The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we have an interview with Jen Hall. Jen is a BJJ black belt under her husband Ryan Hall.  She also teaches and runs the school 50/50 BJJ.  Jen has competed a lot and also done a lot of coaching.  We are thrilled to have her share her knowledge with us.

We talk about:

• What got her started in BJJ
• Running the 50/50 school
• The good and bad of running a gym
• Different teaching styles
• Teaching ideas she got from being a swim coach
• Not hitting a plateau
• The differences between their fundamentals 1 and fundamentals 2 classes
• Why she likes to have a class for beginners
• The current point system in BJJ
• Reaping the knee
• The differences between a teacher and a coach
• How she gets ready for a competition
• Dealing with her 8 surgeries
• The paper "Read this today win tomorrow"
• Women's classes
• What is up with Ryan Hall since the UFC
• They have one person come in to their gym because of TUF

Links:

• 50/50 BJJ
• Inverted Gear
• Jen on Twitter
• Jen on Instagram

Quote of the week: "If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril." Sun Tzu

Article of the week: Am I Doing Enough? justagirlbjj.com

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Gary is working on his audio book called "I am so confused, I guess I will go choke somebody"

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

Valerie Worthington is a BJJ black belt and writer for Breaking Muscle, and we are excited to share what Valerie has to say in this interview.

We talk about:

• Her start in BJJ
• The book she is working on
• Traveling vs staying home
• What to expect when you start BJJ
• What to expect when you compete for the first time
• Her first experiences competing
• Training advice for competition
• Her style of BJJ
• Making changes to your game
• Dealing with frustrations on the mat
• How she trains with people that she does not know
• Her process for writing an article
• Advice for instructors

Links:

• Groundswell grappling concepts
• Inverted gear
• Q5 supplements
• Valerie Worthington's Facebook page
• Valerie Worthington's profile on Breaking Muscle

Quote of the week: "Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan." John F. Kennedy

Article of the week: Don’t Build Your BJJ Game on White Belt- grapplearts.com

We also give an award for review of the year for 2015, and Gary talks about his future audio book called "Double Monkey Punch- Fighting Twins"

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we are excited to bring you an interview with Rolles Gracie. Rolles has competed in all the major grappling events and he has fought in the UFC. Rolles has a win over Bob Sapp.

We talk about:

• His mma fight with Bob Sapp
• His off the mat hobbies (snowboarding and sky diving)
• He trains at Renzo's
• Doing Jiu-Jitsu as a kid
• Developing a style
• How learning BJJ is like going in a circle
• Doing self defense and jiu-jitsu
• Some of the changes in jiu-jitsu over the years
• Moving from Brazil to New York
• Advice for a competition
• Dealing with injuries
• How people with busy schedules can still get better at BJJ
• Why you should spend at least an hour a day doing something you enjoy

Links:

• Rolles Gracie Twitter
• rollsgracie.com
• Rolles Gracie on Facebook
• BJJ vs Cancer event

Quote of the week: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." --Albert Einstein

Article of the week: Tattoos and BJJ- How long before I can roll from Attacktheback.com

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we bring you an interview with BJJ brown belt Alexander Darwin, author of the Sci-Fi novel The Combat Codes.

We talk about:

• Alexander's BJJ history
• Some of his favorite BJJ techniques
• The world that The Combat Codes takes place
• Comparing the school of combat to Ender's Game and Harry Potter
• The old school vs new school theme in the book
• Why it is important to schedule your training
• How BJJ has helped him as a writer

Links:

• The Combat Codes Facebook page
• combatcodes.com
• The Combat Codes on Twitter

Quote of the week: This weeks quote was presented by Justin Rader "You told me never to change sword hands. Yes. When you know how to use it, you won't be taking my orders." The Movie Troy

Article of the week: Ask DeBlass: The Ten Lessons for Academy Owners and Students

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and RSS link for Andriod

This week we bring you one of the top no-gi grapplers in the world. Justin Rader is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Rafael Lovato Jr.  You can find Justin training and coaching at Lovato’s School of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Here is a more detailed profile on Justin.

We talk about:

• His competition style
• What he did as a child and how that has effected him today
• The calf slicer
• His role as a coach
• The current set of rules in Jiu-Jitsu and how he would change it
• What would happen if you got a -1 for pulling guard
• Why he dislikes advantages
• How a change of rules would change the art
• His ideas of what submissions should be illegal
• His history of not tapping to submissions
• Wrestling as a kid
• Some differences in training BJJ and wrestling
• The benefits of doing a competition
• How he runs the kids class
• The lack of take downs in adult BJJ
• The importance of a good stance
• Why you need good endurance to have an effective stance
• Advice for people who can only train 1 or 2 times a week
• His take on the new star wars movie :)

Links:

• OKBJJ
• On the Mat
• lucky gi
• Green strength training
• Mike Calimbas Photography
• Justin's Facebook page
• Justin's Instagram

Quote of the week: “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.” Robert Frost, 1963

Article of the week: 7 powerful ways to fail better

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast