Move Fast. Breathe Slow.

Workouts with Jason and Jocko

Borrowed Jocko’s Mace. Put it back when I was done.

Reflecting

Meeting heroes is a recipe for disappointment.  So it was reassuring to see how former CrossFit Games champ Jason Khalipa and Navy Seal/BJJ black belt/Victory MMA owner Jocko Willink both are exactly as I hoped they’d be in person.  Jocko does in fact lift at 4:34 AM each morning.  He does love jiu jitsu.  He will choke you out. 

Jason brings his CrossFit background to BJJ.  Sure, jiu jitsu players love to emphasize its efficiency and leverage by talking about how you don’t need strength.  Sure.  But as Mark Bell says, strength is never a weakness and weakness is never a strength.  It is ideal to use proper technique.  It is also good to be able to muscle an opponent around if necessary.  And Jason focused on how much we can use fitness to be better fighters both by moving better and by staying calmer, reminding me to move fast and breathe slowly.

Jiu jitsu offers a lot of options for fighting from the bottom.  It is certainly better than being on the bottom and not knowing jiu jitsu.  But the bottom is worse in MMA and fighting more generally.  Striking plus gravity is too easy and effective.  Rener Gracie said simply,

Get on top.  Stay on top.

Easier said than done (especially against Rener) but true.  His 32 Principles: Harnessing the Power of Jiu-Jitsu to Succeed in Business, Relationships, and Life was just released and on the top of my large stack of books to read.

Want to see more about this year’s camp and join us next year?  Check it out and sign up here.

Training

This morning’s trail run:

White board:

4 Rounds

Partner 1: Run 400m

Partner 2: 8 DBall Over the Shoulder + 16 Burpees

…AMRAP Cals on the Bike until the 24:00…

This past week had 4:34 AM workouts with Jocko Willink:

And CrossFit with Jason Khalipa:

Fueling

My favorite meal this week was Maine oysters after evening rolling:

Followed by lobsters.  I was rolling with friends from all over the world, so had to give a few lobster eating lessons…

Then today after daily 18 hour fast, omelet with foraged mushrooms:

Hat tip to P.D. Mangan for sharing this chart:

It shows insulin resistance as a measurement of poor metabolic health divided into low middle and high groups.  After six years, no one in the lowest group had heart disease, strokes, cancer, hypertension, or diabetes. 

Supplementing

I love swag and have been trying out Jocko Creatine and Jocko Joint Warfare for inflammation response this week. 

Measuring

Unsurprisingly, plenty of wrestlers at BJJ camp this week.  Heard some new tricks for cutting weight including sucking on ice (theory is that body expends calories returning to baseline internal body temp).  Favorite wrestler meal for cuts?  Tuna and mustard.  Here’s what things look like after a week of camp. 

Recovering

Lots of recovery this week after a week of 3x/day of jiu jitsu – Graston scraping/cupping/acupuncture.  But mostly sleep.

Closing

TL; DR:

• Should you train jiu jitsu?  Yes.

• Should you attend Origin Immersion Camp?  Yes.

It is guaranteed to sell out (already most of the way there from this year’s grapplers signing up for next year before they left camp) so I’m not that tempted to go on.  Both Jocko and Dean Lister just stop talking when they’ve made their point, so I’ll try to copy them in brevity.  Just listen to Jocko’s conversation with Rener Gracie Confidence of a Black Belt, Humility of a White Belt on why you should roll. 

Why should you roll at Immersion Camp?  It has the best instructors in the world.  It has motivated students willing to help each other get better.  It is in a beautiful spot in Maine with a lake for swimming and paddling.  Plenty of good food.  Extra activities, some of which are just spontaneously organized among likeminded enthusiasts, round out the experience.  It will be the best week of your year.  Maybe life. 

Like all good things, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Much of the value comes from hard effort, active participation, and staying available for the many times when instructors and higher belts focus on helping you advance your jiu jitsu.  Arrive rested, humble, and coachable.  Go hard.  Get better.  When you get home, don’t tell your wife it was the best time ever.