Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Yes keep progressing I learn new things all the time. So many sources to draw from, its endless. Don't quit & Enjoy the journey.

Thanks man. Yeah it sure is a journey, and a long one. And as you say, there is a lot of information and advice out there. It's a lot to remember though!

Jiujitsu (and other grappling arts) are a bit of a different animal to learn than almost any other sport or physical skill because it's both (a) constantly dynamic and (b) you're trying to deal with external dynamic forces. Like, think about barbell lifting... there's a lot of skill to develop, but the bar doesn't move until you move it, so things like posture and effort and timing have a certain linearity and that makes them somewhat straightforward to learn and teach.

With jiujitsu, both you and your opponent are constantly moving. But, you still have to learn and apply the steps, the concepts, the techniques in discrete little packets of info (techniques of the day, base/posture/structure concepts, and so on), because there's just not really another way to learn.

All of which is to say, don't worry too much yet about how your game is developing, because you are a still a ways from having a full set of playing pieces... and I don't mean "knowing all the moves," because that's basically impossible, new stuff is showing up all the time. I mean, having a solid conceptual toolset, really fundamental stuff: am I maintaining at least three points of contact when possible, am I posting on my opponent rather than the mat, what is the right spinal posture for when I'm maintaining space vs closing space and am I maintaining that posture appropriately, are my hips involved, are my abs involved, am I breathing correctly (this one is huge, huge, huge)... it sounds like a lot, but really it's just simple moments of checking in with your body to make sure you're doing what you should be doing in the moment. And the brilliant thing is you can work on them whether you're taking the new student through their first day in open roll or being used (hopefully politely) like a grappling dummy by a purple belt working on his comp game.

And eventually, you'll develop all the habits and you won't have to check in and your brain can start doing things at a higher, tactical level during a roll. You'll start to be able to discover for yourself techniques you haven't been taught yet because you'll see the obvious next step or opportunity based on where your bodies are now and what could happen next within the bounds of good movement and position.

But if you try to do it the other way around, thinking tactically first, you'll find you'll run into all kinds of techniques which you can't make work live, find out it's for tiny fundamental failures, and have to go back and work on all the really basic shit anyway.

Thanks for your great reply. I have read your message over several times and it's full of excellent advice. I will PM you.

I particularly like the last two paragraphs, where you say eventually you will see the obvious next step.. And I'm not at a stage where I can do that. I struggle to remember what I should be doing and spend too much time escaping going to turtle, then getting trapped. And I agree with you about overthinking things, and I'm doing that I know.

You're welcome, man! Replied to your PM, but I'll add here; being able to escape is useful, and like all of jiujitsu depends on the same kind of fundamental stuff that attacking and control and finishing all do. So don't worry if your game is mostly getting out of shit right now, that's OK. Literally anything you're learning about grappling at this point is OK, as long as you're learning something.

We all, every one of us who has some level of proficiency in grappling, felt lost at the beginning and experienced the frustration of trying to remember what to do in a situation even as the situation is changing... often, even when you *do* recall something correctly, the time you've spent trying to remember means it's already too late.

Hopefully, the more advanced players around you are shepherding you a bit when you roll, making themselves a bit vulnerable and slowing down so you can try stuff. In my experience, they'll rarely make themselves so vulnerable as to not escape or counter, so don't take not being able to finish anything on them as a sign that you're learning too slowly. LOL

But even when you're rolling with someone on your level or less proficient, feel for the basics. And don't sweat getting tapped, there is literally nothing at stake during a roll except fun and whatever shreds of learning you can glean from it. It is far, far more useful to get tapped a few times because you're taking the time and awareness to understand what's happening and why, then it is to find grind your way out of something on instinct and not really understand why it worked, or be able to apply that understanding to other positions. There is nothing in jiujitsu which is unique to a single position or circumstance.

Me, I can't even tell you what happened during a roll one minute after it's over, half the time, my memory for such things is atrocious... which is a reason I became so invested in understanding the really elemental concepts of jiujitsu and being a feel for how they apply in the moment, because learning and remembering jiujitsu as a library of techniques is a practical impossibility for me LOL

Just keep it up bro. I know we've had good chats but for others following, keep going don't give up. It takes years, at least 1 for the basics sink in, eventually stuff will become muscle memory. Then you can build from there

Some said to me at white (2 stripes at the time) my game is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have all the edges completed (primary positions, escapes, guards(and some random bits in the middle. As you progress to blue, these bit start to join (transitions , sweeps, baits, subs) . That's where I am, getting it to fit together as a baby blue.

But.. You have to be consistent, and roll as many people as possible. Open mat is your savior.

Ask questions, roll all levels. Learn what suits your body and what doest. Do stupid things, work out what works and what doesn't. Close space, find gaps!

I'd probably avoid turtle and regaurd ASAP into 1/2 or butterfly if you can. Turtle is asking for sick sweeps /trucks etc!

Love to roll you bro.

Thanks mate. Another great reply, and full of excellent advice. I agree it's like a jig saw puzzle, and me trying to get the pieces to fit. It's like now I have a huge puzzle, but less than half of the puzzle completed.

HAHA exactly mate. Ill be honest to say even though i'm a baby blue belt i'm looking at 5-10% complete. but its endless really! You'll never complete it as you and the sport evolves!

Sent you a private message.

Hey everyone. I started bjj at a club down here back in February.

I'm really enjoying it, but struggle to remember what to do when rolling. I just seem to get confused in attack, and I'm too defensive (I think) going to turtle, for example, to escape, then getting trapped and having to tap.

I know it's a long journey, with so much to learn. But how long does it take to get more confident?

A year in for me.... (Training 2 hours, 3 Times a week)

It depends on how well you are able to apply and use the knowledge in the drills you learn. Your journey through Jiu Jitsu can be as long as you like it to be, due to many changes in the growing fighting style.

since it seems like you naturally want to go into turtle, Learn how to go for takedowns, and sweeps from those positions!!!! Gramby rolls are AMAZING to pull a quick flip and a double leg in the right conditions.......

Listen to your instincts when rolling, no shame, keep your head up high, and stick with it!!!! Best of luck!!!!

Yeah thanks man. Really appreciate your reply. I like your idea of concentrating on sweeps. I will definitely look into that Gramby roll, because I'm not familiar with that.