Greg Souders, a strong advocate for the CLA approach in BJJ coaching, recently voiced his concerns on The Charles Eoghan Experience podcast.
His main critique? That too many coaches are simply mimicking the style and language of John Danaher and Gordon Ryan without fully understanding or adapting it.
Here is what he had to say on the topic:
The big issue in the jiu-jitsu community right now is literally everyone’s a copy of John Danaher and Gordon Ryan.
If you go on YouTube or Instagram and look at all the way techniques are being described, it’s pure John Danaher’s language and his ideas, and people are just regurgitating the step-by-step stuff they’re being taught by somebody else.
Souders believes this trend of duplication stifles creativity and limits the development of truly effective and personalized coaching styles.
Instead of encouraging unique perspectives or exploring new ways to teach the sport, many are sticking to a structure built around another coach’s framework.
He warned that merely copying Danaher’s system – without truly digesting it or tailoring it to one’s students – undermines the broader growth of the art.
And, while Souders acknowledges the brilliance of Danaher’s contributions, he challenges instructors to explore their own voice rather than rely solely on someone else’s blueprint.
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