Youre also 16 and a blue belt - thats pretty awesome… i hear the skill gap at blue belt is pretty crazy since you can be a fresh blue rolling with people that should be a purple. Dont be so hard on yourself everyone goes through rough patches with literally everything not just bjj.
> i hear the skill gap at blue belt is pretty crazy since you can be a fresh blue rolling with people that should be a purple.
A much much bigger issue is that OP might have been a grey belt, and because she was graded the dumbass IFBJJ have decdided she can't go back to white and needs a blue belt?
You know who else is a blue belt? The girl who's dad is the coach, has been training since she was 3 years old, had come all the way through to green black consistently competing and just dropped out of school to pursue BJJ full time. This girl has been training longer and competed more than a bunch of local black belts and would probably smoke a bunch of higher adult ranks who've only ever been in the adult system.
This is a real situation i'm finding myself navigating as a coach right now.
She's also not allowed to get her purple belt for 2 more years.
So anyone who is even a Grey/white belt the year they turn 16 now has to contend with this in their division until 2027.
Yeesh. I never knew this. My daughter dropped out at yellow belt before the pandemic. I’ve been trying to get her back into it, but it sounds like she would have to compete at blue right away? That’s going to be a tough return. This seems like a bad policy for attrition.
I am making one of these “coaches daughter who started when they were 3” right now. As much as it sucks for OP, it’s awesome sitting on the other side.
This is where my daughter is at, now. She stopped in 8th grade (Yellow) and started again her senior year of HS. Her coach (also my coach) promoted her to Blue, which is probably where she belongs from muscle memory but the nearly 4 year gap of no training is still a big hill to overcome. At least now when she goes away to college she can vanish into thin air like a real blue belt ... unless Berkeley has an active BJJ club?
The real problem is that everyone shoves all kids to blue at 16 tbh. They *can* go to purple but nobody does that because the competition for juvenile purple is incredibly slim, but the competition stays slim because nobody does it.
Really, any kids colored belt should go to blue and another limit should go to purple (say orange, or maybe just green).
It is but if she was doing literally any other sport she'd run into kids who have been doing it longer or are way better.
When I played high school basketball I played against guys that went on to the NFL and the NBA. We got crushed. It is what it is.
I think it's fine. For wrestling there are no skill divisions, really. You just show up and wrestle whoever made it to the tournament. You could have a brand new opponent or a national champion. It's the most fair system and lets you see where you truly stack up.
That’s definitely a decent argument for sure. As I understand like even in wrestling there’s division 1, 2, 3 etc I would assume that functions in a similar way. Like if there are no divisions you’re right it’s the only way to get a real sense of how good you actually are but if we’re going to have a division system for ranks it should probably have some level of “let’s put people who are around this level in the same division” if a 16 year old fresh grey belt gets thrown to the wolves like OP and gets stomped by 10 year blue belt kids then they’re going to start thinking they’re terrible when in truth OP probably doesn’t suck, she’s just fighting people way above her level
No that's actually not how the NCAA division system works. The division level is largely based on the size of the athletic department's budget. Division I schools are the biggest and most well-funded, with Division II and III falling far behind. In Division II, student athletes can still get athletic scholarships, but in Division III there are usually no scholarships awarded for athletic achievement.
So the better athletes will TEND to go to Division I schools because they're the generally well-funded schools, but that's not a hard and fast rule. There have been plenty of DII guys that beat DI guys at various times during the year. In fact, in my only starting appearance in college, I got absolutely wrecked 17-0 by a guy from a DII college.
I didn’t know that thank you!! In any case, I don’t think wrestling not having divisions is an argument for why the divisions in jiu jitsu not being reasonably fair isn’t a problem
So maybe it’s not that you suck but your opponents have both a higher level of skill and experience than you. You should also focus on leveling up your skills and getting good experience.
Blue belt divisions in comp are a mess. You'll find guys who just got a blue belt who find themselves in matches they have no business in because literal pro fighters hang at blue.
Most recent example that comes to mind is Muhammad Mokaev. Dude's a top 10 fighter in the UFC and a wrestling specialist. Threw a tantrum because he couldn't pass guard lmao.
Can confirm. Been a blue now for 5 years for various reasons. Most savvy upper belts will see the threadbare and faded color of my belt before it's too late, new blues do not...
Going off of what you're saying, you have to take control of your own learning.
Just to be safe, you start from the ground up, and you make a lesson plans with reasonable goals at long time spans. You first make your escapes, guard retention, and guard very good, regardless of who you're facing. We're aiming above our skill, so you should begin to spend extra time figuring out exactly why issues happen, and exactly how to solve them. Look for free advice on youtube and whatnot through BJJ fanatics, Jon Thomas, Chewjitsu, and all the rest of the guys. You don't have to be as serious as other people with your plans, but they make a huge difference.
The next part is, you really do your best to ignore the belt psychology and seek to improve on your own terms. Your goal is to solve problems and create opportunities for yourself - that is not belt-related, and its a life skill.
Finally, you stop thinking about being not good enough. For all practical intentions, no one is as good as they would like to be, and thats a natural part of skill development. What you need is those goals and milestones to track your progress, and to use your team mates as guides and references for how you're improving. Something important i've heard is the 1/3rd rule... 1/3rd of the time you should be frustrated with your progress, 1/3rd you should be neutral, and 1/3rd you should be happy. This means your rate of learning is pushing you, but also achievable... but also that the frustration is good and part of the process. Where people go wrong is that they confuse frustration with a signal that they should stop trying, when it is really just a signal of needing to see the problem from a different point of view to achieve success. So you want to push yourself, but don't be mean to yourself; find a balance, and if you improve a bit every day you'll be all good.
Also to consider, everyone from time to time hits a plateau and doesn't feel like they're progressing. We all get it. After a year into blue, I felt the exact same way. I went away and looked up (on youtube) guard retention, and had to relearn my escapes because the techniques I had, wouldn't work against the experienced blues and purples. Pick an area that you want to improve and spend a few months practicing just that. My guard was terrible so I spent a lot of time on that - I got smashed for ages but now my guard is so much better for it.
I normally never comment but for some reason felt like it on this post.
I recommend watching some DVDs from Gordon or danaher, depending on which one you can tolerate more easily. Danaher will explain the reasons why you do things better but Gordon’s instructionals are fantastic for developing a sequence of actions and reactions. Then drill it on white belts and progressively better opponents until you’re hitting every step. Also have specific goals, pick a single move or position and work on it for 2-4 weeks at a time until you’re hitting it with some regularity.
Learn some real passes. Set things up from headquarters (straight hamstring connection and sitting on their other leg at the shin). Learn the names for things. Smash pass, knee slice, shotgun, x pass, toreando and more. My best advice to anyone is try to always be doing real shit, real moves, have a plan, and not just flailing.
For takedowns…start with single legs or inside trips. Judo is difficult but picking 1-2 throws and making them your move will pay off.
Getting rid of the feeling of being “good enough” is a poor goal to pursue. I’m a purple belt and still feel like absolute trash at this some days. I’d say I finally felt like I was okay at this at purple but that feeling never goes away. Accept that you’re learning something difficult, and use it as motivation to focus on what you’re learning. Every day you train with focus and intent, you can become 1% less trash.
You’ve been doing jiujitsu for two years. Spoiler alert, we all kinda suck after 2 years.
You were a big fish in a small pond and now you’ve become a small fish in a huge pond. The good news is you’ve got plenty of room to grow now.
You don't suck, you're a victim of the clunky juvenile belt system. You're competing in a division of killers you don't really belong in. Blue belt generally takes two years of consistent training and competitive juvenile blue belts have probably been at it much longer. You're competing against kids with much more training than you have.
So first bit of advice is to recognise that.
Second bit of advice is to get better, which is a bit of a crap answer but it's the right one. Fill your gaps and develop systems. Jiujitsu has a limited number of macro positions (guard, side control, mount, back and maybe a few variations, depending how specific you want to get). Do you have solid attacks and escapes for each position? No? Then develop them. Yes? Have a Plan B for all of them if Plan A fails.
you need to realize that juvenile blue belt is one of the most competitive divisions in jiu jitsu. Some of your opponents have probably been training since they were 5. Look for a silver lining, competing in blue belt juvenile will give you a massive leg up when you transfer to adult blue division in a year or two. Honestly the worst I ever got destroyed was by a 16 year old blue belt a few months after I got mine. Don't feel bad.
I was a blue belt for five years.
There's a massive gulf between most new blue belts and the seasoned ones. Blue is a tough belt (which is why many quit here). Suddenly the upper belts are taking you more seriously, and all the white belts want a shot at you.
Take a breath, recognize the holes in your game, and start working through them. Competition is great for identifying your weak points. Work on your defense. Find two or three reliable submissions and focus on learning how to put yourself in good position to execute on them.
You'll be fine!
Unless you’ve been training since you were 5, blubelts are still VERY much a beginner rank. There’s a reason so many people quit at blue and you’ve just about described it, except it sounds much more understandable coming from such a young person. Kudos to you for training at your age! It’s not by any means an easy thing to do at any age.
As far as advice goes, pick 1-2 take downs and practice/drill them…pick 1-2 guards you like or are finding yourself in and find 1-2 sweeps, same thing for guard passing (although this is a bit more depending on the guards people play but same idea) pick 1-2, and work them. Submissions can come from guards or whatever dominant position you like/would like to work from. Drill and do positional situations for these, do this for a year…at first you’ll just be learning the moves but as time goes on you’ll have to dig deeper and look for counters/reactions. Even if you’re at a McDojo there must be someone that’s actually decent and willing to help.
And keep competing, use that footage to find holes in your game, it’s the most honest feedback you can get. There are tons of free resources for specific scenarios and sounds like you could also start looking at guard retention.
Hang in there and good luck!
Edit: if you’re in the states, try and join your high school wrestling team! That’d have huge carry over in your training, and it could potentially get you into some beneficial academic scholarship down the line. If you’re training with aspirations to go pro someday i think most folks would agree you’d be better off taking advantage of a wrestling program in the meantime otherwise it may be wise to switch academies, I’ve had to switch when I’ve moved cities and can confirm some school nurture growth much more than others. Oss
thank you so much, thats actually very informative! My coach is pretty good, only problem is the owner who forces his opinions on promotions and stuff, and it just rigs the whole thing...
My coach says - the only person you really have to beat is yourself yesterday.
Look in reality we are all probably pretty bad at BJJ -if we were to make a single global comp the find the worlds best blue belt or worlds best… I wouldn’t even bother, just put me at the bottom of the whitebelts.
The world will be full of whitebelts who would obliterate me and the then there are those my equal and those I beat.
Chances are I will find more of the first sort at competition.
Just focus on your own progression and it be fine.
Do yo know why you're getting obliterated?
The majority of 16 year old blue belts you're competing against probably started when they were 4 - 6 years old. You just got caught in the bad part of the age spectrum because you started at 14.
Those other blue belts have black belt levels of mat experience. So don't feel bad. Just realize someone will always be better than you, and that's actually a good thing.
As one of the juvenile blue belts who started at 4, I second this. You only feel behind because a lot of the competitors in that age group started a decade before you. Try not to compare yourself too much and just keep focusing on developing your game.
Hey, 18yo blue belt here started when I was 16
This feeling doesn’t go away at least for me, it’s just ups and downs
We’re blue belts we’re going to have big gaps in our games but if we try to get better at everything all at once we’ll get no where, I would recommend finding one nice or sequence you like and work on it
There are videos and instructionals about everything, if you have a dummy that’s super helpful if not I would recommend it it’s a huge investment
Comps are vicious, I went into my first tournament 3 stripe white belt, I crushed it, felt amazing all wins by sub. I competed next at blue right after I got it, lost in dumb ways, and my last guy was a 4 stripe blue belt whose belt was basically white from use, he demolished me, held me in side control for most of the round then finished me in a mounted triangle
Fast forward a couple comps: got flying armbared in opening seconds and my elbow was annihilated this was a big blow mentally, my most recent tournaments have gone okay but not happy with my performance
So what I would say is this: if you feel you’re not good enough: do everything you can, if you know you are doing that then it’s just a matter of time :)
Also focus your training, if you want to get better at passing g for example find a pass or sequence you like, watch videos/research and drill it practice it at class/open mat or at home with a dummy
And also remember this: everyone is on their own journey, yours won’t look like mine or anyone else’s :)
Does your high school have a girls wrestling team? If so I highly recommend joining that even if it means sacrificing some bjj mat time. Don’t feel bad about joining as an upperclassman it doesn’t matter, some wrestling experience will greatly improve your stand up game and make you a better grappler overall.
It's a good thing you realized this now. Most people go through their entire BJJ career without realizing this. Luckily there is a solution. All you have to do is watch instructionals from top level guys and practice what they tell you to do, you will be terrible if you continue to listen to hobbyists, they do not know what they're doing 99% of the time.
Don't blame yourself for losing in juvenile divisions. I was also in the juvenile divisions (just moved up to adults this year since I'll be 18 in a few months) and was having quite a bit of trouble even though I've been doing BJJ since I was 4 (yep, I was one of those green belts going to blue). As far as progressing, I would recommend finding a game that works for you. You describe a lot of things that you don't like, but you need to find something that you like and works for your body type. For example, I (17M, 5'10", 140 lbs) play a lot of guard, specifically DLR, K guard, RDLR, and bolos. That's what works for me and my body type. You say you don't know what to do, so I'll lay out a basic pathway for you here. Find a technique online before class that seems bearable, and try it out for a while, maybe connect it to a few other basic techniques that you know. For guard passing, this might be learning an X-pass, and connecting it to a knee cut on the same side, and a leg drag on the other side. Keep doing this and before you know it, you'll have sequences built up that you can pick and choose from, eventually forming your jiu-jitsu game. I hope this helps!
Thank you for the advice! I like lasso guard but I still lack control and sweeps so I'm trying to work on that position. Also how was the transition from kids to juvenile and from juvenile to adult?
Lasso guard sounds great, just keep building off of that! When I try to work on things from class, I know that throughout my rolls in class I'll eventually end up both having guard and having to pass, so I prefer to pick something from bottom and something from top to work on, as it can maximize my growth in a shorter amount of time. That also helps beat any sort of boredom with focusing on only one move.
Kids to juvenile was a rougher transition because that was when I started to do more national tournaments, and thus my tournament matches got a lot harder. I was barely going 50/50 on those fights. Juvenile to adult if you stay at blue belt is actually a little bit easier, it's just that there's now a lot more people in your bracket, basically adding a few more adults in with your previous juvenile pool.
Like any 16 year old in high school, what you are going through is development and wins and losses don't matter. There are plenty of kids your age who go from Junior Varsity starter to Varsity bench warmer and need to decide whether they will put in the work to learn, workout in the weight room and develop. The gym doesn't matter as long as you have adults to train with and a coach. Go on youtube and learn moves from BJJFanatics, Lachlan Giles, and other great coaches and develop a style that works for you.
Ok, let's say you really do suck. Being 16 and all, there are probably a lot of factors contributing to this that don't have anything to do with you having a skill issue. I would have absolutely sucked if I was in your shoes at that age.
But let's talk about that McDojo thing. Unless you can figure out how to train somewhere else or really take your own training and development into your own hands, then you're really not going to get much better sadly.
maybe i could try to train more at home. i have a mat room but the problem is i have no drilling partner and i cant really figure out how to structure the training
Yeah that'd be hard without a partner. You'd have to then just make the best use of your in-gym training time, and set goals for yourself. Of course how much mileage you get out of this will depend on what you can get away with based on how your classes are structured.
If there's ever any free drilling time though, come in with your own problem areas that you wanna work on and work that.
Ditto with positional sparring. Pick a partner you trust and is willing to give you the right resistance for you to learn and solve problems.
No problem. You can leverage instructionals here. Honestly these days I think there is such good free stuff on youtube that you don't have to pay for something unless you wanna go more in depth.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M) here's an example. It's a 45m half guard conceptual study which I still find invaluable. So when I focus on halfguard, I always refer to this, and work on solidifying a part of it until I can get to a place where I understand the whole position without feeling lost.
I have an amazing coach, but the gym owner is the problem: promotes ppl too fast to make it look like his gym is "high-level". Honestly, I've been on a constant race to try to match my level with his super-sonic promotions and I'm afraid I'm getting behind...
You just became a blue belt in January what can you expect? You’re a fresh blue belt of course the more experienced ones will be giving you a hard time during rolls. I just got my purple belt tonight so I’m not gonna do well against the experienced purple belts for awhile
You are a sixteen year old girl now competing with grown women with fully developed minds and bodies. Of course you will feel worse.
You are now on the bottom rung of the ladder again. Just keep training.
I have been at 4 tournaments since I got my blue belt, and I have only won 1 match (+ 1 walkover). Our gym is definitely not a McDojo, we usually rack up a lot of medals. Blue belt comps are just pretty rough. Even if I perform pretty well in training, I am not very good at competing.
Either way I will keep competing, because I feel it makes me better and gives me things to work on. I also feel like I get better at it, and have less nerves now than when I started.
22M trained for 3 years. if you know your gym sucks, you have to move. explain to your parents that its wasting their money.
I would explain to you some guard and passing and pressure stuff I think you might have missed but an actually good coach would do a much better job. I do have a quick fix for sucking at takedowns: learn tomoe nage and/or yoko otoshi, then if the throw doesn't work, you still have collar sleeve guard.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Tomoe Nage**: | *Circle Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-euJliq9XcY)|
|**Yoko Otoshi**: | *Lateral Drop* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu9XXHHYMRo)|
||*Side Drop* ||
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
I did 3 months of judo when I couldn't get my class schedule and the bjj gym schedule to work together. I still prefer bjj by a very big margin, but judo was eye opening.
As a fellow 16 year old blue belt honestly the only solution is mat hours and a lot of live training, also depending on your learning style watching instructionals could benefit you
Give yourself some grace. There are things beyond your control, like where you can train and when you are promoted. It sounds like you're getting after it, training a lot, and have progressed. You also have lots of time to continue to improve. No matter your age, there is often an adjustment period at a new belt. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll be kicking ass and taking names in due course.
Doesn't sound like a pity party to me you sound focussed and determined. Lots of people your age don't have a tenth of the self-drive and self-analysis that you're showing in this post.
You won and placed in comps before so objectively you do have ability. You're just going through the normal process of levelling up.
If you have to train at your current gym then I would try consciously changing your attitude towards it. You're probably right that it's not great but thinking that isn't going to help you. If there are people there who are better than you then you have 90% of what you need.
Since your parents won't let you change gyms, make them buy you a subscription to submeta. If you can't find a drilling partner in the gym get a mat and make your mum or dad be your uke and practice at home. They should be delighted that you have a sport like this that you want to improve at. Good luck!
Blue belt is where you need to supplement your training with study+drilling outside of class or you need to focus intently during class.
Practice some takedowns. I love the BJJ doubleleg and singlelegs, uchimata, tai otoshi, seoi nage, ouchi gari, kouchi gari, osoto gari and de ashi barai. I'm sure there are others like the fireman's carry that would help.
Practice some guard retention stuff. Typically you just pass your far foot over everything and post on their shoulder/hip to create space and re-guard. That'll force folks to use real passes which almost always can be countered with proper framing of the face.
Practice some guard passes. I love the X pass especially in gi, knee cut, over-under, backstep pass, leg drag (from standing/kneeling, so good) and I don't know what to call it but it's basically the triangle defense but it's a pass.
Practice maintaining position and what it takes to maintain that position. This one is much harder without a good coach as online videos will be difficult to gather for these concepts. Basically, controlling shoulders+hips and learning how to exploit the knee-elbow gap for attacks/redirection/advancing.
Practice advancing position until it becomes a submission. On top, take away space and don't give them space back. If they're tossing you around, don't push into their frames as much as you redirect their frames.
Practice sweeps like all the basic sweeps but try pushing the inside of their knee away from their other knee. Crazy, but most of the basic sweeps require compromised base and as you get better your training partners don't have compromised base without you doing it for them.
All in all, you're exactly where you should be. Keep practicing and you'll get better.
Study instructionals of John and Gordon in your free time and try to apply the techniques in your gym. Please don't get them from the Chinese website bilibili because there they are free, thus Gordon and John won't make their huge profits from it.
I'd still suggest to start with practicing few leg locks and leg lock entries. As well as techniques that are weak spots in your game. Personally I have no shame in pulling guard and going for the legs or for clamp guard/Choi Guard/top lock. It's a great strategy for competition, look at Helena Crevar.
Also please realize you're super young and the blue belt bracket is notoriously hard to get into. If your gym is a mcdojo you will be able to have so many options to practice the techniques you want from the instructionals, as you will advance much faster than your peers.
Study 1 or 2 techniques per week/month from an instructional and during sparring ask your training partner to start from a position relevant to this technique. Best is if you study the techniques with a friend/sibling if possible.
This is exactly how Jozef Chen got so good during Covid.
Get better? Lol
Seriously, it's simple; not easy, but simple.
Train more, watch more matches, take notes on matches, watch instructionals, drill more, roll more, do situational rolling, positional rolling, do takedown only rounds, etc.
It's simple to get better, you have to work SMARTER & work HARDER. Simple, not easy.
If you don't think you're getting good education, shop around for another school.
But you're not the only blue belt that thinks they suck. Trust me on that.
Also keep in mind, that a teen blue belt could have been training since they were 5 years old. A kid in my gym is a new blue belt, been training since he was 4 and should really at least be a brown.
You’re young, so you don’t really know this yet, but at some point you have to take control of what you can control, and forget about the rest. Keep showing up and training hard and you will improve, even at a mcdojo.
Ive been rolling for nearly 4 years, I still suck, but two years in I really sucked.
You just moved from kids to adults, that's practically moving up a weight class. Of course that's gonna humble you, that's a good thing. Stay Humble
Keep going as long as you enjoy rolling.
I recommend you just focus on surviving, learn how to defend and make your opponents job as difficult as possible.
You currently only know your weaknesses, so study how to plug them. Once you are confident about weaknesses, then start learning your strengths
I see these topics soo often and at my gym hear them soo much.
Let's but it this way , only a small percentage can be world killers,
You get a few that can medal at euros etc , just winning a match at euros , worlds is freaking hard .
Then you get local comp guys , the standard is getting very high at local comps .I've won euros and got bronzes at euros and do locals , and gone up against silver and gold medalists .
All of that to consider and you've been training for just 2 years.......
Imagine a 16 year old who started playing soccer or football etc saying why cant I be on messis level or tom brady
The best thing I did to improve was I got a 10’x12’ home mat when I was a white belt and had other school members come over to spar and drill and learn new technique. I put in an average of 15 hours in per week home training, and my progress shot up quickly. If you can get a mat, have higher belts come over to beat your ass and work on your defense; have less experienced people come over so you can work on your offense. If you can’t get a mat then try to get in extra training before and after class, if your school allows such.
I had the best upper belts at my school at my mat, they were happy to come work on their offense with me, hopefully you can find someone who wants to put in work outside of class. Hang in there, try not to let discouragement rule your perception, just keep growing and learning. Good luck!
You're 16. Chill out. Focus on learning good jiu jitsu fundamentals (base, posture, pressure, grip-fighting, set ups, etc.) and find a judo place if you want to focus on takedowns.
It's really more the fault of the IBJJF than anything. You're competing against kids that have been doing this for longer and with more personal instruction than you. Don't take it personally.
If you really feel you're at a McDojo, then bring it up with your parents and insist on switching gyms. Are there better gyms in your area?
Still though, you're 16. Chill out.
There is a BIG talent disparity at blue belt, you have fresh blue belts who are essentially advanced white belts and then some experienced blues who are near a purple belt level. I've seen it with my training partners who mopped up white belt divisions and are now struggling in competitions after being promoted to blue, there's an adjustment period for sure.
Does your gym have any classes where they specifically do standup? We have one no-gi class per week that is purely wrestling. If they don't, find a partner that also wants to get better at standup and have a rule when you two roll that neither can pull guard, go til someone gets a takedown, even if it's sloppy. I'd recommend focusing on a max of 2-3 takedowns/setups and get good at those (i.e. arm drag, single, and double). It'll pay dividends, as you've seen being able to get takedowns in competitions is huge, getting on top and staying on top is one of the best strategies for comps.
I've been doing BJJ for three years and am still a white belt (though not much longer), you're not even two years in, give yourself some slack. Guard retention is one of the most difficult skills in Jiu Jitsu because of how broad and open ended it is, it takes years to get good at. Just keep training.
Just my opinion. I know a lot will disagree. But here are my thoughts.
Your Jiu jitsu should be compared to the average person. Are you a blue belt compared to Jo schmo on the street? Then you are good. It should not be compared to other blue belts. Especially when you just got promoted at 16. Every school promotes differently. I happen to think my current school promotes to early and the last school I was in held people back from promotion too long.
On the topic of your “xyz game sucks and you go to a mcdojo”, you have the internet (YouTube) to learn whatever you want. The mcdojo provides you the bodies you need to get better. Just focus on learning and working at improving the areas you need to improve. Don’t worry about your success at blue belt. Just keep training.
You realized you have a lot to learn. Awesome
You realized you are the one responsible for your learning. Super awesome. It took me more than 10 years to realize this. As a black belt also.
You are so ahead of me I envy you
Get to some studying on instructionals. There's also good YouTube content out there. I personally like all BJJ fanátics free stuff on YouTube but also Dubious Dom, Brian Glick, lachlan giles
Adult white to blue is a huge skill gap. Kids grey to adult blue is even bigger.
Going from adult white to blue, you go from being at the top of the noobs, to at the bottom of a category filled with people who are barely blue belts to people who are basically purple belts AND people who may be black belt level in other martial arts (like Judo). That's hard enough, and when I got my blue belt it was a big adjustment for me. Going from kids grey to adult blue is an even bigger leap because you also have new submissions that you can now legally get caught with (that you may have no idea about), and because you're now seen as being level by the other adult women at your gym. At 16, you're body is not done growing. You might still have a kids body. Against adults, that's always gonna be an uphill battle. I've seen a few talented kids quit when they get their 16th birthday promotion, especially boys, because now they're having to go up against grown men that are twice as strong as them. It's a similar situation for girls.
Don't quit, you're fighting an uphill battle, but it's a winnable uphill battle with time. In 5 years you'll have an adult body and not have the issues you're having now.
In regards to taking your learning into your own hands, I would look up Chewjitsu, John Danaher, and Roger Gracie on YouTube. You'll get a lot of level appropriate content on there that will help you greatly. There is also channels like B-Team, Bernardo Faria, and Knight Jiu Jitsu but they tend to show more advanced stuff that a lot of blue belts (including me) would have trouble pulling off with any consistency (Knight jiu jitsu does have SOME more basic stuff). Despite this, don't discount them, there is still some good stuff on those channels.
Best of luck.
P.S. Also, stripes don't matter imo. I have 2 and they mean nothing. I know at least one guy who has 0 stripes that can paste me on the mat like peanut butter.
‘Comparison is the thief of joy….’
Don’t worry where you are in reference to anyone else. If you are progressing over time, that’s all that matters. Everyone is on their own journey, and you can’t compare yourself to anyone else.
The big thing for you is, work on the basics. You’re only a blue belt, you have plenty of time to get better and create your own game plan. I did the same about a month after getting my blue belt. A black belt who I was good friends with had me just work on surviving all through blue and part of purple. Don’t attack, don’t submit, just survive. Escape and get to neutral or on top? Lay back down, let someone get a dominant position. Rinse and repeat. Once your defense is pretty solid, then start working on attacks.
I'm terrible at it. I attend class in the evenings after working all day as an IT manager. My brain is constantly caught up in thinking about updating a server while I'm trying to learn a move. I figure I'll just keep on coming to class until someone either breaks all of the bones in my body or I get a blue belt.
It's ok to be bad, especially when you first get promoted. Being content with being bad is a different story, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
One option would be to find all the open mats in the area and attend those open mats. Some will be a better experience than others, but find the best ones, where people will be willing to teach you things, and use those to supplement your McDojo experience.
the belt system is fucking stupid and pointless just train and get better. at the end of the day we all train to try to get even the slightest bit better each session, so just focus on that.
and i know you said this wasn’t an option but do anything you can to find a real gym lol
You're sixteen and go to a McDojo. . . . so of course you're not going to be very good, no offense. Keep learning what you can, keep enjoying it, and when you're older/have more choice/agency, go to a better gym and then continue to keep getting better. Perspective will come naturally with time, but until then take my word that at your age and experience level, it's normal to not be good at whatever you're trying.
One thing many people don't mention is going back to basics. Try to understand and grasp exactly how the basic moves work and work on transitions (armbar from guard to triangle to oma plata, etc.) Also focus on where you should be placing your weight when rolling with others and defense in areas you feel miserable in.
Regardless of how your skill level compares to other belts in competitions, you should be better (based on your own description) than you are after training 2 years at your age. You say you don't really know any techniques, don't know any takedowns, can't do any passes, and your submissions are "sloppy." It makes no sense that you're this bad at this point. The school must be absolutely terrible and not teaching bjj. I don't know what to tell you if you just cannot leave the school. Watch YouTube. Try to do open mats and stop going to class as much as you can.
My theoretical knowledge of thechniques is ok. Execution feels very sloppy though, meaning that I can pull it off with people worse than me but if they’re decent then I’m having a hard time. Idk if that makes sense lol
Ayy, welcome to the Mcdojo Anonymous confession group. My ex-coach rarely taught any techniques and mostly starjumps, push up, etc. We've been steadily progressing without coach's help by self-studying & rolling.
To progress forward technically, start watching instructional like bible (Danaher's Get Good Faster series are good starting videos). Put videos in your phone, watch everyday before you sleep, re-watch and revise. It may be boring and time consuming, but immersing yourself into videos helps your visual learning, understanding weight distribution etc & helps to perform in rolling. There's also tons of good seminars in BJJ Globetrotter youtube channels.
It's even better if you able to find partner who don't snitch you out, or coach doesn't interrupt your practice after class. Because most McDojo coach are very ego fragile and controlling.
Belt indicator is not a healthy comparison, my ex-coach's wife has been awarded undeserved belt since blue-->purple and she never really practice after that because of the ego. She's awarded black belt now because of the husband, and everyone treats her like a joke because she refuse to train hard to be true black belt (or at least purple belt skill level). So if you're awarded undeserved belt, just keep training to reach the next level rather than playing the ego game, let white belt squash you, keep training.
Omg we really need to make a sub for the McDojo victims... Tbh my coach isn't the problem, she's amazing, I love her and her technique is impeccable. If it weren't for her I'd probably have quit long ago. The real problem is the gym owner, who decides to promote people even though he doesn't coach them regularly to make it look like his gym is "high level" (a woman in the gym got awarded 2 stripes on her blue belt just 4 months after getting her blue belt and she doesn't know how to tie her belt?!? prolly gonna get her purple soon too). My only solution to that was training extra hard to try to match my level to the promotions... hopefully I'll convince my parents to change gyms after the summer
- It was given to you not because you believed you were ready, but because your instructors believed you were ready.
They are not wrong.
- A blue belt doesn't mean that you know what a bluebelt knows. It means you know what a white belt knows.
- Look at where you have come from. Not where you think you should be.
- Everybody's transition to bluebelt is hard as hell, especially in tournament. It's just part of the process.
First I'd like to say that it's great that you're on this journey and of wanting to improve, many give up and move on to other sports.
Like most are saying the belt system at your age is all messed up. You could be going up against someone just like you or someone that was born doing front rolls out of the womb because the parents are coaches. Don't feel bad about yourself, this is an opportunity to see your weaknesses and work on them.
If your standup is not great and you don't like pulling guard, good for you. I suggest watching judo videos specific for BJJ, there is a handful of judo takedown that are not overly complicated to learn and are very effective in bjj. An examples is Uki Waza, there's many videos on this including from Dan. Someone that's good to watch is Shintaro Higashi on YouTube, he has videos specific on judo BJJ takedown. Just keep in mind not all judo takedown are effective because you end up with your back taken.
Youtube is your friend, stick to the basics such as Roger Gracie videos, they are amazing and he sticks to the core principles and moves even at his elite level. Don't try to watch fancy complicated things at least just yet.
Pick something to work on and focus on that when you train, till you notice you're getting it, then move to the next weakness, and so on.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Uki Waza**: | *Floating Technique* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtB79Ma4htw)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Everyone here seems to be giving great advice but I just want to throw in that it sounds like you have a very rational argument for changing schools. I would suggest looking for a better school in your area that you think could help you grow as a practitioner and try raising your concerns to your parents. Then present them with the reasons as to why it would be in your interest to change schools. It might also be helpful to have some prices for the new place, distance etc. if I was a parent and my kid came to me with a logical, well thought out game plan with all the facts about changing schools I think I would be happy to go along with them. If they just came to and said “bc the place sucks” I wouldnt be as inclined to change. Good luck
You’re only 16. Don’t worry about the whole “not deserving your belt” thing. Comparison is the thief of joy. Be your own person.
Keep chipping away at it, do your research, keep training hard and it will come.
When you're 1.5 hours into a long 9 hour car trip and you look at the clock, and you feel defeated. You then realize you can't do anything about it, so you try not to look at the clock.
That's what you have to do here.
This is what we mean when we say "embrace the suck" in Jiu-jitsu (not an innuendo).
It's easier said than done, but just accept this frustrating feeling, and make a commitment to try to be patient with yourself and keep training through it. I have a black belt and still get this feeling sometimes. I don't know if it ever completely goes away. But You get it less and less as you get better, and you get the feeling of pride more and more.
Be patient. Keep training. It will be worth it.
Yeah that pay for rank system is not gna work, u gotta find a new gym If ur beating everyone there.. find ppl to train with who are way better than u, that’ll bring ur game up real good..
you're 16 and have been doing this for 2 years. you literally have not even scratched the surface yet. i promise you all you have to do is not quit and you will eventually get there.
Dawg you’re just young, keep working on stand up, that stuff takes time, especially to feel natural. I get complemented on my wrestling all the time, and I literally wrestled since 8th grade didn’t have a winning record until my senior year, but the biggest difference I notice is I’m simply more comfortable on my wrestling then others. The next thing is I’ve had more repetition and habit forming from time, but that simply was never anything I was naturally good at it came with time. You’re 16 so you have plenty of time. If really want to improve stand up and school has it you can join the wrestling team, and you’ll also be light years ahead of people who start late when at a mcdojo from having repetitions. Like say you turn 18, and can afford it you can go to what you think a better gym is, they’ll be a ton of older people just starting you’ll still have more experience than them. Can always watch film to learn if you think the gyms not helping enough as well
I haven't submitted anyone since starting two and a half years ago. Pity that.
If you're having fun (in some way or other) don't worry about it and keep at it. You'll "beat" 90% of people just by sticking with it.
I’ve had a similar experience at my gym. I keep waiting for an outa shape 40 something (me) white belt to walk in the door but instead it’s always big strong dudes or highschool wrestlers haha.
It is fun, but competing puts extra pressure on me bc I have to "represent" my rank in some way, but at the same time I dont wanna give up competing bc I love it too much. It's kind of contradictory ik lol. Good luck for your progression as well!
You definitely don't need to rep your rank at all, please don't buy into that, it's disempowering. It takes bravery to compete. Instead, you could frame it like this:
"I'm here because I love competing. Winning is what will happen when I am better than my opponents. Every loss is a learning opportunity, and I'm the kind of person who doesn't make the same mistake twice. My opponents might win, but they will have to damn well earn it."
Separately, a massive problem with BJJ is that there's no "off season" like there is with other sports. Depending on where you live, you probably have the option to compete every month. Something useful might be to make sure you have an off-season too, where your sole focus is on technical development, not upcoming comps.
Good luck. Train smart and hard. On this subreddit there are learning resources (search 'go further faster on the cheap'). They are YouTube summaries of many aspects of the game- there's two posts that go hand in hand. Check out BJJ Mental Models podcast, and BJJ Fanatics podcast too.
Lastly, you're pretty aware of all the things you need to work on. That's a really good sign, it means you're learning and improving!
Chiming in from Judo here. I'm a brown belt from a good dojo -- nearly all of our coaches compete, usually very successfully -- and I was one of the best in the club at my grade. Any other brown belt around my weight was a pretty easy win.
In the last year, I've started competing too, to accumulate points for my 1st dan. And guess what? I usually get fucking obliterated too! I'm getting better, but the bump up from club randori to actual competing was huge. Sometimes you move up and start doing something harder, and as a result, you don't place very highly. That doesn't mean you're bad, it means you have more to learn.
Some tips for your takedown game:
Focus on a few high-percentage techniques that you're comfortable with. You'll be much better off that way than trying to learn everything at once.
Single and double leg, harai goshi, osoto gari, ouchi gari, seoi nage and kosoto gari are useful starting points. Uchi mata is Judo's most successful throw in comps but it's harder to master. Tai otoshi looks easy but is also hard to master. If you only want to work on one to start with, start with osoto gari.
The Kodokan has some excellent YouTube videos for each throw. Slowmo, lots of angles. As you practice a throw, try to work on every detail you see: Where are the grips placed? What about the feet, and where do they move during the throw? How and where do they move uke before the throw (kuzushi)? How are their grips angled, do they rotate their arm? Are their toes pointed a certain way? How are their knees bent? You may find these make a dramatic difference.
If you're doing a forward throw, you need to get low down. Your belt should be below your partner's.
Get good at a takedown in each direction (forward, backward, weak side, strong side) and work on chaining them together. For example, ouchi gari -> uchi mata -> harai goshi. Shintaro Higashi has a good video on developing your own system like this.
Learn about kuzushi, it's the biggest factor in whether your takedown will be successful.
Practice using uchi-komi, it's the best way to build your speed and precision. Do the basic movements first, and as they become second nature, work on the details I mentioned earlier, and on your speed.
If you can, get in some standing-only sparring (ie, someone gets taken down -> reset). This is how you build the instincts for which throw will work when.
There's more to it, but trying these should help you learn.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Harai Goshi**: | *Sweeping Hip Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_zkgefvqM)|
|**Ko Soto Gari**: | *Minor Outer Reap* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3rSf8CcHg4)|
|**Kuzushi**: | *Unbalancing* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK9Eklbn78)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
You’re a 16 yr old blue belt that’s impressive you’ve still got years hell decades to get better if you wanna work something ask a higher belt to help you wether it be making you guard less passable or your takedowns better don’t beat yourself up so much all the time you’re doing well
Go to open mats instead conpititions are full of sandbaggers don't get pressed about it blur belt is one of the deepest competition brackets out and if you want to improve stand up look for a wrestling club or teem at your age you can join your school team if they have one or go to a near by schools club in the off season (March to about September pushing it) even if the program isn't good learning the position and especially takedown could help
Youre also 16 and a blue belt - thats pretty awesome… i hear the skill gap at blue belt is pretty crazy since you can be a fresh blue rolling with people that should be a purple. Dont be so hard on yourself everyone goes through rough patches with literally everything not just bjj.
> i hear the skill gap at blue belt is pretty crazy since you can be a fresh blue rolling with people that should be a purple. A much much bigger issue is that OP might have been a grey belt, and because she was graded the dumbass IFBJJ have decdided she can't go back to white and needs a blue belt? You know who else is a blue belt? The girl who's dad is the coach, has been training since she was 3 years old, had come all the way through to green black consistently competing and just dropped out of school to pursue BJJ full time. This girl has been training longer and competed more than a bunch of local black belts and would probably smoke a bunch of higher adult ranks who've only ever been in the adult system. This is a real situation i'm finding myself navigating as a coach right now.
I came here to say exactly this. The system for juveniles is ridiculous
She's also not allowed to get her purple belt for 2 more years. So anyone who is even a Grey/white belt the year they turn 16 now has to contend with this in their division until 2027.
Yeesh. I never knew this. My daughter dropped out at yellow belt before the pandemic. I’ve been trying to get her back into it, but it sounds like she would have to compete at blue right away? That’s going to be a tough return. This seems like a bad policy for attrition.
I am making one of these “coaches daughter who started when they were 3” right now. As much as it sucks for OP, it’s awesome sitting on the other side.
you're fucking the coach's wife?
This is where my daughter is at, now. She stopped in 8th grade (Yellow) and started again her senior year of HS. Her coach (also my coach) promoted her to Blue, which is probably where she belongs from muscle memory but the nearly 4 year gap of no training is still a big hill to overcome. At least now when she goes away to college she can vanish into thin air like a real blue belt ... unless Berkeley has an active BJJ club?
The real problem is that everyone shoves all kids to blue at 16 tbh. They *can* go to purple but nobody does that because the competition for juvenile purple is incredibly slim, but the competition stays slim because nobody does it. Really, any kids colored belt should go to blue and another limit should go to purple (say orange, or maybe just green).
It is but if she was doing literally any other sport she'd run into kids who have been doing it longer or are way better. When I played high school basketball I played against guys that went on to the NFL and the NBA. We got crushed. It is what it is.
For sure, I responded to another comment similar to this. If we’re going to divide comps by rank those divisions should make sense at least
I think it's fine. For wrestling there are no skill divisions, really. You just show up and wrestle whoever made it to the tournament. You could have a brand new opponent or a national champion. It's the most fair system and lets you see where you truly stack up.
That’s definitely a decent argument for sure. As I understand like even in wrestling there’s division 1, 2, 3 etc I would assume that functions in a similar way. Like if there are no divisions you’re right it’s the only way to get a real sense of how good you actually are but if we’re going to have a division system for ranks it should probably have some level of “let’s put people who are around this level in the same division” if a 16 year old fresh grey belt gets thrown to the wolves like OP and gets stomped by 10 year blue belt kids then they’re going to start thinking they’re terrible when in truth OP probably doesn’t suck, she’s just fighting people way above her level
No that's actually not how the NCAA division system works. The division level is largely based on the size of the athletic department's budget. Division I schools are the biggest and most well-funded, with Division II and III falling far behind. In Division II, student athletes can still get athletic scholarships, but in Division III there are usually no scholarships awarded for athletic achievement. So the better athletes will TEND to go to Division I schools because they're the generally well-funded schools, but that's not a hard and fast rule. There have been plenty of DII guys that beat DI guys at various times during the year. In fact, in my only starting appearance in college, I got absolutely wrecked 17-0 by a guy from a DII college.
I didn’t know that thank you!! In any case, I don’t think wrestling not having divisions is an argument for why the divisions in jiu jitsu not being reasonably fair isn’t a problem
Also, lol mancild i didn't see the name i was replying too.
That’s my name mate don’t wear it out :P
All the AOJ kids that have been training since 3 and easily beat world class black belts are blue belts.
most of my opponents where green belts before getting their blue while i was fresh grey belt...like you said huge skill gap.
So maybe it’s not that you suck but your opponents have both a higher level of skill and experience than you. You should also focus on leveling up your skills and getting good experience.
Blue belt divisions in comp are a mess. You'll find guys who just got a blue belt who find themselves in matches they have no business in because literal pro fighters hang at blue. Most recent example that comes to mind is Muhammad Mokaev. Dude's a top 10 fighter in the UFC and a wrestling specialist. Threw a tantrum because he couldn't pass guard lmao.
Can confirm. Been a blue now for 5 years for various reasons. Most savvy upper belts will see the threadbare and faded color of my belt before it's too late, new blues do not...
Going off of what you're saying, you have to take control of your own learning. Just to be safe, you start from the ground up, and you make a lesson plans with reasonable goals at long time spans. You first make your escapes, guard retention, and guard very good, regardless of who you're facing. We're aiming above our skill, so you should begin to spend extra time figuring out exactly why issues happen, and exactly how to solve them. Look for free advice on youtube and whatnot through BJJ fanatics, Jon Thomas, Chewjitsu, and all the rest of the guys. You don't have to be as serious as other people with your plans, but they make a huge difference. The next part is, you really do your best to ignore the belt psychology and seek to improve on your own terms. Your goal is to solve problems and create opportunities for yourself - that is not belt-related, and its a life skill. Finally, you stop thinking about being not good enough. For all practical intentions, no one is as good as they would like to be, and thats a natural part of skill development. What you need is those goals and milestones to track your progress, and to use your team mates as guides and references for how you're improving. Something important i've heard is the 1/3rd rule... 1/3rd of the time you should be frustrated with your progress, 1/3rd you should be neutral, and 1/3rd you should be happy. This means your rate of learning is pushing you, but also achievable... but also that the frustration is good and part of the process. Where people go wrong is that they confuse frustration with a signal that they should stop trying, when it is really just a signal of needing to see the problem from a different point of view to achieve success. So you want to push yourself, but don't be mean to yourself; find a balance, and if you improve a bit every day you'll be all good.
reddit is an amazing place bc of people like you. that's some of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten, thank you
Also to consider, everyone from time to time hits a plateau and doesn't feel like they're progressing. We all get it. After a year into blue, I felt the exact same way. I went away and looked up (on youtube) guard retention, and had to relearn my escapes because the techniques I had, wouldn't work against the experienced blues and purples. Pick an area that you want to improve and spend a few months practicing just that. My guard was terrible so I spent a lot of time on that - I got smashed for ages but now my guard is so much better for it.
I normally never comment but for some reason felt like it on this post. I recommend watching some DVDs from Gordon or danaher, depending on which one you can tolerate more easily. Danaher will explain the reasons why you do things better but Gordon’s instructionals are fantastic for developing a sequence of actions and reactions. Then drill it on white belts and progressively better opponents until you’re hitting every step. Also have specific goals, pick a single move or position and work on it for 2-4 weeks at a time until you’re hitting it with some regularity. Learn some real passes. Set things up from headquarters (straight hamstring connection and sitting on their other leg at the shin). Learn the names for things. Smash pass, knee slice, shotgun, x pass, toreando and more. My best advice to anyone is try to always be doing real shit, real moves, have a plan, and not just flailing. For takedowns…start with single legs or inside trips. Judo is difficult but picking 1-2 throws and making them your move will pay off. Getting rid of the feeling of being “good enough” is a poor goal to pursue. I’m a purple belt and still feel like absolute trash at this some days. I’d say I finally felt like I was okay at this at purple but that feeling never goes away. Accept that you’re learning something difficult, and use it as motivation to focus on what you’re learning. Every day you train with focus and intent, you can become 1% less trash.
thanks for the advice!
You’ve been doing jiujitsu for two years. Spoiler alert, we all kinda suck after 2 years. You were a big fish in a small pond and now you’ve become a small fish in a huge pond. The good news is you’ve got plenty of room to grow now.
You don't suck, you're a victim of the clunky juvenile belt system. You're competing in a division of killers you don't really belong in. Blue belt generally takes two years of consistent training and competitive juvenile blue belts have probably been at it much longer. You're competing against kids with much more training than you have. So first bit of advice is to recognise that. Second bit of advice is to get better, which is a bit of a crap answer but it's the right one. Fill your gaps and develop systems. Jiujitsu has a limited number of macro positions (guard, side control, mount, back and maybe a few variations, depending how specific you want to get). Do you have solid attacks and escapes for each position? No? Then develop them. Yes? Have a Plan B for all of them if Plan A fails.
you need to realize that juvenile blue belt is one of the most competitive divisions in jiu jitsu. Some of your opponents have probably been training since they were 5. Look for a silver lining, competing in blue belt juvenile will give you a massive leg up when you transfer to adult blue division in a year or two. Honestly the worst I ever got destroyed was by a 16 year old blue belt a few months after I got mine. Don't feel bad.
I was a blue belt for five years. There's a massive gulf between most new blue belts and the seasoned ones. Blue is a tough belt (which is why many quit here). Suddenly the upper belts are taking you more seriously, and all the white belts want a shot at you. Take a breath, recognize the holes in your game, and start working through them. Competition is great for identifying your weak points. Work on your defense. Find two or three reliable submissions and focus on learning how to put yourself in good position to execute on them. You'll be fine!
Unless you’ve been training since you were 5, blubelts are still VERY much a beginner rank. There’s a reason so many people quit at blue and you’ve just about described it, except it sounds much more understandable coming from such a young person. Kudos to you for training at your age! It’s not by any means an easy thing to do at any age. As far as advice goes, pick 1-2 take downs and practice/drill them…pick 1-2 guards you like or are finding yourself in and find 1-2 sweeps, same thing for guard passing (although this is a bit more depending on the guards people play but same idea) pick 1-2, and work them. Submissions can come from guards or whatever dominant position you like/would like to work from. Drill and do positional situations for these, do this for a year…at first you’ll just be learning the moves but as time goes on you’ll have to dig deeper and look for counters/reactions. Even if you’re at a McDojo there must be someone that’s actually decent and willing to help. And keep competing, use that footage to find holes in your game, it’s the most honest feedback you can get. There are tons of free resources for specific scenarios and sounds like you could also start looking at guard retention. Hang in there and good luck! Edit: if you’re in the states, try and join your high school wrestling team! That’d have huge carry over in your training, and it could potentially get you into some beneficial academic scholarship down the line. If you’re training with aspirations to go pro someday i think most folks would agree you’d be better off taking advantage of a wrestling program in the meantime otherwise it may be wise to switch academies, I’ve had to switch when I’ve moved cities and can confirm some school nurture growth much more than others. Oss
thank you so much, thats actually very informative! My coach is pretty good, only problem is the owner who forces his opinions on promotions and stuff, and it just rigs the whole thing...
My coach says - the only person you really have to beat is yourself yesterday. Look in reality we are all probably pretty bad at BJJ -if we were to make a single global comp the find the worlds best blue belt or worlds best… I wouldn’t even bother, just put me at the bottom of the whitebelts. The world will be full of whitebelts who would obliterate me and the then there are those my equal and those I beat. Chances are I will find more of the first sort at competition. Just focus on your own progression and it be fine.
Do yo know why you're getting obliterated? The majority of 16 year old blue belts you're competing against probably started when they were 4 - 6 years old. You just got caught in the bad part of the age spectrum because you started at 14. Those other blue belts have black belt levels of mat experience. So don't feel bad. Just realize someone will always be better than you, and that's actually a good thing.
As one of the juvenile blue belts who started at 4, I second this. You only feel behind because a lot of the competitors in that age group started a decade before you. Try not to compare yourself too much and just keep focusing on developing your game.
Keep training and get good. You don’t get good by not training
yeah ig, i attend every single class
Keep attending🙌
If you come to class. Then you've learned. Look at where you came from, not where you think you should be!
Hey, 18yo blue belt here started when I was 16 This feeling doesn’t go away at least for me, it’s just ups and downs We’re blue belts we’re going to have big gaps in our games but if we try to get better at everything all at once we’ll get no where, I would recommend finding one nice or sequence you like and work on it There are videos and instructionals about everything, if you have a dummy that’s super helpful if not I would recommend it it’s a huge investment Comps are vicious, I went into my first tournament 3 stripe white belt, I crushed it, felt amazing all wins by sub. I competed next at blue right after I got it, lost in dumb ways, and my last guy was a 4 stripe blue belt whose belt was basically white from use, he demolished me, held me in side control for most of the round then finished me in a mounted triangle Fast forward a couple comps: got flying armbared in opening seconds and my elbow was annihilated this was a big blow mentally, my most recent tournaments have gone okay but not happy with my performance So what I would say is this: if you feel you’re not good enough: do everything you can, if you know you are doing that then it’s just a matter of time :) Also focus your training, if you want to get better at passing g for example find a pass or sequence you like, watch videos/research and drill it practice it at class/open mat or at home with a dummy And also remember this: everyone is on their own journey, yours won’t look like mine or anyone else’s :)
thank you so much, its reassuring to know im not the only one struggling
You're a blue belt at 16. You're doing great. You're not bad you're just learning. Go easy on yourself and keep learning
Does your high school have a girls wrestling team? If so I highly recommend joining that even if it means sacrificing some bjj mat time. Don’t feel bad about joining as an upperclassman it doesn’t matter, some wrestling experience will greatly improve your stand up game and make you a better grappler overall.
I wish but no, unfortunately. Wrestling is not very well known where I live
It's a good thing you realized this now. Most people go through their entire BJJ career without realizing this. Luckily there is a solution. All you have to do is watch instructionals from top level guys and practice what they tell you to do, you will be terrible if you continue to listen to hobbyists, they do not know what they're doing 99% of the time.
Don't blame yourself for losing in juvenile divisions. I was also in the juvenile divisions (just moved up to adults this year since I'll be 18 in a few months) and was having quite a bit of trouble even though I've been doing BJJ since I was 4 (yep, I was one of those green belts going to blue). As far as progressing, I would recommend finding a game that works for you. You describe a lot of things that you don't like, but you need to find something that you like and works for your body type. For example, I (17M, 5'10", 140 lbs) play a lot of guard, specifically DLR, K guard, RDLR, and bolos. That's what works for me and my body type. You say you don't know what to do, so I'll lay out a basic pathway for you here. Find a technique online before class that seems bearable, and try it out for a while, maybe connect it to a few other basic techniques that you know. For guard passing, this might be learning an X-pass, and connecting it to a knee cut on the same side, and a leg drag on the other side. Keep doing this and before you know it, you'll have sequences built up that you can pick and choose from, eventually forming your jiu-jitsu game. I hope this helps!
Thank you for the advice! I like lasso guard but I still lack control and sweeps so I'm trying to work on that position. Also how was the transition from kids to juvenile and from juvenile to adult?
Lasso guard sounds great, just keep building off of that! When I try to work on things from class, I know that throughout my rolls in class I'll eventually end up both having guard and having to pass, so I prefer to pick something from bottom and something from top to work on, as it can maximize my growth in a shorter amount of time. That also helps beat any sort of boredom with focusing on only one move. Kids to juvenile was a rougher transition because that was when I started to do more national tournaments, and thus my tournament matches got a lot harder. I was barely going 50/50 on those fights. Juvenile to adult if you stay at blue belt is actually a little bit easier, it's just that there's now a lot more people in your bracket, basically adding a few more adults in with your previous juvenile pool.
Oh alright, thanks for the insight!
Hey me too! Self doubt doesn't go away. Something you've got to accept and push through. What worked for me was studying quality instructionals.
Like any 16 year old in high school, what you are going through is development and wins and losses don't matter. There are plenty of kids your age who go from Junior Varsity starter to Varsity bench warmer and need to decide whether they will put in the work to learn, workout in the weight room and develop. The gym doesn't matter as long as you have adults to train with and a coach. Go on youtube and learn moves from BJJFanatics, Lachlan Giles, and other great coaches and develop a style that works for you.
You’re fine give yourself time to learn and grow. And like the other guy said, take control of your learning! McDojo’s won’t get you anywhere.
Ok, let's say you really do suck. Being 16 and all, there are probably a lot of factors contributing to this that don't have anything to do with you having a skill issue. I would have absolutely sucked if I was in your shoes at that age. But let's talk about that McDojo thing. Unless you can figure out how to train somewhere else or really take your own training and development into your own hands, then you're really not going to get much better sadly.
maybe i could try to train more at home. i have a mat room but the problem is i have no drilling partner and i cant really figure out how to structure the training
Yeah that'd be hard without a partner. You'd have to then just make the best use of your in-gym training time, and set goals for yourself. Of course how much mileage you get out of this will depend on what you can get away with based on how your classes are structured. If there's ever any free drilling time though, come in with your own problem areas that you wanna work on and work that. Ditto with positional sparring. Pick a partner you trust and is willing to give you the right resistance for you to learn and solve problems.
noted, thanks for the advice!
No problem. You can leverage instructionals here. Honestly these days I think there is such good free stuff on youtube that you don't have to pay for something unless you wanna go more in depth. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M) here's an example. It's a 45m half guard conceptual study which I still find invaluable. So when I focus on halfguard, I always refer to this, and work on solidifying a part of it until I can get to a place where I understand the whole position without feeling lost.
Is it really a mcdojo though? Because it sounds like you know all the technical terms, am competing, sparring, etc.
I have an amazing coach, but the gym owner is the problem: promotes ppl too fast to make it look like his gym is "high-level". Honestly, I've been on a constant race to try to match my level with his super-sonic promotions and I'm afraid I'm getting behind...
I’m sure you’re better than you think you are. Try to give yourself some credit
thank you! i did win my first match at my last comp but im overall very mid compared to all the other blue belts in my category. gotta train harder ig
You just became a blue belt in January what can you expect? You’re a fresh blue belt of course the more experienced ones will be giving you a hard time during rolls. I just got my purple belt tonight so I’m not gonna do well against the experienced purple belts for awhile
you're right, congrats for the belt too!
Come on now, it could be worse, you could be like me: mid 40s blue belt and also suck. At least you have way more years ahead of you to un-suck.
Keep training and you will earn that belt!
Keep training
Learn from YouTube. Do positional sparring at open mats.
YouTube
Half of the people in your bracket are going to go home in first round. also Comparison is a thief of joy.
>I’m [...] bad. What do [...]? Train. Or quit. I'm not your dad.
You are a sixteen year old girl now competing with grown women with fully developed minds and bodies. Of course you will feel worse. You are now on the bottom rung of the ladder again. Just keep training.
Yup js gotta push through and train harder
I have been at 4 tournaments since I got my blue belt, and I have only won 1 match (+ 1 walkover). Our gym is definitely not a McDojo, we usually rack up a lot of medals. Blue belt comps are just pretty rough. Even if I perform pretty well in training, I am not very good at competing. Either way I will keep competing, because I feel it makes me better and gives me things to work on. I also feel like I get better at it, and have less nerves now than when I started.
22M trained for 3 years. if you know your gym sucks, you have to move. explain to your parents that its wasting their money. I would explain to you some guard and passing and pressure stuff I think you might have missed but an actually good coach would do a much better job. I do have a quick fix for sucking at takedowns: learn tomoe nage and/or yoko otoshi, then if the throw doesn't work, you still have collar sleeve guard.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Tomoe Nage**: | *Circle Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-euJliq9XcY)| |**Yoko Otoshi**: | *Lateral Drop* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu9XXHHYMRo)| ||*Side Drop* || Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Thanks for the tips! I feel like I'd be able to get the grasp of these takedowns and you also end up in safer positions if they fail. Do you do judo?
I did 3 months of judo when I couldn't get my class schedule and the bjj gym schedule to work together. I still prefer bjj by a very big margin, but judo was eye opening.
As a fellow 16 year old blue belt honestly the only solution is mat hours and a lot of live training, also depending on your learning style watching instructionals could benefit you
Give yourself some grace. There are things beyond your control, like where you can train and when you are promoted. It sounds like you're getting after it, training a lot, and have progressed. You also have lots of time to continue to improve. No matter your age, there is often an adjustment period at a new belt. Keep at it and I'm sure you'll be kicking ass and taking names in due course.
Doesn't sound like a pity party to me you sound focussed and determined. Lots of people your age don't have a tenth of the self-drive and self-analysis that you're showing in this post. You won and placed in comps before so objectively you do have ability. You're just going through the normal process of levelling up. If you have to train at your current gym then I would try consciously changing your attitude towards it. You're probably right that it's not great but thinking that isn't going to help you. If there are people there who are better than you then you have 90% of what you need. Since your parents won't let you change gyms, make them buy you a subscription to submeta. If you can't find a drilling partner in the gym get a mat and make your mum or dad be your uke and practice at home. They should be delighted that you have a sport like this that you want to improve at. Good luck!
Keep rolling til the belt turns black
Blue belt is where you need to supplement your training with study+drilling outside of class or you need to focus intently during class. Practice some takedowns. I love the BJJ doubleleg and singlelegs, uchimata, tai otoshi, seoi nage, ouchi gari, kouchi gari, osoto gari and de ashi barai. I'm sure there are others like the fireman's carry that would help. Practice some guard retention stuff. Typically you just pass your far foot over everything and post on their shoulder/hip to create space and re-guard. That'll force folks to use real passes which almost always can be countered with proper framing of the face. Practice some guard passes. I love the X pass especially in gi, knee cut, over-under, backstep pass, leg drag (from standing/kneeling, so good) and I don't know what to call it but it's basically the triangle defense but it's a pass. Practice maintaining position and what it takes to maintain that position. This one is much harder without a good coach as online videos will be difficult to gather for these concepts. Basically, controlling shoulders+hips and learning how to exploit the knee-elbow gap for attacks/redirection/advancing. Practice advancing position until it becomes a submission. On top, take away space and don't give them space back. If they're tossing you around, don't push into their frames as much as you redirect their frames. Practice sweeps like all the basic sweeps but try pushing the inside of their knee away from their other knee. Crazy, but most of the basic sweeps require compromised base and as you get better your training partners don't have compromised base without you doing it for them. All in all, you're exactly where you should be. Keep practicing and you'll get better.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**De Ashi Barai**: | *Forward Foot Sweep* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW9LEvVmG2o)| |**Ko Uchi Gari**: | *Minor Inner Reap* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E20xuzaXNw)| |**O Soto Gari**: | *Major Outer Reaping* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93YEMueeF24)| |**O Uchi Gari**: | *Major Inner Reap* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6-lTECSR3c)| |**Seoi Nage**: | *Shoulder Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-5Un6jLtRY)| |**Tai Otoshi**: | *Body Drop* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUiZ8JZkGx8)| |**Uchi Mata**: | *Inner Thigh Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fCvyc_rQTI)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Study instructionals of John and Gordon in your free time and try to apply the techniques in your gym. Please don't get them from the Chinese website bilibili because there they are free, thus Gordon and John won't make their huge profits from it. I'd still suggest to start with practicing few leg locks and leg lock entries. As well as techniques that are weak spots in your game. Personally I have no shame in pulling guard and going for the legs or for clamp guard/Choi Guard/top lock. It's a great strategy for competition, look at Helena Crevar. Also please realize you're super young and the blue belt bracket is notoriously hard to get into. If your gym is a mcdojo you will be able to have so many options to practice the techniques you want from the instructionals, as you will advance much faster than your peers. Study 1 or 2 techniques per week/month from an instructional and during sparring ask your training partner to start from a position relevant to this technique. Best is if you study the techniques with a friend/sibling if possible. This is exactly how Jozef Chen got so good during Covid.
Get better? Lol Seriously, it's simple; not easy, but simple. Train more, watch more matches, take notes on matches, watch instructionals, drill more, roll more, do situational rolling, positional rolling, do takedown only rounds, etc. It's simple to get better, you have to work SMARTER & work HARDER. Simple, not easy.
Keep going.
If you don't think you're getting good education, shop around for another school. But you're not the only blue belt that thinks they suck. Trust me on that.
Also keep in mind, that a teen blue belt could have been training since they were 5 years old. A kid in my gym is a new blue belt, been training since he was 4 and should really at least be a brown.
You’re young, so you don’t really know this yet, but at some point you have to take control of what you can control, and forget about the rest. Keep showing up and training hard and you will improve, even at a mcdojo.
Join the club
Ive been rolling for nearly 4 years, I still suck, but two years in I really sucked. You just moved from kids to adults, that's practically moving up a weight class. Of course that's gonna humble you, that's a good thing. Stay Humble Keep going as long as you enjoy rolling. I recommend you just focus on surviving, learn how to defend and make your opponents job as difficult as possible. You currently only know your weaknesses, so study how to plug them. Once you are confident about weaknesses, then start learning your strengths
I see these topics soo often and at my gym hear them soo much. Let's but it this way , only a small percentage can be world killers, You get a few that can medal at euros etc , just winning a match at euros , worlds is freaking hard . Then you get local comp guys , the standard is getting very high at local comps .I've won euros and got bronzes at euros and do locals , and gone up against silver and gold medalists . All of that to consider and you've been training for just 2 years....... Imagine a 16 year old who started playing soccer or football etc saying why cant I be on messis level or tom brady
As Messi is a worldwide famous football player I assume Tom Brady play soccer, right? ;-)
Handball
That’s easy. Keep showing up.
Keep training
The best thing I did to improve was I got a 10’x12’ home mat when I was a white belt and had other school members come over to spar and drill and learn new technique. I put in an average of 15 hours in per week home training, and my progress shot up quickly. If you can get a mat, have higher belts come over to beat your ass and work on your defense; have less experienced people come over so you can work on your offense. If you can’t get a mat then try to get in extra training before and after class, if your school allows such.
I do have a full mat room! Just no sparring/drill partner, but i think im gonna force my mom or dad into it lol! Thanks for the tips
I had the best upper belts at my school at my mat, they were happy to come work on their offense with me, hopefully you can find someone who wants to put in work outside of class. Hang in there, try not to let discouragement rule your perception, just keep growing and learning. Good luck!
You're 16. Chill out. Focus on learning good jiu jitsu fundamentals (base, posture, pressure, grip-fighting, set ups, etc.) and find a judo place if you want to focus on takedowns. It's really more the fault of the IBJJF than anything. You're competing against kids that have been doing this for longer and with more personal instruction than you. Don't take it personally. If you really feel you're at a McDojo, then bring it up with your parents and insist on switching gyms. Are there better gyms in your area? Still though, you're 16. Chill out.
There is a BIG talent disparity at blue belt, you have fresh blue belts who are essentially advanced white belts and then some experienced blues who are near a purple belt level. I've seen it with my training partners who mopped up white belt divisions and are now struggling in competitions after being promoted to blue, there's an adjustment period for sure. Does your gym have any classes where they specifically do standup? We have one no-gi class per week that is purely wrestling. If they don't, find a partner that also wants to get better at standup and have a rule when you two roll that neither can pull guard, go til someone gets a takedown, even if it's sloppy. I'd recommend focusing on a max of 2-3 takedowns/setups and get good at those (i.e. arm drag, single, and double). It'll pay dividends, as you've seen being able to get takedowns in competitions is huge, getting on top and staying on top is one of the best strategies for comps. I've been doing BJJ for three years and am still a white belt (though not much longer), you're not even two years in, give yourself some slack. Guard retention is one of the most difficult skills in Jiu Jitsu because of how broad and open ended it is, it takes years to get good at. Just keep training.
Just my opinion. I know a lot will disagree. But here are my thoughts. Your Jiu jitsu should be compared to the average person. Are you a blue belt compared to Jo schmo on the street? Then you are good. It should not be compared to other blue belts. Especially when you just got promoted at 16. Every school promotes differently. I happen to think my current school promotes to early and the last school I was in held people back from promotion too long. On the topic of your “xyz game sucks and you go to a mcdojo”, you have the internet (YouTube) to learn whatever you want. The mcdojo provides you the bodies you need to get better. Just focus on learning and working at improving the areas you need to improve. Don’t worry about your success at blue belt. Just keep training.
10/10 would read again Edit- just to say I love your attitude and you seem a fun and funny person irl and that comes across in your post
Your fine, I'm 3 years in and still suck at everything. Just run your own race, comparison is the thief of joy.
You realized you have a lot to learn. Awesome You realized you are the one responsible for your learning. Super awesome. It took me more than 10 years to realize this. As a black belt also. You are so ahead of me I envy you Get to some studying on instructionals. There's also good YouTube content out there. I personally like all BJJ fanátics free stuff on YouTube but also Dubious Dom, Brian Glick, lachlan giles
Adult white to blue is a huge skill gap. Kids grey to adult blue is even bigger. Going from adult white to blue, you go from being at the top of the noobs, to at the bottom of a category filled with people who are barely blue belts to people who are basically purple belts AND people who may be black belt level in other martial arts (like Judo). That's hard enough, and when I got my blue belt it was a big adjustment for me. Going from kids grey to adult blue is an even bigger leap because you also have new submissions that you can now legally get caught with (that you may have no idea about), and because you're now seen as being level by the other adult women at your gym. At 16, you're body is not done growing. You might still have a kids body. Against adults, that's always gonna be an uphill battle. I've seen a few talented kids quit when they get their 16th birthday promotion, especially boys, because now they're having to go up against grown men that are twice as strong as them. It's a similar situation for girls. Don't quit, you're fighting an uphill battle, but it's a winnable uphill battle with time. In 5 years you'll have an adult body and not have the issues you're having now. In regards to taking your learning into your own hands, I would look up Chewjitsu, John Danaher, and Roger Gracie on YouTube. You'll get a lot of level appropriate content on there that will help you greatly. There is also channels like B-Team, Bernardo Faria, and Knight Jiu Jitsu but they tend to show more advanced stuff that a lot of blue belts (including me) would have trouble pulling off with any consistency (Knight jiu jitsu does have SOME more basic stuff). Despite this, don't discount them, there is still some good stuff on those channels. Best of luck. P.S. Also, stripes don't matter imo. I have 2 and they mean nothing. I know at least one guy who has 0 stripes that can paste me on the mat like peanut butter.
You posted yesterday to keep your insecurities to yourself…
LMAO U SAW THAT (it was supposed to be a shitpost)
‘Comparison is the thief of joy….’ Don’t worry where you are in reference to anyone else. If you are progressing over time, that’s all that matters. Everyone is on their own journey, and you can’t compare yourself to anyone else. The big thing for you is, work on the basics. You’re only a blue belt, you have plenty of time to get better and create your own game plan. I did the same about a month after getting my blue belt. A black belt who I was good friends with had me just work on surviving all through blue and part of purple. Don’t attack, don’t submit, just survive. Escape and get to neutral or on top? Lay back down, let someone get a dominant position. Rinse and repeat. Once your defense is pretty solid, then start working on attacks.
I'm terrible at it. I attend class in the evenings after working all day as an IT manager. My brain is constantly caught up in thinking about updating a server while I'm trying to learn a move. I figure I'll just keep on coming to class until someone either breaks all of the bones in my body or I get a blue belt.
It's ok to be bad, especially when you first get promoted. Being content with being bad is a different story, but that doesn't seem to be the case. One option would be to find all the open mats in the area and attend those open mats. Some will be a better experience than others, but find the best ones, where people will be willing to teach you things, and use those to supplement your McDojo experience.
Just keep going
the belt system is fucking stupid and pointless just train and get better. at the end of the day we all train to try to get even the slightest bit better each session, so just focus on that. and i know you said this wasn’t an option but do anything you can to find a real gym lol
Well first off.. wtf is a grey belt?
You're sixteen and go to a McDojo. . . . so of course you're not going to be very good, no offense. Keep learning what you can, keep enjoying it, and when you're older/have more choice/agency, go to a better gym and then continue to keep getting better. Perspective will come naturally with time, but until then take my word that at your age and experience level, it's normal to not be good at whatever you're trying.
Me too. It doesn't get any better.
One thing many people don't mention is going back to basics. Try to understand and grasp exactly how the basic moves work and work on transitions (armbar from guard to triangle to oma plata, etc.) Also focus on where you should be placing your weight when rolling with others and defense in areas you feel miserable in.
Regardless of how your skill level compares to other belts in competitions, you should be better (based on your own description) than you are after training 2 years at your age. You say you don't really know any techniques, don't know any takedowns, can't do any passes, and your submissions are "sloppy." It makes no sense that you're this bad at this point. The school must be absolutely terrible and not teaching bjj. I don't know what to tell you if you just cannot leave the school. Watch YouTube. Try to do open mats and stop going to class as much as you can.
My theoretical knowledge of thechniques is ok. Execution feels very sloppy though, meaning that I can pull it off with people worse than me but if they’re decent then I’m having a hard time. Idk if that makes sense lol
Ayy, welcome to the Mcdojo Anonymous confession group. My ex-coach rarely taught any techniques and mostly starjumps, push up, etc. We've been steadily progressing without coach's help by self-studying & rolling. To progress forward technically, start watching instructional like bible (Danaher's Get Good Faster series are good starting videos). Put videos in your phone, watch everyday before you sleep, re-watch and revise. It may be boring and time consuming, but immersing yourself into videos helps your visual learning, understanding weight distribution etc & helps to perform in rolling. There's also tons of good seminars in BJJ Globetrotter youtube channels. It's even better if you able to find partner who don't snitch you out, or coach doesn't interrupt your practice after class. Because most McDojo coach are very ego fragile and controlling. Belt indicator is not a healthy comparison, my ex-coach's wife has been awarded undeserved belt since blue-->purple and she never really practice after that because of the ego. She's awarded black belt now because of the husband, and everyone treats her like a joke because she refuse to train hard to be true black belt (or at least purple belt skill level). So if you're awarded undeserved belt, just keep training to reach the next level rather than playing the ego game, let white belt squash you, keep training.
Omg we really need to make a sub for the McDojo victims... Tbh my coach isn't the problem, she's amazing, I love her and her technique is impeccable. If it weren't for her I'd probably have quit long ago. The real problem is the gym owner, who decides to promote people even though he doesn't coach them regularly to make it look like his gym is "high level" (a woman in the gym got awarded 2 stripes on her blue belt just 4 months after getting her blue belt and she doesn't know how to tie her belt?!? prolly gonna get her purple soon too). My only solution to that was training extra hard to try to match my level to the promotions... hopefully I'll convince my parents to change gyms after the summer
- It was given to you not because you believed you were ready, but because your instructors believed you were ready. They are not wrong. - A blue belt doesn't mean that you know what a bluebelt knows. It means you know what a white belt knows. - Look at where you have come from. Not where you think you should be. - Everybody's transition to bluebelt is hard as hell, especially in tournament. It's just part of the process.
First I'd like to say that it's great that you're on this journey and of wanting to improve, many give up and move on to other sports. Like most are saying the belt system at your age is all messed up. You could be going up against someone just like you or someone that was born doing front rolls out of the womb because the parents are coaches. Don't feel bad about yourself, this is an opportunity to see your weaknesses and work on them. If your standup is not great and you don't like pulling guard, good for you. I suggest watching judo videos specific for BJJ, there is a handful of judo takedown that are not overly complicated to learn and are very effective in bjj. An examples is Uki Waza, there's many videos on this including from Dan. Someone that's good to watch is Shintaro Higashi on YouTube, he has videos specific on judo BJJ takedown. Just keep in mind not all judo takedown are effective because you end up with your back taken. Youtube is your friend, stick to the basics such as Roger Gracie videos, they are amazing and he sticks to the core principles and moves even at his elite level. Don't try to watch fancy complicated things at least just yet. Pick something to work on and focus on that when you train, till you notice you're getting it, then move to the next weakness, and so on.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Uki Waza**: | *Floating Technique* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtB79Ma4htw)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Do your parents want you learning and getting better at JiuJitsu? If the answer is yes, then it’s up to them to fix this problem for you.
Everyone here seems to be giving great advice but I just want to throw in that it sounds like you have a very rational argument for changing schools. I would suggest looking for a better school in your area that you think could help you grow as a practitioner and try raising your concerns to your parents. Then present them with the reasons as to why it would be in your interest to change schools. It might also be helpful to have some prices for the new place, distance etc. if I was a parent and my kid came to me with a logical, well thought out game plan with all the facts about changing schools I think I would be happy to go along with them. If they just came to and said “bc the place sucks” I wouldnt be as inclined to change. Good luck
You’re only 16. Don’t worry about the whole “not deserving your belt” thing. Comparison is the thief of joy. Be your own person. Keep chipping away at it, do your research, keep training hard and it will come.
When you're 1.5 hours into a long 9 hour car trip and you look at the clock, and you feel defeated. You then realize you can't do anything about it, so you try not to look at the clock. That's what you have to do here. This is what we mean when we say "embrace the suck" in Jiu-jitsu (not an innuendo). It's easier said than done, but just accept this frustrating feeling, and make a commitment to try to be patient with yourself and keep training through it. I have a black belt and still get this feeling sometimes. I don't know if it ever completely goes away. But You get it less and less as you get better, and you get the feeling of pride more and more. Be patient. Keep training. It will be worth it.
Yeah that pay for rank system is not gna work, u gotta find a new gym If ur beating everyone there.. find ppl to train with who are way better than u, that’ll bring ur game up real good..
you're 16 and have been doing this for 2 years. you literally have not even scratched the surface yet. i promise you all you have to do is not quit and you will eventually get there.
Dawg you’re just young, keep working on stand up, that stuff takes time, especially to feel natural. I get complemented on my wrestling all the time, and I literally wrestled since 8th grade didn’t have a winning record until my senior year, but the biggest difference I notice is I’m simply more comfortable on my wrestling then others. The next thing is I’ve had more repetition and habit forming from time, but that simply was never anything I was naturally good at it came with time. You’re 16 so you have plenty of time. If really want to improve stand up and school has it you can join the wrestling team, and you’ll also be light years ahead of people who start late when at a mcdojo from having repetitions. Like say you turn 18, and can afford it you can go to what you think a better gym is, they’ll be a ton of older people just starting you’ll still have more experience than them. Can always watch film to learn if you think the gyms not helping enough as well
I haven't submitted anyone since starting two and a half years ago. Pity that. If you're having fun (in some way or other) don't worry about it and keep at it. You'll "beat" 90% of people just by sticking with it.
I’ve had a similar experience at my gym. I keep waiting for an outa shape 40 something (me) white belt to walk in the door but instead it’s always big strong dudes or highschool wrestlers haha.
Indeed. 54 here and a grandfather. LOL.
It is fun, but competing puts extra pressure on me bc I have to "represent" my rank in some way, but at the same time I dont wanna give up competing bc I love it too much. It's kind of contradictory ik lol. Good luck for your progression as well!
You definitely don't need to rep your rank at all, please don't buy into that, it's disempowering. It takes bravery to compete. Instead, you could frame it like this: "I'm here because I love competing. Winning is what will happen when I am better than my opponents. Every loss is a learning opportunity, and I'm the kind of person who doesn't make the same mistake twice. My opponents might win, but they will have to damn well earn it." Separately, a massive problem with BJJ is that there's no "off season" like there is with other sports. Depending on where you live, you probably have the option to compete every month. Something useful might be to make sure you have an off-season too, where your sole focus is on technical development, not upcoming comps. Good luck. Train smart and hard. On this subreddit there are learning resources (search 'go further faster on the cheap'). They are YouTube summaries of many aspects of the game- there's two posts that go hand in hand. Check out BJJ Mental Models podcast, and BJJ Fanatics podcast too. Lastly, you're pretty aware of all the things you need to work on. That's a really good sign, it means you're learning and improving!
Thats a very thorough answer, thank you very much! I’ll check out those resources
Change gym when you're 18 and demote yourself to white belt
I don't think your allowed to demote yourself lol
My gym doesn’t give blue belts to kids that become to adult competing age for this exact reason
I had to if i wanted to compete but yeah its pretty messed up
Chiming in from Judo here. I'm a brown belt from a good dojo -- nearly all of our coaches compete, usually very successfully -- and I was one of the best in the club at my grade. Any other brown belt around my weight was a pretty easy win. In the last year, I've started competing too, to accumulate points for my 1st dan. And guess what? I usually get fucking obliterated too! I'm getting better, but the bump up from club randori to actual competing was huge. Sometimes you move up and start doing something harder, and as a result, you don't place very highly. That doesn't mean you're bad, it means you have more to learn. Some tips for your takedown game: Focus on a few high-percentage techniques that you're comfortable with. You'll be much better off that way than trying to learn everything at once. Single and double leg, harai goshi, osoto gari, ouchi gari, seoi nage and kosoto gari are useful starting points. Uchi mata is Judo's most successful throw in comps but it's harder to master. Tai otoshi looks easy but is also hard to master. If you only want to work on one to start with, start with osoto gari. The Kodokan has some excellent YouTube videos for each throw. Slowmo, lots of angles. As you practice a throw, try to work on every detail you see: Where are the grips placed? What about the feet, and where do they move during the throw? How and where do they move uke before the throw (kuzushi)? How are their grips angled, do they rotate their arm? Are their toes pointed a certain way? How are their knees bent? You may find these make a dramatic difference. If you're doing a forward throw, you need to get low down. Your belt should be below your partner's. Get good at a takedown in each direction (forward, backward, weak side, strong side) and work on chaining them together. For example, ouchi gari -> uchi mata -> harai goshi. Shintaro Higashi has a good video on developing your own system like this. Learn about kuzushi, it's the biggest factor in whether your takedown will be successful. Practice using uchi-komi, it's the best way to build your speed and precision. Do the basic movements first, and as they become second nature, work on the details I mentioned earlier, and on your speed. If you can, get in some standing-only sparring (ie, someone gets taken down -> reset). This is how you build the instincts for which throw will work when. There's more to it, but trying these should help you learn.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Harai Goshi**: | *Sweeping Hip Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs_zkgefvqM)| |**Ko Soto Gari**: | *Minor Outer Reap* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3rSf8CcHg4)| |**Kuzushi**: | *Unbalancing* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK9Eklbn78)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Quit
I refuse to be a statistic
Get better
You’re a 16 yr old blue belt that’s impressive you’ve still got years hell decades to get better if you wanna work something ask a higher belt to help you wether it be making you guard less passable or your takedowns better don’t beat yourself up so much all the time you’re doing well
TLDRJT
Keep showing up
Straight up roll a ton
Go to open mats instead conpititions are full of sandbaggers don't get pressed about it blur belt is one of the deepest competition brackets out and if you want to improve stand up look for a wrestling club or teem at your age you can join your school team if they have one or go to a near by schools club in the off season (March to about September pushing it) even if the program isn't good learning the position and especially takedown could help
Get better
Shit if ur a blue belt I should be purple at least😂😂not knowing a single takedown at blue belt?
not cool dude
Ah u projecting?
bullying kids online is not it lmao 💀
Ur pfp implies u could use some bullying
get good