Rare Savage: One of your specialities is strength training - particularly grip strength. How did that come about?
Dan:When I started jiu-jitsu, I was 15 years old, and I was a very weak, small, unathletic kid. You know, I was 50 kilos when I started training. I was training with adults, because there weren't really any kids classes when I started. And basically it got frustrating getting beaten up. But as I started to improve technically, I realised the main issue was these guys weren’t necessarily technically better anymore, they were just stronger.
So I started training to become stronger, and obviously one of the most palpable discrepancies in strength in jiu-jitsu, especially in the gi, which is what I started in, is in the grip. So I decided to start training my grip. I was training everything else as well obviously, you know - strength training full body, but grip was, and I still believe it to be, the highest bang for your buck that you can get in terms of your training for jiu-jitsu. So that fascinated me, and over the years, that slowly became a speciality for me and then I started to train others with what I’d learned.
Grip is so tied to your health and your central nervous system. It's more of an indicator of your health than it is a causation, and it’s fair to say that a decrease in your health can be seen through weakening grip over the years.
Ultimately, being strong in general is one of the best things you can do to increase your longevity and the quality of your life. And grip is an important part of that.
Rare Savage: So that leads me on to the fact that you seem to use a lot of unorthodox kit and home-built equipment in your workouts. So I have to ask, what makes some of the things that you make so much better than a standard dumbbell or bit of kit?
Dan: It kind of started when I started exercising. I didn't have any equipment and I think this next bit ties in with jujitsu a little bit; what is jujitsu, if not problem solving?! I consider myself, first and foremost a problem solver. I love having problems to solve. I also think everyone needs a creative outlet in their life.
For me creativity comes in finding novel solutions to whether that’s problems on the mat or in this case finding solutions to problems when it comes to working a particular range of motion.
Some exercises can be done without any equipment; in fact a lot of what I preach is that you don't need any equipment but the items I’ve made all solve/do something very specific that nothing commercial can do. Ironically that’s led to me having one of the most well-equipped home gyms in the world. So a lot of it is because the pieces I make work uniquely for training certain movements. And honestly some of it I just make because I think it's badass.
Rare Savage: Do you incorporate the grip strength stuff into your training sessions or does that tend to be quite a separate thing for you?
It is a separate thing, but you know, that's also the beauty of doing a four day camp, with a camp like this, where we're hanging out with all the time if the guys want to ask me a question about grip strength, I can talk for ages and I’m always happy to do that.
So if anyone wants to learn anything that I have to offer, I’m happy to share.
Rare Savage: So you've recently announced you're going to be spending most of this year travelling the world with your Jiu-Jitsu. Is there any way you're most looking forward to going, and why?
Dan: To be honest the objective with the traveling is less about the places and more about the people. I'm really interested in meeting the people who train jiu-jitsu in different parts of the world, I think, sometimes people don’t realise the true camaraderie of jiu jitsu. If you train jiu-jitsu, you really do have family in every city, in every country in the world.
And that's if you're a white belt, blue belt – anything. If you're a black belt that’s even more so. But, you know, you chuck a gi on your shoulders with any belt or chuck your rash guard and shorts in a bag and you rock up at any gym somewhere in the most remote part of the world, but you find a jiu-jitsu gym there, and they will welcome you.
I feel like a lot of people don't understand that. They think the jiu-jitsu community is just their gym of 100 or 200 people or 50 people, whatever it is. But once you put in the time and effort, you are entering into a worldwide unspoken brotherhood/sisterhood, that you can really take advantage of.
And that's why actually going to camps can be such a great experience for so many people, because you're all coming from different gyms and mixing in one place and there’s that connection. Jiu jitsu is a very connecting sport. So for me, that's really what it's about. And of course there are a few countries that I've really wanted to go to that I'm looking forward to going to, but really, I'm looking forward to meeting people that I don't even know that I'm going to meet yet.
Dan will be heading up the Rare Savage Men’s BJJ Camp 10-14 September in Portugal . Book your spot and be part of something special . OSS!
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