts, so we are talking about highly skilled and experienced competitors. The attributes I see are aggression and patience. These may seem diametrically opposed, but are used in an effective strategy.

Firstly, aggression means they are always attacking early, and looking to remain the aggressor throughout the fight. This puts the opponent on the defence and playing the aggressors game and not their own.

Secondly, the patience relates to once they have a strong or dominant position, they don’t rush to capitalise on it, but instead maintain the position and wait for the right opportunity.

This is a balance I struggle with. I my last completion at the Pan Ams I had a reasonably good top position, but was struggling to maintain it. There was a bit of a scramble, and we ended up in a neutral position, me with double underhooks and my opponent holding my belt, preventing me from moving him much at all. I was pushing to improve my position, not being patient enough, and got swept. I recovered full guard and attacked a number of submissions and sweeps, but my opponent battened down the hatches and wouldn’t be moved. He was penalised for stalling, but this didn’t affect the outcome of the match and he won 2-0. In retrospect being more patient, and continue to try and work to a Baja pass would have been the better option, although I was wary of getting triangled transitioning to this. Alternatively, getting to my feet or a top position, rather than recovering guard would have probably been strategically better, possibly resulting in an advantage at most.

I made sure to try and catch the semi-finals and final of my division. The final was pure strategy. The final was 2 penalties to 3, with a score of 2-0. Other than takedown attempts, it was nearly all patience.

Getting back into a ketogenic diet in preparation for the Pan Ams in March, I’m working on taking the lessons learned from previous episodes to try and accelerate the process as much as possible.

One thing I’m doing differently is cutting right back on milk. I knew it was insulinogenic, but didn’t think at the volume I consume it would be much of an issue.

“Milk has a higher proportion of insulin calories compared to cheese. Butter and cream have a lower insulin load and proportion of insulinogenic calories.”

food	ND	% insulinogenic	net carbs/100g	insulin load  (g/100g)	calories/100g
butter	0.09	0%	0	1	734
cream	0.08	5%	4	5	431
goat milk	-0.05	40%	4	7	69
full cream milk	-0.10	44%	5	7	65
low fat milk	-0.12	58%	5	7	50
human milk	-0.14	43%	7	8	71
reduced fat milk	-0.13	59%	5	8	51

Another thing I am particularly aware of is the diuretic effect and the loss of electrolytes:

“When carbohydrate intake is restricted, 2 metabolic processes occur, both of which simultaneously reduce total body water content. The first process is mobilization of glycogen stores in liver and muscle. Each gram of glycogen is mobilized with approximately 2 g of water. The liver stores approximately 100 g of glycogen and muscle has 400 g of glycogen. Mobilization glycogen stores result in a weight loss of approximately 1 kg. Patients notice this change as a reduction in symptoms of “bloating” and are very pleased with the effect. The second process is generation of ketone bodies from catabolism of dietary and endogenous fat. Ketone bodies are filtered by the kidney as nonreabsorbable anions. Their presence in renal lumenal fluids increase distal sodium delivery to the lumen, and therefore increase renal sodium and water loss.”

“One group of investigators provided supplements containing 3–5 g sodium/d and 2–3 g potassium/d and found that circulatory competence during submaximal exercise was sustained. These supplements also allowed the subjects to achieve nitrogen balance, which had not been achieved in studies that did not use supplements.”

So that reinforces a focus on hydration, and also considerations for supplementing electrolytes, or at least salt.

On the topic of supplements, I have been using a ketogenic supplement of beta-hydroxybutrate in the form of KetoCaNa (trying the Strawberry Lemonade flavor for a change), but had also ordered some Perfect Keto Base (in the Chocolate Sea Salt flavour), which turns out is easy to drink, at least for beta-hydroxybutrate.

I had also tried some EAS Myoplex Ketogenic Powder Packets (in the Strawberry Banana flavour) as a meal replacement, but found these unpleasant to consume.

So the end result? After six days I hit 3.3 mmol/L of blood ketones, well in the range of 1.5+ for nutritional ketosis.

I have tested all sorts of things in the persuit of improving my Jiu Jitsu. Whether it’s exercise, diet, or tracking performance, I try to test these things for myself, so I know what works for me.

I have gone months on a strict Ketogenic diet, and managed to get my blood ketones up to 3.5 mmol/L, well into the nutritional ketosis range.

There are product coming on the market that claim to boost blood ketones, even if you are not on a strict Ketogenic diet. One I like the look of is KetoSports KetoCaNa. I purchase some, and once it arrived, I wanted to test how effective the claims were, so I broke out my Precision Xtra to measure blood ketones. The Ketone Test Strips are pretty pricey at about $5 per strip.

I have been eating a diet that is not strictly ketogenic, but has more fat than the average diet. A couple of hours after my last meal, I took a base reading, had one recommended dose of KetoCaNa, then took a reading at one hour, and again at two hours. During that time I was just sitting in my office working, with no physical exertion.

What were the results:

• Base: 0.3 mmol/L
• 1 hour: 1.3 mmol/L
• 2 hour: 0.8 mmol/L

So it looks like it made a significant difference. The next step is to try it prior to training and see the impact it has on performance, if any. I’m planning to test it a number of times before coming to any conclusion.

The other product I have pre-ordered is EAS Myoplex Ketogenic Powder which looks like it might be an easy option to hit all the Keto macro-nutrients.

Some good Keto resources:

• Keto Clarity: Your Definitive Guide to the Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet
• Smart drugs with Tim Ferriss

It seems that as people come to Jiu Jitsu, it is common to focus first on getting stripes and then on getting to the next belt. People become frustrated, and feel they are being held back if they are not progressing at a rate to their satisfaction.

I remember early on in my Jiu Jitsu career, getting a new belt carried  so much weight and gravity, that there was no rush to get to the next belt, in fact it was quite the opposite. There were two blue belts in the state, that I was aware of, so to be graded as a blue belt back then seemed to carry the weight of being graded as a black belt today.

Your progress on the mat is not dictated by the belt you wear. If anything, the belt is retrospective to the achievement you have already made. Ever day you get on the mat, you are making progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it some times. Even if you feel you are going backwards, if you are on the mat, then you are working through this difficult stage, and you will get to a stage where you feel and see the progress you have made.

To me progress in Jiu Jitsu feels like an undulating line on a gradual incline. Over a short period of time, it may feel like there is little or no progress, or even that you have gone backwards. If you look at the line over a longer period of time there is significant progression. I feel my game goes through stages of flux, where I start to add something to my game, it can feel like there are a lot of disconnected components, but as I start to assimilate these new skills, connections build between all of these components and they “gel” into a strongly connected cohesive game, which relates to the rise and fall of the undulating line.

So worry not, about the belt you wear. Worry less about the belt other students wear. This is your journey, it will happen at your pace, dependent on your skills, aptitude, dedication and available time to be on the mat. Concern yourself only with consistency and enjoying your time on the mats. These things will bring you progression, and in good time, the significant weight of a new belt to wear and represent.

“This is not an easy sport”.

That was a favourite saying of a former coach of mine. I can’t say I disagree with him. We’re not standing 7 feet 9.25 inches from a dart board with a pint in hand. We’re here getting our ego checked, and facing failure every time we get on the mat. That’s very confronting.

As I have said many times before “Every time you get on the mat, you can and will be tested”.  It doesn’t matter how practiced, how skilled, how long you have been training, you can and will get caught, sometimes by training partners you’re not supposed to lose to. A friend of mine who is a brown belt, was visiting a club and was having the last roll with a white belt, the only pair still rolling while everyone looked on. The white belt caught a submission and the brown belt tapped. It wasn’t supposed to go down that way, but that is how it goes some time.

Everyone has their struggles with Jiu Jitsu. Not necessarily the same issues. Not necessarily all the time.

It’s not just a case of getting caught when you’re not supposed to. Maybe you have a lot of things in your life, demanding you attention. Work, family, other activities and commitments. You can’t train twice a day, every day, as a world champion or a teenager living at home might be able to do. You might be struggling just to make it on the mat twice a week.

Maybe your frustrated with not getting the results you want, or progressing as fast as you would like. Or maybe you are injured, and can’t train with the level and focus you desire. It could be that your general fitness isn’t where it needs to be, and that makes everything harder.

Perhaps you have a fear. A fear of failure, a fear of losing, a fear of getting injured, or a fear of other people thinking you don’t deserve your grade. Maybe you training partners are younger, faster or stronger, and you find it hard to even believe you could ever achieve victory over them.

As Chris Haueter says in ROLL: Jiu-Jitsu in SoCal “It’s not who’s good, it’s who’s left”. This is a war of attrition. Just making it on the mat one more day is an achievement.

Enjoy the good times, when it all comes together, and you can do no wrong. Equally you need to weather the tough times, to be able to make it to the next patch of sunshine. These tough times are where your ego will get checked and your character will be built. These are the only rewards you can count on in Jiu Jitsu, not stripes, not belts, not gold medals.

This is not an easy sport.

The struggle is real.

You are not alone.

Welcome to Struggletown.

Getting ready for competition is a process. Early on, it’s about building your fitness and endurance, and about working on your skills to develop your game. When competition day rolls around, the work should be done and there are more immediate things to focus on. You should have been tapering your workload, so that by the time you get on the mats, you are rearing to go and not burnt out from running at redline.

As soon as the brackets come out, check the times and mats for your matches, so you are there in plenty of time. Mentally, I like to prepare myself to expect to face the strongest competitor in the division. If I get them, I’m prepared, if I don’t then I think I have the mental edge over my opponent.

Expect that there will be no good quality food available at the venue, and take along something to snack on that you can eat and still comfortably compete, bananas are always a favourite. Some people like to drink honey to give them energy, but high sugar levels may exacerbate dehydration by stimulating less water absorption.

You also need two sets of competition legal attire. If you have to change your gi for any reason, you will only get a couple of minutes, so you need it on hand, and not running around trying to borrow gear and face disqualification.

6.2.3 Technical Fouls

“When an athlete’s gi is rendered unusable and he/she is unable to exchange it for a new one within a period of time stipulated by the referee.”

Also take along a hoodie to keep warm, your favourite music (and headphones), and footwear for when you are not on the mat.

The main thing in the hours before your fight is to remain calm. Getting too hyped too early leads to being exhausted before you even step on the mat.

Check your weight on the test scales as soon as you get to the venue if you are close to the weight limit. If possible, also check on the official scales as sometimes these will be different, but this is generally not allowed.

When the time is coming for your division, start to get prepared. Go to the toilet, and have a team mate listed for your division. Start to warm up, listen to your favourite music that motivates you, and mentally start to ramp up. I like to break a sweat before my first match, so I’m not trying to get up to speed while someone tries to choke me.

When your division is called, go and get marshalled straight away. This gives you time to change anything if you need to, and otherwise allows you to settle in and get focused while you wait in the bullpen.

A lot of times, the first thirty seconds of a match will be the most intense. Try to avoid being overwhelmed, and know that the pace will soon settle. You should not be concerned with saving energy for future matches. The time is now, give it your all. My coach Robert Drysdale says that if you lose, you should be crawling off the mats because you gave it your all, and that your opponent should never go on to win the next round because you made them work so hard in your fight.

If you win, rehydrate, recover and get ready for the next round.

If you lose, don’t lose the lesson. Review footage to see mistakes that can be corrected, and ask advice from your coach.

Regardless of the result, you should celebrate taking on the challenge and putting yourself out there. There are plenty that didn’t.