Last time we saw former Ultimate Fighter star Matt Arroyo, he was on the wrong end of a close split decision loss to Dan Cramer at UFC 94. As Bruce Buffer read the final “29-28” for his opponent, it was a turning point in the young fighter’s life. At just 26, he was done. The money wasn’t right for him to devote his life to a sport that invokes a terrible price on its participants. Jiu Jitsu was his first love and going forward, he vowed that would be where he focused.
“My MMA Academy that I opened with my partner Rob Kahn wasn’t getting the attention it needed from me while I was fighting and I really didn’t have the energy to pursue the other things that I wanted to do with all of the hard training camps,” Arroyo told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive interview. “Unless your are getting fight of the night or you are Chuck Liddell, you just aren’t getting paid enough. I am inactive on the fight scene but I have not stopped training. Since my last fight I have gotten my Black Belt In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, co wrote a book (BJJ Manifesto), put out The No Gi Library course and traveled across the country and world.”
Arroyo’s mentor Rob Kahn, a Royce Gracie black belt, inspired his young pupil with more than just a hodge podge of techniques. It was his mental approach to the game that separated Kahn from other instructors Arroyo had trained with. BJJ was a mental game and winning the battle of wits was key to success. Arroyo thought Kahn’s guidance would be valuable to everyone, not just folks within driving distance of his gym in Tampa, Florida. Together the two came up with the BJJ Manifesto, a successful Ebook that shared valuable advice to prospective grapplers.
“Rob Kahn is the mastermind behind the BJJ Manifesto. These are principles he has been teaching me ever since I trained with him as a blue belt. I told him we needed to put these philosophies and strategies in a book and get it out to the world, because it helped me so much. So we sat in my kitchen once a week for a few months and started writing. The rest is history,” Arroyo said. “There are hundreds of technique books out there. We couldn’t find anything on the “why” and “when” along with the “how” to do the techniques. This is what separated us. Also we wrote the book in an Ebook format so that we were able to add videos to it, showing exactly what, why, and when to do the techniques from each position. This is the most important part. You can have the best techniques in the world, but if you are doing them at the wrong time, or in the wrong situation, they are useless. You need the right strategy.”
Now Arroyo and Kahn are back with the No Gi Library course. Like their book, the video series isn’t a list of techniques and demonstrations. It delves much more in depth into the mental side of fighting. Arroyo isn’t just offering generic, one size fits all advice. He’s offering the wisdom of two high level black belts.
“Not everyone has the privilege of training under a black belt in this country. They can all benefit by getting involved in this course and letting Rob and I coach them. Its guaranteed to improve your game drastically. We actually offer a money back guarantee. Even if you do train with a black belt, its always good to get a different perspective on other styles of jiu jitsu,” Arroyo said. The course is truly interactive. Not only do you get to see the experts demonstrate the techniques, they get to watch and critique you as well. “They can tape themselves rolling, or doing a technique and then upload it to the website and we will watch it and send them a video back critiquing their rolls and answering any questions they have. No one is doing this!”
It’s an interesting strategy, kind of the Web 2.0 of martial arts training. Traditionally, martial arts training either happens at the local gym or impersonally through books and video. Arroyo’s No Gi Library is bridging that gap, bringing personal coaching to students anywhere in the world. If it goes well, it will keep Arroyo plenty busy. And at a sprightly 28, there’s always fighting as a fall back. Arroyo says years away from the sport, concentrating on his grappling, has just made him more dangerous.
“If I ever get the itch to fight again,” Arroyo said. “I will be ready!”