Meet One of My Biggest Fans (And Win a Free Copy of Mastering Triangle Chokes)

This is Kelly.

I met Kelly about four years ago when she started training at Steel City Martial Arts. Now a blue belt, Kelly drives over an hour one-way to the gym three to four times a week. She currently heads our women's program, she is addicted to Groundswell Grappling women's camps, and she frequently travels to compete.

Kelly has become one of my biggest supporters. She packs extra copies of The Cauliflower Chronicles in her bag so that she can hand them out to people who haven't heard of it, whether they train or not. She gives out copies to coworkers, to friends, and to complete strangers. Any time I have a new project, Kelly is the first to champion the cause and to tell as many people as she can.

And this is just one facet of her generosity. Kelly (and her husband, Tom) are relentlessly giving. They will happily help anyone, anytime, anywhere without question. In many ways, they've become role models for me, and their influence has made me rethink the way I live my life and the way I treat people around me.

In honor of Kelly, I am giving away ten free copies of my new book, Neil Melanson's Mastering Triangle Chokes. No, I'm not collecting emails for a sleazy marketing campaign full of squeeze pages, fake testimonials, and misleading fine print. I'm not demanding Facebook likes or retweets.

All I'm asking is that you head over to r/BJJ (an awesome BJJ community; if you aren't a member, you should be), and share a story about someone you met through jiu-jitsu that had a positive effect on your life. At 9am EST on Tuesday morning, the ten stories with the most upvotes will receive a free copy of Mastering Triangle Chokes. Please post your stories in this thread.

I'm looking forward to hearing your stories, and I hope that telling your story inspires you to send a thank you to the person you wrote about. Cheers.

If you'd like a free book from me without having to enter a contest, checkout 3-D Jiu-Jitsu, my newest instructional experiment.

I am giving my new book away because Aesopian and I need your help

Not too long ago, I launched my own publishing house, Artechoke Media. To celebrate that launch, I released our first book, Don't Wear Your Gi to the Bar, as a free PDF and encouraged the jiu-jitsu community to download and share it as they please. Well, that book is still free, but I am giving away my newest book as well.

3-D Jiu-Jitsu

3-D Jiu-Jitsu is the pilot project for the Artechoke approach to jiu-jitsu instructionals. Since our goal is to promote the organic growth of jiu-jitsu thought, theory, and technique, we wanted to release well-rounded instructionals that captured the complexity of our sport. I looked at the various instructionals on the market--books, DVDs, and apps--and wanted to find a way to combine their strengths in a way that eliminated their weaknesses. 3-D Jiu-Jitsu is a demonstration of that model.

An Artechoke Media instructional book features:

• In-depth writing about technique and theory so that you can learn about the philosophy and strategy that links techniques, giving you a glimpse into the way an instructor thinks.
• Multi-angle GIFs in lieu of pictures so that you can see every detail of a technique without having to reference captions or rewind videos over and over.
• DVD-style video where the instructor teaches the technique in person to highlight key details, troubleshoot potential problem areas, and demonstrate essential concepts.
• Cloud access to each book so that you can view Artechoke instructionals from anywhere if you have internet access and an internet ready device.
• Offline access to each book in the form of a downloadable e-book or media rich PDF so that you can enjoy your content without an internet connection. If your device can load the iBooks app (droid or apple device-ready) or load media rich PDFs, you can learn jiu-jtitsu from Artechoke even if you are deep in the jungles of Brazil.

Click here to experience the cloud version of 3-D Jiu-Jitsu today!

Mastering the Crucifix and Reverse Omoplata by Matt "Aesopian" Kirtley

3-D Jiu-Jitsu is free because Artechoke needs your help. First of all, we want you to experience our unique model without having to risk your hard-earned money on a bunch of promises. We hate sleazy marketing, and it's very important that we do the right thing for the BJJ community because the community has been so good to us over the years.

Second of all, we are running an Indiegogo campaign (like a Kickstarter) to fund the photo shoot for Aesopian's long-awaited crucifix and reverse omoplata instructional. You are probably familiar with Aesopian's work. He ran a super big gi survey and has one of the longest-running BJJ blogs (click here to refresh your memory). I've had the pleasure of training with Aesopian on multiple occasions and have been blessed to become his friend. He is phenomenal instructor and a good guy.

Which is why it was a big bummer when we put together a meager budget for his first photo shoot, comprised almost entirely of bootstraps and favors, and the camera failed when we neared completion. Yes, we almost had all of the content shot and the camera did something worse than die. It died and took our data, as well as our budget, with it. So we come to you with a free book and the humble request that you help us make Aesopian's book a reality.

Artechoke Media is just myself and Aesopian. We are partners in this, and we are far from a big corporation with deep pockets. We've been passionate about BJJ for a long time and have both been involved in the community for just as long.

You can read all about the project on our Indiegogo page, and you are absolutely welcome to ask me or Aesopian questions about what we have planned.

Thank you for your help!

Free Cauliflower Chronicles Audio Book (Moving Along)

Faithful readers and listeners, we are moving right along through the free audio book version of The Cauliflower Chronicles.  There was a hiccup with my host server that took a few weeks to resolve (apparently Blip.tv is disbanding their podcast support; not cool), but everything is good to know.  I apologize for the delay.

Thank you for your support and thank you for sharing these files with your friends!

Chapter 1: Broken Bones and Chapter 2: No Rain - No Rainbow

Chapter 3: Friends and Liars and Chapter 4: Americanize

Chapter 5: The McDojo Manifesto and Chapter 6: Bare Winter Suddenly Turned to Spring

Chapter 7: Refugees and Chapter 8: The Adventures of the Red Baron
Chapter 9: Papo Drops a Canadian in the River and Chapter 10: Hilo Rain

Free Cauliflower Chronicles Audio Book (Yet Another Update)

We're powering right through the free audio book version of the Cauliflower Chronicles. If you've been following along, you know that this version of the book is 100% free, and I encourage you to share it and copy it as much as you want.

Once every chapter has been uploaded, I will release a bonus commentary track answering reader questions. Feel free to submit your own question in the comments.

Chapter 1: Broken Bones and Chapter 2: No Rain - No Rainbow

Chapter 3: Friends and Liars and Chapter 4: Americanize

Chapter 5: The McDojo Manifesto and Chapter 6: Bare Winter Suddenly Turned to Spring

Chapter 7: Refugees and Chapter 8: The Adventures of the Red Baron

Free Cauliflower Chronicles Audio Book (Another Update)

This is the third installment, chapters five and six, of the Cauliflower Chronicles audio book. These files are free to download, and I encourage you to copy them, to burn them, and to re-upload them as much as you want. The story is the important part, not the royalties.

Right click the link and select "save as" to download:

Chapter 1: Broken Bones and Chapter 2: No Rain - No Rainbow

Chapter 3: Friends and Liars and Chapter 4: Americanize

Chapter 5: The McDojo Manifesto and Chapter 6: Bare Winter Suddenly Turned to Spring

Free Cauliflower Chronicles Audio Book (Updated)

If you've been following my blog, you know that I am giving away the audio book version of the Cauliflower Chronicles. You are free to share and copy it as much as you want. Burnit to CDs, throw it on your iPod, whatever makes you happy. I appreciate your support am glad that I can give something back for free. Also, once the entirety of the book is uploaded, I will be releasing a bonus commentary track based on reader questions, so feel free to ask me any anything via the comments below!

Right click the links below and select "save as" to download the mp3s:

Chapter 1: Broken Bones and Chapter 2: No Rain - No Rainbow

Chapter 3: Friends and Liars and Chapter 4: Americanize

Free Cauliflower Chronicles Audio Book

I have been laid up with a knee injury, and with far too much extra time to think about my life, I realized that I still own the audio rights to the Cauliflower Chronicles. My readers have been very good to me, so I am giving the audio version of the book away for free.

This way, if you want to share the book with a friend, you can give them the mp3s, or if you want something to entertain you on your commute you can burn the files to a CD. I am releasing these files under a creative commons license. You can share and copy them as much as you want.

I will be releasing two or three chapters every Monday, and I will be releasing bonus content once the entirety of the book is uploaded.

Be kind. This is my first time recording an audio book, and my stutter comes back to haunt me from time to time.

Right click the link and "save as" to download the mp3 of chapters one and two: Chapter 1: Broken Bones and Chapter 2: No Rain - No Rainbow.