https://blackbeltsportsperformance.mykajabi.com/

Doctor Kickass, Sacramento, CA (2026)

01/15/2026

Finding a Provider who understands Combat Sports
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One of the most common complaints I hear from combat athletes is being unable to find a medical provider who understands the demands of their sport (grappling, striking and/or mixed).

I started my page to help educate athletes, and over time I progressed to educating other rehab professionals with the release of “Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete”. Now I want to help athletes find these rehab professionals who are trained and ready to treat combat athletes!

Not every PT/AT/Chiro will be a black belt in Jiu Jitsu, but l hope to close the knowledge gap and progress the field of combat sports rehabilitation.

How can you get on the list?
Any provider who takes one of my course(s): Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete I, Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete II or Jiu Jitsu Rehab Masterclass will get free availability on my site so that athletes can find you. This ensures that I can confirm the provider has a base knowledge on how to treating combat athletes.

There will be distinctions based on profession, martial art skill and those who have completed my various courses.

Link in BIO to take my currently available courses and to find a provider who understands your sport

01/13/2026

Understanding Cardio for Jiu Jitsu
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When people complain about their Jiu Jitsu cardio you when to consider 2 main aspects:
•Efficiency: effectiveness of their movements ie technical skill
•Physical Capacity: aerobic base, anaerobic conditioning and muscular strength

So if people have “poor jiu jitsu cardio” it could be: an inadequate physical capacity or they are relying on a style of jiu jitsu they cannot maintain or a combo of both.

Here are the 4 most common complaints I hear from athletes in terms of jiu jitsu

When programming for an athlete it is important to:
1. Listen to their subjective issue
2. Perform objective testing to determine their physical capacity deficit
3. Consider the athletes style: movement-based vs control-based. Takedowns vs Pulling guard
4. Then establish a realistic plan addressing the athletes physical and / or technical deficits.

Which category do you fit in?

01/12/2026

Jiu Jitsu Rehab Provider Spotlight
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Meet Jose Cerda, one of the rehab professionals who truly gets jiu jitsu.

Brown belt in jiu jitsu - treating out of , Jose has taken all three of my courses—Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete I, II, and the Jiu Jitsu Rehab Masterclass. I have happily referred Jiu Jitsu athletes to him and heard great results.

If you’re a grappler in Orange County California —he is your person.

If you’re a clinician and want to understand the sport at this level…Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete 2026 is open for registration. Attendees will receive a listing in my database for providers who understand Jiu Jitsu!
 Become the provider your local BJJ community actually trusts.

01/08/2026

Injured Athletes should work with a physical therapist who understand their sport
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This piece of advice is particularly important when referring to combat sports. While this comment also applies to common field sports there is a much greater cross of athletic demands from one field activities to another. A good sports therapist should be competent at working with a variety of athletes, but there is a difference between being competent and being the best choice.

Preparing a combat athlete for their activity is much different than other sports. This is where a specialized sports physical therapist comes in, someone who understands the demands of the sport. If the therapist doesn’t understand the sport, how will they accurately know when you are ready to return after an injury?

•What positions do you need to get into?
•What positions do you have to worry about for re-injury?
•Do they have a clear path for how to gradually re-introduce you to sport-specific activities?

If you are an injured grappler or fighter I would always recommend working with a physical therapist who is familiar with combat sports.

Does this apply to you? Are you struggling with returning to the mats after an injury? Comment below

01/07/2026

I’m excited to announce a special guest joining Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete – In-Person Course in Sacramento this March.

Sara McMann will be joining us for a featured session on sports psychology and returning to training after injury.

Sara brings a rare and invaluable perspective to this course. She is a lifelong martial artist and athlete: Olympic Silver Medalist in wrestling, UFC title contender, Jiu Jitsu black belt and the coach of an Olympic Gold Medalist, with decades of experience navigating high-performance sport at the highest level — both as an athlete and as a coach.

While much of rehabilitation focuses on restoring physical capacity, clinicians who work with grapplers know that returning to training is just as much psychological as it is physical. Fear of reinjury, loss of confidence, hesitation during live rounds, and difficulty trusting the body again are all common barriers — and they’re often under-addressed.

Sara’s talk will focus on:

•The mental challenges athletes face when returning after injury

•Rebuilding confidence and trust in the body

•Decision-making under pressure after time away

•Practical insights clinicians can apply when guiding athletes back to training

This session will add a powerful layer to an already hands-on, clinically focused course built specifically for the realities of grappling and combat sports.

Sunday, March 1st, 2026
Sacramento –

If you’re a PT, AT, chiro, or strength coach who works with Jiu Jitsu athletes — or wants to — this course is designed to elevate how you evaluate, treat, and communicate with grapplers throughout the rehab and return-to-sport process.

Spots are limited, and registration is now open.
Based on previous courses, I expect this event to fill quickly.

I’m looking forward to bringing this experience to other rehab professionals and sharing the room with clinicians who are serious about treating Jiu Jitsu athletes the right way.

01/06/2026

Are you an injured Jiu Jitsu athlete struggling to get back on the mats?
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Unfortunately most injured jiu jitsu athletes will not have the luxury to work with a provider who specializes in working with jiu jitsu athletes.

This often results in athletes being discharged from traditional PT but without guidance on how and when they are safe to get back to jiu jitsu.

How can a provider clear an athlete for sport if they do not have a clear understanding of sport?

After an injury there are 3 main components that help determine when to return to any sport.
1️⃣Tissue maturation of damaged tissue: this is the physiological healing time of the tissue as it retains resiliency. This is based on time since injury and appropriate loading via mechanotherapy.

2️⃣Physical Capacity of the athlete: Just because you let time pass since the injury, is your body sufficiently prepared for jiu jitsu ?

3️⃣Graded exposure to the sport: This is key to make sure someone gets back as quickly but as safely as possible. Too often when an athlete is “cleared” they return and go 100%. This unfortunately may lead to re injury.

A service I provide to my clients is knowledge on HOW to gradually return to the mats. Being a black belt and a physical therapist I can help an injured athlete alter or modify their jiu jitsu game while also giving recommendations on HOW and WHEN to return.

This involves creating a plan on what positions and techniques that are safe and which positions may be potentially problematic.

If this is something you are struggling with feel free to DM me.

Video credit

01/05/2026

Injury Trends in Jiu Jitsu
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Understanding what, when and how injuries occur in a sport are critical for injury mitigation and returning to sport following an injury.

01/02/2026

Most Common Submissions in the UFC
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In mixed martial arts the ultimate goal is to disable your opponent with strikes, joint locks or strangles. In terms of submissions which ones are the the most common/ highest percentage?

Data collected by looked at the last 25 years of the to determine which submissions were most common.

1. Rear naked choke: 38.5% This strangle variation is
considered the king of chokes for a reason.
2. Guillotine: 17.4%.
3. Armbar: 13.1%. However I could not determine which
position most of these finishes occurred - top or bottom position.
4. Arm Triangle: 7.2%
5. Triangle: 5.9%

The top 3 submissions accounted for 70% of all submissions in the UFC. The list goes from top to bottom for how common the submission was.

Data collected from the looked at what positions most submissions came from:
1. Back Control - 44.6%
2. Miscellaneous ground (scramble) - 21.6%
3. Guard - 7.4%
4. Mount - 5%
5. After a drop to ground - 5.4%
6 Top Half guard - 3.7%
7. Inside guard - 2.1%
8. Side Control - 1.7%

If you want to be a high percentage finisher make sure you are proficient at all of these submission options and understand the optimal position.

Last slide credit to Nate Latshaw

01/01/2026

Plans for 2026

My current professional objectives as follow
•continue to help injured jiu jitsu athletes get back to the mats.
•Help elevate the rehab game for PTs who want to work with Jiu Jitsu Athletes

if you are a PT who wants to do what I do: I have 2 in-person courses planned for 2026: Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete: West Coast and East Coast

Injured Jiu Jitsu athletes: I have an online database so jiu jitsu athletes can find providers who understand Jiu Jitsu

12/31/2025

2025 Professional Recap
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This has been a highly successful year!

•Taught my 1st in-person continuing education course for Treating Jiu Jitsu Athletes
•Competed in Jiu Jitsu
•Became the head instructor at a Jiu Jitsu school
•Created my 2nd online continuing education course for Jiu Jitsu Rehab
•Traveled internationally getting to train with friends and a Judo Olympian
•Had my 1st paper accepted to be published
•co-wrote a chapter on jiu jitsu rehab in a book
•In addition to helping many Jiu jitsu athletes get back to the mats after an injury

Some things to look forward to in 2026!
•2 more in-person courses for Treating the Jiu Jitsu athlete (West Coast + East Coast)
•Finish a paper on Jiu Jitsu injury epidemiology
•Co-write a paper for physicians on understanding Jiu Jitsu injuries / return to sport

12/29/2025

Quick update on the Treating the Jiu Jitsu Athlete – West Coast course:

✔ 12 clinicians already registered
✔ Cap is 20 total seats
✔ Early-bird pricing ends December 31

This course is intentionally capped to keep it hands-on, interactive, and clinically useful. Once we hit 20, registration will close.

If you work with grapplers — or want to work with grapplers — this course is designed to give you a framework you won’t find in traditional ortho or sports continuing education courses. We cover injury mechanisms, assessment strategies, and return-to-sport decision-making specific to jiu jitsu athletes.

I’ll also be announcing a guest instructor soon, which will add even more value to the weekend.

If you’ve been waiting for the “right time,” this is it:
Early-bird pricing ends 12/31
Only 8 seats remain
This is one of only two in-person courses I’m running in 2026

Course registration link in BIO

Doctor Kickass

01/15/2026

01/13/2026

01/12/2026

01/08/2026

01/07/2026

01/06/2026

01/05/2026

01/02/2026

01/01/2026

12/31/2025

12/29/2025

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