Episode #31 - Is Jiu Jitsu for Me? I'm Glad You Asked!

Considering stepping onto the jiu-jitsu mats for the first time but feeling hesitant? This episode is your complete roadmap to beginning your BJJ journey with confidence and clarity.

After returning from a brief hiatus, I'm diving into everything the curious newcomer needs to know about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu – from what it actually is (think chess meets wrestling) to who it's truly for (spoiler: everyone). Drawing from my own experience as someone who once nervously walked into a gym feeling completely out of my element, I break down the myths that might be holding you back.

"I need to get in shape first" and "I'm too old to start" are just two of the misconceptions I dismantle, sharing stories of practitioners who began in their 40s, 50s, and beyond. We explore what your first class will really feel like, what to wear, and the unwritten etiquette that will help you feel at home from day one. I also offer crucial guidance on finding the right academy with clean mats, supportive instructors, and a welcoming community.

Beyond the physical benefits, we delve into how jiu-jitsu transforms mental health, teaching you to remain calm under pressure and fully present in a world of constant distraction. The most valuable lesson? Consistency trumps natural talent every time. The person who shows up regularly, even when progress feels slow, is the one who ultimately succeeds on this journey.

Ready to fold clothes with people still in them? Shoot me an email at caffeinatedjiu-jitsu@gmail.com or connect on Instagram to share your beginnings. The hardest part is walking through that door – everything after that is just showing up.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu
• 4:30 What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
• 9:15 Who Jiu-Jitsu is For - Busting Myths
• 13:35 The Physical and Mental Benefits
• 16:20 What to Expect in Your First Class
• 28:46 Finding the Right Gym
• 35:58 Keep Showing Up - Consistency is Key
• 46:06 Training Smart and Final Thoughts

Transcript

Intro: 0:01

Welcome to Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu the blend of white belt enthusiasm, black belt wisdom and a dash of caffeine for that extra kick. Dive deep into the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as we explore the journey, techniques, challenges and the sheer joy of the sport from a White Belts perspective, from intriguing interviews with renowned coaches and professors to playful fun episodes that will have you chuckling mid-roll. We've got it all brewed and ready. Now, stepping over the mess and into your ears, here's your host, Joe Motes.

Joe: 0:54

Welcome back everyone to another episode of Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu. I'm your host, Joe Motes, and I'm excited to be back for another episode. It's been quite some time since we have been together or I've put out some content, and most of you know that that's due to some life changes here for me and my professional life. But now all of that is on track and going well and I am able to start recording again. And no, the Caffeinated Jiu Jitsu podcast is not over. Caffeinated jujitsu podcast is not over. Got a lot of episodes ahead to. You know. Record and plan and get out there. So you know. Thank you for everyone who's been reaching out via the instagram community and, uh, the caffeinated jujitsu email. So, yeah and um, I thought that a good way to kick things back off is to kind of go back to the root of the type of content I really wanted to put out when I started caffeinated jiu-jitsu. And that's for those that are new or considering Jiu Jitsu or something along those lines. And if you are checking out this particular episode, there's a good chance that someone, maybe a friend, maybe your own curiosity has nudged you to consider starting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and maybe you've seen some of the funny memes, or maybe you've heard Joe Rogan say that you know, jiu Jitsu has changed his life for the 100th time. And this episode it's really for the thinking about it crowd. It's really for the thinking about it crowd, the folks who are just on the edge of walking into a gym or academy, the ones who've googled is you know, bjj dangerous, or do you have to be in shape to start jujitsu? This isn't a sales pitch. I always make sure that everyone knows that I'm not a jujitsu Jedi or or, uh, you know, an authority figure in the jujitsu space. I'm just someone who, like you, once considered starting jujitsu. Uh, walked, walked into a gym, a little nervous, very unathletic and completely unsure if it was for me as well. So in this episode we're going to unpack what jiu-jitsu is, who it's for, what you can expect and why it might just might, might become one of the best decisions you ever make in life. So let's get into it, and I think it is good with anything that you start to talk about and learn about that you start kind of at the beginning.

Joe: 4:23

What is jiu-jitsu, first and foremost? And Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or BJJ as it's normally referenced in the jiu-jitsu community, is a form of martial art that really focuses on ground fighting or grappling. Think, you know, college wrestling or high school wrestling meets chess, and the goal isn't to strike your opponent, but the goal is to control them, and you do this by positioning yourself on them, putting pressure, joint locks or different types of chokes that force them to kind of submit and, in a real fight, calm down. It's the martial art of leverage, it's power without strength, it's, you know, about precision without blood, gore, violence. And historically it came from japan, where jujitsu was a system for unarmed samurai to subdue enemies in armor, and later Jiro Kano distilled these techniques into what became Judo, and then one of his top students, mitsumieda, brought Judo tozil in the early 1900s and he taught judo to carlos gracie and the gracie family kind of took the ground game of judo and modified it over the you know the generations and boom.

Joe: 6:24

Brazilian jiu-jitsu was born, and there there is a lot of, you know, different thoughts and opinions on the history of judo and who had the biggest impact and spread it in around the world. But very few doubt that it really exploded globally after the first few ufcs, where hoist gracie you know this this wiry, unassuming guy in a gi just dismantled. Everyone using bjj, no matter um, their size, their fight experience no one had really seen anything like this. So so no, it's not a mystical art form, it's not some secret club, it's. It's tested, proven system of ground fighting that that teaches you how to take down someone, control them and make them tap out, submit, you know kind of to your will or what have you. It's in one of the schools I used to train at. There was a sign somewhere posted in the school that said it's the art of folding clothes with people still inside them. So, and you know, I remember my first experience stepping onto the mat and to this day I've been training now for two plus years, almost three years, and it was. It was.

Joe: 8:00

I was nervous. I wasn't sure at first if it was for me, but as I was training and we'll talk a little bit about what you can expect in your first class, uh, in this episode, but I I just noticed, you know, watch these 60 pounds lighter guy twist these big guys up like a pretzel and I didn't know how they were doing it and I was just so impressed by, like these big, strong athletic guys not being able to do anything against, um, you know, the smaller, clearly more physically unathletic and weaker person, and I knew that. You know, I'm not a huge guy, I'm five, 11. I think at the time. At the time I was overweight, so I was over 200 pounds and you know, I felt like it was something that I needed to know and I was hooked after about my second class. So who is this for? Who is? Is there a specific personality, body type? You know what's the short answer? And the short answer is jujitsu is for everyone.

Joe: 9:15

But there's a lot of myths out there, I think, that keep people back from starting jujitsu. And here's some of them. You know, myth number one is I need to get in shape first. No, you don't. No, you don't. I was completely out of shape when I started. Jiu-jitsu gets you in shape. I've seen people start in their mid to late 40s and even older, carrying extra weight and over time they become lean, flexible, really powerful athletes and just by showing up consistently and I started at 42. Again, not in the best shape of my life at the time, but I would say about a year into it I felt better, I was more flexible, I lost a lot of weight and I was primarily my main workout was jujitsu.

Joe: 10:26

So myth two, I think the second thing that I hear a lot is I'm too old. And look, unless you're being scouted by the UFC, you're not too old. Ufc professional fighting stuff like that. Yeah, there may be an age limit, but not with jujitsu. I've trained with 65-year-olds who will triangle you into a nap and then tell their grandkids about it. So I just said I started at 42. I know many people who started in their 50s. Yes, of course there're younger people who start, and I wish I would have started young, but you don't lose any ground by starting at the age you are right now.

Joe: 11:16

You know, if you, if you feel like you are in really advanced age, you you know 70, whatever, and this is something that you're thinking about it's good to get your doctor's advice and let your professor know the things you're concerned about. Or if you have an injury you're worried about re-injuring. Maybe you were in a car accident, hurt your shoulder or something like that and it gets aggravated easy. It's always good practice to bring that up and you know I don't think I hear this a lot, but you know the I don't want to fight people and good, and then I don't want to fight anyone either. Jiu-jitsu is about control, not chaos. And then I don't want to fight anyone either. Jiu-jitsu is about control, not chaos. And in fact, most people who train become less aggressive because they're more confident.

Joe: 12:13

I've trained with software engineers, nurses, mechanics, students, moms who train after dropping their kids off at school, or friends, lawyers rolling after court, law enforcement good bit of law enforcement military veterans. One of the toughest guys I think to date that I remember, at least sitting here now that I've rolled with was a CPA and he looks like he should be doing your taxes, not tapping you out. But the guy was brutal. And you see, the beauty of jujitsu is that the mat doesn't care about your background or your profession or your age or any of that. You come in with zero knowledge. It levels the field and everyone sucks. At first you feel like you always suck at jiu-jitsu and that's the contract you sign, and humility is really the only currency you need. Leave your ego at the door. There's no room for that, and every gym has a way of getting rid of ego.

Joe: 13:25

So what are some of the real benefits of jujitsu? You know, if you're kind of asking yourself, why should I do this. What are you getting besides? You know, sweaty cuddle sessions and bruised egos. The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is the physical gains. You'll get stronger, but in a more practical way. This is not your beach or gym muscles that you're going to build. You'll build things like grip, strength and core stability and mobility. Your posture will improve, your cardio, your agility, your stamina. All of that will just go through the roof and you'll get a better workout of five rounds of rolling that's sparring, we call that rolling than an hour of lifting weights or running.

Joe: 14:20

And for me, another benefit and I believe for you as well is the mental benefits, and jiu-jitsu is mentally therapeutic, believe it or not. It teaches you how to stay calm under pressure, how to breathe when you're in a bad spot. You become well I'm speaking for myself here, but myself here, but you. You become a little harder to rattle on and off the mat and you're you're solving problems in real time. I talked about it being like chest earlier, and it's like chest with with consequences. You know, um, you get caught in the choke, you learn, you escape, you celebrate. It keeps your brain, in my opinion, sharp and it helps in all aspects of mental health. I think it also helps with emotional health.

Joe: 15:17

Let's be real, you know life is super stressful I know it is for me and the mat. It demands our presence, it demands our focus when we're on it and you can't carry worrying about deadlines at work or drama with someone's trying to pass your guard. You can't think about that stuff. You know, I've seen people battle anxiety, myself included, and depression, and come out stronger because Jiu-Jitsu gave them structure, gave them community and progress. They could, they could feel in their body and in their mind and in their emotions and you stop measuring yourself by outcomes and you start appreciating growth and that's. That's rare in something, and maybe other martial arts give that as well. I, I don't know, I've never trained them, but I in any form. That's valuable, right? Let's uh, let's think about what your first class will be like. So let me try to paint a picture. You finally build up the courage.

Joe: 16:25

You walk into a gym, a-jitsu gym and sometimes they're called gyms, sometimes they're called schools, sometimes they're called academies, so those words are used, kind of interchangeable when you hear me use them. But you're going to hear terms like shrimping and scissor sweep and triangle choke and you're thinking what did I just walk into? And you'll be nervous. Everyone is, that's normal, and you just know that everyone you see on the mat has been there at some point, regardless of the color of their belt, which you don't know anything about at the moment, but we've all been there. So here's what you can expect.

Joe: 17:09

Most beginner classes start with a warm-up. You know jogging, movement drills. The instructor will then show a technique Maybe it's how to escape the mount position or do a basic guard pass, and you'll partner up and drill. Then maybe, some light positional sparring really depends on your school. There are schools that have you know requirements before you can do positional sparring or rolling. Some require you to have a certain amount of hours of fundamentals training so they can ensure you don't get hurt, and so you have a better time and you're not just getting smashed until you get better. But then some and I've been to gyms that let you roll in full spar by your second or third day there. Positional sparring, though, is typically where you're put into a a standard position, like someone is mounted on top of you, kind of straddling your your chest or your stomach or whatever on top of you, and your goal on the bottom would be to escape and the goal of the person on the top would be to say prevent you from escaping and remaining in control.

Joe: 18:34

Rolling is a little different. Um, you, you typically, like I said, will not spar on that first day. If you have no training whatsoever, you won't spar. Most good gyms know how to ease people in. So, yeah, gear as far as what you need, don't stress about that. Most gyms will, for your first few classes, lend you a gi for your first class and just bring water and something to wear on your feet. I wouldn't recommend just socks, but Crocs is what I wear. Yes, I rock Crocs, sandals, flip-flops and really the biggest thing is an open mind and jiu-jitsu.

Joe: 19:23

People go back and forth on this. It's not an expensive sport. You know the gi is probably the most expensive thing. They can range anywhere from $80. It's not an expensive sport. You know the Gi is probably the most expensive thing. They can range anywhere from $80. You can get a Santa ball off Amazon, you know, to $200, $300, $400.

Joe: 19:43

But a lot of several gyms at least your big franchise gyms, kind of require you to wear their own branded gems. Like you know, gracie Baja, you have to wear a white Gracie I don't want to say issued, because you do have to buy it Gi so does Alliance. And then there are other gems, like the one I'm looking at starting next week. As long as it's a white gi, it can be any brand, any make, model, whatever, but I believe you'll have to have one of their patches on it. So, and then there's others that you can wear whatever. You can wear pink or purple or yellow or whatever type, color, type of gi you want to wear. And then no gi gear if you're going to train, no gi is is a little less expensive. I think you can get rash guards for, you know, anywhere from 30 to 60 dollars, depending on what you want to pay. And then the shorts are about the same. So, um, belts are typically sold separately and, again, unless you're in one of those schools that requires you to get their gi, they will also give you a belt with your gi as well.

Joe: 20:59

I think another thing to think about when you're in this first class or whatever, when you're about to step on the mat is a big rule in jujitsu, and it should be, for obvious reasons is hygiene. You know, make sure you're trimming your nails. Um, that this is something that my professor used to have to get on me about pretty often, because it's not that I never trim my nails, but not nearly as often as um. You know, I was training a couple of times a day and and they would grow and I would just kind of overlook that because I wasn't a daily nail trimmer. And the other thing is make sure you have clean equipment and gear. Make sure your gi is clean and washed.

Joe: 21:42

And when you wash your gi, make sure I recommend hang drying it. They dry really fast. If you kind of hang it in front of a window, the material doesn't stay, you know, wet forever. If you put it on dry in your dryer, even on the lowest heat, you're going to experience some shrinkage. You know, shower if you can. I wasn't able to, I'm not able to always shower before training, but if you can, then I highly recommend just getting in and washing off, getting some of that work sweat off or what have you. At a bare minimum, use some body spray and reapply deodorant. Uh, you're just. Uh, you don't want to make it miserable for your training partner. It's.

Joe: 22:35

You know, jujitsu is close contact and we keep it clean, not to be bougie or out of vanity, but we we stay clean, out of respect. We also don't want to spread any skin infections. You know, if I have somewhere like on my arm or something, a staph infection or ingrown hair that maybe staph have gotten into my body produces a lot of staph and sometimes I'll get those infections just over simple things. You know, I'll keep those covered. Or if it's like on my arm or something, maybe I don't train, uh, no gi. Or. Or if it's a bad infection, if it's, you know, if you find yourself with ringworm or whatever, then then you just sit out and you can still go to class and fellowship, but you don't, you don't get on the mat, you don't train and things like that. And also, I would say, if you have an open wound, maybe a blister that has busted, you know, make sure you bandage that up, wrap it up, tape it up. Uh, you don't want to be getting fluids all over the mat.

Joe: 23:41

Uh, every gym has its own etiquette. I um, I think it's important to find that out when you go, for instance, instance, I'm going to a new gym this week. I've already mentioned and I've already called the professor to start asking a little bit about the etiquette. I know they have to have white gi's. I have a white gi, white gi. I know that some gyms do. A lot of gyms do not allow you to wear other team branded equipment and at Alliance, everything's team branded, even our rash cards. So one of the questions I had to ask is you know, professor, I do have a white gi that's non-school affiliated, but all of my rash cards are affiliated with Alliance and you know he told me that the first few classes. That's fine. Of course, if I decide to become a member, I will have to invest in another type of rash card or use or maybe get one of theirs. So you need to. I recommend asking those types of questions.

Joe: 26:05

I think that you we talked a little bit about ego. I think this is a good time to talk about ego. Don't go in there with the thought of I have something to prove. Leave your ego at the door. There are literally people most of the time on the mat the higher belts thinking purple belt, brown belt, black belts who are watching to see what your demeanor is, who the professor is watching to see if you're coachable, to see if you're the type of personality they want in their gym and if you go in there and start just trying to crush the people that you're stronger and more athletic by just, you know, spazzing out on them, you could be asked to leave or worse, you're going to experience something, a term we call the mat enforcer, and you're going to find yourself face to face with them. And typically a mat enforcer because these do exist is going to be somebody that's going to take it to you and humble you in every way, shape and form. So leave your ego at the door.

Joe: 27:18

And then the last thing I want to cover when it comes to etiquette and this is more of my personal bias is, even if it's your first class, don't go onto the mat unless you know the professor or the person in charge welcomes you or acknowledges you and tells you to come onto the mat. And when you do, make sure you bow, go to the edge of the mat. You take off your shoes, you step off your footwear and you step onto the mat and you bow, and you do the same. When you get off the mat, you bow, and you do the same when you, when you get, get off the mat, you bow off the mat, and I think we get lazy doing that I know I have, and I've caught myself and I've gotten back on the mat and bowed out and I hate never, ever, ever, ever going to the mat unless asking permission or getting acknowledgement for from the professor. Now look, if that seems petty to you, okay, that's fine, but I think there should be some type of discipline and respect to the school, the mat, the professor, and I think that's a simple way to show it and you know, adopt it if you want or don't, but that's just the way I feel about it.

Joe: 28:38

And since we're talking, you know, about etiquette and gems, let's talk about finding the right gem, because, let me tell you, not all gems and schools are created equally. And look the vibe matters. Visit a few, observe the vibe. Is it welcoming? Are the instructors giving clear instructions or are they just showing off? Are the upper belts helping people or are they bullying beginners? People or are they bullying beginners? And in is, is there good jiu-jitsu being taught there?

Joe: 29:28

I think, um, well, let's talk about some red flags and some green flags and maybe, maybe, this will come out. So red flags are obviously to me number one if the mats are dirty and sweat still all over them from the class before and it just looks gross. You're going to get some skin infections You're going to. That's not a place. If they don't care about the cleanliness of their gym, uh, I don't think they're going to care a lot about the level and type of jujitsu they're giving you. You're going to get. If you train in trash, you're going to get trash right. Also, a red flag would be if there's no beginners class or fundamentals.

Joe: 30:14

If you hear the term fundamentals, beginners you want a place that has that, because you don't, in my opinion, want to start with these crazy advanced moves. You want a structured way of learning jujitsu. Now, some people aren't, you know, a fan of structured ways of learning jujitsu. There's many schools out there who don't teach curriculum, and that's okay, you're still going to get jujitsu. But to me, learning jujitsu in a structured process helps you retain it more, you can take notes on it better, you can feel yourself advancing and see yourself advancing into jujitsu.

Joe: 31:03

Like when I started training some advanced classes at my last gym, I was like, oh wow, this is neat. I've been in this situation and I didn't have an answer for it. Same when I went to the intermediate classes and people the other thing you want to watch for is really people going 100% with you know beginners, or just always 100%, 100% with everybody they train with? We're not trying to win worlds at IBJJF. We're just here training and most of us are hobbyists anyway.

Joe: 31:39

Green flags, clean facilities, clear curriculum, trial classes and instructors who teach Teach instead of dominate, and also take time while you're there and talk to the members and ask what they love and ask what they don't like. I don't think you'll find a lot of people who don't like a lot of things, especially if you walk in and the vibes are bad or good, excuse me, um, but yeah, and the last thing I want to talk about here in this kind of I don't know segment whatever we want to call it is Look, don't, let's say, you start Jiu Jitsu and you're a year in and life happens, happens to all of us and you end up having to change gyms. Don't feel bad about switching gyms. This will be the third time I've had to do it and each time it hurts, it sucks. You are leaving what you feel are family members when I had to leave Iron Wolf, it was a two-stripe white belt or leaving what you feel are family members.

Joe: 32:51

You know when I had to leave Iron Wolf it was, you know, I was a two-stripe white belt, so I had, you know, time on the mat. I had built friendships, I had built relationships and I was bummed bummed that I was having to leave and find a place that I could access training. You know it got to the point where I was training once every couple of weeks and that's just not good. We'll talk a little bit about consistency next, um, but then I found Alliance and I found what I thought was, um, just the best thing for me, you know, built another great community, learned really good jujitsu, made some close friends and built more relationships, and I still maintain the ones that I had from, you know, iron Wolf and from my previous gym.

Joe: 33:48

You know this is your journey and just because you leave a gym, you're not going to get shame from the members, you're not going to get ridiculed. The goal of any professor, any good professor, is that, hey, you know you're leaving. I hate that, but keep training, keep doing jujitsu, keep doing jujitsu. And one of the hardest things I had to do was was tell Rodrigo that I was. You know, I had to cancel my membership. I had to find a place closer to here.

Joe: 34:24

You know, um, it was hard and I, you know I miss seeing him every day. I miss, uh, seeing, you know, randall, and training with dark and mike and just everybody at alliance. But we keep in touch, we stay close. Any friendship that you make in life, even if you don't see the person every day, if you put in the effort to you know day, if you put in the effort to you know, continue that friendship, that connection, you will right. I fully plan to drop in at Alliance, just like I've dropped in at Iron Wolf over the years. And you know, depending on what gym I do land at, I hope I never have to leave that one.

Joe: 35:09

But look, you know, the kids are still young, my career is, I'm in the middle of my career, I still feel and life changes and I could face another gym change at some point. So, look, don't feel bad, don't feel guilty and don't let it stop you from training. Don't think that you can't find what you have now somewhere else, because that's just not the way jujitsu and the jujitsu community works. So one of the um, the last parts here I want to I want to talk about, is how this last part is really the most important part. This last part is really the most important part.

Joe: 35:53

Keep, if you decide to do jujitsu, if you decide to commit, you've done your trial classes and you've said, yes, this is for me, I want to do this you sign your contract or your commitment. You pay your first month, whatever you get all your gear, gear, your equipment and that first class is awesome and it's over, right, it ends, the class ends, you line up, you bow out, you fist, bump, hug, whatever you do, keep showing up. Establish for yourself a schedule. Mine was a minimum of five hours a week when I first started and I always made adjustments to make sure that happened. Sometimes I would go twice a day if I had to. Uh, at the time my job allowed that. Well, I liked it. It's not that they gave me permission, it's just my schedule allowed that, and it was the consistency that made me better and made me fall more in love with jiu-jitsu. Look, you're going to get tapped.

Joe: 37:00

I did not win any sparring roles my entire first year, probably at Alliance. I tapped so many times and you know I would be training in the mornings against. You know, a lot of times it would be Rodrigo himself the professor, and then when I wasn't training with him probably one of the best blue belts at Alliance right now and at least at Alliance Roswell and those two were my primary training partners during that first year and you know I didn't feel like I was progressing. I just felt like I was there for them to beat up sometimes and try new moves on. But then I started to make it through sessions where I didn't get tapped by the blue belt and I was able to deal a little bit longer on the pressure, under the pressure of my professor. I was able to start seeing progress and it was because I would show up every day, every week, and you'll feel like you're not progressing. You'll hit plateaus and that's part of it all.

Joe: 38:18

You know jujitsu is a long game. You're not trying to be the best, you're just as they say, you're just trying to be better than you were yesterday and that mindset will absolutely change your life and you can use that. You know trying to be better than you were yesterday in all aspects of your life, not just you know jujitsu and this is where you know some of those lessons, or life lessons from the mat transferring to real life. You know you're going to make friends who will push you, who will support you and celebrate your wins. Even the small ones, um, you know, first escape, first sweep, first round, where you didn't tap, uh, those are big deals. And you know a real example of this. So my brother-in-law started training jujitsu and I couldn't be more excited to have someone else in the family training jujitsu. I have a nephew who trains jujitsu and it's, it's so awesome having family members that train.

Joe: 39:33

Well, um, cal had been going for several months and he was, you know, getting some of those, those fundamental moves, and he, you know, it's to the point now in his jujitsu journey where he's ready to roll. Now, alliance is one of those schools that you have to have a certain amount of hours and it can take some time. You even have to test at Alliance before, technically, you start rolling. But one, you know, one class, professor Macio put Cal with me and we were doing some positional training and starting from side control. Well, during the very first time that Cal did positional sparring listen, somehow, probably because I didn't take him serious enough, but somehow he got to my back and he put me in a RNC and I tapped and, you know, I celebrated with him. I celebrated with him and I didn't get mad, I didn't get my ego, I didn't go back. And I mean, when we switched, you know, I submitted him too, but there was no aggression. There was no, I'm going to get you back. There was a now I'm going to, you know, hurt this guy for embarrassing me or anything like that. No, it was. It was. That was his first submission, semi-active role in jujitsu and you know, that's that, that's big. He'll always remember that and I remember my first submission and, um, maybe you don't over time, I don't know. But my point is is the community that you're in at the school should be one that celebrates accomplishments like that? And yeah, that's that's kind of it on that.

Joe: 41:39

And and the other thing is just, I say at the end of most episodes to train smart, make sure that you rest when needed, I say watch, instructionals. I watch instructionals all the time. I've been not training for about a month now and you know, the last training session I had at Alliance which was awesome, it was with, it was a seminar with Bernardo Faria and God, it was awesome. It was like such a milestone in my jiu-jitsu journey getting to meet him and shake his hand and you know such a great guy and he's every everything that he appears on of instructionals a lot of hours and I, like BJJ Fanatics, I have a lot of those instructionals downloaded and purchased.

Joe: 42:39

I don't watch as much YouTube and IG I mean, I have some stuff saved on that but a lot of times you find that those techniques aren't necessarily techniques, they're kind of Hail Marys. But I'll send them. You know, every now and then if I think something's cool or might work, I might send. You know Rodrigo, hey, what do you think about this? Or I'll send to Randall and we'll get a good laugh out of it or something, and you know I do that. But for instructionals, in my opinion, you need to be careful which ones you watch. I've downloaded a couple that I'm just like, yeah, there's, there's no way that's going to work and I've tried it and it hasn't anywhere close to work. Um, you know I, I have two or three um.

Joe: 43:29

You know, uh, uh, I guess people that I will watch instructionals on, and you know it's Leo Naguera, uh, who is the head instructor at Alliance headquarters and he, uh, he was one of the first people that I started watching instructionals on. Um, he was the Sao Paulo pass, which is a phenomenal pass out of close guard, and Bernardo Faria, I have almost all of his stuff. He, you know, teaches moves that are more in line with my athleticism and with my, um, kind of age range. Right, uh, um, I have my game is a bottom game, uh, type jujitsu. Um, as fast as I can get you in close guard, I'm going to or half guard and then from there that's, that's where I'm going to keep you until you know I sweep you or submit you. You, I don't try hardly any top game, so instructionals or, and it's not that I don't learn those or find value in them, I'd love to be on the top. You want to, and and takedowns, right, which which I pull guard a lot. I'm a guard puller, but some of the takedowns that I do have and that I do use and have been effective have, have come from him.

Joe: 45:09

And you know, just just keep asking questions and stay humble and and and you, you, you can't get better. You, you can get better with consistency, but you can't get better without consistency and asking questions. I um, I think that's the big thing and I love when I see new white belts. They're there their second uh training session. There's asking questions, but let me say this there's there's a difference in asking questions out of not understanding something and curiosity, and there is questioning the instructor or the professor. Okay, um, if you have to start your question off with yeah, but they could, what about this? Don't ask that question, in my opinion.

Joe: 46:01

Ask the questions that have to do with the technique. Um, you can ask well, why do you hold the sleeve versus that sleeve? Why do you hip out this way instead of twisting? You know those types of questions, because I can tell you it does no one any good standing there watching the technique and you start questioning the professor, and I think that's a good way to put a negative vibe on the class. So I could keep talking about this all day, and it is Father's Day when I'm recording this, so happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there who listen to this. And I'm recording this before the house gets super busy, which I may start doing solo recording on the morning. Um, but anyway, uh, so is jujitsu for you. You know I I can't answer that for you, but if, if you made it this far, at least into this episode, you are at least strongly contemplating it or thinking about it? And if I was a betting person, I think you probably already know the answer.

Joe: 47:23

And if you're curious, if you're craving something different, something hard, extremely hard, but rewarding Jiu-Jitsu might be the thing that changes your life. And if you take that first step maybe it was this episode or you just decided to do it I'd love to hear from you. Shoot me an email to caffeinatedjiu-ujitsu at gmailcom or click the let's Chat button in the episode description. Also, just let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear your story and if this helped you, again, share it. Be sure, if you haven't joined the Instagram caffeinatedinated Jiu-Jitsu community, you do that. The link is in the show notes.

Joe: 48:16

And thank you again for all of the listeners that continue to listen. You know we're approaching over 10,000 downloads now. It's just been absolutely a joy talking to everyone, meeting with everyone, having conversations virtually with everyone, getting some amazing guests this year so far we've had a lot of solo episodes and I like doing those, but we have more guest episodes coming up and it is my commitment to you, the listener, to make sure we're getting out good content more keyword, consistently. And uh, yeah, just thanks for tuning in and supporting caffeinated jujitsu. You know, um, stay safe, train smart and we'll see you on the mats for the next episode.

Outro: 49:12

And that's the final tap on today's episode of.

Outro: 49:15

Caffeinated Jiu-Jitsu. A big thanks to all of our listeners, especially today's insightful guest, for sharing their BJJ knowledge and tales. If you felt that adrenaline rush and are hungry for more, hit, subscribe, drop a review and spread the jujitsu buzz. For show notes and to contact the host, reach out to the email provided in the podcast description and to join our grappling community, head over to Instagram. Get those geese. Crisp your coffee strong and always be prepared for the next roll Oss.