Author Archives: tonydismukes
Reaching a Milestone
I reached a major milestone in my training yesterday – being promoted to brown belt in BJJ. I’ve been practicing the martial arts in various forms for over 30 years. I hold black belt ranking in a couple of arts … Continue reading
BJJ and Chess
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is often compared to a physical game of chess. This is an apt metaphor, but BJJ players who don’t also play chess may not realize the specifics of the similiarities. Position: If you watch two knowledgeable chess players … Continue reading
Using Strength
Back in my days training Bujinkan Taijutsu we were taught never to use physical strength. Pure technique, we were told, could overcome any disadvantage in size or strength. Using strength would not make our techniques any more effective and would … Continue reading
Greater than the sum of the parts
If you’ve had the opportunity to train with a variety of BJJ instructors, you’ve probably noticed that they teach the same techniques a little differently than each other. One teacher might introduce technique A, while another might start you off … Continue reading
Surviving the Marathon
On the one hand, I’m 49 years old with a desk job and several nagging old injuries. Things don’t heal as fast as they used to, and I was never any kind of remarkable physical specimen to begin with. On … Continue reading
Pattern Recognition
When playing chess, I spend a lot of time trying to predict my opponents possible moves. I assume he is going to make the best possible move, so if I move A, then he’s going to move B, if I … Continue reading
Review: Gracie University Online
A few years ago, Ryron and Rener Gracie created GracieUniversity.com. The idea is that students can set up a trining space in their garage, find a training partner, and progress through the ranks of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu training exclusively through Rener … Continue reading
Teaching or Natural Selection?
Over the years I’ve visited a lot of BJJ schools. One of the most common methods of structuring a class seems to go like this: Warm-ups Demonstrate and drill one or two random techniques Free-rolling/grappling for the rest of the … Continue reading
BJJ Contemplations 