Coach's Corner: The Art of Being a Good Uke

Coach Kenny here.

When we step onto the mats, our collective mission is simple: we want to leave better than when we walked through the door. But here is the secret to making that happen—your growth doesn't just depend on how hard you practice your own moves. It heavily depends on how you treat your partner when it’s their turn to work.

In martial arts, we use the term uke for the person receiving the technique. If you want to build a room full of killers, you need to understand your role when you are filling those shoes. Your core purpose as an uke is to act as a success facilitator. Your job is to maximize the potential for your partner, helping them smooth out the mechanics and build muscle memory.

Your job is not to immediately resist or counter them.

Think of it like being a defender during basketball practice when the team is running layup drills. Unless the coach explicitly tells you otherwise, you don’t jump up to swat the ball into the third row while your teammate is trying to dial in their footwork. You position yourself, you give them the proper look, and you allow them to work. When an uke immediately stuffs a partner who is just trying to learn the mechanics of a new move, it minimizes their learning and kills the flow of the room.

Now, I put an asterisk next to resistance because we all know there’s a gray area here. Jiu-jitsu isn't cooperative choreography forever. If your partner is experienced, feels good with the movement, and explicitly asks you to give them some resistance or gradually ramp it up—by all means, do it. Make the most of it! But remember: that progression is entirely up to the person practicing the technique, not the person receiving it.

When you facilitate your partner's success, they get better. When they get better, they push you to get better. Take care of your training partners, give them the right looks, and let's keep building together.

Let’s get it!

Keep it simple, keep it sharp,

Coach Kenny