Video summary
In this unique session at 10th Planet in Austin, Texas, neuroscientist Andrew Huberman takes his first jiu-jitsu class alongside host Lex Fridman under the guidance of head instructor Gabe Tuttle. The video captures a fascinating intersection where martial arts are treated as both a physical sport and a tool for mental development, often described as "human chess." Unlike some variations that utilize weight classes or protective gear like gis (ghee), this specific practice focuses on detailed techniques to attain dominant positions without such aids. The primary objective demonstrated is the dismantling of one's ego through submission; Huberman learns how to control an opponent's body and apply submissions, specifically stopping just before causing unconsciousness when his partner taps out twice—a universal signal indicating surrender in jiu-jitsu culture. The instructional segment begins with the butterfly guard position, where Tuttle explains mechanics involving tension on the elbow and setting a bottom hook while attacking the "seat belt" area of the opponent's body. The lesson progresses to scenarios where an opponent attempts to stand up or escape by swimming over the attacker; in these moments, Huberman practices transitioning into a claw grip that squeezes the chest to apply pressure. A critical moment occurs when Tuttle demonstrates how to secure a chokehold even if the opponent tries to rise, emphasizing that controlling the neck allows one to let go of an arm drag and instead pinch the back of the head with the elbow while turning it upward to find eye contact. This technique creates a logical trap where the attacker is forced into their own submission due to nervousness about being stood up on, leading naturally into what Tuttle calls "hit an arm choke," a favorite move noted by UFC fighter Jon Jones and former champion Brock Lesnar (referred to as Rogan's favorite show in context of MMA culture). As Huberman experiences the sensation of being choked out, he asks why visual artifacts like seeing stars occur during such pressure. Tuttle explains that this phenomenon is caused by spontaneous firing neurons in the eyes due to a lack of blood supply and glucose, which are essential for brain function since the eyes demand constant resources. This biological explanation bridges Huberman's scientific background with the physical reality of martial arts, highlighting how cutting off circulation affects neural transmission directly. The session also touches on the psychological aspect of relinquishing control; Tuttle notes that allowing someone to get close enough to mount or flip you requires letting go of defensive instincts, a concept that challenges individuals accustomed to maintaining dominance in their daily lives. By the end of this inaugural class, Huberman expresses deep appreciation for jiu-jitsu as both a beautiful sport and a powerful method for human development. He admits he was previously unused to such vulnerability but finds himself hooked after experiencing the techniques firsthand. The video serves not only as an educational demonstration of arm drags, chokes, and claw grips but also as inspiration for viewers to embrace new challenges with a beginner's mind. Through this experience, Huberman illustrates how engaging in difficult physical activities can dismantle ego structures that often hinder scientific or personal growth, suggesting that the journey involves thousands of repetitions where one learns to accept being "screwed" by an opponent and use it as a learning opportunity rather than a failure.
Read the full video transcript
this video is of andrew huberman taking
his first jiu jitsu class with me at
10th planet in austin texas
gabe tuttle who you see explaining the
techniques is a head instructor there
jiu jitsu is a martial art and a
fascinating game of human chess
sometimes it is practiced with the ghee
sometimes without the ghee like in this
case it involves using detailed
techniques to attain dominant positions
that allow you to control your
opponent's body and then to apply
submissions like breaking their arm or
choking them unconscious but stopping
right before that as your opponent taps
twice to designate that they give up
this double tap performed thousands of
times in a jiu jitsu journey is the
dismantling of the ego that i think is a
very powerful tool for the development
of the human mind scientific and
otherwise
here andrew learns how to take his
opponents back with an arm drag and
submit them with a choke i wanted to
capture this moment because hopefully
it's inspiring to see a world-class
scientist like andrew take on something
new and difficult with a beginner's mind
maybe this will inspire you to try jiu
jitsu as well
i honestly have no idea what i'm doing
lex
zero fortune favors the ball so good
luck so we're gonna start off in the
butterfly position first one we're gonna
be working is our dominant arm here okay
we're gonna be working to the back first
so i
and here i want to actually mirror my
hand so i just scoot out here and i'm
keeping good tension with my elbow here
as i flex down
and then i can set my bottom hook i come
right in to attack my seat belt
sometimes we can attack the net straight
away from here
is he going to try and stand up or it's
always because i still work from
standing even if lex pops up and he's
like in a
this is this claw and he swims the other
one over
and
it's this squeeze but he also brings out
his chest like that right
and then you tap on me to
yep twice sorry twice
okay i forgot that you don't know how to
tap so
this is the universal sign
twice because i'm i'm screwed
got it i had enough okay one more time
he's swimming this through
and it's choked like this he's also
saying
if if your chin is all the way down
this is also
like can you feel the crush i have a lot
more crush more than that
they can either break the jaw or still
choke you
yeah off to the side boom perfect
so this is the claw like that that's
perfect right there
and uh
swim
that through
squeeze and expand your chest
now from here once i can control the
neck i can let the arm drag go that arm
comes all the way around and i'm just
pinching the back of his head with my
elbow
just go straight turn your elbow up and
find your eyes here now you can kind of
ratchet your grip in deeper you feel
that
so just
so there's a logic there basically
you're trying to get into a place where
you can use your own
your own yeah
just because there's so many
especially like if you're a very like
cerebral guy like you are like like this
shoot underneath yeah you got it yeah
there we go and then
curl your left arm
maybe you know about this actually i
don't know what the visual why is there
butterflies when you start to choke out
yeah because your eyes are part of your
brain and they get they demand so much
blood and glucose all the time you're
cutting off blood supply
but why the visual artifacts so why do
you get the little oh just spontaneous
um transmission of neurons in the eye oh
yeah just
yeah that's cool when you see stars like
if you get hit hard and you see stars
it's because you're spontaneous firing
themselves yeah i get that with the
choke like i just got that now oh really
yeah
yeah you can feel the world
this is why i was saying like inspiring
with somebody who knows how to do it
because they can't
that russian grip is insane
so yeah if you if you stand up
that's exactly the game that we poop
other side of the game that we looked at
today so we looked at arm drags
but those only work when you're coming
in
when you're coming if you're going away
i'm gonna threaten you by
coming up and then you're gonna want to
push me down that down
and so and you'll be a little bit more
nervous about me coming up so you're
going to pressure yourself into me
and that leads
that's called hit an arm choke that's
rogan's favorite show
so it's this
this
yeah that feels very helpless
yeah and i could just like sit here
relax for a while and just make it very
unpleasant food
when you talk about relinquishing the
ego it's like yeah you have to be one
you'll let somebody get real close to
you like
mount you should flip you it's you know
it's not something i i'm used to on a
yeah
on any basis it's really a beautiful
sport how do you feel first class in jiu
jitsu i love it it's amazing i think i'm
hooked
you