The Jiu Jitsu Blues

Oh yeah, I got my brown belt. . . . . back in March 2015. It’s hard to imagine that my last post was toward the end of my 8-month sabbatical in 2014, and that I haven’t posted on this blo...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2017/11/got-my-brown-belt-back-in-march-2015.html

--> I have passed through Hanoi twice while traveling in Vietnam, staying a total of 11 or 12 days in this beautiful capital city. While here, I’ve had the pleasure of training at BJJ Hanoi ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/12/school-review-bjj-hanoi.html

--> The one gi jiu jitsu gym in Ho Chi Minh / Saigon is at the Saigon Sports Club, located in District 7.  I really wanted to check out the gi gym, so I made plans to train there my second-t...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/11/school-review-saigon-sports-club.html

--> While packing for my 7-week trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, I packed my gi and no-gi gear in the hopes of training.  BJJ is a relatively new sport in Vietnam, so even large cities only have...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/11/school-review-saigon-jiu-jitsu.html

--> With about 70% of my sabbatical completed, this has been one of the best experiences in my life.  So far, I have  Ø  Hiked out west for a month Ø  Trekked through Peru for a mont...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/10/sabbatical-update.html

Toward the end of my sabbatical trip to Peru, I spent a few days in wonderful Arequipa.  The weather here is perfect, interesting cultural attractions, and a strong pedestrian culture.  I was ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/07/school-review-banzai-peru-arequipa-peru.html

My sabbatical trip to Peru started in the country's capital, which gave me the opportunity to train at Fight and Fitness:  Familia Game Fight in Miraflores (metropolitan Lima area).  CONTACT ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/06/school-review-fight-and-fitness-familia.html

Of Ankles: > I rolled over my ankle about four weeks ago and heard a loud > snapping sound when I did.  I've been on a slow recovery ever > since, having unsuccessf...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/04/of-ankles-and-sabbaticals.html

I graduated from college 20 years ago this spring, and have worked continuously since then.  Even though I'm only about half way through my career, I've been feeling burned out, in need of rej...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2014/02/2014-my-sabbatical-year.html

Thanksgiving finds us in Buenos Aries for two weeks, and I trained for the first time at United MMA in Buenos Aires . I came to the 16:30 class and was informed that if you're a purple belt at t...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/11/training-in-buenos-aires.html

Posters on BJJ forums often bemoan the high cost of BJJ.  Some post in outrage that a gym charge them $100+ per month just to use their facility and get instruction.  A few weeks ago, there re...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-high-cost-of-bjj.html

A buddy  recently asked me to blog about rolling with white belts or anyone else who's skill is much lower than mine.  I was a bit surprised by the request because I think of myself as a prett...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/10/rolling-with-white-belts.html

I've been off the mats for about a month with a strange wrist injury.  Essentially, my wrist hurts when I grab and twist a door knob, a lever, a gi, etc.  At first, I couldn't pick up 1 pound ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/09/have-you-ever-watched-two-cats-just.html

I was reading my LinkedIn feed today and ran across an interesting piece about Diana Nyad, a famous long distance swimmer.  Nyad is no stranger to long distance swimming:  in the 1970's, she s...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/09/inspiration.html

As is the custom with Team Roberto Traven, we have started having an extended Team Training on Sundays for those who plan to compete at the Atlanta Open on August 31. Team training is always ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/07/heat-gets-best-of-me-in-team-training.html

After practice tonight, a blue belt says to me "Hey Dolph, let me use you to demonstrate something".  He than puts me in half guard with a knee shield and proceeds to explain to a purple belt h...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/04/are-you-kidding-me.html

My experience at the Pans was perhaps my most disappointing tournament performance ever.  I was well rested, mentally in a good place, and lost by armbar in 33 seconds.  I returned to the s...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/03/33-seconds.html

Competition season is in full swing, which means competition team training each Sunday. This additional practice is about 120 - 150 minutes of tough training and a couple warmups. Last Sunday ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/03/heard-on-mat.html

Smelling as crisp and clean as the freshly fallen snow ! I've been working on breaking down someone's posture, then going for a hip-bump sweep if they overcompensate when regaining posture. ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/02/oddest-jiu-jitsu-compliment.html

A few months ago, I published a short post about "Stinky Pants" who never seemed to wash his gi.  You can read the details of my conversation with him and view a short video on how to wash your...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/01/lapels-names-and-stinky-pants.html

While my journey to the Pans 2013 started when I first put on a gi in 2003, it feels to me like it started in practice tonight. Getting ready for competition season, I made it a double tonigh...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/01/pans-2013-starting-journey.html

2012 Annual Review It’s been my end of year tradition to draft an annual review examining my progress in the past year and areas for development.  And so, here is my 2012 annual review.  ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2013/01/2012-annual-review.html

This is the second installment of my video series "Adolph Shows You . . . . "  Grateful thanks to my training partners Maddie for being in it and Brandon for being the videographer. Sundance...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2012/12/adolph-shows-you-how-to-be-d-bag.html

I gathered with some of my teammates on Tuesday night to watch the election results roll in.  In addition to talking politics (our gym is full of left-wingers and right wingers), we also talked ...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2012/11/stinky.html

I imposed a guard jumping moratorium about a month ago.  My rules for this moratorium have been simple and adhered to in each practice: Always ask to start standing Go for a take down Spraw...

http://bjjblues.blogspot.com/2012/11/getting-more-aggressive.html