Sean Patrick Flanery is a famous Hollywood actor who is not just dabbling in BJJ but is a legitimate BJJ black belt.
Flanery's Philosophy on Mastering BJJ
According to Sean Patrick Flanery, practicing a move 10,000 times is going to make you Roger Gracie-like good at that one move. Doing the same with other fundamental moves will build you a game, making it that of the GOAT. Instead of looking for flying Gogoplatas and Beribolos, Flanery advocates looking to improve your closed guard, back mount and mount, and the fundamentals submissions and escapes.
In his own example, Sean Patrick Flanery says you should stick to basics like the half guard lumberjack sweep, before looking into single-leg X, Matrix guard, and other flashy stuff. According to the popular actor, it is all just down to a mathematical equation. If you train for 20 years, doing 15 reps per day, that’s almost 110,000 reps on a certain move.
“Rediscovering that, for me, was a mindblowing moment. I thought the trap and roll was garbage as a blue belt. I was an upper blue belt thinking man, that might work on white belts, but it doesn’t, and of course, I was bridging to one side, they base out and pop. What is the best type of opportunity in the world? One that you already know is coming. Well, that is good Jiu-Jitsu.
“If a guard is not penalized, though, pull immediately. it is a 100% legit recipe,” - claims Sean Patrick Flanery.
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To summarize Flanery's approach, consider the following table:
Sean Patrick Flanery on Circling Back to Basics
Key Elements of Flanery's BJJ Philosophy
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
| Repetition | Practicing a move 10,000 times to achieve mastery. |
| Fundamentals | Focusing on improving basic positions like closed guard, back mount, and mount. |
| Simplicity | Sticking to fundamental moves like the half guard lumberjack sweep before attempting advanced techniques. |
| Strategy | Capitalizing on predictable opportunities in Jiu-Jitsu. |
Sean Patrick Flanery's BJJ Journey
Currently a 4th degree black belt, Professor Flanery began his Jiu Jitsu journey over 20 years ago with Rickson Gracie in Los Angeles, CA.
“Houston Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has done a tremendous amount of good for me and my son. Words cannot express the depth of gratitude that we have for Mr. Sean. HBJJ’s world class system of true combat Jiu Jitsu is perhaps the most thoroughly developed and articulated fighting curriculum in existence. But it's way more than that too.
“A good portion of who my son is now, is due to Houston Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
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