🥋 Is Ecological Jiu-Jitsu Really The Way?

SUPPORT YOUR BJJ CREATORS

This week, we’ve got Steve back from Garame Cleaning Co. dropping one last deal! 💪

Born from the battle against BJJ's notorious gear odour - Gear Guard has become the go-to solution for all your sweat-soaked equipment. 😓

Specifically engineered for BJJ and combat sports equipment, Gear Guard's enzyme-powered formula breaks down and eliminates those persistent oil residues buried in your gear's fibres. By removing these odour-causing buildups, your gear stays fresh like the day you bought it. ✅

This is Steve’s last spot with us here for a bit - so he’s fired up the 15% discount code again exclusively for the first 5 Tap Nap & Snap subscribers that place an order!

Don’t be the stinky guy/gal on the mats …👇

QUESTION TIME

What Keeps You Up At 2 am?

“A purple belt is never late, nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.” - Gandalf The Purple. 🧙‍♂️

And that’s exactly what has happened here - a very precise and well-executed mid-January kick-off, not a tardy one.

Truth is, we’ve been hard at work cookin’ up some big ideas in the background and putting it all together for what will be a massive year - but we need your help. 🫵

We love writing this newsletter, but would we keep writing it if there was no one but Mum on the other end? No. No, we would not. 🙅‍♂️ #sorrymum

We write it because you guys seem to enjoy it - which is why we need to know what it is you love, like, dislike and … despise? 😬

So, this week’s question is all about you having your say and helping us shape the future of the newsletter, so it’s more of what you want to see. 👀

Do you want a shorter newsletter? Maybe you like it as it is? God forbid - maybe you want it longer! 🤯 More technique? More memes? A merch drop? 👕 So many options!

Now, over to you … 👇

This week’s big question

The last poll’s results:

Last time, we asked you - “Do You Have Any BJJ-Specific Goals Set For 2025?”

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 💪 - Sure do.

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🚫 - Nah, I just take it as it comes.

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤷 - Not sure yet, ask me after the holidays.

Well, aren’t you just a bunch of go-get em’ goal-diggers? 🏆

From fresh stripes and new belts to more consistent mat time and frequent competing, it seems like there’s a productive year on the cards for most of you!

And for those just kicking ass and winging it … if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

WHATS HAPPENING?

This Weeks Tap’s ✋, Nap’s 🥱 & Snap’s 🫰

1.) THE GRACIES ARE ALWAYS GREAT FOR A FEW STORIES 🔥: … and these last few weeks have been no different.

We’ve got Kron & Gordon currently trading shots about steroids and family legacy and claims that Granpapi Helio would not only refuse to give a black belt to instructors who smoked 🚭 - but also held back giving a black belt because he drank coffee! 🤯☕️

You would not see the dust behind me if I had to drop coffee for a black belt 💨 #mycultmychoice

The jewel in the Gracie Drama Crown 👑 at the moment, though, has to be the ongoing beef between Rener Gracie and Evandro Nunes. After burning his belt and calling them ‘spineless rats’, Nunes ended up on a live stream with Rener to hash it all out.

From money issues and broken promises to lion costumes and sex party accusations … it’s honestly all very bizarre 😬 … → more here. 

2.) THE ‘ECOLOGICAL APPROACH’ IS BLOWING UP 💥: … so you can burn your study notes, delete your instructionals and tell Danaher to pipe down! 🤫 

The Eco-Freakos^TM, led largely by Greg Souders, believe that jiu-jitsu is best learned by giving frameworks and constraints to play with - rather than specific techniques and drills.

In fact, when it comes to buying and learning from instructionals, Greg had this to say:

 “Think about this craziness: you watch an eight-hour DVD about leg locks to learn that your feet either go outside, inside, or mixed. You place your partner’s leg on one side of your centerline or the other. Then, you use your rotation, their rotation, or both to gain heel exposure. I just saved you $400.” … Spicy! 🌶️

As with everything in BJJ though, not everyone agrees that it’s actually the fresh, exciting and innovative approach it claims to be 🤯 … → more here.

 3.) 2025 HAS BIG BJJ PLANS 🔥 : … with a stack of promotions announcing some great matchups and epic cards to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks. 👀 

We’ve got J-Rod and Ronaldo Junior headlining WNO 26 on Feb 7th, with a card below them that could all be headline matchups. 🧨

Karate Combat’s Pit Submission Series lines up on January 24 with the likes of Fabricio Andrey, Samuel Nagai, Daniel Sathler & Herbert Burns getting some angled-wall time in 📐 #CJIprep?

And if you still haven’t been kicked off the couch and told to go back to work - you may as well schedule in Finishers: Apex on Jan 18, MCJJ6 on March 30 and PGF Season 8 sometime in March ... **Note: block out all of March just to be sure. 🗓️

While we look to the future for world-class grappling, this is my pick for what could be the event of the year 🔥… → more here.

The Quick Hitters ⚾️

• The best of the best from 2024 🏆

• 3 Months Free on an epic BJJ resource (Enter code TAPNAPSNAP) ✅

• Are you willing to die to be called ‘the best’? 🤨 

• A CJI blueprint on how to win (if you get invited, that is) 😂

• A great BJJ guy wrote a great BJJ book - get it here 👈

BY BULLETPROOF FOR BJJ

The Weekly Fix

Last time, the boiz had a look at the rough loss that Kron Gracie took at UFC 310 and how it reflects on BJJ in MMA as a whole. 😬

This week, they are back to helping you sort out some of the damage that the gentle art inevitably does to us all! 🔥

The Best BJJ Hip Mobility Exercises

Shakira, the great philosopher of the mid-2000s, once said, ‘My hips don’t lie’. 💃 

Many believe she was referring to some elaborate finding truth through dancing type of situation, but we know she was really talking about jiu-jitsu. 😎

Great hip strength and mobility will give your BJJ game many more options, but more importantly, having tight and inflexible hips almost always leads to injuries in the hip area, knees and low back!

In the clip above ⬆️ Joey gives a great run-through of various exercises you can build into your routine, ranked from beginner to advanced, depending on your current mobility.

If you’re digging The Weekly Fix - sign up for your 7-day free trial with Bulletproof For BJJ and take the app for a spin! 👇

WHAT’S SO FUNNY?

The Meme Open Mat:

The Gi sleeves don’t fit cos this guy's arm is JACKED! 💪👇…

LET’S GET TECHNICAL

The Good Option:

This week’s good option is short, sweet and silky smooth. 🐍

We aren’t looking at a 3-hour-long technical breakdown or anthology into a whole new system; it’s just a sneaky little trick to set up an anaconda choke when your opponent starts to slip out of back control.

Clips like this are great for seeing pathways into things you may never have thought of before. 🧐 Grab a cuppa ☕️ and notepad 📝 👇

The Not-So-Good Option:

Passing guard can be challenging.

Do you go around the legs? Do you go underneath? Over the top? How about through your opponent’s face? 😬🦶👇

YOU WIN, WE WIN!

Sharing Is Caring 🫵

Hey! - this is your chance to do a damn good deed and help us out while also scoring yourself some sweet sweet rewards for doing so! Win-Win baby!

All we ask for is that you share our newsletter with some of the other BJJ savages in your circle - we will even give you heaps of cool stuff to say thanks! ⬇️