First look at the cover of the new Devotion Magazine issue, coming out later this month.

Some great pieces in this one, along with some good (and humorous) street fight stories, and plenty of other stuff - looking forward to sharing with you all.

Design work by Thee Crooked Hand

Seems like someone will tell you at every belt level that it is “the hardest belt.”

White belt is tough because you’re getting smashed by everyone and feel like you don’t know shit. (You don’t.)

Blue belt is tough because now you’ve gotta live up to it, and no one is taking it easy on you anymore - and you still feel like you don’t know very much. (You don’t.)

Purple belt is tough because you’re supposed to be checking all these boxes, have a solid “A game,” and you finally know a little, so progress comes so incrementally it feels like you don’t make any at all for long periods of time.

On top of this, it feels like you should be able to easily merc anyone at a lower belt level than you and also be competitive with brown/black belts. (You can’t always/you aren’t always.)

I’m sure brown and black have their own struggles making them feel even more challenging. I’ll let you know if I ever get there.

The point is - it’s easy to feel like you’re not making any progress, or you’re not good enough, or other people are progressing faster than you.

There’s no magical secret to it.

Show up. Pay attention. Do the work.

You’re getting better, I promise.

Enjoy it, and stop worrying.

New ink this weekend.

Putting in some work at American Combat Club this week.

Road Ultras are headed home by air and land today.

Paul and I will be back on the mats at the temple tonight for Circle of Honor.

It’s been a great experience as always, getting to train under the watchful eye of Coach Mitch, and his entire team.

Being on the road reminds you that home is more than a place, it’s the people (and pets) that hold that spot in your heart.

Next stop: Virginia

Brunch Crowd

Great Sunday morning at the temple.

Training on Sundays had become sparse, so we started going to eat after as a group.

Sometimes you just need to change things up a little to get people to rally together.

Check in ⬇️ if you’re getting time in on the mats today.

Hope you’re all having a glorious weekend.

Two new embroidered patches from Devotion that will be released along with the new Hanuman tank top.

The Way patch features a red ensō circle indicating one’s place on the path of martial training, and the larger circle of honor that places them in.

The second features our “Jiu Jitsu” bindrune from our original sign that still hangs in our temple, with heavily stylized lettering that reads JIU-JITSU sprawling beneath it.

TRIAD (our weekly email) goes out every Monday.

You’ve got a couple hours to make sure you’re subbed before this week’s goes out.

Don’t be the guy or gal complaining you missed a drop, or some other important news.

SIGN UP HERE

(be sure to check all folders for the confirmation email you’ll be sent)

I came across this quote last night during my evening reading:

“Unlike other men, he was able to find pleasure in any job that he was given, but this was not simply because he was born poor.

Rather, he saw the work at hand as a preparation for the next task.

He was convinced that this was the way he would one day realize his ambitions.”

- Eiji Yoshikawa, “Taiko”

I thought about how much this is like Jiu Jitsu. So many people’s game develops in a poor way because they refuse to work on things they don’t enjoy.

Instead, we should find enjoyment in every aspect of grappling - standup, guard, passing, submissions, escapes, leglocks - because each piece weaves a beautiful tapestry.

Every small thing we pick up on the road may be the turning point between victory and defeat.

Find pleasure in every task.

Jiu Jitsu has been appropriately compared to the old card game “War.”

If my opponent has a similar ability level, and each card is a technique and every card played on top a response, the individual with the most cards to play in rapid succession will likely win the exchange.

This doesn’t mean we need to know every single technique in the book - that’s not possible.

It means we need to map out “our” Jiu Jitsu and know the routes and likely responses we are going to run into on the way to our desired outcome.

This way, we can study those responses, and add new techniques to our “stack of cards” to answer them, and attain the victory.

(1 of 2)

I strongly suggest you keep a notebook that provides a visual representation of this map.

For example, you might have a page that reads “closed guard.” On it, there may be routes and technique chains to go to other positions, submissions, and sweeps, all with their own “answers” to common responses.

Even with the closed guard, there might be subcategories such as “arm drag” or “overhook/underhook position” etc with associated techniques and “reactions” that we have tactics to defeat.

You’ll forget more Jiu Jitsu in 5 years than you ever thought possible.

These route maps allow you to easily refresh yourself on positional options that take you where you want to go: straight into your strongest finishes and most dominant positions.