I've had the idea for a book on American Jiu-Jitsu for a long time. A lot of people talk about "American Jiu-Jitsu" but I've yet to hear anyone that gets at the heart of what American Jiu-Jitsu really is, what's so ironic about it, and why the top American Jiu-Jitsu schools embody it and continue to turn out some of the country's - and the world's - greatest jiu-jitsu artists because of it.
It's also an incredible story about America, and the different types of Americans we've come to spend a lot of time talking about these days. I've always hesitated to talk about it because I've thought it was such an obviously fascinating topic that someone with more time and talent than I've got would scoop it up in a second.
Failing that, the project will probably have to wait until I retire in another 15-odd years. Nevertheless, a large part of my return to the mat in 2021 is predicated on taking advantage of what American Jiu-Jitsu - or more accurately, the American approach to Jiu-Jitsu - can do to elevate my performance on the mat.
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