Team Lloyd Irvin USA

I’ve had the opportunity to be a student at “small” academies that grew into big ones and also have had the good fortune of watching my own Howard County Martial Arts academy develop into a “big” school as well.  One thing that I’ve noticed is how different it is to run a successful big program [...] […]

So what are these benefits? Firstly, joining a reputable associations is a good way for the new member to get the recognition and reputation of the association without necessarily being of the same quality. Imagine a school that does not have any history of producing competitors and also lacks an instructor with solid credentials; the school owner would grea […]

At our Baltimore martial arts school, we like to have an active competition team in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, No-Gi, Thai boxing, and MMA.  Of course, if you compete, you will inevitably lose.  And like everyone has told you, its what happens after the loss that is important.  So let’s look at five common errors beginners make [...] […]

Customers find comfort in the fact that a business has been in existence for a long time. This is apparently a mark of dependability and continual success and so one feels comfortable developing a relationship with the proprietor with less worry that the business will undergo some bizarre twist of fate that causes it [...] […]

Some of the best advice I ever received from Lloyd Irvin was regarding rivalries. To many times, competitors get focused on a single opponent rather than focusing on the big picture.  A common situation would be as follows: Adam loses to Bill.  Adam then focuses all his efforts on beating Bill.  He trains with Bill in [...] […]

Since everyone is snowed in and is supposedly working out at home and watching a lot of film, I thought I could provide some tips on watching competition footage that have helped me out over the years. In the beginning, I could not watch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition videos and preferred instructional videos; nowadays, its the other way [...] […]

Competition is important because it helps keep BJJ instructors honest. Every instructor has a different set of criteria from one another and most likely, a different set of criteria for each belt.  For example, some instructors use an attendance system for some of the early belts while others focus primarily on competition results.  This often causes [...] […]

Continued from yesterday’s post by one of Children’s Martial Arts coaches, Brian Neal… I think another similar aspect is the preparation required for each.  There isn’t any training manual or book you can read that will prepare you for what you will encounter when you get on your first bull or fighting in your first advanced [...] […]

In a previous life, I used to ride bulls, in part for fun and in part for many. I think you might find it interesting if I shared my thoughts about how the two are similar. While I am not suggesting to anyone that if you can or are willing to do Jiu Jitsu, you should run out and jump on the first bull you see, but I hope to give you alittle insight into how […]

Now I don't know if VW Golfs are good are bad but the point is made - if everyone seems intent on just copying something - there must be something to the original! For an example right from our BJJ school - ever notice how every gi is compared to a Koral (the original "luxury" gi) and every light gi is compared to Vulkan (the original gi sold […]