TIPS FOR A HEALTHY BACK-TO-SCHOOL SEASON

Posted on by BBJJ

Summertime has come to an end, and in its place is the excitement – and the jitters – of heading back to school.

While some kids may be excited to rejoin their friends and welcome the routine of school, others are more anxious about the transition. Your child may even experience the same common physical effects of anxiety adults have, with symptoms from stomachaches to sleeping problems.

Add onto that emotional effort of making new friends, meeting new teachers, fears of being bullied, pressure of making good grades, and worries of being unpopular.

As parents, it’s important to remember that all kids feel some sort of stress in the back to school transition. Imagine a change in your work schedule, your sleeping and eating schedule and the emotional labor of building a new peer group (or rejoining an old one) and you’ll start to get the picture.

These physical and emotional feelings are very common, and even the most well-adjusted kids are bound to feel some sort of stress during back-to-school.

So what can we as parents do to help our children cope with the physical and emotional stresses associated with the back to school season? We’re going to offer you some tips that we’ve found to be very helpful for families at our schools.

Click here for the full Tip Sheet! 

TIP #1 – SET (OR RESET) A HEALTHY SLEEP ROUTINE

It’s not unusual for families to have different schedules during the summer months than they do during the rest of the year. The longer days, vacations and warm weather make it easy to stretch or expand bedtimes and sleep routines. But now that school is here, it’s time to get everyone back on a regular schedule that supports healthy moods and proper mental function.

Like adults, kids that do not get adequate sleep can tend to be drowsy and fatigued throughout the day, which makes concentrating during school much more difficult. In addition, someone who is already irritable can become more sensitive to social disputes.

Sleep also contributes to a healthier immune system. You can help your child enter each school day with a more energetic and positive approach simply by making sure they get the right amount of sleep each night.

Here’s how to set a healthy sleeping pattern with your children:

1. Establish a set bedtime and wake time for the week days.Make sure that you specify that this time is non-negotiable. We also find that keeping an identical or similar structure over the weekends is very helpful – that way, there’s nothing to have to “reset” each Monday.

2. Have a clear routine (with basic ground rules) for 1 hour before bedtime. Again, setting a good pattern makes a difference for sleeping habits. Here are some ways to do it:

  • Don’t let them eat dinner too close to bedtime. Most children, if they eat just before bedtime, have more difficulty falling asleep than if they’ve had time to digest, adjust and wind down.
  • Pair down physical activities as you get closer to their bedtime. Kids need to get into both a mental and physical state of “cooling down” prior to getting into bed.
  • Cut out any intense “stimulating” activities. There are dozens of studies about the effect of screen-time before bedtime, so this includes video games and computers. Not only can they be very addictive, they can also keep your child’s mind over-stimulated even after they’ve stopped playing with them. TV viewing at bedtime is not recommended because it may affect your child’s ability to fall asleep.

3. Establish a 20 – 30-minute nightly “calm-down” bedtime routine.

Create a pattern that’s predictable and regular. The routine can include taking a bath, putting on their pajamas, reading, and other relaxing activities.

TIP #2 – GIVE THEM FOOD FOR THOUGHT (LITERALLY)

Not all diets are about physical performance! What we eat (and drink) can drastically affect our mood, our energy level and our ability to control our moods. In the martial arts, we say, “you can’t out-run poor nutrition!”

Even children that get a lot of exercise and are athletic can be susceptible to the consequences of poor eating habits. Not eating right can result in fatigue, anxiety, poor concentration, and mood swings.

You can help your children feel better each school day simply by adjusting their diet and getting rid of foods and snacks that are counter-productive.

Here are some healthy eating tips:

  • Don’t keep unhealthy foods in your house. Open your refrigerator and get rid of the foods you know are unhealthy for your children. Yes, that includes sodas and most juices as well as snacks that are high in sugar (processed or otherwise), and foods that are high in fat.
  • Build a healthy menu for the week. Instead of cobbling together something last minute, plan their meals. You can even do this with your child. It can take work, but with resources like Pinterest and Facebook, there are plenty of “done for you” meals that don’t take much time to fire up. If you get your kid to participate in the process, you can build a few different healthy meals and allow them to choose what they want to eat each day. Plus they’ll be more intrinsically motivated to stick with the plan. Take it to the next level and head to the grocery store together and help pick up all of the ingredients.
  • Perhaps the toughest of all… lead by example. Remember that it’s not “do as I say”, it’s “do as I do”. If your children see you eating unhealthy foods, then you are contradicting what you say. Kids are smart – they’ll resist your efforts to improve their eating if you’re not eating well yourself. (The added benefit of “walking your talk” in this area is you get healthier as well!).

Want more tips? Click here for the full report!

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BBJJ: Year One

Posted on by BBJJ

Laundry was never one of my strong suits.

I always used to wait until I was completely out of some crucial piece of clothing to get around to it, and then it was a huge ordeal because I had to lug multiple loads downstairs and worry about whether there would be enough open machines, and spend way too long just moving everything from the washers to the dryers.

And then, oh god, the folding. 🙂

Since I started jiu jitsu, I’ve gotten into the habit of doing a load of laundry every morning. Things don’t pile up, I always have a wide assortment of black t‐shirts and jeans to choose from, and my gis… well, they could smell worse.

It seems like a silly thing, but it’s indicative of a big shift in my habits and self‐discipline. At first, I did it grudgingly every other day, because it was either that, skip class, or wear a dirty gi, and I really didn’t want to choose the last two. Now it’s just part of my morning routine – start a pot of coffee, walk the dog, take the laundry down, grab some breakfast, deal with my email, switch the load to the dryer, do a 30‐minute yoga routine, pull the laundry out before it gets overcooked, settle in for the work day. I’ve never really had a consistent routine like that until this year.

And it feels weird if I don’t have anything to wash.

It’s not just day to day habits that I’ve seen improvements in. Obviously my fitness level is hugely improved over where I was when I started. I’m also happier and more confident. I’d rather go out with friends than stay home and play video games. I see visiting a new BBJJ school as a chance to meet and learn from cool new people rather than the awkward and intimidating social scenario it would have seemed to me before.

I don’t even fight with my sister anymore, which I have for years – I’m able to just take the little jabs she throws at me in stride and keep the conversation flowing, which I feel is a perfect reflection of the mindset that rolling with training partners instills in us. If you’d known me a year ago, you’d know these are massive changes in my outlook and priorities.

And then there’s the training itself. I threw myself in the deep end without really thinking too much about it when I first started in the advanced program. I noticed after a couple of weeks of classes that I was often the only white belt in randori sessions, which meant I got a ton of time training with blue and purple and brown belts. Now I’m a big guy, but there are plenty of smaller blue belts here who are still able to choke me more or less whenever they feel like it. I love it, because it constantly reminds me that these techniques work, and that I’m still a baby who’s just figuring out how to walk in this world.

So I was honestly shocked recently when I had the chance to roll with some of the newer white belts and got
to see what that feels like from the other side. I knew I’d been improving, because I wasn’t getting
submitted as often and felt like I had a pretty good understanding of what was happening at any given
time during a roll. But then one of my Thai boxing training partners who recently started in the BJJ
program started going super hard trying to pass my guard. I was totally relaxed, able to keep him at a
comfortable distance, let him tire himself out a bit, and then was easily able to sweep and armbar him.

It was eye opening, because this is a guy who knows how to fight standing up, who’s in great shape, and
who was really trying to win, and the techniques came so naturally and worked so well. It was so cool to
see because I know that’s how I was at first (minus the being in shape and knowing how to fight parts),
and I know that’s about the level of challenge I present to a purple belt at this point. All this inside of twelve months.

I can’t wait to see how my perception – of myself and the training – changes in my second year of training.

Mike began his training at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2016. He is a fixture in both Jiu-Jitsu and Kickboxing at BBJJ Clinton Hill, along with his wife Rachel.

3 Powerful Areas of Focus (For Martial Arts and More)

Posted on by BBJJ

No truly healthy person I know just stumbled into a life of proper nutrition and emotional balance.

Sure, they may have come across the martial arts by accident…or they may have found a diet that worked for them by chance. But none of their long-term results happened passively. They’ve all been the product of consistent effort over time.

That effort over time is what people call “habit”. And they come in good flavors…and bad.

If we want to lead a healthy lifestyle, we have to develop healthy habits. And just as with Martial Arts training, there are no shortcuts.

So how can you develop a successful lifestyle – in the martial arts and beyond?

  • Put a premium on your physical fitness. It’s got a few components, starting with what you eat and how you rest. You can never out-train bad nutrition, poor rest/recovery habits or poor energy planning. You can be the most talented practitioner in the world, but if you neglect your physical health off the mat, you’ll soon pay for it.
  • Work on your emotional fitness. Your attitude, temper and emotional balance need attention also.Are you working on improving your emotional state management? In training, you can discipline yourself to approach each partner, each drill, each technique with an open mind. Not letting small things set you off part of working on emotional balance. And you can integrate this practice in your daily life – in your family, at the workplace, during your commute – by reflecting on the classroom lessons.
  • Don’t neglect your mental fitness. This is all about your focus and attention. Your mind is always with you, so if you don’t do something to strengthen your willpower, your ability to pay attention or how you talk to yourself, you’ll never feel completely healthy. How are you training yourself to listen better? Being mentally fit means that you’re becoming a better communicator. It also means creating the self-discipline to make hard choices you know are good for you. Mental toughness, perseverance, non-quitting spirit…these are all part of your mental fitness.

In the martial arts, we start working with all of these on the mat. It’s the most immediate and up-front way to examine where we’re weakest.

Because the practice is a concrete habit, it’s also ideal to strengthen these “habit” muscles. We can next start to work on these areas when we’re off the mat.

Nothing too complicated: increase your water intake, or start eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. Maybe it’s time to eliminate fried foods, junk foods or sugar.

Health is about proportion, harmony, stability. Martial arts brings balance…and so should your habits.

If you’ve been neglecting one or more of these areas, start right now. By developing good health habits, you don’t only take steps toward black belt-level martial arts. You think clearer, have more energy and perform better than ever before.

You’ll be a better parent, spouse, friend and martial artist on purpose, for the long-term.

And who doesn’t want that?

How Much Do Martial Arts Really Cost?

Posted on by BBJJ

Before I started training in the Martial Arts I had so many questions.

“Will I like it…will I be good at it…is it fun…do I want to do it?”

But for some reason the first time I typed a search into Google, that’s not what I typed.

Instead I wrote, “How much does Jiu-Jitsu cost in Brooklyn?”

See, most of the questions I had swirling in my brain were abstract and subjective.  What I needed was something concrete to focus on.

So I, like so many others, chose price.

I thought I needed to know that School A costs $100 per month while School B was $400.  It was tangible, digestible, and real- not abstract. But the other side of that notion is that it was completely arbitrary.

It turns out that all of the complex personal questions – liking it, is it fun, etc. –  have since been answered simply and clearly.

(And  – important to note – the internet didn’t answer those questions for me.)

Now nearly a decade removed from that original search, the idea of “how much do martial arts really cost” hasn’t gotten clearer…it’s actually gotten murkier.

What’s the big difference? Well, I’ve learned through this process of training that there’s a distinct difference between value and price.

What I was asking Google for was the price of training. What Google could never tell me was the value of the training…to me. 

Looking back, I couldn’t begin to tell you how much money I’ve actually spent on my training through the years when it comes to tuition, gas, parking (and the occasional ticket), train, books, uniforms, seminars, time, etc.

But I can tell you about the value of the training to my life: nothing short of priceless.

Simply stated, I can’t place a dollar amount on the confidence that I’ve built, and how that’s helped me thrive as a teacher, mentor, and family man.

And then I’d have a hard time calculating how much its worth to me to be in peak physical condition – with the discipline to eat well, and feel and look good.  I have plenty of energy to play with my kids, or train all day, or go for a run, or all of the above!

I don’t know how to figure out the “price” of the peace of mind that training has taught me to maintain.  I’m so much calmer, more thoughtful, and more generous than I was before I started.

And none of that takes into account that I am now focused on improving my life in every way I can. Like, I don’t talk myself out of success anymore.  I don’t aim low.  I don’t sell myself short. Essentially, my experience at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been the cornerstone of years of ‘me getting better at being me.’)

I couldn’t guess the ripple effect that training would have on my friends and family. I mean, people around me are inspired to be healthier.  My kids are learning habits of health, fitness, and cooperation rather than junk food, laziness, and competition.

So when I look back to my original question, I think I asked it because I didn’t know what else to ask.

What I should have been seeking, what a simple dollar amount couldn’t tell me, was what the value would be to my life. I mean, how could Google encapsulate all that I’ve experienced since then…and then tell me what I should pay for it?

Because from where I stand, it’s no longer the difference between $100 and $400 or something in between. The “cost” is only a tiny piece of the puzzle. What I’ve gained through the martial arts has no price, because it can’t be bought – it’s the difference between having the life you want or not.

Professor Jason Lynch is a Black Belt in Jiu-Jitsu and the Head Instructor at BBJJ Clinton Hill.

A Transformation Through Physical Fitness, Mental Discipline

Posted on by Brooklyn Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu

With so much media attention on mixed martial arts and the UFC, one Brooklyn martial arts school is seeking to shift the focus of adult martial arts practice back to its roots. Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu believes that the central message of Jiu-Jitsu – self-improvement through discipline and focus – is still relevant to the busy and over-scheduled lives of adults from all walks of life.

“Just 2 years ago I weighed 450lbs. I could barely move  – it weighed on me to do a simple task,” says Nar Molina, a student of Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. “I had let things go too far for too long and I needed to take action right away. I couldn’t just get on a quick diet or do some exercise every other day. I had to change who I was.”

Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, has a longstanding record of success in transforming lives through the practice of martial arts. With a student population comprised mostly of adults, the school has become an expert in lifestyle changes and personal empowerment.

“It took me over a year and a half to lose 100lbs in the gym,” continues Molina. “After 8 months at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, I had already lost about 80lbs. When I came here I couldn’t even do some of the warm-up exercises. My classmates probably remember me wearing sweats because I couldn’t fit into a full uniform. Nowadays my uniform fits me baggy and I move like I never thought I could.”

What they teach at Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu goes beyond just kicking and punching. “Our philosophy weaves together physical fitness, mental discipline and a strong sense of personal ethics,” says Chief Instructor Gene Dunn.

The school contends that the timeless principles of martial arts training are compassion, generosity, perseverance and community involvement. Rather than emphasizing competitions or tournaments, they believe that physical practice is a vehicle to express core values for living a saner life.

“Training here has been an amazing experience…this is a community I want to be a part of,” concludes Molina. “I feel that I’ve found a safe place to train and grow. I haven’t had a partner I was uncomfortable with. Doesn’t matter if we’ve trained together before or not…we all have a bond.  We start with a bow of respect and we end with a handshake.”

Brooklyn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu hosts free community events each month, ranging from “Bully Buster” clinics for children to “Personal Protection” seminars for women of all ages. For more information on these free events or to register for a one-on-one introductory lesson, please email them at info@brooklynbjj.com.

Habit of Preparation

Posted on by Brooklyn Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu

It’s been said that those who fail to prepare are preparing to fail. 

In academics, great students prepare by studying for exams. In the workplace, great managers prepare by organizing the day in advance.

Preparation, like anything else we do on a daily basis, is a habit. Your level of preparation is often an indicator of how seriously you taking your goals and responsibilities.

In the dojo, we often see the difference between “white belt mediocrity” and “black belt excellence” in the details of a student’s preparation.

It starts with appearance: your uniform, hygiene and posture are indicators of preparation. If your gi is torn or your pants won’t stay up, you probably won’t be able to focus on the lesson.

Is your uniform clean? Is your belt tied properly? How is your posture? How is your bow? Do you move quickly? Are you the first person done?

Next, think about fitness & nutrition: part of preparing well is being physically ready for class. Fresh fruits, vegetables and a proper balance of carbs and proteins are like high-octane fuel for a racecar. Junk food and most fast foods are like sugar in the gas tank and a banana in the tailpipe.

Finally, consider your mental attitude: If you still approach the classroom with a mindset of “me against you”, you’re falling into a classic trap. Your ego may improve, but the larger lessons will forever elude you.

How are you preparing to think bigger and see farther? Are you actively striving to take the “long view”? Do you think small and aim for easy targets that are set low?

All this preparation leads to the question, “what will you look like at Black Belt?”

Everything you do before, during and after each class is preparing you for something. Think of every class as one more chance to prepare for Black Belt, to craft your future from the present.

The Habit of Momentum

Posted on by Brooklyn Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu

Great habits provide a solid foundation for anything you wish to do. They help to create both great lives and great black belts.

The energy you put into building those habits sets the stage for new goals and gives you energy to handle challenges that show up in daily life.

Momentum helps to keep those habits alive.

Momentum in life is a function of commitment: it comes from the successes you’ve experienced and the actions you’ve taken. And it’s impossible to gain momentum if you give up partway through the process.

Those in pursuit of mastery take pride in their work and look to improve on the details of their practice. When they see success, they build on positive results and let that enthusiasm fuel their next endeavor.

Creating momentum is about being willing to go the extra mile and to actually do something. It takes more than just a positive attitude. Self-belief and self-confidence are critical – but they’re nothing without action.

In the classroom, there is a time for thinking things through, and then there is a time for practice. There is a time to listen and there is a time to execute.

In life, there are always chances for us to build on our good results and start to take smart risks to improve in the future. Maybe it’s after you’ve received good news or seen great results from a project you’ve been working on.

No matter what is happening in the economy, with the weather (!) or the world around us, staying committed to progress and personal growth fuels momentum and can help anyone to move past obstacles in life.

It starts in the dojo, on the mat each time you come to class. Begin by giving your best attention, energy and effort. Then be willing to practice and review what you learned in between classes.

Establish a habit so you can start each day early, with energy. Build on the good habits you’ve established. Begin to take action to maintain momentum for your future endeavors.

How to Make Smart Choices  

Posted on by Brooklyn Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu

As Martial Artists, we do our best to condition ourselves to stay calm under pressure and to remain positive in our attitudes and actions. We learn to be proactive in every situation and to search for a solution to every problem we encounter.

When faced with a challenge, many people quickly magnify negatives and often make their problems worse. Being reactive when we’re under pressure can increase stress levels and create unnecessary tension that can exaggerate the negative side effects.

If this becomes a habit, it can affect us on a deeper level. It can change our sleep patterns, cause ill health and do irreparable harm to relationships. Over the long-term, it can lead to a downward spiral and often precedes addictive, negative behaviors.

Our worst decisions are usually made when we are in a negative and reactive state of mind. Our best decisions are usually made when we are in a positive and proactive state of mind.

Martial arts training – and a proper martial arts philosophy – is one of the best ways to achieve and maintain this state.

The practice creates the best conditions for dealing with stress and distractions. The training you do on a weekly basis allows you to be present to enjoy the victories, and ready for challenges or other interruptions.

Don’t leave this stuff to change. Train your body, your mind and your emotions in order to better manage yourself.

The result is more self-discipline, more focus and a better outlook. Train yourself to be proactive rather than reactive and you’ll start to look at things differently.