BJJ Mental Models
Your guide to a conceptual and intelligent Jiu-Jitsu approach. BJJ black belt Steve Kwan and a slate of expert guests explain the concepts, strategies, and tactics behind the gentle art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Ep. 410: Instructing Versus Coaching, feat. Hillary VanOrnum
This week, we're joined by Hillary VanOrnum! Hillary is a third-degree black belt who runs Unicorn Jiu Jitsu in Portland, Oregon with her husband, and she just won her first Masters World Championship at black belt. In this episode, Hillary explains the difference between instructing and coaching, and how she uses questions to help students work out answers for themselves. Topics include: relating jiu-jitsu to sports students already know, building on each student's favorite techniques, letting go of control as a gym owner, turning Instagram clips into homework, and coaching students who only train twice...
Mini Ep. 125: Perception-Action Coupling
In this mini-episode, we explain perception-action coupling: a sports science concept explaining how practice should give athletes the same cues they'd face in a real match.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJM...
Ep. 409: Super Mario Theory, feat. Nelson Puentes
This week, we're joined by Nelson Puentes! Nelson co-founded Inverted Gear and runs Inverted Gear Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Nelson explains his Super Mario theory of jiu-jitsu: a good game teaches you how to play it by raising the difficulty one step at a time, and a good jiu-jitsu class works the same way. Topics include: game design, resource management, coaching without instructions, defensive jiu-jitsu, and intrinsic motivation.
Buy Inverted Gear apparel:
https://invertedgear.com
Train at Inverted Gear Academy in Allentown, PA:
https://invertedgearacademy.com<...
Mini Ep. 124: Deliberate Practice
In this mini-episode, we explain deliberate practice: a training method intended to improve performance by addressing your weaknesses and breaking through plateaus.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjm...
Ep. 408: Intention-Led Jiu-Jitsu, feat. Rob Cole
This week, we're joined by Rob Cole! Rob has been training martial arts for over 35 years, 25 of them focused on grappling, and he coaches at Ascension Athletics in Connecticut, where he runs his practice through the ecological dynamics framework. In this episode, Rob explains the intention-led approach, where you give students a goal to work toward instead of specific things to focus on. Topics include: a plain-language primer on ecological dynamics, intention versus attention, win conditions as a driver of behavior, grip fighting as a warm-up, teaching leglocks without fear.
Follow Rob on...
Mini Ep. 123: Differential Learning
In this mini-episode, we explain differential learning: a training approach used in sports proposing that motor skills are learned by varying how the movement is executed rather than trying to get it identical every time.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ...
Ep. 407: Day Zero Jiu-Jitsu, feat. Jesse Walker & Shelby York
This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker and Shelby York! Jesse and Shelby own Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, a gym of about 200 students with an unusually high number of women and older grapplers (the average student is around 43). In this episode, they walk a complete beginner through what happens before your first jiu-jitsu class. Topics include: vetting a gym, what to bring, why you should tap early, panic and intensity, injury risk.
Learn more at Rough Hands BJJ:
https://roughhandsbjj.com
Follow Jesse and Shelby at...
Mini Ep. 122: Gamification
In this mini-episode, we explain gamification: the practice of adding game-like elements to something in order to motivate a certain type of behavior. It's a concept from software design with elements of applied psychology and is used for everything from marketing to products to (of course) jiu-jitsu.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is f...
Ep. 406: The Problem of Leadership, feat. Barbara Ruiken & Giles Garcia
This week, we're joined by Barbara Ruiken and Giles Garcia! Barbara is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and the new head coach at Bergen Grappling in Norway, and she wrote her political science master's thesis on power and politics in jiu-jitsu organizations. Giles is the head coach and owner of Ronin Grappling in Rutherglen, just outside Glasgow, and a returning guest on the show. In this episode, Barbara and Giles explain why every gym has politics, whether the coach wants them or not. Topics include: informal power, accountability structures, setting your gym's culture...
Mini Ep. 121: Constraints-Led Approach
In this mini-episode, we explain constraints-led approach (CLA) in simple terms, and how it impacts your jiu-jitsu training.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
...
Ep. 405: Solving Procrastination, feat. Itamar Shatz
This week, we're joined by Itamar Shatz! Itamar is a jiu-jitsu black belt and a Cambridge University researcher whose new book, Solving Procrastination, is published by Penguin Random House. In this episode, Itamar explains why we procrastinate, and walks through the strategies research shows will help. Topics include: the self-control fallacy, hard conversations with your coach, if-then rules for unsafe rolls, perfectionism, and burnout.
Get Solving Procrastination:
https://solvingprocrastination.com/book
Mental models discussed in this episode:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/second-order-thinking
...
Mini Ep. 120: Ecological Dynamics
In this mini-episode, we explain ecological dynamics in simple terms, why it's misunderstood, and how it impacts your jiu-jitsu training.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsl...
Ep. 404: Cross-Grip Passing, feat. Rosie Miller & Jeff Shaw
Jeff Shaw is guest hosting this week, and he's joined by Rosie Miller! Rosie is a jiu-jitsu educator known for explaining complicated positions in plain language. In this episode, Rosie walks through how the cross-grip pass works, and why she now teaches it starting from the tripod position instead of the entry. Topics include: collapsing the knee shield, counterattacks like the omoplata, gi versus no-gi differences, and teaching with games.
Follow Rosie on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/rosierollz
Rosie's instructionals, YouTube and everything else:
https://rosierollz.com
...
Mini Ep. 119: Trading Up
In this mini-episode, we discuss trading up: the strategic importance of getting more than you give in any jiu-jitsu exchange.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/news...
Ep. 403: Learning from Kids Class, feat. Brennan Strimple
This week, we're joined again by Brennan Strimple! Brennan and his wife founded Rochester Jiu Jitsu in 2014, and almost all of their kids classes are taught by black belts. In this episode, Brennan explains why kids don't grapple like adults, and what the rest of us can learn from teaching them. Topics include: teaching goals instead of moves, coaching cues kids actually understand, how slowly kids process instruction, treating the tap like a video game respawn, and building young athletes.
Follow Brennan on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/coachbrennanstrimple
Follow Rochester Jiu Jitsu on Instagram:<...
Mini Ep. 118: Labeling
In this mini-episode, we discuss labeling: the practice of attaching a name, category, or descriptor to something in order to make it easier to identify and understand.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the lege...
Ep. 402: Dichotomies of Jiu-Jitsu, feat. Charles Harriott
This week, we're joined by Charles Harriott! Charles has been doing martial arts since he was four years old, and after years of traveling the world teaching seminars for BJJ Globetrotters and BJJ Fanatics, he recently opened his own gym, Lofi Dojo, in Gainesville, Florida. In this episode, Charles walks through the dichotomies of jiu-jitsu, the apparent opposites that often turn out to be sliding scales. Topics include: climbing versus leaping, gameplans versus improvisation, following the meta versus innovating, concepts versus techniques, and fun versus adversity.
Train with Charles at Lofi Dojo:
https://instagram.com/lofi...
Mini Ep. 117: Mnemonics
In this mini-episode, we discuss mnemonics: memory shortcuts that help you remember what you learned in jiu-jitsu class.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
L...
Ep. 401: Escaping Positions, feat. Rosie Miller
This week, we're joined by returning guest Rosie Miller! Rosie is a black belt out of San Diego who built a following teaching jiu-jitsu beginners the things she wishes she'd known at white belt. In this episode, Rosie explains why survival has to come before escape, and how to spot the tipping point where a bad position turns into real danger. She also gets into why she steers beginners away from closed guard, and how small, constant movement keeps the person on top working until an escape opens. Topics include: positional escapes, tipping points, surviving bottom side control, escaping...
Mini Ep. 116: Mental Gatekeeping
In this mini-episode, we discuss mental gatekeeping: the practice of guarding your mind against negative thinking and low-quality information.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
...
Ep. 400: Always Timeless, feat. Rafael Lovato Jr.
This week, for our 400th episode, we're joined by Rafael Lovato Jr.! Rafael is a multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion, a former Bellator middleweight MMA champion, and the creator of the Timeless Jiu-Jitsu philosophy. In this episode, Rafael makes the case that consistency beats intensity, and shows how a game built on timeless fundamentals lets you dominate opponents no matter your age. Topics include: consistency over intensity, competing in your 40s, playing the long game, mastering the fundamentals, and the case for the mount.
Follow Rafael on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/lovatojrbjj
Get Rafael's new...
Mini Ep. 115: Incremental Learning
In this mini-episode, we discuss incremental learning: the practice of breaking down a new concept to learn it piece by piece.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com...
Ep. 399: Breaking Through Plateaus, feat. Giles Garcia
This week, we're joined by Giles Garcia! Giles is a black belt competitor and the head coach and owner of Ronin Grappling in Glasgow, Scotland. In this episode, Giles explains how to break through training plateaus: how to spot one, how to name the specific problem hiding underneath it, and how to build a plan to solve it. Topics include: overtraining, the elevator theory, naming your plateau, and treating training partners as collaborators.
Train with Giles at Ronin Grappling in Glasgow:
https://roningrappling.com
Watch Giles's videos at BJJ Codex:
https://www.bjjcodex...
Mini Ep. 114: Goodhart's Law
In this mini-episode, we discuss Goodhart's Law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/news...
Ep. 398: Old Bastard Sweeps, feat. Mike Mahaffey
This week, we're joined by Mike Mahaffey! Mike is a second-degree black belt under Chris Haueter, best known for his Old Bastard Jiu-Jitsu style: a conservative approach built for older and less athletic grapplers. In this episode, Mike explains how to sweep from the bottom by disrupting your opponent's base instead of relying on speed or strength. Topics include: maintaining your base from the bottom, making them carry your weight, fulcrum sweeps, and the scissor and tripod sweeps.
Follow Mike Mahaffey:
https://instagram.com/oldbastardbjj
https://threads.com/@oldbastardbjj
Train with Mike Mahaffey...
Mini Ep. 113: Availability Heuristic
In this mini-episode, we discuss the availability heuristic: a mental bias toward information that is easy to recall.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
...
Ep. 397: Risk Management in BJJ, feat. Jake Luigi
This week, we're joined again by Jake Luigi! Jake is a jiu-jitsu analyst who made his name studying professional match footage, and he runs OutlierDB, an analytics database for grappling. In this episode, Jake lays out a three-part framework for managing risk: name the worst-case scenario, watch for the key indicators that it's coming, and only attack hard once those indicators are in your favor. Topics include: risk-reward analysis, points of control, grip fighting, terminal positions, and Goodhart's Law.
Subscribe to Less Impressed More Involved on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@LIMIBJJ
Check out...
Mini Ep. 112: Coiling
In this mini-episode, we discuss coiling, or retracting your limbs and neck. It denies access to our body's vulnerable levers and positions us to explosively generate force.
Staying coiled is a smart "default" position if you're not sure what to do. But there are times when you need to uncoil, and that is when:
#1: there's a productive reason to do so, and
#2: you can do so safely and without giving up a lever.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LE...
Ep. 396: Relative Strength, feat. Will Weisser
This week, we're joined by Will Weisser! Will is a jiu-jitsu black belt, co-founder of the competition-tracking site JiuJitsu.net, and author of the new book Scientific Jiu-Jitsu: A Unified Theory of Grappling. In this episode, Will lays out that unified theory: the idea that every jiu-jitsu technique exists to raise your own strength or reduce your opponent's. Topics include: relative strength, frames and misdirection, body alignment, and why being strong works.
Get Will's book, Scientific Jiu-Jitsu: A Unified Theory of Grappling:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594390355
Check out JiuJitsu.net:
https://jiujitsu...
Mini Ep. 111: Porcupine Strategy
In this mini-episode, we discuss porcupine strategy: the art of making your defense so painful that your aggressors think twice.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/news...
Ep. 395: Take the Slack Out, feat. Jesse Walker
This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker! Jesse is the head coach and co-founder of Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, and a frequent BJJ Mental Models collaborator. In this episode, Jesse makes the case for loading a joint with tension before you ever start the breaking mechanics, so the finish takes a fraction of the effort. Topics include: adding traction before the break, the order of operations of a joint lock, backing up to retighten a loose position, fixing the much-maligned Americana, and leglock safety through control.
Train with Jesse at Rough Hands BJJ:
https...
Mini Ep. 110: Mind the Gap
In this mini-episode, we discuss "mind the gap:" a no-gi gripping concept that prevents your opponent from pulling or circling their hand free.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
http...
Ep. 394: Position Series: No-Gi Lasso, feat. Rob Biernacki
This week we're joined again by Rob Biernacki! Rob is the head instructor of Island Top Team and the mind behind BJJ Concepts. In this episode, Rob breaks down how he built a working no-gi version of the lasso, a position long considered gi-only. Topics include: minding the gap in no-gi grips, the inverted grip, the omoplata as a control system, wedging, and hybrid lasso guards.
Rob on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/islandtopteam
Learn from Rob at BJJ Concepts:
https://bjjconcepts.net
Get Rob's No-Gi Lasso instructional:
https://bjjconcepts.net...
Mini Ep. 109: Overwhelming Force
In this mini-episode, we discuss overwhelming force: the idea that we maximize our power by using the most of our body's weapons against the least of our opponent's.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the...
Ep. 393: Submission Series: The Woj Lock 2.0, feat Chris Wojcik
This week, we're joined again by Chris Wojcik! In this episode, Chris rebuilds his approach to the Woj Lock around a few guiding concepts instead of a catalog of techniques. Topics include: the three points of control, proximal vs. distal control, redefining what counts as fundamental, and training leg locks through games instead of memorization.
Get Woj Lock 2.0 from BJJ Fanatics:
https://bjjfanatics.com/products/woj-lock-2-0-completing-the-leg-lock-game-by-chris-wojcik
Subscribe to the Grappler's Diary:
https://thegrapplersdiary.substack.com
Get the Grappler's Diary book:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DRS9K6...
Mini Ep. 108: Inertia
In this mini-episode, we discuss inertia: a concept from physics explaining that objects are resistant to changes in velocity.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsletter:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/newsletter
...
Ep. 392: The 90% That Matters, feat. Beatrice Jin
This week, we're joined by Beatrice Jin! Beatrice is a black belt competing in the IBJJF top 10 at lightweight and middleweight, and she's known across jiu-jitsu social media for her whiteboard reels. In this episode, Beatrice breaks down the 90% of jiu-jitsu that has nothing to do with sparring, and why the work around the mat is what actually builds a career. Topics include: what podium finishes actually feel like, building a women's open mat from three people to thirty, finding the niche only you can fill, and using social media to build trust before asking for the sale.
<...
Mini Ep. 107: Emotional Contagion
In this mini-episode, we discuss emotional contagion: a psychological and physiological concept that shows us how much our emotions and behavior impact others around us.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJMM newsl...
Ep. 391: Am I Getting Better? feat. Josh McKinney
This week, we're joined by Josh McKinney! Josh is a black belt, head coach at HeadNod Jiu-Jitsu in Southern Illinois, and the host of the I Suck at Jiu-Jitsu podcast. In this episode, Josh shares a framework for self-coaching beyond getting belt promotions, and explains why submission count and belt color are the wrong yardsticks for measuring whether you're getting better. Topics include: false metrics, the over-reliance on your A-game, learning to read old-school black belts, the Henry Akins "how many steps" test, and managing effort as a progress metric.
Follow Josh on Instagram:
https://instagram...
Mini Ep. 106: Cognitive Load
In this mini-episode, we discuss cognitive load: our brain's working memory (like computer RAM), and how to manage it so we can learn jiu-jitsu more effectively.
Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro
⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium!
The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free:
https://bjjmentalmodels.com
Need more BJJ Mental Models?
Get the legendary BJJM...
