Welcome To The Grapplers Toolbox

You know what they say… a good craftsman never blames his tools. Especially if said craftsman has the best tools, though, right?

grapplers toolbox

Now, depending on where you are in your BJJ journey - you’ve probably already realised (or are quickly realising) that it takes a lot to keep yourself on the mats and stay ‘in the game’ for the long term 📈

In your years on the mats you’re going to cop plenty of life’s classic curveballs ⚾️ and countless days that simply don’t go your way - meaning you’ll miss classes, skip open mats and fall off the wagon more times than you’ll count 😩

From family commitments, terrible sleep & an intense work schedule right through to picking up various injuries and often feeling like you just ‘aren’t getting anywhere’ - you’re gonna need some help along the way!

❝

Enter - The Grapplers Toolbox! 🧰 

Table of Contents

This is a collection of learning resources, training gear & out-and-out cool sh*t 😎 that the TNS crew (along with our training partners and friends) have found and used at different points over the years to help us along the BJJ journey so far.

Some of this stuff has been made by our good friends in the grappling world, and we now get a couple of dollars if anyone uses it 💰 - and some is stuff we have no association with but love all the same 🔥 

That being said - while some things cost money, a lot of it is free too!

Rightio! There’s no pressure from us, but we hope there is some great gear or good ideas here that can help keep you on the mats happier and healthier for longer! ✅ 

Your Training ‘Off The Mats’

It doesn’t matter who you are; at some point in the sport, you’ll need to invest time into strength and mobility if you want to stay healthy, reduce injuries, and stay on the mats for many years to come.

And trust me, the sooner you start to work on this - the better your BJJ journey will be! #fathertimeisundefeated 👴 

Founded by BJJ Black Belts & professional strength and conditioning coaches - James ‘JT’ Tomlinson & Joey Worthington - Bulletproof For BJJ is one of the best tools in our sport for helping grapplers get strong and mobile 😎 

Via the Bulletproof app 📱, you can follow simple training programs to suit your own schedule that not only help reduce injuries and recover from them (heads up…they are kinda inevitable if you train long enough 😬) but also improve your overall strength & performance for BJJ 💪 

Finally - they’ve also got an awesome YouTube channel and epic podcast that dishes out great tips, tricks, pointers and insights about everything from strength training & grappling to BJJ culture and life’s biggest problems 😉 

Data nerds and fitness freaks unite! 🤝 If you want to track and improve your sleep, training, performance and just about everything in between - then Whoop is a must-have.

Whoop tracks it all. From one little sensor - it analyses your live heart rate, skin temperature, blood oxygen, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability.

Basically, it uses your unique body’s insights to help you understand when you need to rest, when you should train hard, how good your sleep is, if your fitness is improving and even if you’re a bit too stressed!

Personally, one of the best things I’ve found is that it lets you know when you might be getting sick, allowing you to get the jump on those vitamins and rest up to try and avoid it!

There’s way more to it than my simple man’s explanation here though - so jump over and take a deep dive into all of the science, stats and features with the link below 👇

Note: If you do sign up, make sure you get something like the Arm Sleeve or Whoop Body pieces so you can wear it on the mats as the everyday wristband has a metal clip 😬

Tap Nap & Snap readers who use this link ☝️ will get 1-month free on any membership (and a Whoop 4.0 included) 🔥

Extra Resources & Learning

They say BJJ is a lot like chess ♟️- as in good practitioners are always thinking a few steps ahead, have a wide knowledge of the game and are ready to choke their opponents at a moment’s notice (…I was banned from chess club 😬)

Does the chess analogy hold water? Not sure 🤷. But what I do know is that BJJ Mental Models is one of the best jiu-jitsu learning resources on the scene ✅

With dozens of hours of courses, videos and audio content on gameplan, strategy, tactics and mindset - BJJ Mental Models opens up pathways, ideas and game evolution that simply hitting reps and training hard can’t do.

They’ve got tonnes of epic free resources and a premium section that unlocks access to direct video coaching from numerous world-class black belts as well as an exclusive discord community with 68+ world-renowned black belts and counting! 🔥

They have tonnes of free resources and if you want to go further - you can use the code TAPNAPSNAP at checkout for 50% off your first month of Premium ✅

There’s a quote in the business world that may even be better suited to the grappling world, and that is, “What gets measured gets managed”… or is it, “Measure twice and cut once”? 🤔 …No no no, it’s definitely the first one 👍

Seriously though, BJJ really is a game of getting out what you put in. As any good coach will tell you - the better your ability to reflect, analyse and plan your approach - the faster you will progress 📈

The Osss Jiu Jitsu Journal is a great app that lets you set clear goals, track your progress, and analyze your rolls to pinpoint areas for improvement. You can break down training sessions to identify what worked, what didn’t, and where to focus your improvement efforts - as well as capture every detail with video, photos, and personalised notes 📲👇🔥

They have tons of great free resources, and if you want to go further, use the code TAPNAPSNAP at checkout to save 10% off your Premium subscription.

It’d be a crying shame for our Grapplers Toolbox to not include the Grapplers Diary - so here it is!

Written by the talented Chris Wojcik, The Grappler’s Diary is a pure font of jiu-jitsu wisdom 🧘‍♂️ , packed with thought-provoking ideas, frameworks and nuggets of wisdom that will no doubt help you level up along the way.

The Grappler’s Diary Instagram is one of the best follows you’ll make in your BJJ journey (aside from us of course 😉) and to top it off - he’s also got a brilliant free e-book that you can grab below 👇

Gear & Equipment

When it comes to top-notch training gear - XMartial puts the ‘art’ back in martial arts 🥋🖼️

Whether you want the loud and flashy colours - complete with rainbows, leopard print and Only Fans advertising 😏 - or more of the subtle and subdued classic style - they’ve got you covered ✅ 

Style aside - they’re one of the most popular gear brands in BJJ with dozens of top athletes and countless daily grapplers rocking XMartial for its quality fit, design and durability 💪

No matter how advanced you are - you’ve likely got many years left on the mats yet, so whether it’s new rashies, shorts, full Gi’s, streetwear, mouthguards, recovery gear or even your own custom designs - XMartial will have you looking good for those many highlight reel submissions 🎞️ 📹 🔥

Use the code TAPNAPSNAP at checkout for 15% off your entire order ✅

Hayabusa!? Isn’t that a high-powered road bike? 🧐 Why yes…yes it is! But the Hayabusa we have here that is likely more relevant to you is Hayabusa Fight - one of the world’s best manufacturers of combat sports equipment - especially BBJ Gi & No-Gi gear 🔥

They’ve been in the game since 2006, continuously researching and improving their wares to make them more practical, functional, resilient and comfortable for BJJ & other combat sports players ✅

Hayabusa Fight has got everything you need to look good and stay safe on the mats for your BJJ journey and any other combat sports you might be into 😬🥊

Health & Nutrition

For all of you 10th Planet Crew - this is probably way less exciting than it seems at first glance 🌿. For everyone else, don’t worry - you won’t go interplanetary 🪐 - but you may be able to sleep and recover better than ever before!

Pure Hemp Botanicals has some of the best CBD gels, gummies and tinctures on the market, and if you’ve never tried it before, CBD can be a game changer for getting quality sleep 😴

I’ve had some of the best sleep of my life with CBD - but it differs for each person, so if you decide to try it - start out light and see if it works for you before buying a bag full of it!

Some of you may argue that coffee doesn’t technically belong in the health and nutrition section, but I’d argue that it’s essential for my mental health and the physical health of those around me ☕️

No matter which section we put it in - I’d say most of us feel that good coffee is an essential part of every jiu-jitsu player’s routine - and if you’re an Aussie grappler, you’ll struggle to find better coffee than Old Quarter Coffee Merchants ✅

I’m lucky enough to have these guys as my local coffee roaster so you can rest assured that they’ve been thoroughly tested by yours truly. I’d highly recommend placing an order and taking them for a whirl if you’re a coffee addict … snob … connoisseur 🔥

Use the code TAPNAPSNAP at checkout for 10% off your entire order ✅ (Shipping within Australia only)

While we are on the topic of sweet, sweet, life-giving caffeine, you might be wondering, ‘What’s good for the rest of us who aren’t living down under?’ 🦘Well, that’d be Black Rifle Coffee Company ✅

These guys ship the world over so make for a great coffee dealer no matter where you’re currently living!

Aside from quality beans and tasty brews, the brand is committed to helping the military community in every way possible, supporting returned service men and women to start their own ventures 📊

For any non-US readers; you’ll find these guys more American than fireworks, Fred Durst and ‘yeehaw’ - but they know how to laugh at themselves … and again, make damn good coffee 🔥

Instructionals & Coaching

No doubt that your gym has some great coaches and training partners that you can learn tonnes from (… otherwise, why else would you be there?)

But even with that being the case - we all reach a point where ‘our game becomes our own’ and get huge benefits from taking ownership of our training via studying high-quality instruction that plays into our unique interests, body type and skillset. 

Digitsu is one of the best platforms in BJJ for doing just that ✅

With the option to subscribe or make one-time purchases from your favourite athletes (such as Eddie Cummings 🤯, Jason Rau, Edwin Najmi, Jon Calestine etc.) - you can set it up to suit your pace and BJJ budget 💰

It’s a slick platform (with both Apple & Android apps!), and subscribers not only get access to all videos on the platform but also live streams/Q&A with instructors, access to Digitsu members' community and exclusive BJJ coupon codes for all kinds of other gear and resources 🔥

Enter TAPNAPSNAP at checkout to get 20% off your order - this applies to your first subscription payment and one-time purchases ✅

The brainchild of Australia’s own ‘little master’, Lachlan Giles, Submeta is an epic online learning resource that not only showcases positions and techniques working at the highest levels - but also encourages you to build a gameplan 🗺️

He has videos and courses to help no matter what stage you’re at in the BJJ journey - and is adding more and more content from others in the space, such as some of the boys from B-Team.

This is a great one if you’re ready to dive deep into details and strategy and really open up your game into new areas ✅

Enter TAPNAPSNAP at checkout to get $16 off your first month - this applies to new subscribers only ✅

- YouTube -

YouTube is a complete toolbox in and of itself 🧰.

Like most toolboxes, it has some handy spanners and wrenches 🔧 that can help you fix your game, but it also has its fair share of loose nuts 🔩 that are pretty useless and can throw you off-course.

Honestly, though, YouTube is a grappler’s friend if you know where to look. There are some great BJJ coaches and athletes who create epic content to help Jiu-Jitsu players of all levels sharpen technique, build game plans, and break down key matches to learn from 📝

If you aren’t ready to commit to a comprehensive platform like Digitsu or Submeta, YouTube is a great place to start ✅ Here are some of the Tap Nap & Snap favourites in no particular order: