I started training at 40 years old.

I was in pretty good shape, rode a skateboard for 15 years, and then trained and taught yoga for a decade. With plenty of accumulated injuries, I had an idea of what I was getting into with BJJ, and so I started training at home for about 10 months before I even took my first class. I was watching videos, learning floor movements, and trying to get a middle-aged body ready. Some years later, I still maintain as many of these cross training days at home as classes that I take per week.

At what point in your routine have you done enough shrimps and hip bumps? One day the thought came to me that if I threw some weight on my hips I could challenge that number. I had an old yoga sandbag with some handles on it, so I put a belt around my waist and tried to make it work. After several years of going down many development rabbit holes, I’ve created the fanciest fanny pack that you never knew you needed.

I keep training every day. I use a Hingebag most of them.

-Ryan DeMatteo, owner