In this mini-episode, we explain visualization: the science behind it, its limitations, the difference between general and technique visualization, and how it applies to jiu-jitsu. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.co...

This week, we're joined by Hillary VanOrnum! Hillary is a third-degree black belt who runs Unicorn Jiu Jitsu in Portland, Oregon with her husband, and she just won her first Masters World Championship at black belt. In this episode, Hillary explains the difference between instructing and coaching, and how she uses questions to help students work out answers for themselves. Topics include: relating jiu-jitsu to sports students already know, building on each student's favorite techniques, letti...

In this mini-episode, we explain perception-action coupling: a sports science concept explaining how practice should give athletes the same cues they'd face in a real match. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Nee...

This week, we're joined by Nelson Puentes! Nelson co-founded Inverted Gear and runs Inverted Gear Academy in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In this episode, Nelson explains his Super Mario theory of jiu-jitsu: a good game teaches you how to play it by raising the difficulty one step at a time, and a good jiu-jitsu class works the same way. Topics include: game design, resource management, coaching without instructions, defensive jiu-jitsu, and intrinsic motivation. Buy Inverted Gear apparel: https...

In this mini-episode, we explain deliberate practice: a training method intended to improve performance by addressing your weaknesses and breaking through plateaus. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first week is free: https://bjjmentalmodels.com Need more BJ...

This week, we're joined by Rob Cole! Rob has been training martial arts for over 35 years, 25 of them focused on grappling, and he coaches at Ascension Athletics in Connecticut, where he runs his practice through the ecological dynamics framework. In this episode, Rob explains the intention-led approach, where you give students a goal to work toward instead of specific things to focus on. Topics include: a plain-language primer on ecological dynamics, intention versus attention, win condition...

In this mini-episode, we explain differential learning: a training approach used in sports proposing that motor skills are learned by varying how the movement is executed rather than trying to get it identical every time. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio lessons, our complete podcast network, online coaching, and much more! Your first...

This week, we're joined by Jesse Walker and Shelby York! Jesse and Shelby own Rough Hands BJJ in Louisville, Kentucky, a gym of about 200 students with an unusually high number of women and older grapplers (the average student is around 43). In this episode, they walk a complete beginner through what happens before your first jiu-jitsu class. Topics include: vetting a gym, what to bring, why you should tap early, panic and intensity, injury risk. Learn more at Rough Hands BJJ: https://roughh...

In this mini-episode, we explain gamification: the practice of adding game-like elements to something in order to motivate a certain type of behavior. It's a concept from software design with elements of applied psychology and is used for everything from marketing to products to (of course) jiu-jitsu. Get our Intro to Mechanics audio course, normally $79, FREE: https://bjjmentalmodels.com/freeintro ⬆️ LEVEL UP with BJJ Mental Models Premium! The world's LARGEST library of jiu-jitsu audio ...

This week, we're joined by Barbara Ruiken and Giles Garcia! Barbara is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and the new head coach at Bergen Grappling in Norway, and she wrote her political science master's thesis on power and politics in jiu-jitsu organizations. Giles is the head coach and owner of Ronin Grappling in Rutherglen, just outside Glasgow, and a returning guest on the show. In this episode, Barbara and Giles explain why every gym has politics, whether the coach wants them or not. Topi...