We are very excited to bring you an interview with a grappling legend. Pedro Sauer earned his Black Belt from Helio and Rickson Gracie in 1985. He now shares his over 40 years of experience on the mat. Joining the interview with Pedro Sauer is a past guest on The BjjBrick Podcast Brent Lillard.

We talk about:

• His start in Jiu-Jitsu in the early 1970s
• The BJJ belt system after black belt
• Continuous learning on the mat
• How to avoid missing training time due to injuries
• Learning Jiu-Jitsu vs Jiu-Jitsu or Jiu-Jitsu vs bad guy
• The importance of learning self defense first in your training
• Creating a learning culture
• How you can train with Pedro Sauer in Brazil
• Training camp in Petropolis, Brazil
• Staying safe while in Brazil
• Saving money when you book your flight to Brazil
• What Pedro Sauer was like as a blue belt
• His experience fighting Mr. Utah
• Advice for the grappler that can not train everyday
• Advice for the older grappler
• Being able to teach Jiu-Jitsu

Links:

• Our past interview with Brent Lillard
• Information about Pedro Sauer's training camp in Brazil
• Go to Brazil and train with Pedro Sauer
• Pedro Sauer fighting Mr. Utah

Quote of the week: "It's hard to beat a person who never gives up" Babe Ruth

Article of the week: "The Worst Grappler on the Mat"

Mat Tales 16 "Solo Club"

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This week we have an interview with Second Degree Ribeiro Black Belt Matt Jubera. He as won pan ams multiple times in different divisions.

We talk about:

• His start with BJJ
• Starting wrestling in highschool
• Using his wrestling in BJJ
• Why being a little bit lazy can help you add efficiency to your BJJ
• Using a heavy pressure style
• Focusing on the bread and butter moves
• The idea of training ugly
• Upcoming competitions
• Tips for how he has been able to stay injury free
• Tips for preparing mentally for a competition
• Advice for training on a busy schedule
• Competition training advice
• Building a good defense your first few years

Links:

• juberajj.com

Quote of the week:This week we have three quotes presented by Neil Melanson.

1. Iron sharpens Iron, so one person sharpens another Proverbs 27:17
2. As a coach figure out why not how
3. Loyalty goes two ways

Article of the week: Are You Doing the Right Things Before and After BJJ?

Gary's audiobook is called "Iron Sharpens Iron, Just Like Gary Sharpens Byron"

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This week we are excited to bring you an interview with Neil Melanson. Neil is one of the top MMA coaches teaching grappling. Neil is the former Head Grappling coach at both Xtreme Couture Las Vegas and Alliance MMA you will now find him as Head Coach of The Blackzillians MMA Team. Neil has coached many fighters including Dominic Cruz, Randy Couture, and Michael Chandler.

We talk about:

• Not training with the gi
• What is catch wrestling
• The rules, submissions, and tactics of catch wrestling
• Ground fighting for MMA
• Why some wrestlers struggle doing MMA grappling
• Neutralizing an athletic opponent
• The importance of having a good attitude for training
• Learning things from lower belts
• The problem with hierarchy in grappling
• How to make grappling more interesting
• Being able to submit someone that is better than you
• The changes in the leg lock game
• His Catch Wrestling Formula DVD
• Using the cage for grappling in mma

Links:

• Neil Melanson's DVD THE CATCH WRESTLING FORMULA
• Blackzillians
• Jaco
• Hayabusa
• Neil Melanson on Facebook

Quote of the week: "To get better you have to step out of your comfort zone. You can't do the same things you've always done & improve." Jordan Burroughs

Article of the week: There are Two Types of Coaches. Which are You?

The Referee Corner Epi 3 Belts getting untied

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https://youtu.be/2_IhNmr4pMI

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Today we are talking about mistakes made on the mat. We share some personal stories and things we have noticed.

We talk about:

• What Byron did as a purple belt that was a mistake for around a year
• A basic principal Gary learned as a white belt
• Learning how to take advice from your coach
• Mistakes made as an instructor
• Not tapping fast enough
• Being over confident when starting BJJ
• Having the right amount of tools in your tool basket
• Avoiding leg locks
• Fighting from your knees
• Not doing the right type of drilling
• Not letting injuries heal

Quote of the week: “The best advice I was given if that if you want to succeed and you want to achieve, you have to learn how to handle failures.” Mike Scioscia, MLB champion manager

Article of the week: Charismatic Leadership or Personality Cults in Jiu Jitsu: The Fine Line Between Respect and Worship

Korbett's Kids Epi 1-  Korbett Miller answers a question about kids training to compete. Check out Korbett's website here for more info on developing a strong kids program at your academy.

Garys audio book is called "The Tool Basket for BJJ, Find the Right Tool for the Job"

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We are so happy to have Bernardo Faria as our guest on this week's episode. It has been a while since we have had him on the show, and we have some catching up to do.

We talk about:

• Setting big goals
• His plans for 2017 worlds
• His off the mat plans
• How getting older has affected his training
• Why his style of BJJ game is good for the ageing player
• How the half guard was discovered
• His game plan
• How he developed his game plan by only doing techniques that worked well for him
• The growth of his blog and helping the BJJ community
• Weight cutting and weight management
• He has never got a DQ for missing weight
• His diet for dropping the pounds
• Tips for white belts competing
• A look into turning white belts blue
• Going to BJJ to learn and have fun
• He answers questions for our blue belt episode
• Focus on learning BJJ not tapping people out
• Opening up his own school

Links:

• BernardoFaria.com
• DVD of Bernardo commenting during his sparing

Quote of the week: "Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing." Oscar Wilde

Article of the week: 22 Off The Mat Habits That Will Improve Your On The Mat Performance

Mat Tales #15 Mexican Standoff

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We are excited to bring you an interview with BJJ Black Belt Josh Hinger. Josh is a first degree black belt under Andre Galvao. Josh also recently won the Medium Heavy weight class at 2016 no-gi worlds.

We talk about:

• How he got to know Andre Galvao
• Training with and without the gi
• Cutting weight for BJJ or no-gi
• His experience at no-gi worlds 2016
• His thoughts on sub only matches
• Trash talking in BJJ
• The growth of Jiu-Jitsu
• His start in BJJ
• Competing in the adult division
• His DVD Hingertine
• Dealing with anxiety on the mat
• Mental preps for competition
• Hesitation is the death of Jiu-Jitsu technique
• Tips for beginners
• How difficult it can be to start BJJ

Links:

• Hingertine
• Monkey Tape
• Review of Hingertine DVD
• Josh on Facebook

Quote of the week: "Being angry and resentful of someone is like letting them live rent-free in your head." George Foreman

Article of the week: No Time Machine ... Only Heating Seeking Missiles

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We are proud to have Larry Keith as the BjjBrick coach of the year. Larry has been training martial arts for around 35 years. Larry is a third degree black belt in Kodokan Judo and a brown belt in BJJ. He enjoys mixing throws with ending up in a dominant position. This is a great interivew with a outstanding person that we

We talk about:

• Starting his martial arts program
• having a large kids group
• He is a big guy and he talks about not using it too much
• How to turn a student into someone who can be more aggressive
• Starting his own dojo
• Working with the local boys and girls club helping to prevent bullying
• Zero tolerance policy in public schools
• Using a buddy system to prevent bullying
• The goals he has when teaching kids judo and jiu-jitsu
• Getting kids to do martial arts for their lifetime
• Kids and competing in tournaments
• Giving kids a leadership role on the mat
• The importance of a family atmosphere in BJJ
• Learning by teaching
• His plans for competing more

Links:

• Dynamic Martial Arts in Roseburg Oregon

Quote of the week: "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." Thomas Jefferson

Lesson of the week: Dealing with traffic and taking a detour to still reach your goal.

The Referee Corner “Epi 2 Sandbagging” starting at 1h33m

Gary's audio book is called "rolling with ghost- breaking spirits instead of elbows"

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This week we have a HUGE episode. We take six well known and respected black belts and ask them all the same five questions about blue belts. There are some similarities and differences within these interviews but the amount of jiu-jitsu wisdom about blue belts in this episode is amazing.

The five questions we asked to the six black belt guests

1. Do you have requirements for a blue belt? What are they?
2. How important is it for students to be able to "defend" their belt?
3. How many intangibles (good teammate, good effort, helps others) come into play when promoting someone to blue belt?
4. Do you ever regret giving someone a blue belt?
5. What advice to you have for the new blue belt?

Tim Sledd 24m 25s

1. Tim explains some of the techniques he requires for a student to know before receiving a blue belt.
2. Tim talks about why some students get tapped by lower belts and if it is a big deal.
3. Why he looks at character of a student not just technique, and how this can hold someone back.
4. Why he has no regrets of any belts he has given out.
5. Advice for the new blue belt.

Matt Thornton 58m 30s

1. How he evaluates blue belts based on performance, and not looking at particular techniques.
2. Why it is important for your first blue belts to be very good at a school.
3. The importance of having good people on the mat.
4. Why he is confident in all his blue belt students.
5. Why it is important to relax and work on open guard as a blue belt.

Bernardo Faria 1h 17m 30s

1. Bernardo talks about Fabio Gurgel's system to get a blue belt a student must attend 120 classes.
2. The idea of not tapping to a lower belt is an old mentality.
3. Having a bad attitude will hold students back.
4. Not having an actual belt test, and not regretting giving someone a blue belt.
5. Keep your ego low, and work on learning jiu-jitsu.

Daniel Covel 1h 25m 05s

1. His minimum requirements of techniques for a blue belt. The responsibilities of the instructor to the students.
2. The importance of learning from your mistakes, and making adjustments.
3. Why it is important to have good people and teammates on the mat.
4. He has no regrets about any of his past blue belts.
5. It is important to recognise the hard work on the mats.

Henry Akins 1h 42m 50s

1. Understanding the basic positions and a handful of basic submissions.
2. Why some upper belts get caught by lower belts.
3. Why it is important for a blue belt to be a good training partner.
4. Why getting tapped out is part of the learning process
5. Why blue belts should work hard to develop a strong base.

John Will 1h 59m 30s

1. Why he likes having requirements for blue belts but not so many for other belts.
2. It is rare for a colored belt to get tapped by a lower belt, but it is no big deal.
3. Why the culture of the gym is so important. The concept of a ox neck and rat's head.
4. It is often normal to feel like you don't deserve a new belt
5. Ask five simple questions for every technique you learn to learn more details.

Mat Tales 14 Mouse in the House

Quote of the week: "Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao Tzu

Article of the week: Production Now and Production Long Term

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Could one of the seven deadly sins be holding you back in BJJ? What we can learn from them to avoid problems on the mat. Today we break down how the deadly sins can be holding you back. The sins are; Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth.

We talk about:

• Pride, and the difference in being confident and having too much pride
• What is feeling too proud of a tournament or belt promotion
• Being envious of training partners or coaches
• Getting mad while training
• How to tell when you have a passion for something or a lust
• How being greedy with your knowledge and time on the mat will hurt you
• How laziness even when you show up can greatly slow your progress
• The mistake of only doing the fun parts of BJJ

Links:

• Find more information about the Roll App on Kickstarter
• Want to find out more from David Wells and anti bullying

Quote of the week: "Never settle" Dr. Jen Case

Story of the week: How my dogs can drop everything at a moments notice and chase a squirrel, and how this can related to your BJJ training.

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Mat tales epi 13 Coach Santa

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This week we bring you an interview with Dr. Jen Case. Dr. Case has a PhD in human nutrition, she studies nutrition and sport performance. Dr. Case is a black belt under Renato Tavares and she trains in Kansas City with Jason Bircher.

We talk about:

• How Jiu-Jitsu has effected her education
• The idea of passive insufficiency and BJJ
• Comparing a black belt to a Phd
• The importance of strength and skill on the mat
• Weightlifting for BJJ
• Diet tips for better performance on the mat
• What you should eat based on the time of day
• Cutting weight
• Teaching women's only seminars
• Advice to women who are new to BJJ
• Advice for students going to school and BJJ
• Goals for new students
• A women's only BJJ seminar Feb 4, 10-11:30 that she is teaching

Links: Kansas City BJJ

Quote of the week: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."  Aristotle

Article of the week: Meet the 5 worst enemies of the BJJ fighter

We also debuted our new segment The Referee Corner "Epi 1 Most common mistake in BJJ"

If you are interested in supporting The BjjBrick Podcast find out how here (Now with a $.50 option) 

The BjjBrick Wall of Support is being constructed and you can help

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod