Tom DeBlass’s Advice for Young BJJ Athletes: “Competing Doesn’t Pay The Bills”
Apr 11, 2024BJJEE1 Admin
So you’re a young BJJ athlete who wants to make a name for himself in the sport? More importantly, you want to make a living off of Jiu-Jitsu – and you’re highly motivated to make...
Tom DeBlass Remembers The Time He Was Beaten By a Girl on the Wrestling Mats
Jan 12, 2024BJJEE
You very rarely see men and women compete in mixed gender divisions in BJJ competitions. This is for the simple reason that the difference in strength is tremendous. It can be argued that the average...
Tom DeBlass: “Jiu-Jitsu Is Hard, But It’s One Of The Most Rewarding Things In The World”
Dec 23, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
If you’ve been training for a while… Can you remember all of the people that started training, only to fall off the wagon along the way? Some of them trained with you for quite some time...
Tom DeBlass’s BJJ & Life Advice: “Do Not Run From Hardships”
Nov 25, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Tom DeBlass is one of the most respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athletes and coaches in the world. He’s done a lot to promote the sport in the best of ways… But all of that success...
Tom DeBlass Recounts the Time He Dealt with a Cocky Crossfiter at his BJJ Academy
Nov 08, 2023BJJEE
Crossfit is it’s own demanding sport, requiring a person to be well versed in strength, speed, and endurance in a countless variety of variations and events. A nice amount of grapplers are finding...
Tom DeBlass Steps Down From Being ADCC Trials Organizer
Oct 27, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Tom DeBlass has decided to step down from his role as the organizer for the ADCC East Coast Trials. Having been associated with ADCC for over a decade, DeBlass first made his mark by winning the ADCC...
Tom DeBlass Explains Jiu-Jitsu Knee Shield Basics
Oct 24, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
If you want to improve your Half Guard game, then learning how to play the Knee Shield game is going to be very important. But no, it isn’t as simple as “getting the knee between you and...
Tom DeBlass: “One Of The Worst Things Men Have Done Was Accept Dad Bod”
Oct 09, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Why do you train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? There is probably a multitude of factors involved… And one of them, probably, is staying/getting in shape. Which is a good thing – because...
Tom DeBlass Remembers Beast Training Partner: “For 2 Hours Straight, He Tapped Me Every 5 Minutes”
Sep 25, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
In Jiu-Jitsu, it doesn’t matter how tough or how good you are – because there is always someone better! And yes, that is true for world champions as well (or at least while they were on...
Tom DeBlass’ Advice For Smaller BJJ Practitioners: “If You Find Your Size A Problem…”
Sep 23, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Are you one of the smallest and (possibly) physically weakest practitioners on the mat, in your BJJ team? That’s alright… You just have to approach training a bit differently than others...
Tom DeBlass On Transgender Athletes Competing In ADCC Female Divisions: “Not Allowing It”
Sep 13, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Lots of commotion has been stirred up in the BJJ community, after a recent NAGA tournament allowed for a transgender athlete to compete in a female division. A part of the Jiu-Jitsu community is...
Tom DeBlass Gives Advice To 30+ Year-Old Men: “Age Isn’t An Excuse To Let Yourself Go”
Aug 27, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
If you’re around 25 years old or older, then you’re approaching a critical point in your development – both on and off the mats. Especially when it comes to your health. And...
Tom DeBlass: “Just Because You Got Tapped By A Lower Belt Doesn’t Mean You Don’t Deserve Your Belt”
Aug 13, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
So you’re a blue, purple, brown, or a black belt… And you got submitted by a lower belt? Maybe even by someone who is two belt ranks below yours? You shouldn’t be feeling down on...
Tom DeBlass: “Don’t Take Away The Joy You Should Be Having In Jiu-Jitsu”
Aug 10, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Are you feeling stressed out because you’re not improving as fast as you would like in Jiu-Jitsu? Is it making you unhappy? Well, even though that is normal, you should still seek to not lose...
Tom DeBlass’ Advice For Non-Competitors: “Don’t Hold Yourself At The Same Standards”
Aug 06, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Do you often find yourself comparing with those “monsters” on the mat… Who, even though they are on the same belt level as you are, can tap you out 9 times out of 10? (With that 1...
Garry Tonon Shares Great Advice Given By Tom DeBlass: “Who Gives A F*ck About You?”
Aug 06, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Today, Garry Tonon is one of the most elite submission grapplers in the world. But even he had to start somewhere. Even Tonon was, once upon a time, a purple belt teaching at his coach’s...
Tom DeBlass Promoted To 4th Degree BJJ Black Belt
Jul 18, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Tom DeBlass, one of the most recognized and respected personalities in the BJJ world, has been promoted to 4th degree BJJ black belt! The promotion took place just a few hours ago, by DeBlass’...
Tom DeBlass Praises Stem Cell Therapy: “My Shoulders Have Improved Dramatically”
Jul 13, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Tom DeBlass has had a ton of issues with his shoulders, from all the years of competing and training hard in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The pain was so severe that he wasn’t even able to sleep...
Tom DeBlass Reveals A Gracious Message He Received From Gordon Ryan (In 2017)
Jul 09, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Gordon Ryan is one of the most polarizing figures in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He embraces trash talk against his opponents and often times pushes it to the limit, frequently making the BJJ community...
Tom DeBlass Shows How To Defend Against The Kimura From Closed Guard
Jul 06, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
In Jiu-Jitsu the best defense is to not get there in the first place, but what happens if you’ve had the misfortune of making a mistake and got caught in a tight submission? Getting caught in a...
Tom DeBlass Shows An Easy Kneebar Setup From Butterfly Guard
May 08, 2023BJJEE1 Admin
Most of us get caught up using our half guard to try to control the weight and pressure our opponents are able to inflict on us, while we are desperately trying not to let them pass our guards. Last...
Rener Gracie & Tom DeBlass Debate the $46 Million BJJ Injury Case
Apr 15, 2023BJJEE
The Jack Greener case has been a hot topic in the jiu-jitsu community lately. Jack Greener, a former jiu-jitsu student, was awarded 46 million dollars in a court case for a training incident that...
Pain Into Power: The Evolution Of Tom DeBlass
Mar 24, 2023BJJEE
Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by...
Old Man BJJ Side Control Survival with Tom DeBlass
Mar 01, 2023BJJEE
Staying safe and escaping the side control is one of the biggest challenges any beginner faces and it’s paramount to mastering bjj or even just saying you have rudimentary skills. Coming out of...
