Things you can do to get better at Jiu Jitsu without coming to class

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is much more than a collection of clever moves and finishes, it is about being able to remain safe, alive, and on the hunt. In the Jiu Jitsu analogy of the ground being an ocean; having skill and capability with Jiu Jitsu makes you a shark in an environment where most people don't know how to swim. It is truly a super power. One that is more accessible to you, and at a higher level, than you probably realize.

This essay will outline a few things you can do outside of class to develop skill at Jiu Jitsu. There are many non-obvious ways you can develop high level skills while outside of the academy, that directly enhance your skills on the mat.

Stand up straight - Sit up straight - Prioritize the Spine

The word training is often understood too narrowly. Training isn't something you go and do - it is something that is always being done. Right now, in this very moment, you are training your neck and hips to take a posture - a set. A "set" is not just the term from math signifying a distinct group of objects, but a "set" in structural terms implies an inherent rigidity among a set of physical objects - in this case a set consisting of; your pelvis at one end, your skull at the other, and the vertebrae in your spine connecting them.

To prioritizing the spine means to lengthen the spine and return it to its natural curvature. If standing this means straight legs, hips forward directly under your shoulders. Your upper chest lifts up, while your chin tucks a little and you feel your spine extend up through the back of the top of your head. When you perfectly align your spine with gravity your muscles are able to move towards a more relaxed state. Proper alignment with gravity allows your skeleton to bear the weight of your body instead of your muscles trying to fight gravity and hold yourself up.

Given your natural shape and structure, gravity will curl you right back up into a fetal ball if you let it. Your posture is your extension into the universe. Your chest lifts up, your feet press down. In good standing posture your spine aligns directly against gravity. You aren't standing "up", you are extending out against gravity which pulls towards the center of the earth.

Your posture becomes fixed as you train it. The more time you spend in a crooked posture, the more your spine is going to try and find that posture in times of duress. In martial arts we are trying to find power in structure. The natural curve and posture of an upright spine is incredibly strong. So strong in fact that we don't have to try and "be strong", but often we just need to stand up straight. There is power in posture. The more time you spend training that relaxed power, the more power you will have when you need it. Not just for something dramatic and unlikely like getting in a fight, but what you need more often for survival - walking

Walk and expand/fill your lungs everyday - Find your breath

It is difficult to try and convince students that getting better at walking, often and a lot, will generally do much more for their Jiu Jitsu than learning more moves. I think the difficulty lies in a misunderstanding of what you are training and why.

Long ago, before PCC and Safeway were around, we humans would walk animals down until they died - that is one of the ways we would hunt. Deer, though faster than us, will apparently given out sooner over a long enough distance. They would become overheated and exhausted sooner than our cave ancestors, who could eventually run up and spear dinner once it became too tired to get away. Gnarly right? That's you - and me, along time ago.

Now when people think of getting in fighting shape the tendency is to frame it in terms of a singular event that lasts a very short amount of time like a sprint or crossfit workout. A smaller work output maintained over a long period of time better prepares you for Jiu Jitsu.

How long can you lightly run for; whether chasing or being chased? Seems like something good to know, right? If you suddenly had to walk five miles right now would it be a big deal to you? How about 10 miles? If making a long hike without rest seems like a difficult thing to accomplish, what would your emotional state be once you started getting tired on that walk? What if something was chasing you, or you couldn't eat if you didn't physically catch dinner?

We don't need fatalistic examples to highlight the merits of being able to maintain a brisk pace over a long period of time, but it does help make the point. You don't need to live the point to get the benefits of the preparation - just make a habit of walking until you become out of breath, then relax, find your breath, lengthen your stride, and walk further. The more you practice moving the better you get at it.

The confluence of the phrases; "It's a marathon, not a sprint", and "walking is good for your stress", contain a lot wisdom. When you make friends with your breath you are syncing up your emotions with your output. Try and adjust either your breathing, your output, or both as you relax into the breath and the activity. When you stand well, walk well, and do both in a relaxed manner that you can maintain for hours and hours, your mind relaxes as well.

Increased movement capacity builds confidence. Confidence prevents death. It can also cause it. Too little or too much can both be your end. Finding your breath helps you find your rhythm. A good rhythm can keep you going. Being able to control and direct it can keep you alive. We didn't catch dinner by chasing after it like crazed wolves, but rather a relaxed determined trot set at a comfortable pace we could maintain for hours. That "hunting pace" is faster than I am recommending. I am not saying carry a spear for a 20 miles light jog around metro Seattle to get better at passing guard. I'm saying discover how your body responds when you walk 3-7 miles, then work to improve that response. No spear necessary.

Several 50 - 100 yard trots done periodically throughout the day don't count. It has to be a long enough walk that you get tired. You aren't walking to log mindless miles, but to find your most efficient movement patterns. Extend your stride and find a good relaxed swing with your arms and get lost enough in thought that you have to intentionally bring your mind back into the activity. The exercise becomes find your relaxed posture and power as you walk - enough to lose your breath and then find it again - get tired enough, and distracted enough, that you have to bring your mind back into your posture and pace - repeat. You can practice it over shorter distances, but you really want to walk long enough to find some fatigue in your body, then intentionally work through that.

Switch to flat shoes - Strengthen your forefoot - Train your feet

There are many different brands of shoes and flippers that provide close to barefoot ground connection. Your contact with the ground is where you get your base from. The more material and buffering there is between your foot and the ground, the less you can feel the ground and use that connection well. A large portion of all stand up, (whether it be Muay Thai, Boxing, Judo, or Jiu Jitsu), relies on coordinating your upright posture from the forefoot all the way up to the head. The more you can are able to move and function in a connected manner; forefoot to head connected with a strong core, the more efficient your Jiu Jitsu will be.

Your "core" is everything from your toes to your finger tips, not your abs. Go find a bar you can hang from. Hang straight from the bar with a strong grip and a strong belly - then bring the base of your toes up to the bar. Those muscles involved - that is your core. You should have good connection from your forefoot, up to your kimono grip. A grip that lightly takes your partner off their base or out of alignment. That is the base mechanic of Judo. Judoka have strong cores. They also look like tree trunks. The forefoot is the most important connection in that chain. It is the strongest, yet the most mobile link in that chain. Stop squeezing the life out of your grips - learn to use your forefoot.

Nothing trains your foot better than lots of barefoot walking. Of course walking around work barefoot probably won't help your networking efforts. A decent minimalist shoe should help bridge the gap. The better ones have almost nothing between you and the ground but still look like regular shoes, minus the giant piece of useless foam between you and the ground. If you don't need to insulate your foot from the temperature of the ground, (extreme cold or heat), you don't need material cushioning you from the ground.

Padded shoes are a lie. They weaken your body and give you a very muted connection with the ground. You want to feel the ground as you walk so your foot can properly adjust your balance to the terrain. Your feet are meant to keep you agile and stable. Your foot should give you spring in your step, not your shoes.

Martial Art Application - Throwing

Standing up straight on your own two feet can be harder than is typically assumed. It's not a given. Especially if someone is standing up against you in opposition. Remember, Jiu Jitsu is a martial art. It is the art of learning when and how to get out of the way. Correct application is mostly about sensing a threat and getting out of the way. Correct application, also, is knowing when, (and how), to stand in the way - properly. That is essentially what a throw is, being in the right place at the right time in a manner that takes someone off their feet.

If someone throws you it is because two things happened; 1) you gave them direct force, and 2) they correctly got in your way. There is an underlying philosophy and intent here: one person attacking with forward pressure, and the other person is using that force to defend themself. Assault is what it is called when one person attacks another - that's not what we are doing. We aren't learning how to out assault each other. We are practicing martial arts.

In our art we are prioritizing defense and staying safe through proper positioning. We are studying how force used against you, an assault, can be redirected and controlled in order to defend yourself. We are learning how to combine forces in such a way that your superior structure, alignment, and application of leverage/force allows you to defend yourself. When I talk about finding the perpendiculars in class, this is that. The better connection you have between the ground and your forefoot, up through your core, into the connection with your partner - the more certainly you can redirect to the perpendicular.

"My Force" is generated from, and rooted in, the ground, as is yours. Maximizing the ability of your forefoot to synchronize with the rest of your frame and coordinate your movements is what makes your Jiu Jitsu better, not how you use your hands. You use your hands last. They are the weakest part of the chain. Too firm a grip generally comes from a scarred, uncertain, or overly aggressive mindset. This emotional side of conflict is often overlooked. If you are goofing around with friends this won't be apparent, however the more "real" the conflict gets the more the emotional responses to stress will start to weigh in. Motivation and potential physical gain or loss are big drivers. Dogs have no morality when they fight. They fight out of instinct for survival. Men generally fight out of ego.

What are we training?

Whenever your mind is on ego or survival it won't be on footwork. Ego and emotions literally take you off your feet. Training your feet and the footwork they can provide, is to train intentionality. You are taking your mind off the eventual outcome of the event and putting it into footwork and posture. Foot and balance training don't just increase the coordination of both your body and breath - they train intentionality. You’re training the ability of your feet to be in the correct position at the correct time.

There is a closely intertwined physiological and emotional reaction, to high stress events. One thread that ties martial arts training, athletic competitive endeavors, and self defense together is how you can train and control those reactions. To train martial arts isn't to try and memorize techniques, but rather train yourself to find stability, and maintain mobility, while under duress. The more you train your forefoot to be strong and directly tie into the alignment of your hips - spine - and head, the more unified your whole body will be in both offense and defense.

To train Jiu Jitsu is to train intentionality. In class isn't the only place that can be done. Many times students beat themselves up for not knowing or recalling the correct move, when in reality they may have known the correct move but didn't have the calmness and presence of mind to pull it off. Jiu Jitsu "moves" contain movement. The greater your movement capacity, the higher the likelihood of you pulling off a move. Intentionally, while under duress.

We teach this to little kids all the time - they just see it as having fun and playing though - you should too. Training for life and death shouldn't feel like a life or death struggle. To win is more often about outlasting than it is complete and immediate domination. If you can do that, you probably don't need Jiu Jitsu. Good jiu jitsu is about being able to reposition well forever much more than it is to win right away. If you can find those lessons on a nice long walk - you can find it on the mat.