Grapple.NinjaHow I Learned To Stop Planning And Love The Chaos
Introduction
Editors Note: I am stoked to share a special guest post by my former training partner and newly promoted black belt, Charles Batey. Charles has always been an exceptional training partner—unorthodox in his techniques but a fierce competitor who constantly challenged and humbled me during our sparring sessions. His dedication to jiu-jitsu is evident not only in his recent promotion to black belt, but also in his insightful and engaging blog (Jiu Jitsu Field Guides), which covers a wide range of topics with skill and depth.
In this post, Charles shares a snippet of his journey and the lessons he's learned along the way. His prowess on the mats shines through in both unpredictable and beautifully creative moments, always keeping you guessing. I admire and envy his unique approach to jiu-jitsu and life. Charles's philosophy is a refreshing reminder that sometimes, the best plan is to have no plan at all. I am sure you will find his insights as valuable as I have.
1
My elbow got popped in the very first match of my first-ever jiu jitsu competition.
I was a white belt, and up until that competition, perhaps 9 months into training, I had been injury free. Lots of pain, mind you, lots of getting smashed and pretzeled by larger, stronger, more skillful training partners, lots of bruised ribs and sore neck muscles, but this was my first “real” injury.
In spite of my rapidly stiffening right arm, I opted not to drop out of the round-robin style tournament and proceeded to lose the remaining four matches by submission. It was a woeful showing. I went home with a record of 0-5 and my first significant injury. I might have been justified in asking if jiu jitsu was really for me.
I don’t recall seriously considering quitting.....
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Who Really Won at McGregor vs Khabib 229
When Khabib Nurmagomedov put down Conor McGregor at UFC 229 with a fourth-round submission, he won himself another lightweight UFC title. But his post-match brawl with Dillon Danis will cost him a $2 million purse – and may cost the industry as a whole much more.
In a way, we saw this coming. After months of abuse by McGregor and his team outside the ring, including escalating verbal and even physical attacks, no one can blame Khabib for getting pissed. To be fair, I’m sure many of us have wanted to punch Dillon Danis for his unprofessional trash-talking antics. But fans are pissed at how things turned out, too, and they showed it by getting into fights, throwing bottles into the arena and hurtling their opinions around online after the match.
The lightweight champ's own father and coach Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov isn't happy, either. In an interview, Khabib’s father described himself as “categorically against fighting outside the octagon” and implied that his son lacks discipline. He also said he regards the incident “severely.” When he lost his temper, Khabib brought dishonor to the family he was trying to defend.