Mat Notes
Short pieces of jiu-jitsu writing from the mats in Defence Colony — what we teach, and why. A letter from the studio a few times a month, never more.
Why We Grip Above the Kneecap
A centimetre of grip placement decides half the single leg. Above the kneecap you own a joint that folds; below it you fight a bone.
EssayFrom Takedown to Mount in One Sentence
One unbroken chain — arm drag to single leg to the pass, quarter mount, sprawl, mount. Techniques are words; chains are what you actually say.
EssayThe Single Leg That Keeps Its Distance
Most people fail the single leg by getting closer. We built it on the opposite instinct — distance — the cross-side armpit finish and the grip that folds the knee.
EssayStay Away to Take Them Down
Every beginner fails the single leg by getting closer. We built it on the opposite instinct — distance — where each structural choice removes a reason it could fail.
EssayThe Certain Attack
Why “be certain, don’t gamble” is not a limit on ambition but a construction project — you become certain by removing the ways a thing can fail, until the attack is not a bet but a conclusion.
EssayIt’s Not Me, It’s You
What a guard pass teaches about the two kinds of control — the one that fills your arms, and the one that quietly removes your opponent’s options.
EssayA Little Mean, Honestly
A pressure pass I apologised for while teaching it — and what it taught about kindness over toughness. Meanness is a tool with a label and a shelf; kindness is the shop it lives in.
EssayThe Warm-Up Was the Technique
The beast walk everyone treats as cardio was the entire pass. Why the boring thing at the start is so often the technique itself, in disguise.
EssayFill, Don’t Lift
The single leg is not a lift. Push, fill, then choose — three finishes from one honest beginning.
EssayFreedom Without Exit
The mount that grants total freedom of movement — and no way out. Why frustration, not weight, is what finishes people.
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