Introduction to Critical Thinking and Jiu Jitsu

A few months ago, Scott Bieri was introducing me to one of his friends and he called me “the Mad Scientist” of Jiu Jitsu. I have to admit, I rather liked the title.

I wasn’t originally planning on doing a series of articles. Rather I had one major concept I wanted to talk about, a thesis on Jiu Jitsu that I could use to explain some of my theories and how I apply them to both my writing and odds making in the sport, the way I coach or give advice to high level grapplers and also an approach to get the most out of my own personal growth in jiu jitsu. My track record in all of the above is pretty good, and can be verified by search the OTM archives.

The main problem with my thesis is that to have any sort of benefit to most people, and to even be understandable to many students, would require a lot of background information and knowledge. To ensure that my idea had a proper context to frame around it would require a lot of assumptions on my part. Thus while I’ve got some very specific advice to give, it’s going to start off a lot more generalized and work it’s way down, so bear with me.

I think that through this series you will develop a deeper appreciation jiu jitsu, and will get valuable insight on how to critique jiu jitsu, both for your enjoyment, for your own personal application, and for passing that knowledge along to others. I have a tentative outline scheduled for about 26 articles, with articles coming about once per week or so. The really revolutionary article will come about article 13. This is definitely a work in progress, so I would appreciate any feedback you might have (I will open up a separate section on the OTM Forum just for this discussion), and in order to make it more interactive, each article will have a homework assignment or some kind of task for you to perform. I MAY suggest a purchase from our online store from time to time to help with specific homework assignments, this is by no means mandatory, as I’m giving out this information free with no strings attached, but I am still running a business after all!



What are my credentials?

I’m actually a bit shy of making myself (“Gumby”) a brand over the whole concept of OnTheMat or OTM, but as I’m constantly told otherwise by a variety of people with our sport, so I should accept it and deal with it. If you are unaware of exactly who I am, I’ll summarize my biography with points relative to this article:

I began studying and training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 1996 at Ralph Gracie’s first academy in Mountain View, CA. In December of 2006 I received my black belt from Ralph Gracie, which I consider to be among the most proudest moments of my life. Ralph belt promotions are viewed to be fairly rare and tough to get, and Ralph actually gave me his own belt, to which my knowledge he’s never done.

In late 1997 I co-founded OnTheMat with my good friend and training partner Scotty Nelson (actually Scotty was one of my most intense rivals on the mat). At the time OnTheMat was a very sporadic side project as we were both working full time and training as much as we could. At some point we individually realized we would rather but our energy and focus into something we love to do as opposed to the rat race were living at the time, and OntheMat became our full time jobs, and we haven’t looked back since.

Since making OntheMat my career, my personal mission has been to give Jiu Jitsu on all levels the type of exposure I think it deserved. To that end I’ve spent years traveling the Earth (particularly the United States) observing competitions, videotaping matches, talking with various people in this sport, and trying to absorb as much information as I possibly could. I honestly believe in this 10-year period that I have personally attended more competitions than anyone, and have observed countless matches from the very top competitors to brand new students getting on the mat for the very first time. In addition to my work daily on various OnTheMat projects that have always been observable on the internet, I have done a variety of things behind the scenes ranging from matchmaking, refereeing, promoting, scorekeeping, advertising, announcing, broadcasting, to setting up and cleaning up the mats and venue.

I’m semi-retired as an active competitor (all of the above drains me too much to really think about competing much anymore), however early in my career I was a huge mat rat and entered every competition I could. I still get on the mat and train competitively every day however.

I have had the opportunity to talk at length with the who’s who of this sport (more so, I probably have an interesting anecdote or two about them), and am always eager to learn more. Maybe my favorite role however is an assistant instructor at the Ralph Gracie Mountain View Academy, where it all began, and where I very often work with brand new students.

Why I am releasing this information for free?

I love Jiu Jitsu.

I want to see Jiu Jitsu grow.

I consider myself educated and enthusiastic about Jiu Jitsu.

I think that the more educated and enthusiastic other people are about Jiu Jitsu, the more it will grow. This is good in my view for a number of reasons.

Firstly, I have seen how Jiu Jitsu has transformed people’s lives (including my own) for the better. People gain confidence, feel better about themselves, live healthier lifestyles, and find personal happiness and a sense of community with other practitioners of Jiu Jitsu. While I don’t believe that Jiu Jitsu is for everyone (which quite frankly is part of its allure) I personally believe that Jiu Jitsu has something of benefit to everyone.

I’m not being entirely altruistic in my approach. From a personal standpoint, as the co-owner of a business related to Jiu Jitsu, more educated and enthusiastic people in Jiu Jitsu stands to benefit me economically, and I don’t feel the need to be apologetic about wanting to make a living (nor do I believe anyone should). However, in a metaphor I’m fond of using about my business sensibilities, I’m not trying to get a larger slice of the pie per say. I’m trying to put a larger pie on the table for everyone.

So by placing this information, for free, on OnTheMat, not only will it benefit the sport in the long run, ultimately it will benefit my business sense. Furthermore, if you come to my website on a regular basis (which you