Daniel Yen

Name: Dan Yen
Age: 32
When you started: 2013

How did you first get interested in BJJ, and what led you to start training at GSW?

Originally, I had no idea what BJJ was until I walked into the door at GSW. At the time, I was finishing my studies and started working part time at a government department and was thinking of a new challenge. I looked like a typical starving student with noodle arms and was thinking of packing on some muscle and gaining some weight (I still am), so was considering going to the gym.

I met a friend at work (Harry), who asked me if I was keen on training BJJ. Honestly, I had no idea what this was at the time but he kept on watching BJJ videos at work and kept blabbering on about it and asked me if I'd like to join. I gave in eventually and went along with some other guys from work as well and now I can't stop going. When I realised that this martial art was based on leverage and technique, I thought to myself - I can actually do this, and soon I forgot about wanting to go to the gym.

Can you share a memorable experience or achievement from your time training at the school?

Soo many memories! Winning my first competition, being awarded my blue belt and also black belt. There was a competition in Kapiti and a solid crew of GSW people attended. I just went for the sake of supporting the crew and signed up myself after being encouraged to do so. It turned out that this was probably the turning point of my training mindset and outlook on what training meant to me.

I went in with no expectation of doing well, but just giving it a go and doing my best. I had no concept of strength and conditioning or health and nutrition. All I had was the year of training that I had accumulated on the mat, and some good friends supporting each other. I ended up winning the competition in my division. At that moment, I felt like all the training I had done and all the mat time was worth it because it worked. I had accomplished what I didn't think was possible because of the person I was at the time. If you knew me back then, you would probably understand.

Shortly after we had another in-house competition which then I was awarded my blue belt. It was a big excitement leveling up, officially surviving those early years and felt like I was there to stay.

Fast forward to May 2024 when I was awarded a black belt. This was definitely one of my biggest achievements reaching a significant milestone and felt honoured to have received one. In the moment I didn't have any words cause of the excitement I had. But reflecting on it afterwards - I feel like the black belt is a product of what all my awesome training partners have done for me. All those times rolling, getting squashed, getting swept, getting submitted all has contributed to where I am now.

So big thanks to everyone and literally wouldn't have been possible without all my awesome training partners and time on the mat. 

How has BJJ impacted your life outside of the gym?

Ever since training BJJ, it has impacted many aspects of my life.

The challenge that BJJ provides has done wonders for my physical and mental health. It has become something to look forward to after other commitments where it becomes a full body workout and also requires 100% concentration being in some sort of real life chess game. I think this combination sends some strong signals and chemicals around my body to make me feel good and like I'm on drugs.

Also it has made me more aware the importance of diet and nutrition. I think this applies to everyone in general, but BJJ has definitely made me think about better choices to help with training, building muscle and recovery. 

I would also say that training BJJ helped me build confidence. It has been a real eye-opener in terms of learning about my own body and what I can do and any limitations that I might have. It helped me put aspects of my life into perspective.

What advice would you give to someone new to BJJ or to our school?

It's good to drill as much as you can when you start off, but there is a certain point where you have to determine what's best for yourself. For me, earlier on there were some techniques which really stuck out to me and had a lot of success with. As soon as you start to roll, keep applying what you learn from drilling and try out as many things as you can until you start finding your own game.

There are many people out there all sorts of shapes and sizes, some techniques are better suited to you than others, but again it sort of depends on your own body shape and how your body works. Try to roll with everyone cause everyone has their own style and game and you can see what works on each type of person and what doesn't.

It's hard to transition into rolling especially when everyone around you would have more mat experience. It is tough when you start, and for the most part it will be difficult but it's also the time where you learn exponentially as you are literally thrown in the deep end just trying to stay above the water. Understand that people generally want to help you learn as they themselves have been in a similar situation. It does get much easier with time.

Also, coming into training each day with goals in your mind and adjusting them for every roll. It could be as simple as not being swept by that one person who keeps sweeping you! It will help you be engaged and give you a plan to take into action when rolling.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to improve their BJJ?

Focus on the technical skills and keep in mind your strength/weight in relation to your training partner. Constantly think about the amount of strength you have to apply in order to proceed. Ask yourself, are you actually applying the fundamentals of BJJ and leverage to help with rolling? or are you just out-muscling someone? Technical skills comes with time - but identifying the issues and solving them with technique is more satisfying to me and will probably improve your mindset when training for the future.

When reflecting on my earlier days, I would say knowing when to apply weight or strength and when not to, has a huge benefit to your rolling and will help your competition game.

If you are rolling with someone who is clearly stronger/heavier than you are, you should probably be wise with how you expend your energy throughout the roll and practice your timing on whatever you are trying to achieve. For example, you probably don't want to be constantly trying to bench press someone off you if they have you in a solid side control, but either start getting out of the situation before they have a solid control over you or wait for the moment they try to proceed with something - as they will most likely stop trying to squeeze you / applying pressure and give you an opportunity to get out of the situation.

Think about what is the easiest way to do things without using too much effort to improve efficiency. For example, breaking down their posture before applying a sweep, winning the grip fight before passing the guard or using your weight instead of squeezing. A good measure to think about is if you need to take breaks in-between rolling rounds especially if you are experienced.

In the end it comes down to mat time. So train as much as you can and you will probably end up learning by doing. It's amazing to see progress just after just one rolling session when you realize someone has adjusted their game based on your previous roll and now you have to make adjustments too.

How do you balance your training and your daily life?

Life is too short. If you got time to do things then make the most of it. Especially if you don't have many responsibilities take advantage of that and get to training!

For me personally, I had a lot more time when I first started - hitting the mats around 4 times a week cause I didn't have as many responsibilities. I was glad I did that cause life is very different now. 11 years later, I have a lot more responsibilities and can't train as much as I used to but booking out time for certain days and getting a routine going is good for the balance.