How Jozef Chen is Changing BJJ
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging discussion, Joseph Chan, a young and talented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, shares his journey from a 17-year-old bleach-blond tourist to a prodigy in the grappling world. Chan, now 19, discusses his rapid ascent, influenced by books like 'The Art of Learning' and podcasts, emphasizing the importance of self-directed learning and the balance between growth and performance in his training. He also touches on his competitive mindset, the concept of making smaller circles in technique refinement, and the idea of viewing losses as investments in growth. Chan's story is one of dedication, strategic learning, and the pursuit of excellence in Jiu-Jitsu.
Takeaways
- 🤼 Joseph Chan is a young and talented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who has quickly gained recognition in the BJJ community.
- 🏆 Chan's early exposure to BJJ was through striking and MMA, which he found less challenging compared to the intricacies of Jiu-Jitsu.
- 📚 He has been influenced by books like 'The Art of Learning' by Josh Waitzkin, which has shaped his approach to skill development and learning.
- 🌐 Chan's training was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, providing him with an opportunity to train full-time and study BJJ deeply.
- 🏅 His success has been noted by prominent figures in BJJ, with some predicting he could become a future world champion.
- 🧠 Chan emphasizes the importance of self-directed learning, going beyond coach instruction to explore techniques and strategies on his own.
- 🔄 He discusses the concept of 'growth versus performance' in training, highlighting the need to balance learning new techniques with honing them under pressure.
- 🔁 Chan applies the idea of making smaller circles to refine techniques, making them more conscious to facilitate adjustments and deeper understanding.
- 🤔 He values the process of 'tinkering' during drilling sessions, which involves experimenting with techniques and engaging in dialogue with training partners.
- 🏆 Chan's approach to competition includes viewing losses as investments in growth, which encourages trying new techniques and strategies.
- 🎓 Despite his success in BJJ, Chan has not completed high school, choosing to focus on his martial arts career with the support of his family.
Q & A
Who is Joseph Chan in the context of the transcript?
-Joseph Chan is a young and talented Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who has quickly gained recognition in the Jiu-Jitsu community. He is known for his impressive skills and is considered a rising star.
What was Joseph Chan's initial impression on the speaker when they first met?
-The speaker initially thought Joseph Chan was a regular tourist due to his bleach-blond hair and young age, but was very impressed with his skills after rolling with him.
How old was Joseph Chan when he started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Joseph Chan started training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when he was around 14 years old.
What influenced Joseph Chan to start training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Joseph Chan was influenced to start training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after watching MMA online and playing UFC 3, which sparked his interest in the sport.
What is Joseph Chan's approach to learning and training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Joseph Chan's approach to learning and training involves being self-directed, focusing on growth versus performance, and incorporating various instructionals and mental models into his training regimen.
What books has Joseph Chan found influential in his Jiu-Jitsu journey?
-Joseph Chan has found 'The Art of Learning' by Josh Waitzkin and 'The Will to Keep Winning' by Chu Da Wei to be influential in his Jiu-Jitsu journey.
How does Joseph Chan apply the concept of 'making smaller circles' in his training?
-Joseph Chan applies the concept of 'making smaller circles' by refining his techniques, making them less intuitive and more conscious, allowing him to make adjustments and think deeply about the techniques.
What is the significance of the term 'tinkering' in Joseph Chan's training philosophy?
-In Joseph Chan's training philosophy, 'tinkering' refers to experimenting and sandboxing techniques to understand them better, engage both parties in a learning exchange, and stimulate the mind for better understanding and growth.
How does Joseph Chan view the concept of losing in the context of competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Joseph Chan views losing as an investment in growth, suggesting that focusing on areas of weakness during training can lead to improvement, even if it means losing in the short term.
What is Joseph Chan's current educational status according to the transcript?
-Joseph Chan has mostly completed his A levels but has not finished them due to prioritizing his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu trials and training.
What are Joseph Chan's parents' opinions on his pursuit of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu over traditional education?
-Joseph Chan's mother is supportive of his pursuit of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, while his father, coming from a poor background and valuing education, initially wanted him to complete university.
What is Joseph Chan's long-term goal in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?
-Joseph Chan does not have a specific 10-year plan mapped out but intends to play it by year, focusing on his enjoyment of the sport and his performance in it.
Outlines
🤼♂️ The Rise of Jiu-Jitsu Prodigy Joseph Chan
The paragraph introduces Joseph Chan, a young and talented Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who made an impression on the narrator at the age of 17. Despite his youth, Chan's skills have garnered attention, and he is seen as a potential future world champion. The narrator expresses a desire to understand how Chan has achieved such rapid success in Jiu-Jitsu, asking about his training process and what sets him apart. Chan's journey began with an interest in striking, which he later replaced with a passion for Jiu-Jitsu after being introduced to it at 14. His dedication to the sport was further fueled by the time he spent in Taiwan, where he had the opportunity to train extensively. The paragraph also touches on Chan's self-directed learning approach, influenced by resources like podcasts and books, which have shaped his mindset and approach to skill development.
📚 Insights from 'The Art of Learning' and Training Philosophy
This paragraph delves into the influence of Josh Waitzkin's 'The Art of Learning' on Chan's training philosophy. It discusses the concepts of 'U form' and 'Le form,' which relate to the balance between conscious practice and intuitive performance. Chan interprets these ideas as 'growth versus performance,' emphasizing the importance of both in his training. He also talks about 'making smaller circles,' which refers to refining and consciously understanding techniques to improve and adapt them. The paragraph highlights Chan's approach to learning, which involves a mix of studying instructionals, self-directed practice, and live training to apply and refine his skills.
🤓 Balancing Innovation and Execution in Jiu-Jitsu
The third paragraph explores the dichotomy between innovation and execution in Jiu-Jitsu, drawing parallels to gaming strategies. Chan discusses the importance of both discovering new techniques and being able to perform them under pressure. He shares his training methods, which include drilling, live training, and tinkering with techniques to improve and adapt them. The paragraph also introduces the concept of 'investing in loss' from Josh Waitzkin's book, suggesting that embracing failure can be a valuable learning tool. Chan's approach to training involves a dynamic balance between learning new techniques and honing his ability to execute them effectively.
🎓 Prioritizing Jiu-Jitsu Over Traditional Education
In the final paragraph, Chan reflects on his decision to prioritize Jiu-Jitsu over completing his high school education. He discusses the support from his mother, who was initially concerned about his future but became more supportive as he gained recognition in the sport. His father, however, had different expectations, valuing traditional education more. Chan also shares his influences, including books and podcasts that have shaped his approach to learning and competition. He concludes with a non-committal view on his long-term goals, indicating a focus on the present and his enjoyment of the sport rather than a fixed 10-year plan.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Jiu-Jitsu
💡Competition
💡Training
💡Growth versus Performance
💡Innovation
💡Art of Learning
💡Mental Models
💡Drilling
💡Self-Directed Learning
💡Investing in Loss
💡Tinkering
Highlights
Joseph Chan's impressive Jiu-Jitsu skills caught attention at 17, despite being a newcomer.
Chan's rapid improvement in Jiu-Jitsu has made him a rising star in the sport.
At 19, Chan is considered a prodigy, with many watching his progress closely.
Chan's process for accelerating learning in Jiu-Jitsu is a topic of interest.
His approach to training involves a mix of self-direction and learning from coaches.
Chan's introduction to Jiu-Jitsu was through online MMA and video games like UFC 3.
He started training in Jiu-Jitsu at 14 and quickly developed a passion for it.
Chan's early training was influenced by podcasts and books on learning and mental models.
The book 'Art of Learning' by Josh Waitzkin had a significant impact on Chan's learning philosophy.
Chan's training philosophy involves a balance between growth and performance.
He emphasizes the importance of making techniques instinctive through repetition.
Chan also focuses on refining techniques by making smaller adjustments and experimenting.
He discusses the concept of 'tinkering' in training, similar to the idea of innovators versus honers in gaming.
Chan believes in investing in loss as a way to grow and improve in Jiu-Jitsu.
His approach to drilling involves a dialogue with training partners to enhance learning.
Chan's parents were initially concerned about his choice to focus on Jiu-Jitsu over traditional education.
His long-term goal is to reach the highest levels in Jiu-Jitsu, with a flexible plan that adapts to his evolving interests.
Transcripts
to establish any meaningful grips oh
look at this
movement probably don't know who this
guy is but Joseph Chan he first came to
my gym beat him in Texas as a
17-year-old with bleach blond hair I
thought he was another regular tourist
popping through I rolled with him I was
very very impressed with how good he was
pjj Prodigy upand Comer Joseph Chen of
the team Ali onlyi this guy Joseph Chan
still I believe only 19 years of age I
would say I'm a Jiu-Jitsu competitor and
currently training out of B team however
right now just traveling this guy is
like a mystery and yet a writing star in
the world of Jiu-Jitsu I want to talk to
you about this and about how you've
gotten so good so quickly all right
that's a question on everyone's mind y
some big names are saying you know
you've got to watch this guy give us an
honest answer enough with this
get out of here we want the truth like
what's your process look like and what
are the things that you do differently
that's allowed you to accelerate your
learning like that probably know me from
either who's number one let's see if you
can find the finish here P or Andrew
tet you have to pay close attention to
Joseph Jan because he could be a future
world
champion I mean I it's hard to I don't
think I really understand what happened
so far
yet finish
a it's still a little bit like it's not
registering
[Applause]
yet cuz everyone's always asking me
about your heritage and I'm like I got
no [ __ ] idea right so I want to get
to know your origin story you're kind of
threw us around in different places
you're obviously very young when did
Jiu-Jitsu find its way into your life
let me think I did striking for when I
was like 13 in school one of my
classmates you could beat the [ __ ] out
of Daman I'm [ __ ] you
up got my money on show but after that
once I turned 14 I decided okay me and
my friend we wanted to learn how to do
Jiu-Jitsu so we looked up our local
Jiu-Jitsu gym you just decided like you
want to go check out Jiu-Jitsu yeah cuz
we didn't really know how to do do
Jiu-Jitsu like striking it seemed pretty
easy but Jiu-Jitsu were like what the
[ __ ] but after doing Jiu-Jitsu for like
a couple months I was like I think I
like this more
so I ended up sticking with that so it
was really just from online watching MMA
thinking it's pretty cool and then
wanting to give it a shot yourself
basically yeah I'm like playing UFC 3
I'm like oh this m roll looks cool of
course the video game is now the
entrance into the sport itself that's
not that not that surprising but when Co
hit I was actually in Taiwan and I
wasn't able to go back to China school
was cancelled or at least postponed for
the time being being actually had a lot
of time to train as well as study so
that's when I started watching
instructionals listening to BJJ mental
models I started listening to this
podcast when I was an orange belt and so
that definitely introduced me to many
ideas that I wasn't necessarily familiar
with I read art of learning when I heard
it on this podcast for those who haven't
heard me prattle on about Josh weit skin
the relevant thing for us is he's a
black belt under Marcelo Garcia and he's
heavily involved in the creation of
marcelo's mg in action Academy and he's
also the author of the art of learning
which is an amazing resource for
sport-based skill development and
building a mindset conducive to learning
another book that I really like it's
again a gaming book it's it's called the
will to keep winning and he's like one
of the first pro gamers in the world of
Street Fighter and he he has a really
nice book that talks about a lot of
these ideas in depth and I think it's
very interesting cuz you could almost
like if you just replace a few words you
could you could almost think he's
talking about Jiu-Jitsu that's when I
started to become a little more um
self-directed in in the form of my
learning because I found that it just in
my mind it made sense that you don't
really want to you obviously you want to
uh learn from your coach or whoever is
there to instruct you but that can't be
your only source of information so I
just trained every day Vision nothing
else no distractions and yeah so that
was like the kind of like the first
taste of me being able to train like
fulltime out of all the gyms why did you
choose B team did you know someone at B
team or like how did that come about
well obviously like I was fan of the
like DDS so I was definitely going to go
to one of the gyms but also when I first
came here I just I wasn't sure which one
I was going to go to but then I ended up
living closer to B team and then I first
came here and I really enjoyed it I
think the thing that influenced me the
most to like my the way I thought about
oh I I actually should learn this
technique was getting it hit on me so
some of the [ __ ] Craig would do to me a
lot of the [ __ ] Ethan would do to me all
a lot of [ __ ] Daman and all of them
would do to me I'm like I might have
overlooked in the instructional like I'm
I might have tried playing around with
it but I've never had it been used that
effectively on me so I was like oh [ __ ]
okay I need to definitely work on this
and then I'm like so especially Craig
Craig did a lot of his power ride and
power bottom and power top stuff on me
and I was like okay this this works very
well I might need to take a more indepth
look at this what then would be you know
what's the what's the most recent
instructional that you have watched that
you think is the one you know that
people should be keeping an eye on or
are there any let's say any hidden gems
that you would recommend people check
out I'd say probably Gordon's half guard
passing John's uh New Wave passing um
Craig's power power ride and Nikki's
wrestle up were probably the most most
interesting to me as of late like I
think probably the first thing that led
to me thinking like this is first of all
like in the art of learning Josh wait
skin talks about two different ideas
that I think are quite opposing and that
kind of inspired me to take this idea
elsewhere and now I see it similarly in
other areas where he talks about U form
to Le form as well as U making smaller
circles and for me at least the way I
interpreted that information I saw them
as kind of contrasting methods to
approach training and eventually that
turned into like what I would call
growth versus performance and two
different ways to train I use form to Le
form from my understanding it's more of
a idea in which you're looking to take
explicit knowledge and make it more
implicit or at least bring in a lot more
intuition in which you don't have to
consciously think about what you're
doing but it's more of uh instinctive
reaction and I think for me at least in
the way I talk about growth versus
performance I would put formally form in
the performance area where you're
looking to take skills that you've been
consciously working on and bring them
into your subconscious so you're able to
do them especially in situations in
which there's greater pressure so in
competition you don't necessarily have
the time and have the like the reactions
in which you would have in the gym it's
going to be a lot more High paced it's
going to be a lot more aggressive and so
you can't really rely at least you can't
rely all the time on you actively
thinking out of these situations cuz a
lot of the situations that you're
presented with now are going to be far
more time sensitive than they were in
the gym cuz people are going to be
reacting super fast people are really
care about the outcome so very different
and so that's how I see it fit in you
practice the form until you don't need
the form anymore now the other item you
brought up also from Josh's book is he
talks about making smaller circles and
again a concept that was very formative
for me but I would want to hear in your
words how you've applied that and what
that concept means to you in practice at
least again in my in my interpretation
is that it's similar to taking what you
already have and looking to refine it
try to take a lot of the nuances and
then make them conscious so you're able
to think of different ways you can use
them so for example like the example you
were talking about earlier is like this
armar transition wherever it may be from
if you're able to do it
intuitively it's hard to make
adjustments to so if you want to change
something about it whether it's foot
placement or timing or weight
distribution Etc it's going to be hard
when it's stuck in like a very intuitive
state so for me uh making smaller
circles would be trying to make it less
intuitive more conscious and so you're
able to start to make these adjustments
also you're able to think more deeply
about this technique and
in ways where you can think about oh how
else can I use this in other areas is
there a different way I can do this is
there a different like sequentially can
I do it in a different order Etc on one
hand you're talking about the process of
making things so automatic you don't
even have to think about them but on the
other hand now you're talking about
deliberately thinking about things and
stripping away the non-essential and
kind of focusing on what's really
important and that's one of the things
about Jiu-Jitsu that I found really a
challenge to get my head around is that
there often are not any absolute answers
a lot of the time it's a polarity it's a
spectrum sometimes you do things one way
sometimes you do things the other way
and it's all just very context dependent
I watch this YouTube video by Corey
gaming in which they talked about
innovators versus H owners innovators
are players who want to figure out new
strategies in a new game in the purest
sense they want to keep finding
solutions to Unique problems well some
people want to practice or study things
in a game to get good magic Creator
Richard Garfield refers to these players
as honer in other words execution and
knowledge I think of them as two very
necessary parts to your approach to
Jiu-Jitsu cuz I find that if you only
have one like let's say you're only
looking to like improve technique in
terms of like finding new technique to
work on Etc however you don't take into
account this performance aspect then you
can know very many techniques and you
can understand all of them however when
you're put under pressure it's going to
be much more harder for you to use them
especially in a competitive situation as
opposed to I think there are other
people that only focus on performance in
which they only train hard it's always
Under Pressure it becomes a lot harder
for you to start incorporating new
techniques new strategies Etc so I view
them as both very necessary but you kind
of have to go between like an EB and a
flow of One Versus the other are you
drilling EX exactly what you see in the
instructionals or do you see the
instructionals and then you're like all
right in live training I'm going to try
this like what's your learning when when
there's not when there's not a set class
there's not set High Level Training
Partners like how are you and your group
of guys progressing or how are you
making sure that you're progressing at a
fast rate for example if it's something
I'm fairly competent in like let's say
it's like some sort of Deli hea sweep so
in that situation I wouldn't necessarily
drill the move so much as opposed to I
would more try to do specific rounds
because the movement isn't very is
fairly familiar and it's nothing too
hard to do just applying it yeah if
something's more difficult like so
sometimes um if I had trouble with some
leg entries or like the movement itself
is difficult then I'll isolate repping
the movement itself will you rep the
movement out like in if it's hard to do
if I can do it and in terms of
Performing the actual movement in itself
um is diff is difficult then I'll rep it
but if it's easy like if you do like
some half guard pass yeah the doing the
movement itself isn't difficult it's
knowing when to hit it and like okay the
timing it exactly I don't remember I
read a I read a book I I can't exactly
recall the name I think it's called
Mastery and I think I heard someone
recommend it once but it basically
talked about different types of
practitioners of various Arts whether
it's like a martial arts or something
else but I remember one being called
like uh basically talking about
tinkering and that definitely influenced
how I thought of uh Drilling and
tinkering I think I like that word a
fair bit in terms of trying to
experiment and kind of sandbox a lot of
these things where okay I'm doing like
today I was doing 50/50 ankle loog I was
trying to play around with it because
it's something I'm not very familiar
with trying to have a dialogue like
that's what I do when I teach classes I
have them talk so having a dialogue
between your partner how does this feel
if they're like they're not tapping I'm
like why didn't you tap to this I'm like
oh I think you could have done this
better etc etc it's like oh what how do
you feel when I do this movement like
having that dialogue I think really help
it's like okay oh I feel like I'm going
to look to move in this direction or
something along those lines feel like my
foot's going to explode then you can
drill and it's not just like I think one
of the things that suck about drilling
as well is okay if you're being drilled
on and they're just doing 100 knats this
is going to be terrible you're going to
get bored out of your mind but now
you're actually engaging both parties so
both people can actually learn from this
exchange by doing this and asking them
and giving them them these prompts it
also helps them gain a better
understanding of what they're doing and
also stimulates their mind as well
instead of them just sitting there
lifeless or just giving a very I say
Bland reaction they're able to actually
think about uh ideas for themselves and
then I find that you can once again like
you said like generate a Ty of feedback
loop this ties into another concept you
talked about earlier again which Josh
whiteskin talks about in his book and
that is investing in loss when you're
generally going into a competitive
situation of course your priority is to
win and that usually means you're
focusing on your aame right but when
you're trying to learn and you're trying
to grow you're actually probably going
to be focusing on the things you're not
good at and that's hard for people right
because you have to do things that you
suck at and no one wants to feel like
they suck so something that Josh weiten
talks about in his book is learning to
view losing not as something that's
taken away from you but rather as an
investment in your growth and by
changing your mindset in that way it
becomes more comfortable to go into
these losing situations and to play your
your b game for example where you're not
necessarily going to dominate it can be
hard for people to do that but when
you're in the gym and you're training
that's the mentality you want because
just going into the gym and doing
competition roles every single day
trying to win you're just going to wind
up practicing the same techniques over
and over again you're not going to be
trying to add new tools into your game
plan if you're afraid to lose and it can
be quite daunting especially I think I
think a lot of people like especi my
myself included I get in my head when I
compete and especially when I want to
try work something new I get very
nervous especially cuz there's this game
that I I associate as my a game and so
when I look to deviate from that I get a
lot more nervous than if I were to not
do that but I think it's also like
similar we talk about there's like a lot
of these things are very necessary in
order for you to improve yeah did you
finish High
School nice I I basically I have most of
my a levels completed but then the time
where the exams were happening I was
like oh the trials are happening at that
time I'm like let's do the trials I I
can finish them soon but right now it's
not the priority how uh how are your
parents with whatever not finish high
school once I started like like being
somewhat successful my mom my mom was
like fairly supportive she was just
concerned like okay I don't want you to
be like homeless and like just [ __ ]
everything up so once it was like clear
that that wasn't the case and I was like
fairly I was doing well first doing well
in China and then I was able to like be
fairly well known there and then compete
internationally after that she was like
quite good with it but then my dad was
just like he he's like I think cuz he he
came from like a fairly poor family and
he didn't get to do University because
he had to work he really wanted me to do
that over time I definitely have been
influenced a fair bit by like obviously
I read art of learning when I heard it
on this podcast and then I just did a
bit of thinking on that and then read
some other books and then watched some
YouTube videos and then slowly it kind
of I wouldn't say I took everything from
one place but it's kind of like a like a
mesh of like information that I found
now what what is the goal for you cuz I
know you did you did striking MMA before
but now you're just Jiu-Jitsu is the
goal to reach the highest levels in
Jiu-Jitsu or is it really try to get to
MMA what is what is the path what do you
what do you want to do what what's your
five 10 year plan um 10 years I don't
really have mapped out I'm honestly
going to play it by year in terms of see
how much I still enjoy doing this so
like I don't know [ __ ] me hopefully this
works
[Music]
out
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