The Most Important Attribute In Jiu Jitsu (It Will Shock You)

Train with the best BJJ specific trainers in the world-- 
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bulletproof-for-bjj/id6444311790
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bulletproofforbjj&utm_source=na_Med

Get up on the BEST nutrition bar for BJJ athletes -- 
https://raisednutrition.com CODE: BULLETPROOF

Stay hydrated with Sodii & get 15% OFF: BULLETPROOF15 https://sodii.com.au/bulletproof

Get the plastic free rash guard that won't f*** you up -- https://www.alchemical.com.au

Transcript

Strength Myth And Steroid Optics

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The most important physical quality for BJJ, and it's probably not what you think. A lot of people assume a lot because obviously there's a lot of steroids in BJJ. So people are like, ah, even though they say don't use strength, strength must be important, right? And you know, we see, you know, you see Roman jujitsu, you're like, Jesus Christ, the guy's so jacked. Which jujitsu? Uh Roman Jiu-Jitsu is like the new Gordon Ryan.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Like in the Is this some guy on Instagram?

SPEAKER_01 0:27

Yeah, just search Roman Jiu Jitsu, you know what I'm talking about. If you already, if you know, you know, but if you don't know, you're about to find out. Uh, but you know, you you see those pictures of um Gordon Ryan just stacked, juiced to the nines, looking like a bodybuilder. And you know, so many people in in jiu-jitsu history just looking ultra tank and taking steroids. So people often think strength is like, even though, say it's it's it's this funny irony in jujitsu of like use technique, not strength, but then you've got these huge, strong motherfuckers just bashing dudes. And um uh I saw something the other day which is a guy was saying something about like um under 200 pounds as victim weight.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

I was like, oh ouch. I've heard that phrase, yeah. That that's being under 90, yeah.

Why Strength Hits Diminishing Returns

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Yeah, that's painful, right? But I look, strength is so important in BJJ. Like we are always talking about a business on that idea. We have, we have, and I think you can't get away from the fact that being strong in and doing jujitsu is an advantage, so it's not saying you don't need to be strong, because I feel like um it's the speech from uh uh Enter the Dragon where Han is walking through his museum of weapons and I think he's talking to um what's the white guy's name with the hair? Oh yeah, James, someone or other? Yeah, and and he's saying, Oh, what what societies have failed for lack of strength? You know, and he's really trying to talk him into this idea of joining his criminal James Coburn? Could be joining his criminal organization, you know? Um and I I think for a lot of people in jujitsu, you feel like more strength's gonna help, right? Yeah, and I I I am somebody who loves to lift weights. Where are you fucking going with this? Bro, well I'm saying, like, you do you concur? Absolutely, right? So, so strength. Yes, strength is important for BJJ, but I'm gonna say that strength is not the most important. Okay. The reason why I say this is it is something that you can have not too much of, but if you go down the strength path, there's a point of diminishing return. Yep. Right? Because we know that just being the strongest human doesn't equate to being the best at jujitsu.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Yep.

Cardio And Flexibility Misconceptions

SPEAKER_01 2:53

Right? We've we've seen that, right? So to simply say, all right, we'll just pour more strength on and jujitsu gets better, not necessarily the case. And then there's people, you know, there's other people have the argument of like, oh, they're all about um cardio and fitness, like gas tank. Because the the phrase, and this is true, you know, it there is truth in this phrase, I should say, fatigue makes cowards of us all. You know, that's why boxing, wrestling, like a lot of combat sports, there's such a huge emphasis on conditioning. Yeah. You know, it's just like, yeah, you gotta get your road work in, you know, you gotta, you know, like Muay Thai fighters do 10K warm-up runs. You're like, that's not a fucking warm-up. That's enough to make me quit Muay Thai. I came for the elbows to the face, not the running away. The fuck. And I mean, I think this comes around like misconceptions about what is it that is actually we all want one answer, right? We want one answer, like just tell me the one thing I need so I can be better at BJJ, right? Just make fucking simple for me. And it's not always that simple, right? Right, yep. So you you you probably would have seen this, Joe, where someone comes to you, maybe with some kind of a problem, not even jujitsu context, but they're like, I just want to get more jacked. And then you look at them and you're like, Oh, how are your shoulders? And they're like, Yeah, they're really sore, and they're really tight. And you're like, uh, maybe what you need's like some ability, something like that. And then they'll go, Oh, that's I don't stretch. Stretching makes you weak. You know, there's a misconception. You probably would have seen it many times in your training career where somebody comes to you with an idea of what they need to do, and it's it's off piece.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Yeah. My assessment is different to theirs.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Yes, but you're the expert. So you've you've seen it countless times of someone comes to you with an idea, but it is totally not totally, but it's maybe it's misdirected because they're misinformed. Yeah. And then also there's folks out there who would say mobility, stretching, mobility, flexibility, that's what you need. If you are just absolutely flexible, then you know, like I actually I used to train with somebody who who was double jointed, so they would kind of let you kind of armbar them to like pop their elbow, and then you're like, that's that's not a strategy.

SPEAKER_00 5:27

That can't be good.

Resilience As The Key Attribute

SPEAKER_01 5:28

That can't be good for your body. And you know, I the reason why I bring this up is it's like you look at that and you go, Okay, you're the most flexible person ever, but you're still losing rounds. Like your jujitsu isn't improving because suddenly you're the most flexible person in the world. So in saying that, getting to my other joe's like, make your fucking point, bro. I'm gonna make the argument right here, folks, that the most important physical quality for BJJ is resilience. Now that sounds like a pretty broad term, but let me get to what that is. It is your ability physically to be consistent and show up and have the compounding of being at the gym every week. Because so many times I have seen folks run down different avenues of developing their athleticism, whether it's whether it's getting fitter or getting stronger or whatever, and just doubling down on one thing, and then they end up either injured or railroaded in a way that stops them from doing BJJ consistently. And actually, this is all about finding the sweet spot. And what I want to talk about is what builds the sweet spot for BJJ, and what does it take to be resilient and show up week in, week out?

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Fucking hell of an intro. What is this? A Netflix series? You're 20 minutes in, you're like, Tune in next week, guys, for the next fucking installment. Intro. I was like, I was like, I hope you guys are still awake.

SPEAKER_01 7:12

Hey, it only took me five minutes. But um, so speaking of resiliency here, Joe, for you resilience, for you, because obviously you've had your various escapades within the jujitsu journey, fucking crossfit, fucking move, idle path, handstands, the shit, calisthenics, Olympic liftings. Oh, yeah. What does that look like for you? Like, because it is a little bit different between the two of us.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

So yeah, so what I'm what I take from that, from what you know, your piece there is that um I think I I agree that resilience is absolutely like almost the like jujitsu is a wonderful vehicle for developing it. And in a roundabout way, it's also the thing you need to succeed in jujitsu, whether you have it starting out or not, or it's something that you know grows in you. Um, because I think, yeah, it is ultimately like this, you know, as we all know, like it's really fucking hard and it's really challenging on a bunch of different levels, and it takes resilience to be able to show up and put yourself in that fire again and again. Um I think that the physical stuff is like stuff that you would layer on top of that in a way, right? Um that that would kind of be that would kind of be my take. And you know, you could you could make the argument that, well, I will make the argument that for a given individual, they could develop what what one person needs to develop physical resilience might be different to the other to another person.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Exactly. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Right. So you got the big, you got the big power lifter guy who's strong as fuck if he can get his hands on you. But you know, if you're on his back, he's a mess because he's tight and fucking, you know, stiff. So you put that guy into some yoga classes, you you know, you start making him a bit bendy. Well, now he's becoming a real problem.

SPEAKER_01 9:05

Yep.

Alchemical Hemp Gi Sponsorship

SPEAKER_00 9:06

Flip that for the cat that's like, whatever, got all the movement in the world, but they're weak. You know, and and I think that that's where a lot of the time we probably fall into the default of just talking about like we're talking to people who are kind of not at the baseline we we think they should be. So it's like, yo, get strong. Hey, get flexible, you know. I haven't been excited about wearing a gi for some time. However, recently partnering with our chemical flightwear, and I can tell you their ghees feel great. The beauty of wearing a hemp gi is that they are strong, they're gonna last the test of time, they're high quality, but they're light. And I would go to say that you couldn't get that kind of lightness in a cotton ghee. And so the beauty of that is, especially here in Australia where it's really hot during the summer, having a lightweight ghee that's strong is an absolute godsend. I'm a big fan of Alchemical, and also the beautiful part of it is that it's a very environmental-friendly fabric to be using rather than cotton, which is energy intensive. So if you want to get your hands on some alchemical fightwear gear, you should go check it out at alchemical.com.au. And if you use the code Bulletproof15, you'll get 15% off your purchase.

Build A Sustainable BJJ Cadence

SPEAKER_01 10:11

Yeah, I know, I totally agree. It does look different for different people. And sometimes it's as simple as you don't need to be able to do the front splits necessarily. You just need to be able to comfortably put your hands on the ground when you're, you know, in a forward-fold position. Or yeah, you realize that you sit down all fucking day and then you go to jujitsu. Well, you should probably spend some time opening up your hips. Like it's it it's it's difficult within the busyness of life to realize that what you spend eight hours a day doing is maybe going to cook you for jujitsu. Yeah, you know, part of the reason why you've got a sore back isn't jujitsu. It's the fact you sat down for eight hours and now you're trying to fucking tominagi fucking Big Harris, you know, like it's it's that's a problem. Shout out Big Harris Big Harris. And so that's the thing, like, man, I think, because I was having this conversation with someone the other day, he's like, fuck, my lower back's so cooked. And I was like, oh yeah. And he's been telling me like how busy he is, he's doing a ton of overtime. And I said, Are you sitting down for all of this? He's like, oh mate, I'm I'm I'm in front of the computer. Just we're grinding. It's 10 hours. And I'm like, even though people, for people out there who've got physical jobs, that doesn't sound like work, but just to sit like that, you get stiff. Yeah, you get sore, and then you're getting on the mats and doing jujitsu, you're not going to be physically resilient. You're actually, you've made yourself vulnerable by stiffening yourself up in this way, right? Your body's just trying to look for efficiency to to put up with being in a chair. But the reason why I wanted to get to the resiliency piece is really we know jujitsu takes ages to get good at. Like any skill, you've got to kind of chip away, chip away, chip away. And you you need to find the thing or the um cadence that allows you to maintain that relationship with jujitsu. And so for some people, it's gonna look like mobility. Some people, it's gonna look like doing a bit of lifting. For some people, it's gonna be like, man, you maybe you've got to watch your diet a bit. You know, like maybe it's jujitsu is super hard because you know, being, you know, maybe 10, 10, 20 pounds lighter, it's gonna you're gonna jujitsu will feel more fun. And and that's the thing I think it's it's it's hard too because we get really hardwired in being good. And I I get this too. I don't often optimize for fun. Like that's like trying to make something fun is not what I'm good at. Yeah, I'm like performance, fucking KBs, bitch. Um I don't know why. I don't know, it's just like a default mode, something in me to be like it's our fucking British fout heritage.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Maybe, maybe life's life's not there to be enjoyed. No, stiff up a lip, stiff up a lip, get on with it, it's clean the chimney, fight the wars, you know, something like that, die with that fucking suppressed insecurity. Yeah, enjoyment is a weakness.

Do Hard Things To Grow

SPEAKER_01 13:02

It is. Why would you even bother with it? So I think the the reason why I'm gonna have this conversation is people are often asking me, and you might have experienced this Joe with people like, what do I need to do? What's the answer? Like, how can I get better at jujitsu? And they haven't asked questions around maybe there's one or two different levers they could pull that is going to allow them to enjoy it more, do it more. Do you have a particular, not I wouldn't say prescription, but is there a way that you think about people being able to build resiliency for jujitsu? Ooh, I like that.

SPEAKER_00 13:38

Yeah, so so I've I've caught wind of this when I've had people in the past advice to what white belt Joey who have come to train, who have like, you know, friends of mine or I remember a coach that worked with us some years ago, but been like, hey, I want to like, I want to kind of like I want to train like you're training. And I'm like, what do you mean? You know, and they're like, Well, I kind of want, I kind of want what I think you have. Yeah, right. You know, and and this is and this is largely what I think.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

How do I get my hair like yours, Jason?

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Yeah, like well, but I think this is largely like coat personal training in a way, right? It's often people are coming to you because they something about you that they admire and they think that you they can get a bit of that, you know? Um I think that I think that like you well, I mean, fuck, there's so much in it. But yes, I think yeah, you you have like you have to do hard things physically. So you have to lift weights, you have to fucking train yourself with discipline, you have to train, and you have to train in a way that like you have to train in a way that is like like at jujitsu, like I don't know, it's it's really I feel like such a wanker saying this because it's so it's easy for me to go there, it always has been, and to go hard, because I had physical gifts and natural athleticism and whatever. So I could go in and throw myself into the fire and get my ass kicked out. You you were so inclined. That's right. It was, yeah, totally my it was super fun, you know. If I'm saying this to someone where that's not fun for them, oh shit, well, I don't actually know. But I do think that in our in our lives, we lack resilience generally because we live very soft existences, true, you know, or a very soft existence. So it's like, well, you gotta fucking do hard things, you gotta put your body on the line. That brings about spiritual rewards. You know, you have to do it on a consistent basis, you have to do it when you don't feel like it. Uh, it brings about spiritual rewards because you're gonna be proud of yourself, you know, as well as get the physical attributes that you're chasing, you're gonna get spiritual attributes. That's really the thing. Um, so I do think in a very general sense, like you've got to do fucking hard stuff. And I think about that for my kids. Like, I don't really care what it is that you do, it just has it has to be hard. Yeah. So I don't care. If you don't want to lift weights, that's fine. But I want you to take up uh, you know, fucking wrestling or I want you to do play some rugby or yeah, whatever, uh a tough ball sport, you know. Challenge yourself. Yeah, go fucking, I don't know, go rock climbing, do you know, yeah, something that pushes you to a limit.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yeah. And I mean, I think it on on that idea of doing something that makes you uncomfortable. For some people, that is a yoga class. Yeah. They're like, fuck, I can barely, you know, I can barely bend forward. My calves are screaming, my back aches. Like to think of spending an hour stretching is fuck that. You know, like that's scary. Same thing. Like, I'm not, I'm not someone who loves doing cardiovascular activity. Well, yeah, that's why that's why I'm running. Running's tough.

SPEAKER_00 16:34

That's why I'm running at the right next my knees, fuck me.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

But no, but it's mental because it's just I don't, my body doesn't want to. Your body's saying stop, stop, stop. And your brain's like, you have to find ways to convince yourself to just keep going, which is incredibly challenging, especially when all you want to do is just fucking hey that cafe looks nice. Yeah, I've I've yeah, I think there's weights in that garage over there. 2.4Ks. We could just pull up over there, you know. And and this is the hardest thing. I think for me, when I think about the BJJ resiliency thing, BJJ will do a lot to um will do a lot for you. It's talking about the spiritual element, self-belief, you know, the the good things you get from overcoming, like when you didn't feel like going to training and you went, you can be proud of yourself. But I think also it's finding ways outside of jujitsu to sustain it. Whether that's stretching, whether that's strength training, whatever it is, that's the thing you're not told about jujitsu. Is that you will have to change things in your life in order to be able to keep up the fight, you know. And I think that's that's where the most important quality you need is for you to examine your life and and understand what will enable you to stay in it and keep improving and keep pushing yourself because that's where the kind of cumulative gains come from.

Identity Question And Final Takeaway

SPEAKER_00 17:53

Yep. Yeah, I think um a question that I kind of I don't actually uh articulate this to myself, but it's sort of more of a sentiment of like, what does the person that I desire to be like do? You know, how would they go to training tonight? Fah shit. Once you think that, you're like, motherfucker, I gotta go. Yeah, you know, not always actually. Sometimes you're like, nah, nah, it's smarter move to not because I fucking know what I'm like, you know? Yeah, for sure. But but yeah, I think that that thing, I think that is a I I see that as a way to kind of foster resilience. Nice. There it is, folks. Be resilient.