Top Level Blog

How to tie your belt

It’s hard to be a bigger at anything! There’s always new terminology, nuances, and general stuff that you don’t know. While everyone says, “There’s no such thing as a stupid question.” Everyone is always afraid to be the one to ask. After over 35 years training martial arts and over

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Safety is a priority

Did you know that all of our instructors and coaches are CPR, AED, and First Aid certified? We even keep an AED on hand because it’s that important to us that you and your children are safe. God willing, we never have to use them, but it good to have

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How to change your child’s behavior

Last week I sent a message about “your job as a Jiu-Jitsu parent.” In it, I discussed actively using the Jiu-Jitsu Values Program. I reminded you that it’s important to be a part of the program and not just be the parent who drops your kid off and never really

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How to be a jiu-jitsu parent

Your Job as a Jiu-Jitsu Parent! Jiu-Jitsu will help to build your child into a disciplined, respectful, person who demonstrates courage and integrity.  At least, that’s how the story goes, right? But how does it do this? Well… that’s where you, the parent, come in. You see, if you just

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5 Reasons to Put Your Kid in Jiu-Jitsu This Year!

Any parent worth their salt is always looking for good ideas to help keep their kids busy and out of trouble. Here’s 5 reasons you should consider starting them in Jiu-Jitsu lessons in 2019! They’ll be Healthier- Jiu-Jitsu is great exercise. Your kids will spend 2 to 3 classes per

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Back to school top parenting tips

𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘!!! This is, by far, the roughest time for parents. Our schedules change and it feels like we have no time. I have 2 in school myself. I know how it is! As your child goes back to school it’s increasingly important to remember why you put

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Amazing Self Defense Interview!

Every once in a while, we come across a great article online and just have to share it. This article comes from the BJJ Easter Europe website, bjjee.com It’s an interview between Mike Mella and a fellow BJJ Black Belt and Self Defense Expert named Eli Knight. We’ll link some

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Jocko Willink talks about Arrogance in Jiu-Jitsu Instructors!

Jocko Willink is a former Navy Seal Commander and a fellow BJJ Black Belt. He regularly touts the benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on his podcast. In this episode, however, he and his co-host, Echo Charles, talk about arrogant instructors in BJJ and how to avoid it.  Thankfully, we pride ourselves

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Perfection is the enemy of done

Good morning everybody. How you doing? Hey, today. Oh, I’m Bill Jones. I am the cohost of Black Belt Tip, a martial arts and a pop culture podcast that can be found on iTunes and the google play app. I’m also the head instructor and owner of Top Level Martial

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Is Good Enough good enough?

What is up guys? My name is Bill Jones. I am the head instructor and owner of Top Level Martial Arts in beautiful, downtown Cuyahoga Falls. It is a wonderful, beautiful morning, again, a little chilly but that’s to be expected in mid-November. I am also the co-host of Black

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Motivation vs Willpower

Good morning everybody. I am Bill Jones, I am the head instructor of Top Level Martial Arts in Cuyahoga Falls. And I am also the co-host of the Black Belt Tips podcast also shot right here in beautiful downtown Cuyahoga Falls. Today I’m coming to you with a great podcast

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Be Congruent with Your Goals: Black Belt Tips Mini-cast

Good morning, everyone. I am Bill Jones, cohost of Black Belt Tips, which you can find on iTunes and Google Play. YouTube as well, at Top Level Jiu-Jitsu. I am also the owner and head instructor of Top Level Martial Arts in beautiful Downtown Cuyahoga Falls. We are your home

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Are you making this parenting mistake

IS THIS YOU? The school year is over and you want your kids to have some freedom to just be kids for a little bit. This is a huge concern we hear from parents every year around this time. I have 2 kids myself and I feel the same way

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3 Reasons BJJ Surpasses Other Martial Arts

One of the most common questions I get as a Jiu-Jitsu instructor is, “How is Jiu-Jitsu different from Karate/ Tae Kwon Do/ Kickboxing ect…?” Because I get the question so often, I’ve given the topic a lot of thought and come up with my view of the three things that

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5 great summer activities for kids

Summer Activities for Kids Well, it’s almost that time of year again. School is about to let out and for 3 months your kids will be home, staring at the TV and playing Fortnite. Somewhere between staring at the phone, the TV, the Switch, and the iPad you’re gonna realize

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How often do I/my kid come to class?

Jiu-Jitsu is known to be the hardest system in which you can earn rank. This is due both to the long time periods of training between ranks and the need to actually demonstrate your skill through the actual application of your techniques. As with any endeavor that has some sort

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The Black Belt Mindset- A recipe for success

Believe anything you wish about what martial art is better than another or more effective and so on. There is, however, no contention on the fact that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt is considered the most difficult black belt to earn in all of martial arts. It takes an average

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How We Treat Beginners

Here’s a fact that most people forget and/or take for granted! EVERYONE STARTS AS A BEGINNER! And we feel every beginner should be treated with respect. It’s integral to how our culture is built and it’s the #1 reason that we are the largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in Cuyahoga Falls.

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Balancing BJJ and Life!

Hobbies are time consuming! I remember when I first took up a hobby about 10 years ago. I had decided to learn the art of prestidigitation, slight of hand. That’s right, I’m a nerd who likes to do magic 😀   Well, it turns out, learning magic is hard. It

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More Free Time With Less Hassle

There’s no doubt this life can be draining sometimes. Between meetings at work, commitments with friends, and getting the kids from place to place, it’s often hard to find time for yourself. Hell, when you do, it’s often hard to be motivated to do anything. I think we’ve all felt

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Top Four Benefits of Working out With a Loved One

There are few things quite like working out with a partner or spouse – a loved one of any sort. No matter type of martial arts you both practice, there are some benefits to exercising together. From perfecting your form to keeping each other motivated, you’ll find them here Read

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5 Ways Martial Arts Improves Kids Grades

We’ve all seen the headlines “Martial Arts improves your kids school progress” or “Take Jiu-Jitsu Lessons To Help Your Kid In School!” So one of the top questions we often get from parents is, “Is this improved grades thing just salesy BS or is there an actual connection?” Believe it

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6 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Kid’s Focus

We’ve all been there. You’re talking to your kid and out of nowhere, they just drift off. It’s like you’re not even talking anymore. As a parent it’s so frustrating. We worry that they won’t learn well enough in school, or that they will miss an important detail, or get

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CRINGEWORTHY SELF DEFENSE

Did you know that Bill and Ed, who run the academy, also run a national podcast? As part of that, they also debunk bad martial arts advice and are considered national self defense experts in their own right. Bill has trained the US Army combatives both here and in Iraq.

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Safety is a priority

Did you know that all of our instructors and coaches are CPR, AED, and First Aid certified? We even keep an AED on hand because it’s that important to us that you and your children are safe. God willing, we never have to use them, but it good to have

Read More »

3 Ways Jiu-Jitsu Changes Lives

In all my advertising lately I’ve been calling Jiu-Jitsu a “Life-Changing” martial art. Some people probably assume that’s just a gimmick I use to try to drum up business. But it’s not. I really believe that training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can and will change lives for the better! Here are

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Is Jiu-Jitsu Training Violent?

Watch the latest Ultimate Fighting event or attend a local mixed martial arts match and you’re going to hear about the power of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). It’s become a staple of those sports because of the absolute effectiveness it has against those who do not learn it.  However, if this

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