Where to Train: Tony Passos BJJ

Where:
Tony Passos BJJ- Sterling, VA
Who:
The instructor is Tony Passos a second degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under the legendary Ricardo De La Riva. With most of the De La Riva team in Brazil, Tony formed a close bond with Andre Galvao and became a quintessential part of their team and  one of the best coaches in the Jiu Jitsu world. He now represents ATOS Jiu Jitsu in Northern Virginia.
What I like: I love the emphasis on practical drilling and warm ups. Tony is including some pretty rigorous cardio in the initial class drills and you might not even notice it. The initial warm-up drilling was probably a good 20 minutes of class and just during that time period alone I saw my skills sharpen, my arm bar get a little tighter and smoother each time. After class I remarked to a student that I was glad I was able to attend a competition class. She smiled and said "Oh, this was just our fundamentals class." My mind was blown. Tony is of the belief system that if you can do it in class, you can do it when you compete. This is evidenced by his no nonsense teaching style and the sheer amount you are guaranteed to sweat before you even begin rolling. Tony and his students work hard and their work ethic is  direct reflection of his leadership.

What are the classes like: Tony's academy is open Monday-Saturday evenings and mornings. His school features: fundamentals, kids classes, advanced classes and private training sessions. Each class features conditioning and strategic understanding of techniques. Tony is thorough, down to the direction that your toes should be pointing. He is technical and provides every little detail to assist his students in understanding the moves.
Kids Classes: I was particularly impressed with Tony's kids class. Never before have I seen such disciplined, technical little practitioners. Tony refers to it as "Zoo Jitsu" and allows each student to pick an animal name. His students were lined up, ready to go and more focused than the majority of adult advanced classes. He allows students to lead drills and select their own partners but makes sure they stay challenged. He is tough, but fair and his children's program is full of absolute warriors. Just last month I attended a competition where one of his kids was competing and it was like watching a calm,focused little world champion compete.

Special Features: It's pretty amazing to get a taste of ATOS Jiu Jitsu all the way out in Virginia. Tony really is a top level Jiu Jitsu practitioner who has produced some excellent students. One being Black Belt, Kris Kim (an ATOS affiliate in Seoul, South Korea).Tony's students have access to seminars by some of the greats! They offer seminars throughout the year by the likes of: Andre Galvao, Gustavo Campos and Claudio Calasans.

This is a school for students of all levels, backgrounds and abilities. Tony is a game changer and you are guaranteed to come away learning something that improves your jiu jitsu significantly!

Tony's school also has a group of excellent women for those ladies looking for female training partners!

Dat BJJ Struggle

 When the gym is just too damn hot........

How to Combat the Blue Belt Curse

BJJ Eastern Europe published an article today about Blue Belt Beltitis also known as the blue belt curse. Once reaching blue belt, an overwhelming amount of practitioners quit! But why? Time schedules? Injuries? Pride? No more desire to reach further accomplishments? Or maybe a combination of all of the above. Becoming a blue belt was not what I expected. Everyone said "Watch out, soon you'll have a target on your back." I distinctly remember the first training after blue belt promotions, the sea of blue I expected to see was, well, scarce to say the least! Blue belt didn't have this effect on me! It made me hungry! It made me want to train that much harder, luckily I had people around me pushing me to be consistent. So how does one beat the blue belt blues...here are a few tips:

1. Lose that ego. You've got your belt now, right? No amount of getting tapped is going to take that away.

2. Expect more from yourself without worrying about the expectations of others. Easier said than done, right? Pressure makes diamonds.....sometimes. Sometimes it also causes people to fear failing at all. Answer to yourself instead of others.

3. Set goals. Having something to work towards limits your opportunities to just give up. I've started giving myself 2 things a week I want to work into my rolls, or two things I want to improve. I put myself in bad positions with people larger and more technical than myself and work from there. It's helping to build my confidence and it's keeping me motivated.

4. If you find yourself plateauing, consider why. Change the way you train. Try something new. You know how the saying goes: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results."

5. Take care of injuries! They're bound to happen but you can always train smarter! When I was a white belt I said "meh, I rolled my ankle/I broke my finger/I'll just see how far this shoulder can go" Insert any other dumb phrase there, as I continued to spaz out and roll through my injury. Now I know to take care of myself. Chances are you're training a bit harder these days, focus on recovery!

6. Give yourself a new challenge. Never competed? Do it. Always wanted to play spider guard? Go for it. You'll probably surprise yourself. Variety is the key to any relationship and let's face it, you're in one with BJJ.

7. Just train. Tired? Train. Nervous? Train. Worried about getting tapped? Train. Smallest person in your gym? Train. Sick? Gross, don't train and spread your nasty germs....but you get the point!

8. Enjoy your journey! Blue belt is so early on in the game. There are so many things to learn, positions to try and ways to get tapped! Enjoy the experience and the room left for progression!


What about you folks? What do you do to stay motivated?