Hanna and Venla are BJJ black belts currently in Sweden from Finland. They are both active competitors with busy schedules. Hanna is in med school, and Venla is a school teacher. Venla won worlds as a black belt in 2014 the same year she was awarded the rank of black belt.

We talk about:

Training BJJ in Sweden

BJJ in Finland

Treating BJJ as a hobby

Venla competing in Finland at ADCC 2017

They always follow the same training routine and it is working

Training 5-7 times a week

Having simple and focused training

Doing lots of positional sparring

Dealing with injuries

Traveling and doing BJJ

They share some of their teaching methods

Teaching 5-10 seminars a year

Teaching training methods not just techniques during a seminar

Off the mat benefits they are getting from BJJ

Balancing work life with BJJ

Dealing with nerves before a competition

Avoiding mindless repetitions while training

Links:

Quote of the week: “I wasn’t naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; Everything I did in hokey I worked for, and that’s the way i’ll be as a coach” Wayne Gretzky

Article of the week: Things to Remember When Learning Jiu Jitsu

Catch us next week for another episode of The BjjBrick Podcast

Gary’s audio book this week is called Biceps, Triceps, Quadriceps, Pentacepts”

The BjjBrick Podcast is in iTunes, Stitcher radio, and Google Play Music for Andriod