Jay Gaulard

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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)

I've been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, otherwise known as BJJ, since April of 2008. I currently hold the rank of black belt. I was awarded this rank in March of 2020 at The Foundry in Maine, one of the oldest and most respected clubs in New England. I continue to train regularly and teach once a week at our school. In this blog category, you'll find commentary on events I've attended, my perspectives on milestones I've experienced, and some of my opinion that I've developed during the time I've trained. I also like writing about technique and theory and offer many posts on those subjects. Add to that a few fairly old videos of yours truly rolling and you've got yourself somewhat of a full-fledged BJJ scene. For the record, I've trained Jiu-Jitsu full time in Glastonbury, CT, St. Augistine, FL, and in Farmington, ME, along with visiting appearances around Palm Coast, FL, Middletown and Hartford, CT.

The Jiu-Jitsu Quarantine Has Been Lifted

Yes, that’s right. Here in the state of Maine, we may now hold our beloved Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes once again. There is one caveat though. We can’t touch one another. Which has thrown a monkey wrench into the entire thing, I’d say. Not that anyone in particular wants to touch anyone else, but still. What’s […]

BJJ Black Belt Promotion

I thought I’d take a moment to mark the occasion. I seem to have an issue with doing this, so I figured I’d hop on it to get it done. Okay, here it is – on March 10, 2020, I was promoted to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I know. For those of you who […]

Triangle Defense with Dean Lister

A few years ago, I visited a NAGA tournament to support a few classmates of mine. While I was there, I saw a kid, probably no older than seventeen or eighteen, competing in another area while wearing a bright red gi. I wasn’t sure what to make of the gi, but when I watched this […]

Takedowns, X-Guard & the Shoyoroll Gi

All right folks, I’ve got a few random thoughts this morning that I need to get out there. Just some areas I’ve been working on in my game as well as an update that has to do with a gi company I’ve never heard of, but that’s apparently quite popular with the rest of the […]

When We Forget Why We Train

I’ve been getting into Jiu-Jitsu blogging for a few months now and I have to tell you, it’s been better than I imagined it could be. It’s like a small club. I’ve found many well thought out websites authored by many well thought out individuals. I’ve subscribed to their blogs by email and many mornings […]

How To Get Better At Jiu-Jitsu

This is terrible. I’m going to write a post that people simply aren’t going to want to read. They aren’t going to want to read it because, unfortunately, it ends badly. I’ll even give you the punchline to the title of this post right here, so you can close this page if you want to. […]

Lasso Guard Training Pictures

Good news. I finally remembered to bring my camera in last night. I handed it to Christy and she took it from there. Took it so far that I have at least 200 really good pictures of training from last night. I edited them slightly – cropping and stuff like that and then saved them […]

Learn Checkers To Improve Your BJJ Game

This post is in the same vein as my previous one about chess. Not completely, but since we’re talking about board games here, there’s definitely a relationship. And trust me, there’s a point to this post, but it’s toward the end. Bear with me and read the entire thing – you may get something out […]

Jiu-Jitsu Theories, Principles and Techniques

My next few posts are going to do very much with more of an abstract view on Jiu-Jitsu. They won’t be typical “BJJ” in nature, so I thought I should really lay some groundwork before I spend all sorts of time writing. After all, if no one gets what I’m attempting to say, I’m pretty […]