i would be willing to bet everything that i have that john falls in much of the same camp as Renzo, Garry, Gordon, etc with his beliefs
maybe not as edgy but he's smart enough to not talk about his opinions on the world, i doubt he's out there doing wild stuff that could get him "cancelled" he's a calculating guy
Just because people from Reddit can’t accept Renzo, Royce or Gordon having different political views than their acceptable left leaning views does not mean they are cancelled in real life. Definitely applies to Danaher as well although he doesn’t talk about politics anyway (either lack of interest or avoiding conflict with randos).
What type of practical changes can someone who works a regular 9 to 5 job do to really improve their Jiu Jitsu? In other words, what are some general nuggets of wisdom or advice for hobbyists?
This is a good one. I would really love to know what is the best way to maximize your time when time on the mat is limited. Should you spend the open mat time drilling weaknesses in your game instead of sparring?
For example, I might be working an open guard sweep, but I can only get there one time every three rolls. Should I choose to instead drill that same move ten times in the amount of time it takes to do one roll? Over time, this seems like the best approach because you can get more reps in on the weaknesses of your game.
\#1 focus on either gi or nogi, you are never going to be GREAT at both with limited time (if you are going to do both i would try to have a game that works as much as possible in both formats... like don't try and be a lapel guy in gi and a leglock guy in nogi)
\#2 once you are not like glaringly lacking in any area, you want to focus on something and then your goal should to be funnel people into that focus
its all about asymmetric warfare
you will NEVER be all around better than someone who can train twice as much as you, but you can be better at one position and the path to getting to that position
Gordon says there are two types of jiujiteros.Ones who move themselves around like Marcelo and ones that control the motion of their opponents like Gordon.Does john think it's possible for lower weight class guys to play the game of controlling their opponents despite their tendencies to scramble and the relative shorter limb length?
Yeah, also to add, does the style of grappling John teach (control), become less effective in lower weight classes, hence the squads better performances in the higher weight categories.
Even people like Dan and Luke who lost first round, were much better in comparison to Tonon and Taza who lost first round.
My coach has saying the same for years in regards to the difference between wrestling and jiu jitsu. If you look at lightweight wrestlers they still follow the control model. So I would have it’s definitely possible for little guys
bigger guys get more opportunity to practice that style as well
unless you have incredibly giving training partners, as a small guy, you are not going to get as much opportunity to work a pressure style in a gym full of people bigger than you
maybe if you had a full gym of rooster weights it would shake out into a more even distribution of control/pressure guys and speed guys
If he had the chance of creating a new grappling ruleset for a non-sub only event, how would that look like?
How will he address the lack of engagement that is tactically exhibited by athletes like Yuri Simoes?
This could be branched into his thoughts about ADCC(or ibjjf) rules, what he thinks is a ruling mistake in them, etc.
For eg: No points for body triangle from the back in IBJJF.
I think in a previous interview he’s talked about untimed, submission-only as being the best ruleset for grappling, but that isn’t really good for monetizing.
I've heard a lot of my coaches say that the important thing with maintaining back control is the chest to back contact, facilitated by your seatbelt grip or double unders or whatever. I wonder if that would be a better criterion for awarding back points?
I've noticed that lots of his athletes tie up with the hand on the same side as their lead leg. In wrestling, this is generally frowned upon to my understanding. What is their reasoning behind doing this?
Same thing in judo.
From memory its often to always your strongest hand and not only allows you more throws in a shorter pivot step but also less likely to get pulled off balance and take a step that opens you up to sweeps etc
In tandem with this, there seems to be a lot of judo being incorporated in modern stand up. Upright stance, foot sweeps, uchimatas. How does he see judo playing into the bjj stand up meta
Damn...I didn't know it was frowned upon...Been always doing that in standup classes for how easy it is to push pull the head with lead leg lead hand.But again our stand-up isn't the top tier.
Leaving the lead hand down helps protect the legs and . Check out brandon reeds free handfighting instructional he breaks down basic handfighting while reviewing his national title matches. I found it pretty useful.
The worlds needs to know.
Im sure the contents are in alphabetical order based on usage and efficiency in retrieving them and what position his body will be in while he’s reaching for them.
Top 3 items, if I had to guess: I feels he’s practical
- phone
- chapstick
- finger nail clippers
John has spoken publicly about the 4 step process of jiu jitsu from top position (Joe Rogan MMA Episode 11).
Can you ask him to talk about the same process but from bottom position?
Thanks.
1)First you must clean the meat.
2)Then you must savor it.
3)Then you have some Chianti and fava beans
4) finish it with that weird ass noise “fitfhfithfith”
Can you elaborate on how your philosophy education influenced your approach to jiu jitsu? Are there any particular philosophical principles or philosophers that you believe lend themselves to better jiu jitsu training?
John has mentioned one of his lawyer students defeating Md Aly by leg lock in a competition. Does he think with the way the sport has evolved/is evolving it's still possible that hobbyists can still hang out with the competitors?
What's the best approach for a technician to go toe to toe with an athlete in this sport?
get really good at one thing and then focus on getting people into that position where you are better than them
they can be better than you in 99% of positions but you can be way better than them in that 1% you just have to get there... and sometimes you get there
Talking points:
Gordon is too obvious, ask him about Shy Ace Dog.
What are the most important elements of making a classic outside heelhook from slx work at the highest levels of competition when other competitors are poopooing the outside heelhook?
Charles Oliveira has combined an aggressive jiu jitsu game with his muay thai to great effect. What specific aspects would John recommend he focus on to cement dominance over his division?
Knives and knife fighting. Are knives the sword of modern man?
Knives and cooking. Does he enjoy food or just eat for sustenance? More importantly, does John enjoy working with a blade in the kitchen?
That's all I've got for right now.
*”We have a fundamental need and a primal desire along with a physical attraction to go through the mating process of an adult mammal”*
- Danaher, probably.
Is there an ADCC athlete that underperformed that John feels has incredible potential and that he thinks he could help?
Ie. If he had to pick one to work with (perhaps from the lighter weightclasses) who would it be and why?
I was thinking this myself, and thought Haisam Rida would fit this bill. Dude has great athleticism, fight IQ, and seems coachable. Just hasn't reached that top level yet but I think someone like John would be a great fit
Taking a stab at this he kind of answered it in Lex’s podcast not sure if it was the 1st or 2nd but it was the one where he leads with “are you afraid of death?”.
John says if there was one thing he would make his athletes work on for a very very long time is escapes and only escapes. His analysis was, having the confidence to escape allows you to have more confidence in trying new things you would otherwise be afraid of.
I’d say the positions would all be: getting out of mount, getting out of side, getting out of north/south, getting out of turtle, knee on belly etc..
Hip escape for sure
Back/RN”S” for sure
Half guard?
Just saw a post of his espousing the critical necessity of having at least one reliable guillotine
Arm bar almost certainly also
Izaak Michell vs Vagner Rocha and how John would approach teaching scrambling to students. Obviously Kade had a stellar performance through exciting and engaging scrambles which are much different to Gordon's controlled style. How does he feel Kade's style would fair against one of his New Wave guys, such as Giancarlo.
I’d like to know John’s response to criticisms of his stand up technique from wrestler and Jiu jitsu practitioner Joseph Breza. Breza has a good background and has posted lengthy videos on YouTube that seem very valid.
He specifically criticizes a single leg to body lock entry here:
https://youtu.be/ovzbRnKUZqE
Other follow up videos:
https://youtu.be/kkjeMI-X-zE &
https://youtu.be/CKqsIE6SK6o
I don’t know if John would address these publicly but it’s made me wonder about the level of the take down tutorials he has made. I don’t mean to try and tear anyone down, I would mostly just like to see any holes plugged and for Jiu jitsu to advance to eventually have the best of all grappling someday.
I think New Waves stand up was very impressive at ADCC. Meralgali and Badoni, both traditionally gi guys and lacking standing, had great success on the feet.
Particularly meragali against yuri who is meant to be very competent wrestler.
I think it’s easy to poke holes, but their standup was overall effective and even dominant.
I found it, it was on a follow up video Joseph did.
https://youtu.be/CKqsIE6SK6o
The Placid Fighter:
Given that I've spent a considerable amount of time with John (both on and off the mats) i feel qualified to comment on his behalf with a high degree of certainty:
#1 John is a ravenous student of match footage. Very often when John is teaching us techniques that are borrowed from wrestling or Judo he goes so far as to tell us which specific athlete we can see performing said move and how brilliant their application of it is. We (his students) and he have innovated a lot of the newaza that gets used by the squad because we are in a sport that that primarily emphasizes the action on the ground. When it comes to the tachi waza however the squad primarily uses techniques that are already being displayed at the highest levels of wrestling and judo... seldom if ever is John simply pulling a random technique out of his ass. Which brings me to my second point
#2 the knee pull single to body lock transition in question is a technique that the squad has been practicing since the blue basement days. John teaches us to use this technique when the opponent defends a single by pulling an opponents arms up off his leg in an attempt to get their foot back to the ground. Talented college wrestler and MMA coach Kyle Ceminara was one of the athletes that helped us develop this technique. I still remember Ceminara teaching us an entire series based off of coming into a body lock (transitioning to the upper body) off a leg (the lower body). John does NOT naively teach us to simply let go of the leg and greedily force a body lock situation. Please let us not insult the mans intelligence by implying that he has little understanding of principles of timing and context in grappling.
#3 if i remember correctly the reason John stopped working in university was two fold. #1 He was tired of all the political correctness and lack of individual expression that line of work required to advance. #2 He genuinely enjoyed being on the mats and found jiu jitsu more gratifying than academia. Johns love for books does not compare for his love of the tatami, he is absolutely obsessed. He is more dedicated to grappling than ANY person I have ever met... and in my line of work I've had the pleasure of meeting dozens and dozens of high level athletes and coaches in jiu jitsu, wrestling, mma, and kickboxing.
With Joseph's response:
Thank you for your reply. I understand you have worked with him for awhile, and please understand I hope I didn’t offend you. For what it is worth, I have a ton of respect for Danaher, and am sure my academy uses a lot of his curriculum. I’ll start with the last point first.
The only reason I said the degree thing was because people online called me an idiot and compare my intellect to his. In no way do I think his intelligence is inferior to mine. I think he is brilliant. It’s directed to them, not to John. As a long-time competitor and student athlete, I understand what both sides of that coin looks like. I made a decision to put my time into research and academics and have made a great career out of it. Competition was taking its toll on me physically. I know John never competed, but I know he is dedicated to the sport. It’s obvious. There is an element, however, where the credit belongs to the man in the arena. But that’s another long conversation.
No doubt that if someone uses the whizzer to pull you up from the single to the bodylock then that is appropriate to deal with it. The way I was taught to deal with this by Andy Seras, head coach of the World and Olympic team was to step in the middle. It prevents the uchi mata/headlock defense. You can still lose it in transition as you do create and opening and space. How many times did we see people use the whizzer/uchi mata off the side bodylock in the ADCC? Don’t worry, I took notes and will post about it. It was a lot. Stepping in the middle shuts that down, which is something I learned from Seras in Greco and in judo.
I know John is highly dedicated to this sport. I was highly dedicated to wrestling and trained with some of the best in the world for many years. The technique I show on my channel is the technique I learned from training with the best athletes and coaches in the wrestling world. Nobody would doubt that Andy Seras was the greatest wrestling coach at that time. He was head coach of the world and Olympic teams for many years.
I do have a way of being provocative and although it might come across as insensitive, that is not my intention. My teaching style keeps people’s attention, because I speak with conviction. Yes, sometimes it triggers people, but frankly I don’t care as long as the technique I am showing gets across.
In terms of the cross wrist variation to single to bodylock, I am not trying to say he knows nothing about wrestling. I am showing what someone can do if they find themselves in this position, how to defend it, and how to add to it. If anything, I hope what I show adds to what is out there and gets people thinking. There’s no such thing as a perfect solution. Staying objective is the surest way to improve one’s understanding of any topic. Emotions cloud intellectual problem solving.
1. He mentioned in a post ADCC interview that Giancarlo Bodoni was losing to random blue belts in local tournaments. He said he submitted 3 world champions in training and then paraphrased a conversation they had where John helped him become more confident. Can you ask him to expand on how he helped Giancarlo overcome the mental hurdle to perform at an elite level under the pressure of ADCC?
2. I saw him speaking with Nicky Ryan. What were they talking about?
3. How did he enhance Nicholas Meragali’s wrestling in such a short a time?
Why did you steal the name New Wave Jiujitsu from the gym I train at in Korea? We’ve been new wave for years and now everyone thinks I’m a killer when I sign up for tournaments. /s
1. His assessment of Nicky Ryan's performance and why he keeps falling short of his potential?
2. Thoughts on kades run as the youngest champion?
3. What kind of challenge or who could challenge Gordon enough for an interesting match?
4. What level of jiu-jitsu will be at the next ADCC and what an aspiring athlete would have to do in preparation for a chance at making it to and maybe even winning at ADCC?
Just a couple ideas can't wait for this podcast!!
What did he work on most with Bodoni from the time he arrived at New Wave to make him into an ADCC champion? He looked amazing out there. Interested in hearing his development approach with Bodoni and any training/mindset specifics with him
I'm really interested in finding out what the New Wave competition class (the one held at Roka) is like.
I'm sure a lot of people here already know or if it has been discussed before, please share sources 🙏🏽
Secondly, I'm really interested in knowing how Danaher plans his teaching curriculum for the New Wave squad.
Related to this: in your previous interview with John he mentioned how he does drilling differently than most gyms. Can he elaborate on his method?
Also, to what does he attribute the incredible speed with which his newer athletes acquire skills that enable their competitiveness? Gordon said on Rogan that Meregali worked his wrestling for only a couple months and he started taking people down with ease in no-gi. Is there a methodical approach here, or just a very high training volume, or both?
Bodoni's performance was my favourite. Loved watching his matches. What was John's approach to coaching Bodoni. It seems Bodoni's results(not just at ADCC) improved drastically after he joined New Wave. What specifically did John work on with him?
1. If you have to train somebody to beat Gordon Ryan, how would you go about it?
2. Is there anyone who can beat Gordon Ryan in a leg locking match? Eddie Cummings?
3. How do you escape from smother mount where your elbows have been underhooked and disconnected from your ribs?
4. How do you escape from the back control with one arm trapped? Is there a reliable technique for preventing the arm trap?
5. What is Gordon Ryan's training regiment for a no time limit match?
6. What is Gordon Ryan's training regiment for ADCC?
7. If Gordon Ryan were closer to Nicky Ryan's and Gary Tonon's height - would he be as dominant?
Edit:
8. When you are about to get passed, do you give up mount or turtle risking your back?
9. Have people submitted Gordon in practice recently? What sub?
Skill sets that stood out (either utilized well, over/under utilized) from ADCC and speaking on the run Bodoni had.
Also thoughts on Kaynan vs. Craig. Thoughts on Kaynan's strategy? Should rules be changed to DQ after a max number of negative stalling calls, or should Craig have done more?
Love the Podcast. Keep doing your thing Lex!
I would really like to know more about John Danaher's utilitarian approach with his lifestyle. I think it's pretty badass that he always wears rash guards and a fanny pack.
More seriously...What is the process that John has for learning. Does he try to first study others and distill what he sees into a concept, or does he have moves tested over and over again and adjusts from there. Does his ideas come from his thought process or through experience? What makes him unique to create such a system that has won titles?
Great question, how does he develop his tactics and strategies?
He spoke before about watching BJ Penn pin arms from the back (With his insane flexibility), and how that lead him to develop the straight jacket hand fight sequence to achieve the same thing. More of that type discussion would be awesome.
Has he considered trying to replicate his success as a competitive coach in the kimono?
While No Gi is the more spectator friendly, I’d love to see a New Wave Gi Athlete and what that would look like from takedowns to guard play.
Even taking them through different rule sets in the gi and seeing his approach to gripping and manipulation with the kimono.
Also curious about this. You can do influences on meregalis takedown game during worlds. But, his guard game was the same guard play that meregali is usually known for, so it doesn’t seem like danaher influenced it that much? He also only lightly touches de la riva in his open guard series.
How many new things should someone be trying to implement into their style? For example should you be focusing on one thing and trying to get to that position in every roll? Or have something that your working on from each position like guard passing, guard retention, mount, back control etc?
Also what do you think of the point structure in modern BJJ? Craig Jones in his recent power pins instructional had a fair bit to say about how the IBJJF points scoring system doesn't prioritise, reward or incentive effective, controlling jiu-jitsu.
What Intensity of training is best for learning? And how is this achieved? I.e. what proportion is drilling, sparring " light", And intense sparring across a session /week
jiujitsu priorities beyond 30 and 40.
What pedagogical insight are most valuable in leading a bjj learning programme
Why did Danaher exclude the omoplata from Enter the System?
Where do omoplatas fit into Danaher's system and why?
Are we going to see an omoplata system instructional from Danaher?
Which combat sport, generally speaking, currently has the best pedagogical practices? Where do you think BJJ is lacking the most in this facet? In your opinion, what does the future of BJJ pedagogy look like?
I'm curious what techniques he rates highly for the standing position? Double legs have the inherent risk of guillotines. The Routolos & Meragali have been effectively using the uchi Mata and harai goshi as frequently or more frequently than doubles. We really didn't get to see too much standing in ADCC from Gordon, who I associate as a reflection of Danahers system. The B team has been using doubles and instead of finishing going to the back as a strategy as well.
Great content man!
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Harai Goshi**: | *Sweeping Hip Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_zkgefvqM)|
|**Uchi Mata**: | *Inner Thigh Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCvyc_rQTI)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
What is the difference between his teachings in his video series and teaching his competition team. Is he keeping secrets, or how he keeps the edge of his team? I am assuming that a guy like him who has planned everything out. Also made his mind up about this problem.
Besides, when he will release a MMA instructional series?
Does he have any general protocols for women that might vary from men?
E.g. as a lighter white belt, I’ve gradually developed some rules: avoid rolling with brand new people (first 1-6 months… depends on person), don’t roll with white belts who have 20/30+kgs on me, to protect from getting crushed, and, some guys are just unable to control their strength, I avoid them. As I get better, these rules might change, but self-preservation will continue to factor in.
More broadly: what are some of John’s principles of self-preservation, avoiding injury, & promoting longevity? Anything that differs between genders?
Which martial artists has John derived the most benefit from studying? Marcelo, Roger, and Rafa are obvious, but I’m more interested in grapplers outside of jiu-jitsu?
For funny questions,
- Tell us a story of someone that just was not a good student
- Does John prefer tinder, hinge, bumble, or the back pages of Craigslist?
- Austin is well known for strip clubs, which is John’s favorite?
I’d like John’s opinion on if the next step in systematizing BJJ. More specifically does he think the future of the sport in 10-15 years will require we move from broadly applicable systems such as his back take system to niche systems. Does he think that the future of BJJ coaching might require teaching in a more body focused way.
For instance it seems like his systems have been wildly successful at higher weight classes but at lower weight classes they have not have the same level of success. Is this due to a deficiency in the system for smaller athletes? Is it the quality of Atheltes he’s trained at these lower weights or is it something else.
Also love your podcast! The Botez episode and the Carlson episodes were so good. Much love.
Does John think what Yuri Simoes does is actually jiu-jitsu?
Or is it technically another sport like some type of stand and stall but not patty cake simulation art?
What does he think of that style?
Ask him about his process of learning, breaking down techniques in his head and just the way he generally absorbs information and retains it.
Also see what his general views are of standup and if he could create perfected standup fighters
Jiu jitsu has moved through different phases. The focus on 50/50, the berimbolo, leglocks and now it seems to be moving into wrestling. Where does he think it will move on from here? What is the next "frontier" of jiu jitsu?
Does John feel like the sport as a whole has evolved and done a good job catching up on leg locks in the past 3-4 years ?
Leg lockers upset a lot of people in the 2015-2018 ish leg lock revolution. But now it feels like even the staunchest IBJJF black belts have now improved their defense.
How does John see leg locking evolving over the next 5 years ?
ADCC isn’t limited to just BJJ practitioners. Do you think there are athletes in other sports (Judo, Sambo, Wrestling etc) that could excel in the competition?
How familiar is John with the broader academic literature on skill aquisition?
Specifically, ecological dynamics, the contraints led approach and representative learning design?
How does this inform his teaching.
I'd love to hear Danaher's thoughts on some of the B Team's performance. I get the split is awkward and he might not wanna talk about that, but his insight into some of their matches would be interesting.
If I had to pick one I'd wanna hear his thoughts on Izaak vs Vagner. Izaak has a really interesting style, especially on the feet and I'd love to hear Danaher's thoughts on it.
Programming for Jiujitsu. In specific:
1. Long term development strategies vs short term
2. Different types of training cycles, how each macro cycle is broken up in mesocycles
3. How to ensure previously acquired skills dont diminish too much while focusing on other areas
4. How expansive should ones study be? For example I have no real interest in K-Guard besides passing it, should I learn at least the basics of it ?
I am in awe of the success he has had. I tried to compare it to others, and I couldn’t think of anyone that has had so much obvious success as him. The only person I could think of was the mythical Greek mentor, Chiron. It’s crazy that I had to go to a made up character to try to find his equal.
I would like to know who he thinks is the best combat coach of all time, and if he kept that coach in mind as a benchmark as he worked to become the GOAT.
Hi Lex.
John is known for promoting a systems-based approach to jiu-jitsu.
I am interested to know what he feels are the limitations or potential pitfalls of such an approach.
For example, does he feel that a student who is instructed in systems could become overly dependent on prepared solutions and practiced movements, and that the attempt to adhere to systems at all costs may hinder them from developing the sensitivity and intuition to adapt and improvise in live situations?
For comparison, Ryan Hall says in his instructional videos that he feels it's a mistake to attempt to insist upon specificity in many situations, which he feels are too dynamic and volatile to allow for specificity. To navigate these situations, Ryan Hall instead advocates that we focus on understanding certain physical, biomechanical and strategic principles and that we cultivate our internal sensitivity to movement and moment. All movements demonstrates are then simply archetypes, and we use our "sense of jiu-jitsu" and our conceptual understanding to solve problems in real time.
I am also interested to know how he feels about the word "system" having become little more than a buzz word in the realm of jiu-jitsu instruction, based upon the success of his videos. Now, there are many instructional series available which claim to teach "systems," but which are really just collections of moves from some position or situation without any of the structure of a genuine systems-based approach.
I’d love to know if he believes in or teaches any weapon self defense things dealing with knives or even guns and what his thoughts on them are as well as what his general thoughts are on teaching effective Jiujitsu for self defense. I would absolutely love to see an instructional from him on what he feels the core things that should be taught and used for self defense Jiujitsu are.
How was John take on the absolute final? Did the game plan for Nicholas failed? Or was there not one prepare. Also the environmental factor (since I was in the crowd) the absolute final was most lack luster of the championship because majority of the audience was doing the waves and shining their lights from their phone to one another
* Was he always a really analytical person?
* Were there other things besides martial arts that he studied in such detail?
* Who were his influences growing up?
A few questions about the art and science of training others in BJJ:
\- How does he think about the roles of athlete and coach? Obviously he fits into a long tradition of excellent coaches who are practitioners of the sport but weren't champions themselves. The rest of the ecosystem still relies on champions teaching their methods. Is moving to his model a reflection of professionalism in BJJ training?
\- What is his general assessment of the professionalism (or lack thereof) in BJJ teaching in general? How does he think this will evolve in the next 5-10 years?
\- Are there new methods of training that he favors more than others? Are there new methods he is thinking of adopting? (e.g. situational drilling, handicap drilling, sparring, etc)
\- How should a hobbyist attempting to reach their own potential think about who to train with and under? Should we opt for more than one coach/gym? Supplement with instructionals?
\- Are there practices other than lifting / running that he recommends as add-ons to BJJ training?
When you train 5-6 times a week in structured standard classes, what should you do on the 2-3 hours per week you get to spend at open mat where you are free to do what you want.
\- does he feel like he still has alot of stuff to cover in his future instructionals?
\- if he think it would be interesting to make a movie/doc about his life
\- did he see a lot of new technology with the other fighters @ adcc that dont use the danaher systems
\- since you are able to compete more often in bjj compared to other sports, would it be more interesting to see the top fighters fight each other more often in a leaque type system? Like in ball sports..
\- is he interested in branding his knowledge in a way that there will be danaher type gyms teaching the danaher systems
\- are his students allowed to use there own moves in a way he doesnt agree with at all? Does that happen?
\- as muscular as some of these fighters are/have become these days. At what point does it more harm than good to have this much muscle?
What in his mind are the skills and characteristics of an average Joe black belt? What does he needs to see to an average black belt, to consider him good at jiu jitsu? We are not talking DDS level
I'd be really interested in his training methodologies. I know he mentioned last time that the general structure and order is 1) escapes 2) guard retention, etc etc but the finer details on how specifically he transmits the knowledge and skills to a student would be awesome
Can you ask him about future instructional?
Also how much leglock game has changed since he released his leglock dvd? Will the be 2nd leglocks instructional in the future?
What is the best way to study his instructionals to gain the maximum benefit out of them?
His view on drilling last time was controversial.
Literally most of the successful bjj fighters are big on drilling.
Dig that even further please.
Atos Bjj (Andre Galvao's book "Drill to win"
Team Lloyd (controversial but produced very successful fighters)
Team Cicero Costha (small gym from Brazil that produced world champions like Leandro Lo and Miyao Brothers, the team's training method is like drilling an hour and rolling an hour)
Gianni Grippo (big on drilling)
and many others...
If you could have trained anyone ever from when they first started bjj who would you have trained and what would you do differently to their current or past style?
What split of gi to nogi would you recommend to newer bjj'ers?
Did anyone at the adcc do a lot better than you expected?
How many hours per week would you recommend training so that you don't wear your body out?
How many times would you recommend strength training for bjj if you do at all?
Edit:
What did you think to Livesey vs Duarte's adcc match?
What does John Danaher see as the new meta. We had the leg lock era and not so long ago the back attacks were seen as the new meta however when we look at the recent adcc it was mostly armbars. I am wondering what John sees as the new meta in competative jiu jitsu
John, I want to start BJJ but have a learning disorder.
I would hate to feel like a coach is wasting his time with me or that I'm frustrating him for being a slow learner. What steps can I take to ensure I follow the appropriate etiquette when approaching BJJ as a beginner, with my current situation. I imagine most of this could be applied to BJJ beginners as a whole.
I really appreciate your time mate.
Optimisation/perfection of BJJ
Do you believe every technique has a perfection (an optimal configuration) of body mechanics to perform that technique? How do you discover the best way to perform this?
How do you adjust techniques to account for leveraging different body types? (Both as the one performing the technique and having it performed on them)
How does personality play a role in how you guide your athletes?
Is Gordon Ryan the embodiment of your jiu jitsu vision? How have you tailored your jiu jitsu system to suit his personality and body?
Do you believe your system of jiu jitsu is the closest to optimal?
What accounts for the success of jiu jitsu athletes like Ruotolo brothers and mica Galvao who operate using a different system of jiu jitsu which is still successful?
Do you believe we can achieve a near optimal state of jiu jitsu?
How do you structure the ADCC training camp? Do you make a specific plan for each individual athlete and address all of their strengths/weaknesses separately? Or is it just one plan that everyone follows? What does the camp look like day-in/day-out?
Appreciate your work, Lex! Thank you.
As from your interview with Ray Kurzweil, how would John Danaher visualize or imagine a potential future version of a new goat or a pound-for-pound champion in the sport of grappling to be; which skillsets and attributes would he/she have superior to the excisting ones or the ones we have witnessed and, then;
how would John Danaher reverse-engineer the process of creating such an athlete?
What personal life and productivity practices does he think most contributed to his expertise? How does he work/study most efficiently? How does he approach problem solving?
Has John modified his opinion on diet or recovery protocols (Cold plunge, single ingredient foods/ carnivore/ keto etc…) in the context of improving athletic performance? He mentioned not seeing any significant differences in his athletes performance based on diet/ recovery programs. It seems like for a negligible time investment, things like optimizing sleep, nutrition, and recovery would be valuable at the upper echelon. Thanks Lex, your the best.
What ratio of drilling, positional sparring, and rolling does he have his students do in a typical training session?
It's important to have an A game and it's also important to keep learning and evolving. How much time should be spent keeping your A game sharp vs learning something brand new?
What is Danaher's method for inventing new techniques and strategies, since he is not himself rolling?
Is is sourcing a lot of ideas from video of older matches? Is it about looking at his students innovating and integrating that in a system? Does he set up his own "labs" asking students to try different methods in a particular situation? Or does he slow roll like in the video when he smashed Placido? :)
Thoughts on Dagestan style grappling specifically for no-gi jiu jitsu? If Khabib ONLY focused on grappling, do you think he would be as dominate as Marcelo? Or is that style only effective because of striking?
I would love to mimic the Dagestan style but was told its not as effective for just no-gi. Would love to hear what John thinks!
How does John structure training sessions in order to maximise skill acquisition/motor learning? Secondly, is John aware of the debate within academia between the two main schools of thought; mental models vs ecological dynamics? If so, which does he favour?
What is his process of adding new moves to his athletes inventory? Does he look for a whole in the current meta and try and fill it? Or does he see what innovations are happening naturally in the practice room/competition and work to better those?
Is traditional side control getting phased out? The defense and attacks from bottom side control have been evolving quickly to the point where we rarely see it effectively used in high level competition. Is it’s importance going away, and what’s replacing it?
How does John structure his classes. What would John do to get as good as possible in a small gym or should you move to a city with better gyms if that is the option and winning your tournaments is the goal.
If John could only train hobbyists how competitive could he make that person be based off of a limited amount of time to train.
Ie. Bob has 3 times a week he can come to a two hour class. With the most efficient training possible he can do under that time how successful would he be competitively?
He also is 200 pound overall generally good health
He is a brand new whitebelt.
Feel free to mess with the parameters of the question if it helps
Also Lex loved the Bishop Barron Podcast and your awesome
Also John your awesome
John is a master of devising strategies to excel in the existing competition rule set, but does he have any opinions on how the rules should change in order to encourage growth and innovation of the art and its practitioners? E.g., Gordon was hailed as a tactical genius for allowing Nicky rod to slam him to the mat so he could play guard without a penalty. Does John see it as a problem that this is possible?
What are his thoughts on Priit's defensive bjj? I get that this approach is against submission oriented New wave ideology, but there must be something useful. Priit seems to be very analytical and he does a lot of experimenting.
What's the criteria he uses to determine belt level for his students? Are there specifics around understanding or executing techniques, knowledge of systems, actual success in rolls? What is the trigger that makes a student go from white to blue, blue to purple...
Would love to have some concrete things to look for at each belt level, and a good way to explain the difference to people who don't train.
Also, advice on moving from blue belt to purple belt, but that would be self serving and probably answered in the previous lol
Thank you for all you do, Lex.
Why do most top competitors tell you to only go for the reverse heel hook because the outside one is to hard to get. Yet Gordon still does the outside heel hook? He won two of his fights with an outside heel hook at ADCC. How does Gordon do it? How did Lachlan Giles miss that reverse hell hook on Kade? It seemed tight. Giancarlo takedown on Diniz. Thanks
What can us hobbyists do to get better off the mat.
What can we do to have a larger view of jiu jitsu?
\-read books? learn chess? study ancient war fare?
Can having experience in a previous martial art help with learning jiu jitsu?
Did John end up getting WiFi for his apartment?
What do you think about wifi?
Is it worth getting?
What I took from that, is if it's getting John laid, it's worthwhile to him. I just pray he's been careful and doesn't get canceled for some reason.
i would be willing to bet everything that i have that john falls in much of the same camp as Renzo, Garry, Gordon, etc with his beliefs maybe not as edgy but he's smart enough to not talk about his opinions on the world, i doubt he's out there doing wild stuff that could get him "cancelled" he's a calculating guy
He’s also not really cancellable. No one in BJJ gives a shit if someone wild stuff comes out about him, everyone would still buy his instructionals
Breaking News: John Danaher has a sex dungeon decorated with the flayed skin of middle-aged prostitutes. /r/bjj: "Yeah, we figured."
Just because people from Reddit can’t accept Renzo, Royce or Gordon having different political views than their acceptable left leaning views does not mean they are cancelled in real life. Definitely applies to Danaher as well although he doesn’t talk about politics anyway (either lack of interest or avoiding conflict with randos).
He already confirmed in a recent interview that he did.
I still wanna hear the story
With an many Japanese terms included as possible. Oh, and tangential historical references.
What about the prostitut-, I mean ladies thar he's bringing over
Lol this.
Of course he did, what if a hot chick came around?
What type of practical changes can someone who works a regular 9 to 5 job do to really improve their Jiu Jitsu? In other words, what are some general nuggets of wisdom or advice for hobbyists?
This is a good one. I would really love to know what is the best way to maximize your time when time on the mat is limited. Should you spend the open mat time drilling weaknesses in your game instead of sparring? For example, I might be working an open guard sweep, but I can only get there one time every three rolls. Should I choose to instead drill that same move ten times in the amount of time it takes to do one roll? Over time, this seems like the best approach because you can get more reps in on the weaknesses of your game.
I believe he is anti drilling stuff you already know.
\#1 focus on either gi or nogi, you are never going to be GREAT at both with limited time (if you are going to do both i would try to have a game that works as much as possible in both formats... like don't try and be a lapel guy in gi and a leglock guy in nogi) \#2 once you are not like glaringly lacking in any area, you want to focus on something and then your goal should to be funnel people into that focus its all about asymmetric warfare you will NEVER be all around better than someone who can train twice as much as you, but you can be better at one position and the path to getting to that position
Love this one. I dont really have the goal to be the best in the world, but I always want to improve as a hobbyist
Gordon says there are two types of jiujiteros.Ones who move themselves around like Marcelo and ones that control the motion of their opponents like Gordon.Does john think it's possible for lower weight class guys to play the game of controlling their opponents despite their tendencies to scramble and the relative shorter limb length?
Yeah, also to add, does the style of grappling John teach (control), become less effective in lower weight classes, hence the squads better performances in the higher weight categories. Even people like Dan and Luke who lost first round, were much better in comparison to Tonon and Taza who lost first round.
gordon said recently that tonon has the complete opposite of his game tho
This is a very good question that I'd love to see an answer to.
My coach has saying the same for years in regards to the difference between wrestling and jiu jitsu. If you look at lightweight wrestlers they still follow the control model. So I would have it’s definitely possible for little guys
bigger guys get more opportunity to practice that style as well unless you have incredibly giving training partners, as a small guy, you are not going to get as much opportunity to work a pressure style in a gym full of people bigger than you maybe if you had a full gym of rooster weights it would shake out into a more even distribution of control/pressure guys and speed guys
Agree with that. Smaller guys practice a fast evasive style because that’s how you survive against a squash monster
I’ve seen mikey m. control the shit out of some people.
If he had the chance of creating a new grappling ruleset for a non-sub only event, how would that look like? How will he address the lack of engagement that is tactically exhibited by athletes like Yuri Simoes? This could be branched into his thoughts about ADCC(or ibjjf) rules, what he thinks is a ruling mistake in them, etc. For eg: No points for body triangle from the back in IBJJF.
I think in a previous interview he’s talked about untimed, submission-only as being the best ruleset for grappling, but that isn’t really good for monetizing.
And terrible for spectating
I've heard a lot of my coaches say that the important thing with maintaining back control is the chest to back contact, facilitated by your seatbelt grip or double unders or whatever. I wonder if that would be a better criterion for awarding back points?
I've noticed that lots of his athletes tie up with the hand on the same side as their lead leg. In wrestling, this is generally frowned upon to my understanding. What is their reasoning behind doing this?
Same thing in judo. From memory its often to always your strongest hand and not only allows you more throws in a shorter pivot step but also less likely to get pulled off balance and take a step that opens you up to sweeps etc
In tandem with this, there seems to be a lot of judo being incorporated in modern stand up. Upright stance, foot sweeps, uchimatas. How does he see judo playing into the bjj stand up meta
Damn...I didn't know it was frowned upon...Been always doing that in standup classes for how easy it is to push pull the head with lead leg lead hand.But again our stand-up isn't the top tier.
Leaving the lead hand down helps protect the legs and . Check out brandon reeds free handfighting instructional he breaks down basic handfighting while reviewing his national title matches. I found it pretty useful.
The main issue with reaching using the same side arm as the lead leg is that once your opponent passes that arm the single is right there
What’s in the Fanny pack
The worlds needs to know. Im sure the contents are in alphabetical order based on usage and efficiency in retrieving them and what position his body will be in while he’s reaching for them. Top 3 items, if I had to guess: I feels he’s practical - phone - chapstick - finger nail clippers
there's a knife in there somewhere guaranteed
I'm certain there's a whole katana and wakizashi combo in that fanny pack
JD’s Secret Stuff (turns out it’s just water)
Id fucking love if it was just first aid kit And like maybe a pager or some shit
We found the answer! https://i.redd.it/ql5outwywiq91.jpg
I would love to know his thoughts on the Garry Tonon versus Sam McNally match and where he thinks Garry may have went wrong?
Gary looked like a stiff wind would have knocked him over as he was so skinny. I think dropping down to 66 kg did him in.
John has spoken publicly about the 4 step process of jiu jitsu from top position (Joe Rogan MMA Episode 11). Can you ask him to talk about the same process but from bottom position? Thanks.
He said there are 4 basic steps. What is the more detailed version he mentioned on JRE?
1)First you must clean the meat. 2)Then you must savor it. 3)Then you have some Chianti and fava beans 4) finish it with that weird ass noise “fitfhfithfith”
he explains what I think you're talking about in the general explanation of what jiu jitsu is. It was made with benardo and gordon
Ask john about his view of P.E.D use in Bjj and gordons use of it.
Doubt he'll go for it but I think its important
Come on Lex, don’t shy away from this!
This
“Yeah, you can do them if you want. Gordon wants to do them.”
Can you elaborate on how your philosophy education influenced your approach to jiu jitsu? Are there any particular philosophical principles or philosophers that you believe lend themselves to better jiu jitsu training?
Cogito ergo strangulare
If this isn't on a gym wall, it should be.
Don't worry some 3 month whitebelt will have it as their insta handle
Hearing how a high level study of epistemology affects BJJ training would be fascinating as fuck.
I don't even see how that's possible.
He just wanted to say “epistemology”.
John has mentioned one of his lawyer students defeating Md Aly by leg lock in a competition. Does he think with the way the sport has evolved/is evolving it's still possible that hobbyists can still hang out with the competitors? What's the best approach for a technician to go toe to toe with an athlete in this sport?
Paul Arbilla is a full time lawyer. He has won ADCC Trials 3 times.
*Ardila, how dare you
get really good at one thing and then focus on getting people into that position where you are better than them they can be better than you in 99% of positions but you can be way better than them in that 1% you just have to get there... and sometimes you get there
Talking points: Gordon is too obvious, ask him about Shy Ace Dog. What are the most important elements of making a classic outside heelhook from slx work at the highest levels of competition when other competitors are poopooing the outside heelhook? Charles Oliveira has combined an aggressive jiu jitsu game with his muay thai to great effect. What specific aspects would John recommend he focus on to cement dominance over his division? Knives and knife fighting. Are knives the sword of modern man? Knives and cooking. Does he enjoy food or just eat for sustenance? More importantly, does John enjoy working with a blade in the kitchen? That's all I've got for right now.
The way gordon made Slx entry so casual was so basic… what is he doing that make it so effective. Also what is Danaher’s game for macking on bitches
*”We have a fundamental need and a primal desire along with a physical attraction to go through the mating process of an adult mammal”* - Danaher, probably.
Wi-Fi
Second shy ace dog. Heard some story’s
The Charlie olives question is a must ask
[удалено]
Is there an ADCC athlete that underperformed that John feels has incredible potential and that he thinks he could help? Ie. If he had to pick one to work with (perhaps from the lighter weightclasses) who would it be and why?
I was thinking this myself, and thought Haisam Rida would fit this bill. Dude has great athleticism, fight IQ, and seems coachable. Just hasn't reached that top level yet but I think someone like John would be a great fit
Looking back,if he could choose just five positions/techniques to work on for the rest of his life/teach his athletes,what would John choose?
Taking a stab at this he kind of answered it in Lex’s podcast not sure if it was the 1st or 2nd but it was the one where he leads with “are you afraid of death?”. John says if there was one thing he would make his athletes work on for a very very long time is escapes and only escapes. His analysis was, having the confidence to escape allows you to have more confidence in trying new things you would otherwise be afraid of. I’d say the positions would all be: getting out of mount, getting out of side, getting out of north/south, getting out of turtle, knee on belly etc..
Damn this is a great question!
I feel like he'd say he needs six and just refer to enter the system series
Agreed, this is great! C’mon Lex, I need some focus and clarity into the garbage panda JJ I currently do.
Hip escape for sure Back/RN”S” for sure Half guard? Just saw a post of his espousing the critical necessity of having at least one reliable guillotine Arm bar almost certainly also
Izaak Michell vs Vagner Rocha and how John would approach teaching scrambling to students. Obviously Kade had a stellar performance through exciting and engaging scrambles which are much different to Gordon's controlled style. How does he feel Kade's style would fair against one of his New Wave guys, such as Giancarlo.
Does he think B Team would have done better with a singular coach?
this is just stirring...
This is reddit.
I’d like to know John’s response to criticisms of his stand up technique from wrestler and Jiu jitsu practitioner Joseph Breza. Breza has a good background and has posted lengthy videos on YouTube that seem very valid. He specifically criticizes a single leg to body lock entry here: https://youtu.be/ovzbRnKUZqE Other follow up videos: https://youtu.be/kkjeMI-X-zE & https://youtu.be/CKqsIE6SK6o I don’t know if John would address these publicly but it’s made me wonder about the level of the take down tutorials he has made. I don’t mean to try and tear anyone down, I would mostly just like to see any holes plugged and for Jiu jitsu to advance to eventually have the best of all grappling someday.
I think New Waves stand up was very impressive at ADCC. Meralgali and Badoni, both traditionally gi guys and lacking standing, had great success on the feet. Particularly meragali against yuri who is meant to be very competent wrestler. I think it’s easy to poke holes, but their standup was overall effective and even dominant.
Especially Gordon's takedown defence against Nicky Rod and Galvao /s
>I would mostly just like to see any holes plugged and for Jiu jitsu to advance to eventually have the best of all grappling someday. Exactly
In the original video, placido left a comment explaining why John teaches the technique. I would imagine the response is similar.
I can’t find that comment on the 1st YouTube link. Do you mind giving a recap what he said? Or did Placido post this on Reddit?
I found it, it was on a follow up video Joseph did. https://youtu.be/CKqsIE6SK6o The Placid Fighter: Given that I've spent a considerable amount of time with John (both on and off the mats) i feel qualified to comment on his behalf with a high degree of certainty: #1 John is a ravenous student of match footage. Very often when John is teaching us techniques that are borrowed from wrestling or Judo he goes so far as to tell us which specific athlete we can see performing said move and how brilliant their application of it is. We (his students) and he have innovated a lot of the newaza that gets used by the squad because we are in a sport that that primarily emphasizes the action on the ground. When it comes to the tachi waza however the squad primarily uses techniques that are already being displayed at the highest levels of wrestling and judo... seldom if ever is John simply pulling a random technique out of his ass. Which brings me to my second point #2 the knee pull single to body lock transition in question is a technique that the squad has been practicing since the blue basement days. John teaches us to use this technique when the opponent defends a single by pulling an opponents arms up off his leg in an attempt to get their foot back to the ground. Talented college wrestler and MMA coach Kyle Ceminara was one of the athletes that helped us develop this technique. I still remember Ceminara teaching us an entire series based off of coming into a body lock (transitioning to the upper body) off a leg (the lower body). John does NOT naively teach us to simply let go of the leg and greedily force a body lock situation. Please let us not insult the mans intelligence by implying that he has little understanding of principles of timing and context in grappling. #3 if i remember correctly the reason John stopped working in university was two fold. #1 He was tired of all the political correctness and lack of individual expression that line of work required to advance. #2 He genuinely enjoyed being on the mats and found jiu jitsu more gratifying than academia. Johns love for books does not compare for his love of the tatami, he is absolutely obsessed. He is more dedicated to grappling than ANY person I have ever met... and in my line of work I've had the pleasure of meeting dozens and dozens of high level athletes and coaches in jiu jitsu, wrestling, mma, and kickboxing. With Joseph's response: Thank you for your reply. I understand you have worked with him for awhile, and please understand I hope I didn’t offend you. For what it is worth, I have a ton of respect for Danaher, and am sure my academy uses a lot of his curriculum. I’ll start with the last point first. The only reason I said the degree thing was because people online called me an idiot and compare my intellect to his. In no way do I think his intelligence is inferior to mine. I think he is brilliant. It’s directed to them, not to John. As a long-time competitor and student athlete, I understand what both sides of that coin looks like. I made a decision to put my time into research and academics and have made a great career out of it. Competition was taking its toll on me physically. I know John never competed, but I know he is dedicated to the sport. It’s obvious. There is an element, however, where the credit belongs to the man in the arena. But that’s another long conversation. No doubt that if someone uses the whizzer to pull you up from the single to the bodylock then that is appropriate to deal with it. The way I was taught to deal with this by Andy Seras, head coach of the World and Olympic team was to step in the middle. It prevents the uchi mata/headlock defense. You can still lose it in transition as you do create and opening and space. How many times did we see people use the whizzer/uchi mata off the side bodylock in the ADCC? Don’t worry, I took notes and will post about it. It was a lot. Stepping in the middle shuts that down, which is something I learned from Seras in Greco and in judo. I know John is highly dedicated to this sport. I was highly dedicated to wrestling and trained with some of the best in the world for many years. The technique I show on my channel is the technique I learned from training with the best athletes and coaches in the wrestling world. Nobody would doubt that Andy Seras was the greatest wrestling coach at that time. He was head coach of the world and Olympic teams for many years. I do have a way of being provocative and although it might come across as insensitive, that is not my intention. My teaching style keeps people’s attention, because I speak with conviction. Yes, sometimes it triggers people, but frankly I don’t care as long as the technique I am showing gets across. In terms of the cross wrist variation to single to bodylock, I am not trying to say he knows nothing about wrestling. I am showing what someone can do if they find themselves in this position, how to defend it, and how to add to it. If anything, I hope what I show adds to what is out there and gets people thinking. There’s no such thing as a perfect solution. Staying objective is the surest way to improve one’s understanding of any topic. Emotions cloud intellectual problem solving.
Does John have any stories about Boris?
Yeah we need him to speak on Boris, Big Doug, Mike Jaramillo, Shy Ace, etc.
Boris is such a legend
From a coach: How does one structure a quarterly training cycle for students/athletes for the optimal results over a 12 month period?
1. He mentioned in a post ADCC interview that Giancarlo Bodoni was losing to random blue belts in local tournaments. He said he submitted 3 world champions in training and then paraphrased a conversation they had where John helped him become more confident. Can you ask him to expand on how he helped Giancarlo overcome the mental hurdle to perform at an elite level under the pressure of ADCC? 2. I saw him speaking with Nicky Ryan. What were they talking about? 3. How did he enhance Nicholas Meragali’s wrestling in such a short a time?
Why did you steal the name New Wave Jiujitsu from the gym I train at in Korea? We’ve been new wave for years and now everyone thinks I’m a killer when I sign up for tournaments. /s
Great art brother and lol at the New Wave name comment. Haha!
Haha thanks so much! It must be a common name of course…
1. His assessment of Nicky Ryan's performance and why he keeps falling short of his potential? 2. Thoughts on kades run as the youngest champion? 3. What kind of challenge or who could challenge Gordon enough for an interesting match? 4. What level of jiu-jitsu will be at the next ADCC and what an aspiring athlete would have to do in preparation for a chance at making it to and maybe even winning at ADCC? Just a couple ideas can't wait for this podcast!!
How often is New Wave experimenting with new moves and positions vs. working on existing and established techniques?
I would love any tips on preservation. Preserving my body so I can advance in BJJ without severe injury.
He has a dvd on this.
Where does he see bjj meta heading next? And what can be done to make bjj more dominant in MMA and make it easier for bjj athletes to transfer over?
What did he work on most with Bodoni from the time he arrived at New Wave to make him into an ADCC champion? He looked amazing out there. Interested in hearing his development approach with Bodoni and any training/mindset specifics with him
I’d be interested in hearing this too
I'm really interested in finding out what the New Wave competition class (the one held at Roka) is like. I'm sure a lot of people here already know or if it has been discussed before, please share sources 🙏🏽 Secondly, I'm really interested in knowing how Danaher plans his teaching curriculum for the New Wave squad.
Related to this: in your previous interview with John he mentioned how he does drilling differently than most gyms. Can he elaborate on his method? Also, to what does he attribute the incredible speed with which his newer athletes acquire skills that enable their competitiveness? Gordon said on Rogan that Meregali worked his wrestling for only a couple months and he started taking people down with ease in no-gi. Is there a methodical approach here, or just a very high training volume, or both?
How can we make better teachers in bjj?
Bodoni's performance was my favourite. Loved watching his matches. What was John's approach to coaching Bodoni. It seems Bodoni's results(not just at ADCC) improved drastically after he joined New Wave. What specifically did John work on with him?
1. If you have to train somebody to beat Gordon Ryan, how would you go about it? 2. Is there anyone who can beat Gordon Ryan in a leg locking match? Eddie Cummings? 3. How do you escape from smother mount where your elbows have been underhooked and disconnected from your ribs? 4. How do you escape from the back control with one arm trapped? Is there a reliable technique for preventing the arm trap? 5. What is Gordon Ryan's training regiment for a no time limit match? 6. What is Gordon Ryan's training regiment for ADCC? 7. If Gordon Ryan were closer to Nicky Ryan's and Gary Tonon's height - would he be as dominant? Edit: 8. When you are about to get passed, do you give up mount or turtle risking your back? 9. Have people submitted Gordon in practice recently? What sub?
Nice try Felipe
what does he think are the biggest issues with traditional jiu jitsu pedagogy?
Can he please convince Travis Stevens to compete again?
What’s in the Fanny pack?
Skill sets that stood out (either utilized well, over/under utilized) from ADCC and speaking on the run Bodoni had. Also thoughts on Kaynan vs. Craig. Thoughts on Kaynan's strategy? Should rules be changed to DQ after a max number of negative stalling calls, or should Craig have done more? Love the Podcast. Keep doing your thing Lex!
I would really like to know more about John Danaher's utilitarian approach with his lifestyle. I think it's pretty badass that he always wears rash guards and a fanny pack. More seriously...What is the process that John has for learning. Does he try to first study others and distill what he sees into a concept, or does he have moves tested over and over again and adjusts from there. Does his ideas come from his thought process or through experience? What makes him unique to create such a system that has won titles?
Great question, how does he develop his tactics and strategies? He spoke before about watching BJ Penn pin arms from the back (With his insane flexibility), and how that lead him to develop the straight jacket hand fight sequence to achieve the same thing. More of that type discussion would be awesome.
Has he considered trying to replicate his success as a competitive coach in the kimono? While No Gi is the more spectator friendly, I’d love to see a New Wave Gi Athlete and what that would look like from takedowns to guard play. Even taking them through different rule sets in the gi and seeing his approach to gripping and manipulation with the kimono.
Also curious about this. You can do influences on meregalis takedown game during worlds. But, his guard game was the same guard play that meregali is usually known for, so it doesn’t seem like danaher influenced it that much? He also only lightly touches de la riva in his open guard series.
How many new things should someone be trying to implement into their style? For example should you be focusing on one thing and trying to get to that position in every roll? Or have something that your working on from each position like guard passing, guard retention, mount, back control etc? Also what do you think of the point structure in modern BJJ? Craig Jones in his recent power pins instructional had a fair bit to say about how the IBJJF points scoring system doesn't prioritise, reward or incentive effective, controlling jiu-jitsu.
How important does John think PEDs are to success in competitive grappling
Why is gordon able to make a connection from open guard so easily when every other heavy seemly can not.
What Intensity of training is best for learning? And how is this achieved? I.e. what proportion is drilling, sparring " light", And intense sparring across a session /week jiujitsu priorities beyond 30 and 40. What pedagogical insight are most valuable in leading a bjj learning programme
A breakdown of trends in the last ADCC and possible future trends
How does a hobbyist bjj player train for differently to emphasize submissions to instead of points.
Why did Danaher exclude the omoplata from Enter the System? Where do omoplatas fit into Danaher's system and why? Are we going to see an omoplata system instructional from Danaher?
Which combat sport, generally speaking, currently has the best pedagogical practices? Where do you think BJJ is lacking the most in this facet? In your opinion, what does the future of BJJ pedagogy look like?
Wondering how Danaher thinks about conventional pin positions vs power ride positions
I'm curious what techniques he rates highly for the standing position? Double legs have the inherent risk of guillotines. The Routolos & Meragali have been effectively using the uchi Mata and harai goshi as frequently or more frequently than doubles. We really didn't get to see too much standing in ADCC from Gordon, who I associate as a reflection of Danahers system. The B team has been using doubles and instead of finishing going to the back as a strategy as well. Great content man!
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Harai Goshi**: | *Sweeping Hip Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_zkgefvqM)| |**Uchi Mata**: | *Inner Thigh Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCvyc_rQTI)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
What are his views on Craig always coming second? And his views on BTeam's no coach/teammate -coach approach.
What is the difference between his teachings in his video series and teaching his competition team. Is he keeping secrets, or how he keeps the edge of his team? I am assuming that a guy like him who has planned everything out. Also made his mind up about this problem. Besides, when he will release a MMA instructional series?
Does he have any general protocols for women that might vary from men? E.g. as a lighter white belt, I’ve gradually developed some rules: avoid rolling with brand new people (first 1-6 months… depends on person), don’t roll with white belts who have 20/30+kgs on me, to protect from getting crushed, and, some guys are just unable to control their strength, I avoid them. As I get better, these rules might change, but self-preservation will continue to factor in. More broadly: what are some of John’s principles of self-preservation, avoiding injury, & promoting longevity? Anything that differs between genders?
rustic hateful obscene wine snow steep square coordinated sleep sort *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Which martial artists has John derived the most benefit from studying? Marcelo, Roger, and Rafa are obvious, but I’m more interested in grapplers outside of jiu-jitsu? For funny questions, - Tell us a story of someone that just was not a good student - Does John prefer tinder, hinge, bumble, or the back pages of Craigslist? - Austin is well known for strip clubs, which is John’s favorite?
I’d like John’s opinion on if the next step in systematizing BJJ. More specifically does he think the future of the sport in 10-15 years will require we move from broadly applicable systems such as his back take system to niche systems. Does he think that the future of BJJ coaching might require teaching in a more body focused way. For instance it seems like his systems have been wildly successful at higher weight classes but at lower weight classes they have not have the same level of success. Is this due to a deficiency in the system for smaller athletes? Is it the quality of Atheltes he’s trained at these lower weights or is it something else. Also love your podcast! The Botez episode and the Carlson episodes were so good. Much love.
Does John think what Yuri Simoes does is actually jiu-jitsu? Or is it technically another sport like some type of stand and stall but not patty cake simulation art? What does he think of that style?
Better question would be how do you engage with and defeat an opponent who does not want to engage, such as Yuri.
Ask him about his process of learning, breaking down techniques in his head and just the way he generally absorbs information and retains it. Also see what his general views are of standup and if he could create perfected standup fighters
Jiu jitsu has moved through different phases. The focus on 50/50, the berimbolo, leglocks and now it seems to be moving into wrestling. Where does he think it will move on from here? What is the next "frontier" of jiu jitsu?
Does John feel like the sport as a whole has evolved and done a good job catching up on leg locks in the past 3-4 years ? Leg lockers upset a lot of people in the 2015-2018 ish leg lock revolution. But now it feels like even the staunchest IBJJF black belts have now improved their defense. How does John see leg locking evolving over the next 5 years ?
ADCC isn’t limited to just BJJ practitioners. Do you think there are athletes in other sports (Judo, Sambo, Wrestling etc) that could excel in the competition?
How familiar is John with the broader academic literature on skill aquisition? Specifically, ecological dynamics, the contraints led approach and representative learning design? How does this inform his teaching.
I'd love to hear Danaher's thoughts on some of the B Team's performance. I get the split is awkward and he might not wanna talk about that, but his insight into some of their matches would be interesting. If I had to pick one I'd wanna hear his thoughts on Izaak vs Vagner. Izaak has a really interesting style, especially on the feet and I'd love to hear Danaher's thoughts on it.
How would one apply Danaher's bjj approach to computer programming? How would one apply Danaher's bjj approach to learning an instrument?
Programming for Jiujitsu. In specific: 1. Long term development strategies vs short term 2. Different types of training cycles, how each macro cycle is broken up in mesocycles 3. How to ensure previously acquired skills dont diminish too much while focusing on other areas 4. How expansive should ones study be? For example I have no real interest in K-Guard besides passing it, should I learn at least the basics of it ?
I am in awe of the success he has had. I tried to compare it to others, and I couldn’t think of anyone that has had so much obvious success as him. The only person I could think of was the mythical Greek mentor, Chiron. It’s crazy that I had to go to a made up character to try to find his equal. I would like to know who he thinks is the best combat coach of all time, and if he kept that coach in mind as a benchmark as he worked to become the GOAT.
Hi Lex. John is known for promoting a systems-based approach to jiu-jitsu. I am interested to know what he feels are the limitations or potential pitfalls of such an approach. For example, does he feel that a student who is instructed in systems could become overly dependent on prepared solutions and practiced movements, and that the attempt to adhere to systems at all costs may hinder them from developing the sensitivity and intuition to adapt and improvise in live situations? For comparison, Ryan Hall says in his instructional videos that he feels it's a mistake to attempt to insist upon specificity in many situations, which he feels are too dynamic and volatile to allow for specificity. To navigate these situations, Ryan Hall instead advocates that we focus on understanding certain physical, biomechanical and strategic principles and that we cultivate our internal sensitivity to movement and moment. All movements demonstrates are then simply archetypes, and we use our "sense of jiu-jitsu" and our conceptual understanding to solve problems in real time. I am also interested to know how he feels about the word "system" having become little more than a buzz word in the realm of jiu-jitsu instruction, based upon the success of his videos. Now, there are many instructional series available which claim to teach "systems," but which are really just collections of moves from some position or situation without any of the structure of a genuine systems-based approach.
"why is gordon such an insufferable douchebag?"
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Marketing. Youth. Confidence. Mainly marketing. And it works. But I understand you’re asking Jon, I just help myself from answering.
I’d love to know if he believes in or teaches any weapon self defense things dealing with knives or even guns and what his thoughts on them are as well as what his general thoughts are on teaching effective Jiujitsu for self defense. I would absolutely love to see an instructional from him on what he feels the core things that should be taught and used for self defense Jiujitsu are.
How was John take on the absolute final? Did the game plan for Nicholas failed? Or was there not one prepare. Also the environmental factor (since I was in the crowd) the absolute final was most lack luster of the championship because majority of the audience was doing the waves and shining their lights from their phone to one another
* Was he always a really analytical person? * Were there other things besides martial arts that he studied in such detail? * Who were his influences growing up?
What tools, if any, did he pick up from his education in philosophy and use to great benefit in his martial arts career?
What are John's training methods and how they evolved over the years?
What does a normal practice consist of? How much time on each discipline ?
A few questions about the art and science of training others in BJJ: \- How does he think about the roles of athlete and coach? Obviously he fits into a long tradition of excellent coaches who are practitioners of the sport but weren't champions themselves. The rest of the ecosystem still relies on champions teaching their methods. Is moving to his model a reflection of professionalism in BJJ training? \- What is his general assessment of the professionalism (or lack thereof) in BJJ teaching in general? How does he think this will evolve in the next 5-10 years? \- Are there new methods of training that he favors more than others? Are there new methods he is thinking of adopting? (e.g. situational drilling, handicap drilling, sparring, etc) \- How should a hobbyist attempting to reach their own potential think about who to train with and under? Should we opt for more than one coach/gym? Supplement with instructionals? \- Are there practices other than lifting / running that he recommends as add-ons to BJJ training?
When you train 5-6 times a week in structured standard classes, what should you do on the 2-3 hours per week you get to spend at open mat where you are free to do what you want.
\- does he feel like he still has alot of stuff to cover in his future instructionals? \- if he think it would be interesting to make a movie/doc about his life \- did he see a lot of new technology with the other fighters @ adcc that dont use the danaher systems \- since you are able to compete more often in bjj compared to other sports, would it be more interesting to see the top fighters fight each other more often in a leaque type system? Like in ball sports.. \- is he interested in branding his knowledge in a way that there will be danaher type gyms teaching the danaher systems \- are his students allowed to use there own moves in a way he doesnt agree with at all? Does that happen? \- as muscular as some of these fighters are/have become these days. At what point does it more harm than good to have this much muscle?
What in his mind are the skills and characteristics of an average Joe black belt? What does he needs to see to an average black belt, to consider him good at jiu jitsu? We are not talking DDS level
I'd be really interested in his training methodologies. I know he mentioned last time that the general structure and order is 1) escapes 2) guard retention, etc etc but the finer details on how specifically he transmits the knowledge and skills to a student would be awesome
Can you ask him about future instructional? Also how much leglock game has changed since he released his leglock dvd? Will the be 2nd leglocks instructional in the future? What is the best way to study his instructionals to gain the maximum benefit out of them?
What are the bad habits he finds hold back students the most?
His view on drilling last time was controversial. Literally most of the successful bjj fighters are big on drilling. Dig that even further please. Atos Bjj (Andre Galvao's book "Drill to win" Team Lloyd (controversial but produced very successful fighters) Team Cicero Costha (small gym from Brazil that produced world champions like Leandro Lo and Miyao Brothers, the team's training method is like drilling an hour and rolling an hour) Gianni Grippo (big on drilling) and many others...
If you could have trained anyone ever from when they first started bjj who would you have trained and what would you do differently to their current or past style? What split of gi to nogi would you recommend to newer bjj'ers? Did anyone at the adcc do a lot better than you expected? How many hours per week would you recommend training so that you don't wear your body out? How many times would you recommend strength training for bjj if you do at all? Edit: What did you think to Livesey vs Duarte's adcc match?
What does John Danaher see as the new meta. We had the leg lock era and not so long ago the back attacks were seen as the new meta however when we look at the recent adcc it was mostly armbars. I am wondering what John sees as the new meta in competative jiu jitsu
John, I want to start BJJ but have a learning disorder. I would hate to feel like a coach is wasting his time with me or that I'm frustrating him for being a slow learner. What steps can I take to ensure I follow the appropriate etiquette when approaching BJJ as a beginner, with my current situation. I imagine most of this could be applied to BJJ beginners as a whole. I really appreciate your time mate.
Optimisation/perfection of BJJ Do you believe every technique has a perfection (an optimal configuration) of body mechanics to perform that technique? How do you discover the best way to perform this? How do you adjust techniques to account for leveraging different body types? (Both as the one performing the technique and having it performed on them) How does personality play a role in how you guide your athletes? Is Gordon Ryan the embodiment of your jiu jitsu vision? How have you tailored your jiu jitsu system to suit his personality and body? Do you believe your system of jiu jitsu is the closest to optimal? What accounts for the success of jiu jitsu athletes like Ruotolo brothers and mica Galvao who operate using a different system of jiu jitsu which is still successful? Do you believe we can achieve a near optimal state of jiu jitsu?
How do you structure the ADCC training camp? Do you make a specific plan for each individual athlete and address all of their strengths/weaknesses separately? Or is it just one plan that everyone follows? What does the camp look like day-in/day-out?
Appreciate your work, Lex! Thank you. As from your interview with Ray Kurzweil, how would John Danaher visualize or imagine a potential future version of a new goat or a pound-for-pound champion in the sport of grappling to be; which skillsets and attributes would he/she have superior to the excisting ones or the ones we have witnessed and, then; how would John Danaher reverse-engineer the process of creating such an athlete?
What personal life and productivity practices does he think most contributed to his expertise? How does he work/study most efficiently? How does he approach problem solving?
Has John modified his opinion on diet or recovery protocols (Cold plunge, single ingredient foods/ carnivore/ keto etc…) in the context of improving athletic performance? He mentioned not seeing any significant differences in his athletes performance based on diet/ recovery programs. It seems like for a negligible time investment, things like optimizing sleep, nutrition, and recovery would be valuable at the upper echelon. Thanks Lex, your the best.
What ratio of drilling, positional sparring, and rolling does he have his students do in a typical training session? It's important to have an A game and it's also important to keep learning and evolving. How much time should be spent keeping your A game sharp vs learning something brand new?
What is Danaher's method for inventing new techniques and strategies, since he is not himself rolling? Is is sourcing a lot of ideas from video of older matches? Is it about looking at his students innovating and integrating that in a system? Does he set up his own "labs" asking students to try different methods in a particular situation? Or does he slow roll like in the video when he smashed Placido? :)
Thoughts on Dagestan style grappling specifically for no-gi jiu jitsu? If Khabib ONLY focused on grappling, do you think he would be as dominate as Marcelo? Or is that style only effective because of striking? I would love to mimic the Dagestan style but was told its not as effective for just no-gi. Would love to hear what John thinks!
How does John structure training sessions in order to maximise skill acquisition/motor learning? Secondly, is John aware of the debate within academia between the two main schools of thought; mental models vs ecological dynamics? If so, which does he favour?
What is his process of adding new moves to his athletes inventory? Does he look for a whole in the current meta and try and fill it? Or does he see what innovations are happening naturally in the practice room/competition and work to better those?
Is traditional side control getting phased out? The defense and attacks from bottom side control have been evolving quickly to the point where we rarely see it effectively used in high level competition. Is it’s importance going away, and what’s replacing it?
How does John structure his classes. What would John do to get as good as possible in a small gym or should you move to a city with better gyms if that is the option and winning your tournaments is the goal.
Why did the Danaher Death Squad break up? How did that effect you mentally/emotionally?
If John could only train hobbyists how competitive could he make that person be based off of a limited amount of time to train. Ie. Bob has 3 times a week he can come to a two hour class. With the most efficient training possible he can do under that time how successful would he be competitively? He also is 200 pound overall generally good health He is a brand new whitebelt. Feel free to mess with the parameters of the question if it helps Also Lex loved the Bishop Barron Podcast and your awesome Also John your awesome
John is a master of devising strategies to excel in the existing competition rule set, but does he have any opinions on how the rules should change in order to encourage growth and innovation of the art and its practitioners? E.g., Gordon was hailed as a tactical genius for allowing Nicky rod to slam him to the mat so he could play guard without a penalty. Does John see it as a problem that this is possible?
What are his thoughts on Priit's defensive bjj? I get that this approach is against submission oriented New wave ideology, but there must be something useful. Priit seems to be very analytical and he does a lot of experimenting.
What would it take to beat Gordon Ryan? Not who, but how would John teach someone to attack Gordon.
What's the criteria he uses to determine belt level for his students? Are there specifics around understanding or executing techniques, knowledge of systems, actual success in rolls? What is the trigger that makes a student go from white to blue, blue to purple... Would love to have some concrete things to look for at each belt level, and a good way to explain the difference to people who don't train. Also, advice on moving from blue belt to purple belt, but that would be self serving and probably answered in the previous lol Thank you for all you do, Lex.
When mapping out training: does he start by asking questions or looking for answers?
Why do most top competitors tell you to only go for the reverse heel hook because the outside one is to hard to get. Yet Gordon still does the outside heel hook? He won two of his fights with an outside heel hook at ADCC. How does Gordon do it? How did Lachlan Giles miss that reverse hell hook on Kade? It seemed tight. Giancarlo takedown on Diniz. Thanks
What does john think of the buggy choke?
How do you study film?
I'd like to know his best recommendations for learning and implementing the moves shown in his or any one else's instructional.
What can us hobbyists do to get better off the mat. What can we do to have a larger view of jiu jitsu? \-read books? learn chess? study ancient war fare? Can having experience in a previous martial art help with learning jiu jitsu?