It’s been over ten years since I first met Henry Akins, when I was a purple belt. I previously wrote about him in A Week and A Year articles, and everything I wrote holds true today.

What’s changed? I see more of Henry’s instruction out there, but now from black belts who were influenced by him earlier in their training. However, people don’t even realize they are getting information relayed directly from Henry. As an example, I’ve heard someone telling another black belt and me that different techniques they had learned from us was working well, and both of us black belts said we learned what we shared from Henry. To our surprise, the person hadn’t even heard of Henry before.

That’s the thing about what you learn from him. He’s doing straightforward things that get used all the time, both in technique and concept. The fine details and method of analyzing problems are what makes his approach useful for every single sparring session. Basically, if you are good at jiu-jitsu, you have to use the things that he teaches. You may not even know you are using things he routinely teaches, but if you pay attention, it’s all there.

When I first learned he even existed, all I knew was he was a Rickson Gracie black belt and nothing else. I rolled the dice and gave him a shot. Since then, I’ve routinely learned directly from him and truly countless other black belts. Henry easily remains among the top three I’ve learned from. I’ve even attended a Rickson Gracie seminar, and I’d honestly rather learn the same material from Henry.

Over the last ten years, I’ve watched his instruction and presentation of concepts get better over that time, and what I’ve learned from him has been an absolute cornerstone of my jiu-jitsu, both in performance and what I teach. I’m still deriving valuable knowledge from what he’s taught me while discovering the deeper truths of jiu-jitsu.

For concepts, he gave me an appreciation for “pressure and angles”, weight distribution both top and bottom, general choke theory, and self-defense as a universal jiu-jitsu element, among many other things. For techniques, the list is extensive, but the main things I teach because I’ve used what I learned from him so much are things like rear naked chokes, escapes from mount, being an absolute cement post inside closed guard and opening closed guard, among many other things that I use literally every sparring round.

It is no understatement to say that what I’ve learned from Henry has had a profound impact on my jiu-jitsu. There’s a consistent pattern of “I wish someone taught me that at white belt,” because what he is teaching is not complicated. There are many details, of course, but when it comes to the premise of Simple BJJ, I can’t think of a better template to learn from.

Now, in a bizarre twist of fate, a few years ago I moved across the country, and I live near his old hometown in Oklahoma, and he periodically comes back to visit and teach at the school where I train, Redline Jiu-Jitsu, run by my friend Ty Gay. And just like the early days when I’d drive 6 hours to do seminars with Henry, I’m still going, taking notes, and getting a preview of where I hope to be in another ten years. I admit I miss the days when he charged less than he’s worth, but I’ve never once regretted buying any instructional or seminar I’ve done with him. Ten years ago I couldn’t begin to predict the payoff of the investment would be so great.

At this point, there’s not much more that can be said, and I don’t think another decade would make much difference in my analysis. Henry teaches what you need in your everyday jiu-jitsu, and he does it better than the vast majority of black belts out there. Take him seriously. All of my jiu-jitsu is immeasurably better because I do.