Oregon Grappling Arts is excited to announce that head coach Hannah Sharp will be a clinician at the 2024 Women’s No Gi Summit hosted at 10th Planet Portland in Portland, OR from March 1-3. Hannah will be teaching alongside women’s jiu jitsu standouts Elizabeth Clay, Brianna Ste-Marie, Alex Enriquez, and Amanda Loewen. The Women’s No Gi Summit is an excellent opportunity for women grapplers to learn technique from some of the most accomplished female no gi competitors in the world. In addition, the weekend-long event provides open mats and social activities where participants can train and network with fellow jiu jitsu enthusiasts, a large number of whom will be members of the PNW women’s jiu jitsu community.

“Look for a gym that offers a fundamentals-specific curriculum that is taught at an appropriate pace for beginners. New students should be introduced to the core movements, positions, and techniques of jiu jitsu at a manageable pace. While you may not yet have the knowledge to assess whether instructional content exceeds the fundamental level, you can still assess the pacing and consistency of the class. Look for an instructor that limits the number of techniques taught per session (in general, one or two techniques is usually best), breaks multi-part moves down into easily digestible components, and gives students ample time to practice each technique.”

“Is the class content modern and sufficiently diverse? BJJ is an ever-evolving sport. As with any other profession, continuing education is essential to keep up with new trends and techniques. Unfortunately, some instructors teach jiu jitsu as it was when they stopped learning or training seriously. There are, of course, fundamental techniques that need to be recirculated in the curriculum of any BJJ gym. But the details of those techniques should be up-to-date, and modern techniques and trends should be regularly explored in classes.”

“Here is one of coach Hannah Sharp’s no gi jiu jitsu competition matches from the Sub Spectrum 7 Women’s 135-lb. Pro Tournament held in Des Moines, Iowa on March 2, 2019. Coach Hannah, who was a brown belt at the time, won the tournament by submitting all three of her opponents in regulation by a kimura and two ude garame triangles, respectively. This particular match was coach Hannah’s second/semifinal match in the bracket. Her opponent was a brown belt and four-time IBJJF Pan champion in adult colored belt divisions. Hannah’s finals opponent was a professional mma fighter who would later be signed to the UFC.”

“Even if you’re not interested in training yourself, jiu jitsu is a convenient activity choice for those with multiple children. Your children can participate on the same team, often in the same class with each other (depending on the structure of your gym’s program). This gives siblings who are a few years apart in age and would normally be on different teams the opportunity to train together. And unlike many other sports or activities, BJJ has no season; classes are offered year-round, and most gyms offer classes at least six days per week. This allows families to create a weekly training routine that accommodates busy schedules and other activities.”

“Attack your partner’s legs. When you break your partner down to a hip in a leg entanglement, most of their weight will be on the floor rather than on you. In addition, twisting leglock techniques such as inside heel hooks, Aoki locks, and reverse toe holds pit the entirety of an attacker’s body against relatively weaker physical structures in an opponent’s single leg. However, always keep in mind that attacking the legs puts you at some risk of counter leg attacks.”

“Enjoy the challenges and benefits of grappling with larger, stronger opponents. Rolling with a stronger opponent is the jiu jitsu version of resistance training. Working under heavier pressure can help you perfect techniques such as escapes and submission finishes, for instance. It can also make you tougher, and mental fortitude is an invaluable asset in combat sports.”

“Slow things down if you’re breathing too hard or shaking. Jiu jitsu is physically demanding. It’s normal to breathe hard, particularly if you’re newer to the sport. But if you’re gasping for breaths or completely winded, you’re probably expending too much energy. Similarly, if you’re exerting yourself so much that your body is visibly shaking, slow down and focus on technique and fluidity of movement. If you’re a newer student and your technical knowledge is limited, confine your live training to positions you’ve worked on in class.”

“Confine the round to positions with which your partner is familiar. If you’re training with a student who is in the beginning weeks or months of their BJJ training, they’ve likely only worked from a few positions. For example, if your partner has only learned moves from closed guard, limit your live training with them to closed guard, even during full jiu jitsu rounds. This will allow new students to practice explicit techniques that they’ve learned in class instead of blindly navigating positions with no technical knowledge or positional goals. “

“Instead of relying on your power, try to execute perfect technique when rolling with a smaller person. For example, don’t bench press your partner out of mount, even if you could do so successfully. Be patient and focus on your elbow escapes or kipping escapes. If your smaller partner is skilled and you're stuck on bottom for a while, that’s perfectly fine.”

“Be supportive of your child regardless of the outcome of their matches. While we want all of our OGA competitors to perform well in competition and we do everything we can to help them achieve this, every jiu jitsu competitor will experience losses. It is critical that parental support for youth students is not tied to competition performance. Parents should never express that they are disappointed in their child for losing. Failing to be supportive regardless of the tournament outcome puts undue pressure on youth students, negatively impacts student performance and self-esteem, demotivates youth students to compete or even continue training in the future, and deprives youth students of a valuable opportunity to work through adversity and learn to process failure in a productive way.”

“Don’t force your kid to compete in jiu jitsu. If your child is on the fence about competing, a little motivation and encouragement are great, but don’t force youth students to compete. Just training BJJ is physically and mentally demanding; having to compete against kids you don’t know in an extremely loud setting with a referee standing over you and everyone watching presents a much greater challenge and simply isn’t for everyone. The pressure of competing certainly promotes technical development and cultivates mental fortitude for many kids, but pushing youth students into competition could ruin the experience for them and may even cause them to feel differently about the BJJ training they once enjoyed.”

“Wash all of your gi and nogi training gear after every use. You should never rewear training gear after it’s been used at BJJ practice. Training gear should be clean and free of odors. Sometimes older training gear may start retaining an odor even when washed. If this happens, it’s probably time to replace it.”

“Control your physical output. If you watch many of the best BJJ practitioners in the world, you’ll notice that they grapple fluidly and efficiently and have a smoothness to their movements. It takes time to cultivate efficiency in your jiu jitsu, especially for brand new students. However, if you’re gasping for breath or shaking when you roll, if you’re accidentally hitting your training partners, or if you’re unable to roll more than a round or two at a time, you likely need to lower the intensity of your training and focus more on technique and pacing. “

“If you’re unable to make it to jiu jitsu class because of scheduling issues or you’re just looking for extra practice, you might consider getting some home mats and a drilling partner. Home mats come in a variety of styles and price ranges, many of which can be broken down and stowed away when not in use. At OGA, we find drilling jiu jitsu techniques (practicing the moves with no or little resistance) to be critical for skill development in most students. Newer students would do well to get more repetitions of moves learned in class. Intermediate and advanced students should be able to identify and fill in knowledge gaps in their jiu jitsu with the help of their coaches at OGA or with recourse to the vast body of BJJ instructional content now available.”

“Many students quickly fall in love with jiu jitsu and find that training twice per week isn’t enough for them. As higher training volumes result in more rapid progress, we encourage our students to train as much as they can. Students who get really into jiu jitsu or who seek to build skills as quickly as possible often train four or more times per week. BJJ competitors need even higher training volumes, and must ensure that they will be able to commit to several months of intense training prior to their tournament.”

“What constitutes adequate BJJ competition preparation necessitates a separate post, but in general, it means that you’re able to train regularly and consistently throughout each week for at least several months prior to the event, and that you’re able to train at a higher intensity with minimal to no breaks during those training sessions. If you’re only able to make it to jiu jitsu class here and there, wait to compete until you have the time to commit to your competition preparation.”

“Competition allows you to test your jiu jitsu against your peers. Many students seek to know where they stand against others in the same weight, age, and skill class. Oftentimes in the training room, our partners become increasingly familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of our jiu jitsu. Stepping onto the mat at a tournament and testing your jiu jitsu against a peer who is unaccustomed to your movements is arguably the best way to assess where you stand.”

“Determine whether or not the gi is pre-shrunk, particularly if you intend to put your gi in the dryer. If purchasing the gi in-person, ask the salesperson about the gi’s potential shrinkage. When purchasing online, gi manufacturers will often include this information in the product description.”