TECHNICA: BOW & ARROW CHOKE
October 20, 2021
A pale detail and an advantage in hand, in a low and desolate spot between truth and consequence.
LUTADORA
September 30, 2021
Even as representation in jiu-jitsu reaches new heights, we all share a responsibility for training environments that are welcoming and open to all.
THE JIU JITSU TAPES
September 20, 2021
Messages from martial artists. Season two of the Shoyoroll podcast.
TECHNICA: KNEEBAR
September 17, 2021
Latching onto a kneebar has long meant you’re someone who speaks a more profane language.
TECHNICA: X GUARD
August 20, 2021
The eyes that see end games as obstacles and nothing more. The spirit to run into the wall and off the cliff, over and over. The mind that correctly surmises that overcoming means going underneath.
TECHNICA: FLOWER SWEEP
August 05, 2021
The flower sweep is right there and you’re obliged to take it.
TECHNICA: CALF SLICER
July 18, 2021
More than other familiar targets – bicep crushers, neck cranks, toe holds – the calf slicer is a black sheep.
TECHNICA: ARMBAR
July 03, 2021
The armbar can come out of nowhere in a supernova of genius or at the end of a long, laborious, tedious, spirit-sucking grind.
TECHNICA: OSOTO GARI
June 04, 2021
"Since I specialized in osoto gari, even if I lost I lost with osoto gari. By thinking to master that technique I kept my beginner’s mind.” — Masahiko Kimura
Technica: Double Leg Takedown
March 09, 2021
Double leg. Baiana. Morote gari. Outside Step. Inside trip. Lift. Blast. Forward velocity. Center of mass. Ground reaction force. Inelastic collision. Attack. Sprawl. Attack.
Don Gorgon Mixtape
March 02, 2021
Don't forget to have fun. Next mixtape is full of reggae and dancehall.
Technica: Heel Hooks
January 21, 2021
The cultural history of heel hooks, inspired by graphic designer and typographer Wolfgang Weingart.
TECHNICA: AMERICANA
December 10, 2020
A key lock. Or a top wristlock. Or a paintbrush. Or a figure four. Or ude-garami. Or Americana.
TECHNICA: HALF GUARD
November 24, 2020
The cultural history of half guard, inspired by modernist Stuart Davis.
THE STAMPEDE COLLECTION
October 06, 2020
A look at a new collection inspired by the aesthetics of American Bull Riders and the rugged work-ethic of the midwest.
CAULIFLOWER EAR
September 29, 2020
They are a mangled memento of devotion: the more hours you spend in the gym, the more likely you are to have your ears in friction against the mat.
SANKAKU LEGLOCKS MIXTAPE
September 24, 2020
Playing “Eye of the Tiger” during training, again? Put this on instead, and upgrade your soundtrack vibes with this mixtape full of Japanese film score composers.
CLOSING THE DISTANCE
September 14, 2020
An act of provocation, a catalyst for reaction, the twilight of anticipation and the seizing of initiative.
TECHNICA: BERIMBOLO
August 19, 2020
The berimbolo—a spin, a scramble, a conjugation of berimbolar—inspires ire and adoration in equal measure.
LOOPCHOKE MIXTAPE
August 13, 2020
Weh di system do fi ghetto yute? Nothing! Burn down Babylon while listening to LOOPCHOKE: Mixtape Vol. 1... reggae songs to roll to.
SMASH THE MASHER MENACE!
August 08, 2020
While Helio Gracie was still in diapers, women were resisting police brutality and fending off harassers with judo throws and armlocks.
THE MARTIAL SPIRIT
July 18, 2020
"When you are walking the line between life and death, it does something to you spiritually."
PORTRAIT OF A SUBMISSION ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN
July 11, 2020
“Sharpen who and what you are, and sharpen your own way of doing it.”
TECHNICA: THE KIMURA
June 24, 2020
The shoulder-and-elbow-destroying submission is a cornerstone of jiu-jitsu.
Shogo Kawabata Talks Vintage MMA
June 17, 2020
Before it was called “mixed martial arts,” no-holds-barred fighting was virtually dominated by the strongest jiu jitsu players of BJJ’s early teams.
HOW TO WRITE A DEATH POEM
May 15, 2020
The material world is impermanent. Learn how to write your own Jisei, in the Zen Buddhist tradition before you cross over.