Making Money in Jiu-Jitsu: Reffing

Asked for an opportunity to referee for New Bread Grappling's next event January 17th in Charlotte. I won't get to referee AND compete that day, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to watch some Jiu-Jitsu and get paid to work on my referee'ing skills.

Come out to the event.



There's a magical place where simply loving Jiu-Jitsu means people pay you money. There's a magical place where being good at Jiu-Jitsu means people pay you money. There's a magical place where winning medals in what amounts to an amateur sport (unpaid largely) means people pay you money. How many brown belts can you name? I know Kit Dale. I knew the guys on the BJJ Kumite.
That's it. Are they they only good brown belts out there? No, of course not.
Promotion and sometimes self-promotion (ask Conor McGregor represents a necessary evil - IF YOU are complaining about money or notoriety).
If you pay your way through Jiu-Jitsu, congratulations. If you lament that people know Kit Dale but don't know you, what are you doing every day to become as high profile as him?
Hearing a black belt complain they are broke means they either do not run their business well or simply expect that being good at Jiu-Jitsu entitles them to being paid well.

Do they take constructive feedback on their lesson planning? Do they legitimately ask students who do not return why they left? Are they willing to change with the times?

At any rate, I'm grateful that as a purple belt I am finally able to make some money with organizations like US Grappling and now Newbreed to do something that ultimately also directly helps my competition game and understanding of the sport.

Guys want to post an instagram pic of a sponsor's product and get paid to travel.
It's ridiculous. Loyalty, just like business, is a two way street. Any time one side takes the other for granted someone may take their business or loyalty, as the case may be, elsewhere.

Interview Thursday: Lloyd Irvin & Jimmy Harbison

Decried. Respected. Doubted. Detracted. Called a Con man. An internet marketer. What have you, whatever.
The verdict may be out on Lloyd Ivin's character, but anyone who takes a guy you've never heard of (Keenan Cornelius) and coaches him through a system whereby he wins weight and absolute at the Euro, Pans, Worlds, Brasileiros (and weight at the World Pro) is a man that you should listen to as to how his mind works.And, as Lloyd reminds the audience in the interview, Harbison did a similar feat in the brown belt in 2011.

Internet marketing or not, there is truth and insight to be gained. 

Above all, Lloyd comments on not making fucking excuses.
Many of us are recreational players.
But some of us, those that are on the cusp of training semi-professionally could benefit from some of Lloyd's no nonsense talk.

If you train 2-3 days a week, the above is not for you. If vacation means getting drunk all day and chasing pussy wherever you are, then the above is not for you. However, if you are like me, and you fill your vacations training 2x a day, and plan trips around places you can train. If your vacation is built around a major tournament, then you should watch the above. It may give you the motivation to truly begin setting your lifestyle around grappling and competition or just being the fucking best that you can fucking be. This isn't for everyone. But, the approach to training, the deliberate training, the focus on weaknesses and aspects of your game requiring improvement, can help everyone who steps foot on the mat.