Maya Chen at Blue Belt

March 22, 2026

Five and a half years in BJJ. Today I tapped a guy I used to lose to every single round. Same guy, same training partner, three years ago he could pass my guard in 90 seconds. Tonight I caught him in a triangle off a failed knee-cut. The wild part isn't that I beat him — it's that I knew I was going to before he started passing. Confidence in BJJ is a lagging indicator of reps. You can't fake it. You can't talk yourself into it. You earn it on the mats over years.

December 15, 2024

IBJJF Austin Open. Two matches, two finishes — armbar from guard in round one, RNC in semis. Lost the final on advantages to a girl who outweighed me by 8 lb in a 6-minute war. Half-guard to deep half to single-leg sweep, she based out three times. I'm not strong enough at -135 to muscle that sweep against bigger blue belts. Comp prep for March: explosive single-legs, not just technique reps.

October 8, 2025

Rolled with a brown belt from Renzo NYC who was in town. She's 110 lb. I'm 130. She made me feel small. The way she changes levels and grips — every grip break is also the start of the next attack. Two grips later I'm in mounted triangle. Notes from the round: tight elbows always, never let her get the cross-grip on the sleeve, and when she sits up to single — frame the shoulder, don't post.

May 19, 2025

Got my fourth stripe today. Felt weird about it because I lost the in-house tournament last weekend. Coach pulled me aside after class and said stripes are about how you train, not how you compete on one Saturday. I needed to hear that. I've been so comp-brained for so long I forgot that the work is the work whether or not it shows up on a podium.

February 3, 2025

No-gi class focus this month is leg entanglements. I've been a half-guard player for three years and I'm realizing how much my guard depends on collar grips. Take the gi away and my retention drops 40%. Drilled inside sankaku → straight ankle for 20 minutes today. The position feels disgusting and I love it. New project unlocked.