Meditations on God

Being Yourself in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
You can roll how you want to, as long as you are willing to live with the consequences.

Robert Van Valkenburgh with Relson Gracie: photo by Mike Oswald Photography

One of the things I love about Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is the diversity of styles and personalities I have found on the mats over the years. Even when all of the people in the room have the same teacher, each practitioner, over time, develops his or her own unique style of jiu-jitsu. There is no denying the influence of a teacher, training group, or a lineage and all of these certainly manifest in the practitioner’s development, but attitude, body type, and personal philosophy are as much or more evident in the way a particular BJJ practitioner rolls (spars) over time.

No two BJJ practitioners roll exactly alike. One person may tend to flow and move, always looking for advantageous angles from which to apply techniques against little or no possible resistance. Another practitioner may prefer to apply pressure and leverage to slow down his or her opponent, trapping him or her into a position from which there is no room to escape before applying a submission. Likewise, people like to explore the limits of their own flexibility, explosive power, speed, or cunning. None of these approaches to BJJ is inherently better than another, but each has its advantages and each has its weaknesses.

The goal is to train consistently and intelligently enough within your preferred method, so as to be able to track and measure progress, to amplify strengths and shore up weaknesses. This means making choices. If the way you roll is totally random and chaotic, your results are likely to be as well. If, instead, you are focused and have a particular goal or set of goals, a specific skill you want to work on or an approach to the art that you want to explore, focus on that against all of your partners, win, lose, or draw. By being disciplined in this way, your personal style will develop such that you can be yourself regardless of the challenge you face.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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June 24, 2019

be yourself, bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, budo, creativity, express yourself, gracie jiu-jitsu, individuality, Inspiration, kogen dojo, life, Martial Arts
Of Progress and Perfection
Strive for perfection, but settle for progress.

Do not let yourself off the hook for your weaknesses and flaws, but do not be so hard on yourself when you fall off the path that it paralyzes you and prevents you from getting back on course.

Be quick to admit your mistakes and adjust your bearing. Be quicker still to forgive others for their shortcomings and to put yourself in their shoes. The burdens of resentment and regret will only slow you down on your long journey.

Show up. Put in the work. Course correct as necessary. Repeat.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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June 24, 2019

bearing, forgiveness, perfection, progress, regret, resentment, the journey, the path, the way
Universal Connection Through the Artist’s Eyes
You may not find what you are looking for, but, if you remain open, what you find may be more interesting.

‘Marshmallow’ by Ana

When I look at my daughter’s artwork, it often occurs to me that what I see is not what she intended to create. Like two people looking up at the clouds and describing what they see, it is as if we are looking at two different paintings. When she tells me what she painted and I see something else, I have to make a choice.

I can either choose to see both what she sees and what I see, accepting that perhaps both are true, or I can choose to shut myself off to her perspective and only see what I want, not hearing her story or seeing the world through her eyes. The interesting thing is that seeing what she sees in her painting does not stop me from also seeing the painting from my own perspective. It is not an either/or proposition.

Being open to new perspectives or experiences is not subtractive. It takes nothing away from us. It is additive. It allows us to see things in a new way we never considered before, in addition to the way we already see things. We already have our own mind, our own opinion, and our own perspective. We do not need more of that. More of that is boring. It gives us nothing except confirmation.

The ability to be open enough to listen to others, see through their eyes, and feel what they feel, this is the only way for us to truly experience new ideas and possibilities, to experience a whole new we could have never imagined. Empathy is the gateway to universal connection and understanding.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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June 22, 2019

art, artist, budo, compassion, empathy, feeling, hearing, life, listening, seeing, understanding, universal connection, universal understanding
Chess and Collar Chokes
“If we are playing chess and I do two moves, but you only do one move, who is going to win? Jiu-jitsu is like chess. I do one move and you do one move, but if I do one move and then you let me do another move, game over.” – Relson Gracie

Relson Gracie black belt Patrick Gaul Jr. practicing a side control collar choke at Kogen Dojo. Photo by Mike Oswald Photography

In life, like in jiu-jitsu, when problems arise, if they are not addressed immediately, they can compound and become overwhelming. Imagine you are doing jiu-jitsu and your opponent passes your guard to side control. That is a problem. If you do not address it and re-guard, he or she gets to mount. Now, you have two problems. Then, he or she puts a hand in your collar and you do nothing. You now have three problems and his or her next move is going to be to finish the choke with the other hand.

If you wait until the second hand comes in to grab your other collar, before you begin strategizing your defense, you are not only behind, but you are positioned to lose. Now, your only move is going to be reactionary and reactive counters are slow because they lack initiative. A lot of things happened between the guard pass and the collar choke that should have been addressed as they came up, but due to lack of awareness, initiative, or skill, now you are fighting to survive. It is very difficult to think about winning when you are fighting to survive.

The goal is to get ahead, to address issues before they become problems. In Japanese martial arts, this principle, which I have written about in Enter First With Your Mind, is known as irimi. Irimi is the act of taking space, being where your opponent wanted to be before he or she gets there and owning that position. In BJJ, this means capitalizing on the guard pass attempt and either submitting or sweeping the passer at exactly the moment he or she is most confident. Irimi is seizing the challenge, owning it, and using it to your advantage.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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June 21, 2019

bjj, brazilian jiu-jitsu, budo, chess, collar choke, gracie jiu-jitsu, irimi, japanese martial arts, kogen dojo, life, Martial Arts, taikyoku budo
Enter First With Your Mind
“Always irimi, even when retreating.” – Budd Yuhasz

Taikyoku Ken practice at Kogen Dojo

There are a lot of valuable lessons beneath the surface of Japanese weapon training that translate to empty hand practice. With sword-work in particular, the principle of irmi* becomes especially evident.

Irimi, meaning ‘entering body,’ is more than simply the act of entering into an opponent’s physical space, although this act of displacing one’s opponent as a means of off-balancing him or her is an essential aspect of irimi. The sword teaches us to also enter into an opponent’s mental space and to always push forward with both intention and the blade, even when retreating.

With the threat of a bladed weapon, where one cut potentially means death, if a practitioner is pushed back into a defensive stance, either mentally or physically, he or she will be slow, reactive, and likely dead. The blade, and one’s attention, must remain affixed on the opponent at all times, so that the practitioner is always entering into his or her opponent’s space with both mind and body.

Irimi is the act of overtaking an opponent first with one’s intent. The blade and the body are wielded by the will. If one’s cut is to be true, he or she must first decide to enter, even when seeming to move backwards, lest he or she be overcome by the will and the blade of the enemy. In this way, even a retreat is an attack and an attempt to maintain proper balance, angle, and distance from one’s opponent so as to cut him or her down, in spite of pushed back.

“As in life, so too it is in budo. As in budo, so too it is in life.”

-Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

*For further reading on the principle of irimi within an aikido context, read Ellis Amdur’s article on the subject HERE.

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June 20, 2019

aikido, budd yuhasz, budo, ellis amdur, irimi, japanese martial arts, kogen dojo, life, Martial Arts, sword, taikyoku budo

Being Yourself in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

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Of Progress and Perfection

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Universal Connection Through the Artist’s Eyes

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Chess and Collar Chokes

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Enter First With Your Mind

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