Erin Herle

It’s a fact that many jiu jitsu drop outs are blue belts. Why this belt instead of white, purple, brown or even black belt— the end of the road for promotions? Many will tell you it’s the most frustrating belt and it’s the belt of discovery and that it’s the mark of a serious commitment.

DJ Jackson spent the last year in search of opportunity and adventure. Opportunity in terms of pursuing BJJ as a career with a solid income, and adventure by traveling to nearly 10 different countries. The Lloyd Irvin black belt has spent most of his adult life on the mats, competing, teaching, and training. And only recently did he make a big change to his goals.

Ever since I started training jiu-jitsu I wanted to be a black belt competing at the highest level. And here I am, diving deep into the lightweight division and facing the top female voted best of the year at the first major of the tournament of the season. How does one prepare for that? It’s all mental, really.

The beginning of the year marks a start for many things for many people. In regard to training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the challenge becomes getting back into a routine after the holidays. No matter where you are on this Earth, there is no doubt that some sort of break was taken for family and friends, vacations, staycations, or just plain well-deserved rest.

I don't know about you, but there are times when I walk in to my academy and I'm not eager to learn. There are days when the decision to train or not to train is met with an "ehh if I make it in time then fine." If you've experienced bouts of less than normal enthusiasm or lack of motivation, you may be suffering from burn-out.

How being nice can improve your Jiu-Jitsu: A healthy atmosphere always starts with the instructors and down to every student. So do your part and opportunities will increase to gain more training partners, create better quality training partners and focus on your evolution in a positive light.

Twenty years ago, a Jiu-Jitsu academy was a rare sight in New York City. Despite being a mecca of all kinds of other industries, the martial arts lacked its, now popular, Brazilian style. Twenty years ago was when Fabio Clemente began teaching Jiu-Jitsu there and when he also was a single father raising two young kids while living in the studio.

The best way to progress while training Jiu-Jitsu is to simply keep tabs on your progress. Without any analysis of where you are in your Jiu-Jitsu journey, you won't have a clue of whether you've gone anywhere. And more importantly, you must have a direction so you can determine when you've made a wrong turn.