The White Belt Survival Guide

Things I wish I knew.

My first white belt gold medal — Portland, Oregon — Circa 2016

When I was a white belt, I spent a lot of time reading Jiu-Jitsu blogs and trying to figure out what the hell I was doing.

I wanted to figure out the best way to get as good as possible, as fast as possible.

I trained every day, sometimes twice a day, I lifted weights, I ran, I went to wrestling practices, and I competed quite a bit too. I also was interested in doing MMA at the time, so I did a lot of boxing and Muay Thai as well.

I was obsessed — but my progress in the early days was still slow.

I got stuck a lot.

In the end, that feeling of stuckness (and the lack of quality answers to my questions) was sort of what led to the creation of The Grappler’s Diary. I ended up in a unique position as one of the only competitive grapplers who was also an avid writer, and I’ve tried to create the resources I wish I had.

When I was a white belt, I thought about quitting Jiu-Jitsu a lot. I almost didn’t “survive”.

That’s why today, I’ve written The White Belt Survival Guide.

Let’s dive in: