“I don’t care if I’m a white belt for ten years. want skills not belts”. “I’d rather be a white belt submitting blues and purples than a blue belt getting submitted by whites”. Not really. We all decry “belt chasers”, those shallow souls driven only by the next stripe, the next belt … But avoiding…
Author: Andrew Nerlich
Small Discipline
An inspiring quote from author, historian, academic, podcaster and martial artist Daniele Bolelli:
Productive Jiu Jitsu training without an instructor
Just roll. OR Use a constraints led approach. For example: A is in B’s guard. B can be standing or kneeling, etc. B tries to pass, A defends but cannot sweep or submit, just work guard retention. If A passes, reset. Work for X minutes with A trying to pass, then swap. This is a…
Flow Rolling
Should be at about a 50% pace – 50% of competitive rolling speed, 50% strength. If you want hard rolls, go to a competition class. This is about serotonin, not adrenalin. If the red mist descends, or even the yellow or orange mist, stop, breathe, and calm down. There is no winning, no losing, just…
Graham Nerlich
Graham Nerlich was my father. He died on March 31, 2022, aged ninety-two. He lived a full and productive life. Firstly, as a professional philosopher, with professorships at both Sydney University and the University of Adelaide, where he spent two decades in the Hughes Chair of philosophy until retirement in 1994. He remained active within…
My Interview with Ron-E Rowley
Ronnie is a fellow Jiu Jitsu black belt at Lange’s MMA in Sydney. He took the initiative to interview his fellow instructors at Lange’s to break down the distance and divide between instructors and students and hopefully make us more approachable … and human. Songs
Life in a Cult – Crash. A Cautionary Tale
Not Jiu Jitsu. But perhaps relevant to some Jiu Jitsu academies, instructors, and students. Definitely about self defence. Crash is not the real name of the organisation. It isn’t far off the real name. The guy who introduced and initiated me into Crash was named Alick. (Not really). I did gymnastics for sport and as…
My interview on the Jungle Brothers podcast
I was invited by Joe Worthington of the Jungle Brothers gym to be a guest on their podcast. It was fun. We talked about my forty plus years training martial arts, and how I’ve been able to maintain my practice and my enthusiasm into my late sixties. https://junglebrothers.com/121-martial-arts-being-a-life-long-learner/ There were quite a few ideas I…
Sonny Brown – The Scarf Hold Suffocation System
It’s wonderful to be able to finally attend jiu jitsu seminars again, in this time of Covid-19 insanity. It’s been almost a year since I attended my last seminar. “Unprecedented times” is now a cliche, but it’s true. Sonny Brown is a Lange’s MMA Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt first degree and MMA titleholder. He…
Machado NSW Brown and Black Belt Day 9 Feb 2020
The day was held at Lange’s MMA at North Manly. There were extremely wild storms in the Sydney region that day, and I was the only attendee that didn’t live on the Northern Beaches. As it was, I had to contend with multiple road closures and traffic jams going to and from the seminar, and…