Ariana Zeppetelli becomes Savarese Jiu-Jitsu’s only female blackbelt!

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Ariana Zeppetelli becomes Savarese Jiu-Jitsu’s only female blackbelt!

Last night, Ariana Zeppetelli becomes Savarese Jiu-Jitsu’s (www.njbjj.com) only female blackbelt! It was special for many reasons. Along w teammate Leo Alves, they became the 1st 2 blackbelts that started from our kids program. They also became the 2 youngest people to ever receive a blackbelt from me. It was a honor to tie this belt around the waist of someone who has become like a daughter to me, but also the epitome of true Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, a blackbelt that excels in ALL areas of Jiu-Jitsu, passing, guard, near perfect fundamentals and self-defense. She is also one of the hardest working people I know. She gave a beautiful speech, talking about how she grew up in our Academy, and that many of the good things instilled in her she learned here. I cannot begin to express in words Ari how proud of I am of the woman you’ve become, how proud I am of you of the example you set for our newer students and the women in our Academy and the hurdles you overcame to get here. You have taken every brick thrown at you and built a house with it. Welcome to blackbelt. The journey now begins!


Ari shares her thoughts


Ariana had this to say on her IG page:
If you really want to do something you will find a way, if not you will find an excuse🤘ðŸ¼
Professor Sav,
I can make a list of accomplishments I achieved because of you and your teachings. I am strong, I am tough, and I am confident, and it’s all because of you. Thank you for treating me like the daughter you never asked for.
Professor Sean,
Thank you for being my first coach. You played a major part in building my foundation and because of you and Professor Sav’s teachings, I have the most basic but effective Jiu Jitsu style that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
Mom & Dad,
Thank you for raising me the way you did. You are my backbone and no matter what happens, I know you two are always behind me.
Kayla, Theresa, & Lawrence,
This belt is all of ours. Never discount your accomplishments. I might be the oldest but you three are my inspiration. I promise to be the best role model I can be.
To all my girls,
You are a lot stronger than you think. Enjoy your journeys and know that I will be right beside you every step of the way.
To all my teammates,
Thank you for bringing out the best version of me. Without you, I wouldn’t be here and always remember;
1. It’s okay to take a break as long as you don’t make it a habit.
2. Embrace that your teammates are going to hold you accountable and call you out when you’re slacking off. When you’re feeling lazy, lean on them to motivate you.
3. Listen to Professor Sav, especially when he says that all you have to do is show up and give it your all. The goal is to get 1% better everyday not to be perfect.

🖤 Coach Ariana

Kearny resident becomes Jiu-Jitsu schools youngest blackbelt ever

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Kearny resident becomes Jiu-Jitsu schools youngest blackbelt ever

Kearny resident becomes Jiu-Jitsu schools youngest blackbelt ever! What an awesome night last night at Savarese Jiu-Jitsu in Lyndhurst as last night, Kearny resident Leo Alves earned his Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt. It was special for many reasons, along with teammate Ariana Zeppetelli, they became the first 2 blackbelts that started in our kids program. They also became the two youngest black belts ever in our Academy. This one got emotional for me because I watched Leo grow up in the Academy and Leo had to overcome many pitfalls and obstacles to be where he is today. To say this belt was earned is an understatement. Life gave Leo thousands of reasons to quit and never once did he even think about it! For that alone, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a person. Leo, I am so proud of the amazing young man you’ve become, and more importantly the road you’ve climbed with class and the obstacles that you’ve obliterated along the way. Looking forward to see where your journey goes from here but know I have your back no matter what. Welcome to blackbelt, journey now begins.
Alves had this to say on his IG page “Professor @savaresebjj and I throughout the years. Professor Sav is one of the most respectable men I have met, he is someone who truly practices what he preaches, I have been training under his watchful eye for the last 10 years, I’ve watched him deal with major problems in his life on and off the mats and come out the other end with nothing but growth and a better version of himself, truly leading by example, he showed me what it takes to be someone others can look up to and rely on. I’m super proud to be his student and now his BLACKBELT. Thank you Professor Sav!”

First contact in Jiu-Jitsu

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First contact in Jiu-Jitsu

First contact in Jiu-Jitsu is important. Establishing a point of first contact with your partner starts the ball rolling is vital. When you face a swirl of pummelling legs and the snapping grips of an aggressive partner, it can be intimidating. This is one of the places where a clear first step becomes important. We often favor advancing on a partner “behind the handsâ€, much the way that a boxer will stay behind the jab, using it to gauge distance and create angle. The purpose of these initial grips isn’t always control. In fact it can be hard to gain much control over someone’s powerful legs with your arms. Instead it’s the chain’s first link, a connection that allows you to feel where their movement is and what its quality is like – frantic, effortful, smooth, erratic. After you’ve made this first contact you have your first data point. From there you can begin to unfurl your strategy accordingly. As in other endeavors you face, crossing the threshold into the unknown can be the most difficult step. But many of the imaginary concerns you have evaporate once you’re actually engaged, because you’re occupied with action rather than anxiety.

Training vs fighting in Jiu-Jitsu

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Training vs fighting in Jiu-Jitsu

Training vs fighting In Jiu-Jitsu is a subject debated often. When I used to train with my friend John Danaher, I was lucky enough to witness many training camps of UFC champions Georges St-Pierre and Chris Weidman. One of my favorite aspects of watching them train in his classes they always used to pull guard at the onset of sparring and work bottom position, this despite the fact they they could easily take down everyone in the room if they chose to. They recognized that the value of training their weakest areas in submission grappling, so they expose themselves to that as much as possible in the time they have. They work on their submission grappling skills, even though that will make their work much harder, they will work their takedown training with specialists in that area at another location better suited to that skill. This willingness to come into a room and trade skills with specialists is what keeps them learning and improving over time. And yes, both of them were able to hang and improve in one of the toughest training rooms in the USA against guys that specialize in submission skills. They recognized the need for an MMA athlete to see the big picture of skill enhancement for their sport overall as far more important than winning anonymous battles in training rooms by avoiding the skills utilized there and stalling away the training time. They come to gain skills rather than to learn to avoid them. Here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), we encourage everyone to focus on DEVELOPMENT, not trying to “win rounds”. This mindset ill help you go further in your BJJ journey.

The improvement triad in BJJ

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The improvement triad in BJJ

The improvement triad in BJJ is as follows..Everyone wants to “get betterâ€, but how do you know where you should focus your daily training? While you can (and should) rely on advice and suggestions from teachers, you also need to understand what YOU need in order to put their good advice into practice. The three areas to focus on are what’s important, what you don’t currently do very well, and what you’re capable of doing a lot better if you invested effort and time. Your priority is at the intersection of these three concerns. Eliminate what’s not important, what you can’t get better at (for whatever reason) and what you’re already good at. What’s left is where your best work will be done. Following the curriculum of your Academy is very important, especially at lower belts. Your teacher/professor knows you better than any video that you will see on the internet so ask questions and ask them often. Any good Academy will have a clear curriculum to follow. here at savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), your whole 1st year is right on the wall for you. Then, what can YOU do to get better? Are you getting the proper sleep? eating healthy? Training enough? That will enable you to succeed at the third part of the triad.

In BJJ, Time always catches up

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In BJJ, Time always catches up

In BJJ, time always catches up. Furthermore, Jiu-Jitsu happens in real time, so there are always new decisions to be made. We prefer to make proactive choices wherever we can, but with resistance in the mix, you also have to become comfortable with reactive choices (where you don’t initiate the action but must still work to advance your plan anyway). Proactive or reactive, *bad* decisions happen when you’re in a rush and can’t process information fast enough. You miss an important part of the signal and head off in the wrong direction. This happens in guard-passing, when the passer can change directions faster and with greater ease than the guard player and clears the legs as a result. Panic also inhibits good decisions, leading to a freak out and a cascade of emergency choices that are less than optimal. Bad decisions also happen when the effects of your choices aren’t evident right away – you’re swayed by short-term comfort and ignore long-term repercussions. Exploding out of the mount works until it doesn’t. Many bad decisions work out OK in the short run because you can be short-term successful…but time often changes changes this. To work on making better long-term decisions requires elevating the value of the long run. It can be worthwhile to sacrifice immediate gratification, to look closely at the gap you’re covering up and the mistakes you make. With attention, you can start this process where you are and learn do it regardless of how much noise there might be around instant results.

Repetition and review are keys to BJJ

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Repetition and review are keys to BJJ

Repetition and review are keys to BJJ. But repetition and review are more than just memorization learning. There’s a brain-body connection that forms through repeated exposure over months and years. Regardless of your level or experience, if you look you’ll see that there are a dozen elements of what you’re doing right now that would benefit from a slow review. Techniques of course, but also concepts (inside position and control, kneeline theory) and strategy (stand to pass the closed guard, seek back exposure). These elements are things we use everyday at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), and they’re all subject to a subtle collapse, a dropping away that’s accelerated (for most people) by pressure and stress. As humans, we all seem to be wired for change, to perpetually be on the lookout for something new. This is why it can feel like such a waste of time to do what appears to be the same thing over again, like repainting your house the same color it was before. Going through the whole process is a lot of effort just for maintenance. But the alternative, NOT repainting, doesn’t keep your house just as it was. Time and stress, water and rust all have their way with it and before long what was long what was new and fresh is dull and faded. It may all seem unfair when what we want NOW is something NEW. Time and experience have shown, however, that what’s important needs tending, whether it’s painting a house, sharpening a knife or honing your skills on the mat.

The beginning of your journey in BJJ

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The beginning of your journey in BJJ

At the beginning of your journey in BJJ, there are a variety of problems that beginner Jiu-Jitsu students face. When people begin the study of Jiu-Jitsu, the single biggest problem that beginning Jiu-Jitsu students face is they often see it as a matter of learning a sufficient number of moves in sufficient detail to be able to hold their own on the mat with their classmates. Certainly there is a lot of truth to this. When coaching however, I see the main problem a little differently. The human body has some fundamental and very important asymmetries. An obvious example is the left side/right side asymmetry. People are either right handed or left handed and will be stronger and more coordinated on their strong side. Another extremely important asymmetry is that between upper body and lower body strength and coordination. Almost everyone is much stronger in the lower body than upper body (NJ males may be the outlier here…lol). If I asked you to walk several times across the Academy, you could do this easily and with little effort. If I asked you to walk several lengths of the Academy on your hands in a handstand, even if you had the balance skills to do so, it would be a strenuous and tiring workout. If I asked you to sign your name on paper with your hand, you would do so easily. If I asked you to sign your name holding the pen in your toes it would be a real struggle. People are massively stronger and less coordinated in the lower half of the body than the upper body. This has clear ramifications for BJJ. We must learn to grapple predominantly with our lower body (legs). This means we have to overcome the lack of lower body coordination that most of us bring into the art. As a beginner, you must put your focus on development of coordination in your lower body and legs so that you can learn to use your legs so you can use the superior strength of your lower body for submissions and sweeps. You must overcome the natural beginners tendency to grapple with the upper body and learn to let your legs do most of the work. Every time you drill moves, be mindful of letting your legs do the majority of the work involved. There is no shortcut here. It will take time to learn this but let me assure you that  forming a strong connection of your mind to your legs will be the single biggest deciding factor of your progress in Jiu-Jitsu and how quickly.

Every grip counts in BJJ

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Every grip counts in BJJ

Every grip counts in BJJ. This is an important thing to learn on your BJJ journey. At Savarese BJJ Academy (northnjbjj.com), we preach that it starts before you even make contact. The moment you slap hands in a competitive match, it’s on. Even before you make contact, you should be thinking of way to find an advantage. Too often, we just lackadaisically reach for grips without thinking and take a “let’s see what happens†approach. This is fine for daily training with friends, but make sure that kind of thinking does not permeate into your actions in a more competitive setting, for it will quickly expose you to problems. We always preach, you “will fight how you train”. So if you are constantly training half speed, odds are, when you need to go full speed, your aren’t ready to. Even as you approach an opponent you should be looking for advantage and positioning yourself accordingly. As you approach, you should be formulating a plan and positioning yourself to put in in motion to do it. If you cannot see an opening, this is the time for minor delaying tactics until you do formulate a plan or see an opening develop. Remember always, the first contact you usually have with your opponent or training partner is VISUAL CONTACT. it’s imprtant to use that to begin the battle for advantage from the outset.

Curious or serious learner in BJJ?

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Curious or serious learner in BJJ?

Are you a  curious or serious leaner in BJJ?  This is one of the first question we ask potential students when they are joining our Savarese BJJ Academy Academy (www.njbjj.com). The curious vs. serious learner question has been a round for a very long time in BJJ schools/academies. It often breaks down to time for many. Time is an extremely valuable expenditure. Of all the things we can find and make and get, time isn’t one of them. That’s why you have to differentiate between being a casual learner and serious learner. Once you understand this as a choice, all around you you’ll see opportunities to deepen your knowledge and transition from being a vague generalist to an intensive specialist. Commitment is a powerful amplifier for this process. It can take a weak signal and make it stronger. Like the best moves in Jiu-Jitsu, commitment is a leverage point which gets your time working harder than it otherwise might. You make an uncommon investment when you put yourself completely behind an effort or an idea and when you’re all in, you get a significant return. Choose to go from casual to serious and make your time worth more. And your BJJ better.