Teaching

I love to teach. I have been teaching ever since I got my blue belt in ' 96. I have taught many, many students. I have taught some huge names in MMA today. And I have taught people you will never know. My first mat that I had all to myself was in '98 at LA Boxing in Huntington Beach. I really liked that mat. I called it the Redroom because of the red mats. It was a racquetball court room with wall to wall Norbert mats.  My mat now is blue. I like blue. It makes me feel good. The last group of guys were my most successful yet. I nicknamed them the DeathSquad, because they killed it at every competition we entered. The biggest was the NAGA Las Vegas 2011. I feel that over the last ten years that the students were more concerned with an MMA class as opposed to traditional BJJ. The DeathSquad focused on the traditional and it proved to be effective.  When teaching a student with no knowledge, I feel it is best to begin from worst position first. On your back. So, I focus on the guard and how to defend it. Keep your legs from getting smashed and moving hip to hip. How to escape, to sweep and of course to submit from the guard. The most importan t key is not to focus on just one submission, but a chain of three or more and the transitions in between.