For Grapplers 40 and Over

[BJJPerformance]

For BJJ students 40 and older (or at least getting close to 40)...

Several months back I put together this website to share training tips, strategies, and technique specifically with the "40 plus BJJ student" in mind:

40 Plus BJJ Success

It's totally free to join.

This project is a result of my own training experiences and years of coaching BJJ students in their late 30s - 60s to success in the gym and in regional and international competition.

It has been working out better than I'd ever hoped... with students and instructors from beginning white belts to experienced black belts using the material to get real results on the mat, or sharing it with their own students.

Some recent reviews:
"This is the best video series I have ever purchased. I'm a 42 yo brown, closing in on black, and this series has really helped to fill on some holes in my game. Since I purchased this series, several folks have commented on how my game has been improving. I've always been a fan of SBG material, but the manner in which this series was organized, the explanations, the principles focus, etc. are simply outstanding."
-Stephan H.

"Stephen: Great job at the NAGA, I'm happy to say at my dojo I'm the oldest roller, after practicing your techniques, I am tapping guy's very quickly, so now I let them tap me out once in a while so they will keep rolling with me! Your lessons have helped my game more than anything else I've practiced in the last 4 years... Look forward to your e-mails every day !! THANK YOU."
-Garyj

"Your giving me exactly what I need at 42 yrs old. I am a coach and a Big SBG fan. Thank you very much for the focussed material. I'm a nogi guy and a Big fan of principles and concepts. This will make me a better coach as well. Thank you so much for that! I'm now a fan of yours so thanks for showing up in my mailbox."
-Devin

"For what it's worth, the '40+' concepts help me take gold at this Summer's Chicago Open. Defining the routes and the other advice was key. As important, it's nice that I can hang better and longer with the young guns in my BJJ academy. I think they are starting to wonder what the old guy has been up to! Thanks again."
-Marcelo

"Keep up the great work! I am enjoying the material."
-Adam, BJJ Black Belt


You can subscribe for the email lessons here: 40 Plus BJJ Success

Steve Whittier
BJJ Black Belt

[BJJPerformance]

P.S. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

[2groggy]

Steve,

I've been following your videos for a month or two. Thanks for sharing the concepts.

[jnp]

Steve Whittier
BJJ Black Belt

Mr. Whittier,

My name is John Palmer. I am a brown belt under Carlos Machado black belt William Vandry. I am the moderator of this forum. How do you do sir?

While I respect your rank, I also have to look out for the welfare of this site. The site has no problem with you promoting your website, but if you choose to do so, we ask a few things in return. The first is that you copy/paste the latest entry in your website to give members here an idea of what you're promoting. The second is that you not include common sales tactics like testimonials.

Thank you for posting.

John

[doofaloofa]

So what are the main differences for over 40's?

Personally speaking I have more stamina and have more strength than the young fellas in our (judo) club.
What ways can I change my training to be more age specific?

[patfromlogan]

Well his bio looks pretty good!

Dear Steve, please check out the Throwdown and Rupture BJJ and Advanced Grappling Forum areas of this site. Your input would be great (that said, it is normal here to introduce oneself in Newbietown).

*edit*

Oh, my bad, I didn't realise we are IN the Grappling forum. It's moderated pretty tightly and I just assumed an ad/promo post wouldn't be here, or would have been tossed out. I guess you got enough cred to have your post kept up.

I mean look around and contribute to the forums as you see fit. Starting posting with an advertisement is a little odd.

Steve Whittier

• Instructor/Coach in SBGI Mixed Martial Arts (under Matt Thornton, SBG International)
• Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (under Roberto Maia, Boston BJJ/Gracie Barra USA)
• Kru in Sityodtong Muay Thai (under Mark Dellagrotte, Sityodtong USA)
• Instructor in Jeet Kune Do; Muay Thai; Filipino martial arts (under Richard Bustillo, IMB Academy)
• Black Belt/Instructor in Jeet Kune Do; Muay Thai; Eskrima (under Bobby Giordano, American Martial Arts Center)
• 2nd-Degree Black Belt in Eskrima (under Cacoy Canete, Doce Pares Eskrima)
• Black Belt in Shotokan karate (under Lou Demas, Wheaton College Taisodokan)
• Certified Trainer – Burn With Kearns Core Fitness & MMA Conditioning
Education & Background
Stephen Whittier is a nationally recognized martial arts instructor and performance coach. His extensive resumé as an educator spans the fields of martial arts, fitness, and academia. At Wheaton Collge in Massachusetts, Whittier earned top honors during his undergraduate years, graduating Summa cum Laude as a Wheaton Scholar and member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then attended graduate school with a full ride at Tufts University, where taught for over four years after earning his M.A. degree.

Along with being a professional educator, he has pursued his passion for the martial arts for nearly two decades. In addition to holding a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the title Kru (honorific title for teacher) in Muay Thai, his background includes black belts in karate and Filipino Kali/Eskrima, instructor certifications in Jeet Kune Do, and personal fitness training experience. He has also trained local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel.

Coach Whittier’s depth of expertise has come as a result of continued research and inquiry into the most efficient, functional approaches to martial arts. This evolution led him from studying more traditional arts to training in and teaching “mixed martial arts” – long before the term MMA became well known and the activity became a popular sport. This journey traversed the “all ranges” approach of Jeet Kune Do and alive striking arts like Muay Thai and boxing to training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Vale Tudo (the Brazilian predecessor of modern mixed martial arts).

Instructor / Trainer Experience
While teaching kickboxing and Jeet Kune Do at the American Martial Arts Center, Whittier formally began his journey learning the beautiful and highly effective art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Training at Boston Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy under Roberto Maia, he eventually assisted teaching classes, including assistant instructor (along with competition team captain, John Frankl) of the Vale Tudo program. For years, Whittier was also a close training partner of elite BJJ competitor and UFC Lightweight Contender, Kenny Florian, and played an active role in preparing Kenny for many of UFC fights.

In addition, he has trained directly under Kru Mark DellaGrotte of the famed Sityodtong Muay Thai / MMA academy since early 2003, and is Southern Massachusetts’ most senior trainer in Muay Thai. As part of his regular work with Kru Mark the Sityodtong team, he has served as a sparring partner for numerous professional mixed martial arts competitors, including Stephan Bonnar, Patrick Cote, Tim Boetsch, Rory Singer, and Sam Hogar.

Along with teaching at Nexus, Coach Whittier has worked as a trainer for a number of professional athletes as well, including his student, Brazilian Hairdar Superfight Champion, Cesar Barros; Former Elite XC Middleweight Champ, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, whom he coached leading up to Ninja’s dominant win over Tony Bonnello in 2008; and recently, UFC vet Spencer Fisher (serving as Spencer’s BJJ coach during his training camp at Sityodtong). Barros has also represented Nexus as a trainer for World Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (in Shogun’s first match with Lyoto Machida in 2009), BJJ Champion & MMA competitor Roderigo Damm, and others.

National Reputation, Local Focus
Currently, Whittier is one of only a select number of Coaches with top martial arts coaching organization, SBG International, and in 2006 became SBGI’s East Coast Regional Director. Along with teaching and managing Nexus full-time, he continues to train and network via his associations with other instructors in SBGI, Sityodtong, the Northeast BJJ Association, and Kevin Kearns (elite fitness trainer and founder of the Burn With Kearns core fitness & mma conditioning program).

Coach Whittier has conducted seminars across the country, from New Hampshire to Oregon, has been featured in several instructional video series, and is a regular technical training contributor for Ultimate MMA, a leading industry publication.

Locally, he focuses on the continued development of Nexus Martial Arts & Fitness as a positive force within the community. In addition to working with area schools developing anti-bullying programs and after school programs, Nexus is involved with various scholarship and fundraising programs. Whittier has also worked with local and state law enforcement in field specific self-defense and defensive tactics.

[NexusMA]

Hi John, sorry about the testimonials, didn't realize that was a no-no. I didn't see an edit function but if there is let me know and I can take them down. They're just there to let people know the series is for real (some always inevitably writes something like "dodgy website" without knowing what they're talking about). I wasn't sure what you meant by latest entry on the website though.

Just to address a couple things... I used to be very active on forums years ago, and used to post here as well sometimes, just could not find my old login. I wrote a lot in particular back in the early-to-mid 2000's when we in SBG were actively engaged in addressing misconceptions about aliveness, and I believe a lot of people on this forum are familiar with those. Now I work about 70 or 80 hours a week so I'm far less active.

Also, strictly speaking the series is not just for people 40 and over (the principles and strategies are valid for grapplers of any level or age), but what I share is of particular importance for bjj students looking to be successful as they get older so I try to speak to their needs. Staying well conditioned is only a part of it, and definitely not the most important aspect I emphasize.

I realized it's a promo post, but I figured there would be some people here who would find the info valuable as they have on other forums, and knew that there would be some detractors (there always are). I'm completely cool with that. Frankly the success of the series speaks for itself, as there are currently thousands of people getting a lot of value from the strategies, concepts and videos, including quite a lot of brown and black belts.

What is working for my own team is working for others as well, in both regular training and tournaments. My team just took first overall at the NAGA Northeast Championships with fewer than 10 adults competing. Three of my students who won double golds / title belts in Gi and No Gi were "older" grapplers in their later 30s to 40s, and these same guys have been winning expert divisions as blue belts or brand new purples in NAGA and Grapplers Quest, plus winning or at least medaling at IBJJF comps in both at their weight classes and in the absolute divisions.

Doofaloofa, an example of things I go over: how to create technical strategies from each BJJ position that minimize the risk of common grappling injuries, foster longevity, and allow you to use less energy; how to create the most efficient "gameplan" and personal style for yourself in the shortest possible time; how to maximize training time (the older we get the more work and family responsibilities we tend to have, which can affect mat time); the mental game and how to stay calm yet assertive under pressure, etc. It starts with a couple welcome emails, then talks about a case study of one of my athletes, then gets into the fundamental principles for the first couple weeks. After that, I get much more into video instruction and training tips to illustrate the tactics.

Thanks,

Steve Whittier

[jnp]

Hi Steve. I notice that you're posting from two accounts. I read your explanation and I understand what happened.

Could you do me a favor and pick the account you prefer? It's against the terms of service here to have more than one account.

Thanks for your earlier response.

[Omega Supreme]

I just signed up. Didn't like it. Already quit.

[Matt Thornton]

First a disclaimer, I've known Steve for a long time and he is a friend.

That stated, I did put my email address into his mailing list because I wanted to see the content he was distributing. Many of the emails contain video links, and the videos are all rock solid BJJ fundamentals. Even after twenty years of training BJJ I still find myself being reminded of key points regarding fundamentals that I sometimes miss when teaching. So it's been valuable for me.