It’s an expression of my individuality. I may have many fingerprints from my teachers all over my game, but at the end of the day it’s MY jiu-jitsu – just as it’s YOUR jiu-jitsu. We may all know how to do the basic armlock from guard – but each and every single one of us does it differently.

No matter how inexperienced, physically limited or old you are – there is a specific technique or movement that nobody does as well as you – you can move your body more efficiently in that direction or sequence than anybody else!

This post was written by my brother, Jason Gregoriades. He runs the Gracie Barra South Africa academy in Cape Town and is a purple belt under Roger Gracie. He will be contributing more articles to the Jiu-Jitsu Brotherhood in the future.Losing is never easy. For some competitive athletes, it is a fate worse than death. To have given your best and still be found wanting, defeated by a superior competitor. Few things have the same potential to rock a person to their core; but in reality, losing is one of the most important experiences that we must all face at one time or another.

To better understand this lets address the following questions: Why is losing so difficult? Why is losing crucial to an athlete’s success? And how should we approach losing?

We are all consumed by a myriad of worries and responsibilities from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep. These include amongst other things our careers, relationships and finances. Sometimes these concerns even permeate our dreams.But when we are on the mat sparring against a resisting opponent – our thoughts are focused on only one thing and that is the moment. Jiu-jitsu is a form of meditation. In my opinion, this is the reason for the massive global explosion in popularity that it has experienced over the past decade. People start training for the usual reasons e.g. self-defence, fitness etc. and soon become hooked. I believe we are all ‘meditating’ on the mat and most of us don’t even know it. Perhaps our minds crave this release from our daily concerns and that is why we find training so enjoyable.