How can famed public speaker and lecturer Dale Carnegie make you better at grappling? Simple: by making you more friendly.

Something I’ve noticed over years training at a single academy is that some people can come in, spend a month training, and be best friends with everyone. Other people train for years and never talk to anybody. Why does this matter? Because the first group have more potential training partners, more people willing to start from a certain position or drill a certain move or go light when they’re working on something specific. After class, they’ve got more people to try things out with, and people will want to help them fix the holes in their games. It’s not coincidence that some of the best BJJ players around are also very friendly, social people.

Now, maybe socialising doesn’t come naturally to you, but if that’s the case: fake it. At the very least, make an effort to remember everyone’s names: there are plenty of ways to do this, but the key one is to actually listen when they tell you them. Personally, I use the old link-their-face-to-something-memorable trick (there are two Kaspar The Friendly Ghosts at my academy), but do what works for you. People appreciate it when you can call them by name. Ask them how they’re doing between rolls: things like remembering an injury or congratulating them on a competition win are important. In Brazil, it’s fairly traditional to shake hands with everyone on the mat when you enter the academy: your academy probably doesn’t actually encourage this, but nobody is going to think you’re crazy for doing it.

Having friends at the academy is one of the best things you can do for your grappling. Apart from the technical skills it opens up, it’s one of the things that keeps you coming back, even when things seem tough and time is short. It’s worth spending time on.

Oh, you wanted something about omoplatas? Here’s an excellent piece from The Jiu Jitsu Lab: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8xwFhHDeas&feature=player_embedded