I'll jump on this bandwagon for sure!
I don't know a whole lot about jiu jitsu but I do know a fair amount about teaching and learning. Coach Herzog's classes (and I assume seminars to at least an equal degree) are not accidental. There is no "Hmm... what should I teach today?" Every class has a purpose to each step and every series is tied into another series at some point (for example, we may work side control and mount escapes for two or three weeks depending on how many techniques are in the series. If the mount escape series ends in lockdown with double unders it's a pretty sure bet that the next series will start at the lockdown, etc, etc...) Beyond having a planned curriculum -- which I am finding out is not as common a practice as one might think -- Coach Herzog takes the time to teach every technique the right way every time. It doesn't matter if you're a blue belt who's done lockdown -> whip up -> Old School a hundred times. He teaches every detail, every time, every technique. As the guys who just went to the seminar will attest, you'd be hard pressed to find a detail he missed.
Personally, I really appreciate the culture that coach has developed and maintained in the gym. We have fun and we for sure joke around with each other but training is no joke. Each rep matters. Get caught sloppin' your way through a technique and you're gonna get called out on it and get it fixed right then and there. That culture especially extends to safety. NO ONE is out to hurt a training partner and if you act like a dumbass you're going to have a large, loud man who can quite literally throw you like a catapult and crush your skull like a can to contend with.
But all the talk of technical ability and even teaching ability still leaves out a major part of what makes Coach Herzog so effective -- he trains the whole athlete. Technical ability alone is not enough. Athletic ability alone is not enough. Every athlete has individual needs that need to be met to perform at their best. That includes nutrition, conditioning, and the psychology of the athlete as well. More than once he's pulled me aside and had just the right thing to say at the time it was needed. Anyone who's been at Empire for more than a brief stint has had some one-on-one counseling (not the bad kind) and I guarantee every one of them is the better for it. Coach knows the techniques, he understands the anatomy and leverage behind those techniques, he knows a great deal about the history of the arts (which informs his teaching and his integration of other styles' techniques into 10th Planet), he knows athletes and how competetors think, and he knows how to teach. Each of those is a discipline in itself and to have all of them in the same coach makes for an outstanding training experience.
And I'm still leaving out something. He's just a great guy. He's genuinely concerned about his students both in and outside the gym. I hadn't been at Empire for very long when I ended up in the hospital with a Crohn's flare. I was going through a bitter ddivorce at the time as well and frankly I didn't have many friends in NY. Coach was one oof only two people who came to visit me in the hospital. That mattered to me a lot at a pretty important time. I've had periods where I couldn't be there for a few weeks at a time. Invariably, if I've been out for a while and he hasn't heard from me, I'll get a text or a Facebook posting checking up on me. Over the years that has created a sense of urgency in me to get to the gym; especially when I'm just having one of those days when I don't wanna make the drive.
I'm glad the rest of the 10th Planet family is finally getting the chance to glimpse what we're so fortunate to have. Call me a nut hugger if you want...
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