Redcat Academy

03/10/2026

Hello everyone,
With certain behaviours, in certain schools, going on in the BJJ community, I feel it’s worth re-iterating that the mat environment has changed in recent times.
There have always been women on the mat. But, decades ago, it was one or two women per mat - they were a rarity (kudos to those brave pioneers) - but nowadays, those numbers have increased dramatically - and the mat is far better for it, in my view. But, some men, need to adjust their behaviour accordingly.

First and foremost though - let’s be super clear: All women on the mat should not only ‘BE safe’ , they should be made to ‘FEEL safe’. We shouldn’t need to say this - but we’ve seen some well-known schools, fall apart, from breaches of this code of conduct in recent years. Let’s make a few things clear …

We are fortunate that women are coming to Jiu Jitsu - we want to encourage more of it, but some people need to realise that the training space is something of a sacred space. Men (and women) need to realise that they need to leave inappropriate innuendo outside of the training environment. Women are there to train, learn and grow - they don’t need exposure to unwanted advances, sexual comments, or the pressure of having to laugh off behaviour that makes them uncomfortable. It’s on all of us, and especially those who lead the room, to uphold that standard, so that no woman has to choose between speaking up and feeling welcome on the mat. Most men understand this - if they are unclear, perhaps they should simply ask would they like their sister or daughter to be exposed to inappropriate language and behaviour. It’s not rocket science.

01/10/2026

An astoundingly strange coincidence …

For BJJ history buffs - take a look at this little doco on George Gracie. He was somewhat rebellious in that he sought out training methods - boxing - wrestling - etc - to improve and support his Jiu Jitsu. He took on may challengers and played a pivotal role in the development of early Jiu Jitsu in Rio. And his nickname - something I didn’t know until very recently - THE REDCAT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9JYksZy4Xg

26/09/2026

The way to great things - is often difficult. And so, most people, don’t do many great things. The key though - is to DECIDE. And DECIDE hard! DECIDE and then take the steps. Earning a Blue Belt in Jiu Jitsu - is a great thing. It’s great because it sets you apart from almost everyone in the world. Real, testable and useable skills come with the Blue Belt. It’s something, really, really worth pursuing.

23/09/2026

Teaching or coaching may be a vocation but it is also a privilege. Sure, good teachers strain to to render the invisible - visible; to transmute ignorance into understanding - but they also should be aware that others have placed themselves (usually voluntarily) into their care - and with this understanding, there comes a certain responsibility. When people trade their (infinitely valuable) time, for what a teacher or coach has to offer, it is vital (IMO) that everyone fully understands the deal being entered into. As a professional teacher myself - I see it as a real privilege to be able to assist others on their way - I am deeply honoured that people feel what I have to offer is worthy of their time and attention. It is important, in my view, that teachers spend a lot of time and effort in the improvement of their craft - students deserve nothing less.
I want my students to learn how to learn and to learn how to think ... only then will I truly make some small contribution to the continued evolution of the art/science of Jiu Jitsu. Thusly equipped, my students are much, much more likely to make their own wonderful and meaningful contributions to the art and even more importantly, perhaps live better, more fruitful , more productive and more interesting lives. - JBW

22/09/2026

🥋 BE PART OF BJJ HISTORY! 🥋

If you’ve ever thought about competing at The Gathering, this is your year—because this will be our final one!

The Gathering is one of the friendliest and most supportive competitions you’ll ever experience. One of the best parts is seeing so many Redcat students turn up to compete, encourage their teammates and cheer each other on. ❤️

We would love to see as many of our Redcat kids and adults as possible take part and make our last Gathering one to remember!

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— Melissa 🥰

https://smoothcomp.com/en/event/32045?fbclid=IwY2xjawUe9BlwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMXNzbU95R3hFdldqdUZQRFpzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeOcFZ-cg0C5A5j_dWJyebu6VX3AqpHUBgCDY-eLw0dadD2N-GHmMjx93DpCg_aem_QYXof_KiHYfUWPvuQw8ReA

COMPETITION FOR WILL-MACHADO ASSOCIATES ONLY. THIS IS THE ANNUAL GET-TOGETHER FOR ALL WILL / MACHADO BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU MEMBERS; A SINGULAR OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE, TRAIN TOGETHER AND SHARE THE MAT WITH PROFESSOR RIGAN MACHADO. THIS YEAR ADULTS WILL BE A ROUND ROBIN FORMAT INSTEAD OF ELIMINATION NOT...

20/09/2026

As children, we effortlessly learned our native language. Whilst we were doing that, we also formed a set of emotional responses - we learned how to respond to certain things - we did it all without realising it.
But now, as adults, if we have to learn a new language - how much effort might that task require? Lots. And with regard to our emotional responses to things and situations - imagine how much effort might be required to modify those - should we need to do so? A challenging task.
Unlearning, as it were, seems to be a very very challenging task. I have had some quite competent martial artists come to spend time to train with me over the decades - and I can assure you that they are often more difficult to teach than those who are completely untrained. Unlearning things - can be very challenging.

20/09/2026

How to become a Super-learner

Learning, skill acquisition, like anything is something that we can become better at.
We have lovely Taiwanese girl training with us at the moment - she’s very sad as her visa is expiring next month and she has to return to Taiwan. She is lamenting that she won’t get the same level of technical instruction there … a story I have heard a hundred times.
I’ve had a talk with her - and tried my best explain why she needs to up-skill her learning capabilities. That’s something she can control. If she ups her game in that area - then even with a sub-standard or ordinary instructor, she can make good gains.
Here are a few basics - to become a better learner:
- Place yourself in the right spot on the mat, close to the teacher where he or she can see you, and you can see everything becoming explained. Don’t be anonymous!
- Use your eyes. Watch what the teacher does, as much as listening to what they say. And as they work their way through the ‘process’ - make your own simple notes in your mind. Eg: Underhook, Lift, Crush, Pivot, etc. Become good at describing an action with a single word.
- Jot down those same words later - on a note - again, ideally using a series of single words rather than sentences. Create a ‘story’ in your mind.
- Ask questions - get clarification on things rather than reflexively just ’nodding your head’.
- Try the thing you just learned - as soon as you can in life rolling. One attempt in live rolling is worth more than a dozen in drilling. To pull something out of your mind in live rolling, you are building your understanding of context.
- Be a great partner to others. If you’re the one everyone’s running toward when it’s time to train, then you’re good to go. If you’re the one that no-one wants to train with - it’s likely that the problem lies with you. We’re there to raise each other up, after all.
- String things together. As you learn new things, try to connect them to things you already know and build ’stories’. Human beings are wired to remember stories.

These are just a few things that my Taiwanese student can improve on to become a better learner. Taking self-responsibility for our own learning is a transportable life-skill that we can apply to many aspects of our lives. I strive, every night, to make my students better, more capable learners.

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20/09/2026

Rapid Skill Acquisition …

The Redcat way of imparting skills to others, is precise, measured, and has proven to afford extraordinarily good results in a short period of time. It’s for this reason, that we have been engaged to create and deliver training to elite organisations, in both military, law enforcement and government agencies - both here and abroad. They all want the same thing - outstanding results in a very short amount of time.

Our methods though, have all been developed for ‘regular’ people (if there even is such a thing). Particularly, they have been developed for people who are time-poor, and cannot commit to five or six nights a week for training. Two nights a week is sufficient to become extremely skilled, over time. We start everyone out with a 12-class program - designed to introduce and connect key principles to promote the best possible start to the study of Jiu Jitsu - but also an approach that provides solutions to real-world violence - rather than being totally focussed on sporting conditions. Get those 12 classes under your belt, and run through them twice and you will have skills for a lifetime … we want you more capable, more confident and on a path to a richer and more meaningful life. Our teaching methods are shaped specifically to achieve those outcomes.

18/09/2026

A little reverse-progression training for the first 30 minutes of the Thursday night 6:45pm class. I had a few visiting black belts from melbourne down at my place this morning - for coffee - and a run-through of this little sequence - among other things. A nice way to wind down at weeks end.

16/09/2026

The importance of HOW …

A core teaching concept I use - and have used for a while, is based on focussing on the HOW.
Rather than telling people WHAT to do - I stay focussed on telling them HOW to do that thing!
Getting something done is always a sequence of optimised steps - and illustrating HOW to perform each step is infinitely more effective than just outline WHAT the step is. The difference between HOW and WHAT is staggering.
Often of course, because context matters - a brief explanation of WHY, helps set the scene. After that though, it’s How, How, How …

I remember there used to be roadside signs - that stated: AVOID WINDSCREEN DAMAGE! Yikes … I was always amazed at how stupid this sign was. Instead, it should have said something like - SLOW DOWN & SAVE YOUR WINDSCREEN.
How to do a thing … that’s what people need! I always thought those stupid signs might have been designed by windscreen repair shops!

Pic: Felix sharing ideas with friends in the USA. here he's with three great black belts, and wonderful human beings - Arvind, Krissa and Dave.