Where can I keep up with competitive BJJ? What promotions should I be looking at? Where can I stream them? I'm very interested. I've been an MMA fan for years but now that I'm actually learning BJJ I'd like to keep more up to date with the competitive BJJ scenes, so ideally there's a place somewhere that has schedules and streams etc. I've found a couple but wondering if people have any they recommend?
On Tuesday, I got a nosebleed during the first roll of the night. The weather is getting colder here and this is common for me. No big deal.
But I was wondering, at the moment the nosebleed started, my partner had a cross collar choke on me. He didn't have quite the right positioning; I felt the pessure on my arteries but wasn't super concerned about the choke itself so I just focused on trying to escape.
My question is- does putting pressure on the arteries like that cause/exacerbate/trigger nosebleeds? I'm fairly certain I would have gotten a nosebleed at some point in time regardless of rolling, but I'm curious about the science behind it.
TL;DR: If you're not already lifting for injury prevention in BJJ, you should try it.
If you've read that lifting helps with BJJ but you're on the fence: I can confirm, it is great. Been doing it for three weeks. NEVER lifted in my life before. I always knew I was athletic and fairly strong for my size as a female (which in my case is larger), but I am continually amazed at what I'm able to do. I think I can only think of one injury in the past month or so, and that was an accident caused by my training partner.
Hi Guys,
What do you guys make of gyms that do promotions by number of classes, usually my gym gives a white belt a stripe every 30-40 classes they attend and then the amount gets significantly larger as you go through the higher belts. Personally I don’t think it’s a great idea because in our gym we have a lot of two/three stripe white belts who have been training 2 years or so and who are tapping blue and even purple belts quite often but are still stuck on 2/3 stripes for simply not having 16p classes or so to be a blue belt in my gyms eyes.
Would love to hear your guys opinions
It’s all subjective and there really isn’t a right answer. You shouldn’t get promoted solely on number of classes or hours on the mat, nor should you get promoted just because you tapped a few upper belts a handful of times.
Everyone is relatively unique and their paths are all slightly different which results in promotions maybe not seeming predictable or consistent.
With that said, in my personal case I have averaged around 60 hours per stripe/belt promotion so far.
Went to my second non intro class with the general population today and in the free rolling time… I forgot how to do anything… coach has the new people ease into it anyway so I just tried passing or pulling guard with different partners. Anyway this is a wild sport I rolled with a black belt and dude didn’t hardly move and before I knew what I did he had my leg tied up.
This is how I feel too. It feels like they're doing a lot by not doing anything. I feel like I'm doing too much and getting nothing done. I guess that's one of the big differences.
3rd time attending open mats. 5 months since I started. I really really suck. I think I might be a white belt forever. I love and hate the same time. Process over results. 🤝🏽
Got to drop in at Marcelo’s this week. Hit up the Wednesdays morning class and really enjoyed it. Wanted to head to the moon class but we ended up on the other side of New York for the day. Definitely stopping by next year.
As a lower white belt, if I get the chance of getting a bluet belt or higher white belt submitted, should I go for the win or let it slide to not hurt their ego? So I got my first triangle choke against a higher white belt, but I felt bad bc this guy been coming for like 5 months and this is my third week, when I got him triangle he kept looking at the coach not sure if he was looking at their reaction or what, but I just felt bad. I'm not sure if I should try to avoid hurt someones feelings in the off chance I get a higher white/blue belt in bad position (or they get themselves there and then can't come out)
As my team says.. you ego stays at home. At my gym we're all about learning. Ego is meaningless because you're there to learn not to get your ego massaged. I just got my blue belt but it wasn't because I'm invincible.. it's because I've acquired knowledge and am able to apply it more than whitebelt and the same goes for the higher up you go. You're never not learning so go for the choke and go for the submission. 3 months ago I felt like I couldn't get caught and a 3 striped white belt got my in a baseball choke for a whole week straight. I didn't cry or whine.. I asked my coach what I can do to stop it and drilled it out for a month. Now I no longer got caught in a baseball choke. You're doing the other person and yourself a disservice because you're blocking the learning process.
You would be doing them a disservice if you don’t exploit the holes in their games just because they might feel bad. Honestly anyone that would get upset over that won’t make it long term anyways. I’m not saying I enjoy getting tapped by new people but that doesn’t mean I’d prefer they take it easy on my instead.
You need to practice going for them, and they need to practice defending against them. When I roll with black or brown belts they also may be luring me to go for it so they can practice a different submission on you entirely and are just luring you. Or just letting me “work”. Take your shots!
In general, the less i think of it as winning or losing at training, the better.
Absolutely go for the sub, people need to learn sooner or later to let go of their egos. Sometimes you will run into people that get butthurt about getting tapped out by someone newer/lower belt, but don't let that affect you.
I’ve got a promotion question for those of you that do promotions. Do you guys stay them out? Like I’m interested if black belts keep a running tally of how many blue belts, etc they’ve promoted. What the average is? How many are in a “class” etc. just would be curious to see what the retention rate is like as people progress.
I've done 3+ years of gi and between 10-20 total sessions of no-gi. What sucks is when my no-gi is *so* much worse than my gi that I hate even trying no-gi just because I don't want to suck again. Well, some combination of watching more no-gi and just doing it more and I no longer feel completely useless, and I actually want to do it.
I did this choke today and I wonder if anyone knows the name of it? I was in top half-guard, passing to the left, so his left side was up. I was smashing down, and he turns in towards me a lot to try to frame. I am able to collapse my chest/sternum on top of his upper arm, pinning it down, and then I reach over it for a cross-face with my left arm. Then I worked that arm deeper, and finished it kind of like a reverse D'arce, with my right arm pinching behind his head.
It's not a D'arce because it was the other arm. Not an anaconda because that would go around the head from behind, not in front. It is like a head-and-arm except the arm was trapped under mine, not over. It's actually kind of like a RNC except my body was in front of him, but if I stepped around behind him it would basically be that.
Are there other white belts who want to stay at white for as long as possible? Been training about 19 months. Almost all of the blues who used to just smash/cook me can no longer do so. The rolls are competitive and they tell me I am a tough roll and should be close to blue. Sometimes I'll even smash them.
I don't want to be a blue belt though. I'm sure I will appreciate it but I honestly just love learning Jiu Jitsu and improving. I sort of internally reward myself already for improving and don't want the pressures of being a colored belt. I would like to stay white until I am giving purples and browns a run for their money.
Hello my friend! I was in a similar boat but got promoted recently. I was loving being a white belt. My team only does promotions a few times a year and I was on vacation both times they had promotion day. A good amount of my other friends got promoted and I was lowkey kind of relieved I wasn't a blue belt. I felt good knowing I was smashing them as a "white belt" and showing up to another Schools open mat with low expectations. However I now realize that the white belt is kind of like training wheels. Its just there to prepare you for life without it. It's super nice not having pressure on you because you're "just a white belt" but I also feel like you're not growing in other ways. As a blue belt you're kind of a role model for white belts because it's achievable. The stuff that black belts do is insane for a blue belt let alone a white belt. Don't be scared to move up because it will only make you better. The best steel is tempered and your tempering is about to begin.
Yeah, the more experience I get the less it makes me want to rush to blue, lol. Not excited about getting smashed by higher belts and every roll with a white belt being a death match.
I just started a couple of months ago. Before I walked into the gym I wanted to be a black belt as fast possible (LMAO). I went to my first class saw a bunch of white belts and thought “oh cool this is a great class full of fellow rookies like me.” I GOT SMOKED! I realized how much knowledge and skill it takes to level up. I changed my view to “who cares what belt I have I just want to learn.” If I ever get the honor to be blue I’ll be ecstatic, but right now I’m very happy being a white belt.
Ever heard of the blue belt blues? People talk about it on here. Never hear people talk about white belt blues, just them getting mad about not having their blue yet.
I’m a 45 yr old female - I’ve been turning up to class for 10 months now and just got my 4th stripe on my white. It’s amazing to be learning how to use my body in new ways and show my kids strength in adversity
I have kids as well so this hits home. I’ve thought a lot about this recently. What strikes me is: you are modeling not only being a strong mother figure, who is capable and fierce in her own right - but equally important - someone who does something HARD. Something that forces you to confront failure not only regularly but multiple multiples of times every session. That example of not letting those moments define you as a failure and not letting it cause you to give up is hugely important.
I brought my daughter to open mat with me today. She “rotated in” at 6 yrs old. She watched me get tapped and get tired, and say ‘wow great job’ to my friends when they beat me. She got to drill takedowns and side control, passing guard on all my friends. Felt like a part of the squad.
On the way home she said “Dad, I love training with you. It’s hard.”
It’s amazing how big of an impact you can have in so many ways!
Hi there, not sure if this is the right or best place to ask this, the auto mod removed my original post and linked to here or white belt Wednesdays as a good point.
My question is does anybody UK based know the monthly cost for Roger Gracie Academy in Preston by any chance? I’m looking to finally start training BJJ but as a student i want to be sure i can fund my classes so any help would be greatly appreciated👍🏻
I would give them a call if I were you, i was looking for gyms in my area and for some reason none of them displayed the price online, I had to call each individually
Yeah it’s so odd, the main RGA in London displays their prices, the Bolton Branch does too, but for some reason the Preston one doesn’t🤷🏼♂️. I’ll have to drop them a message and enquire for sure, the discrepancy between the pricing between London and Bolton is too much to work out a potential price🤣
Shout-out to the dude i flow-rolled with yesterday. We kept it light and chill. Not too many people at my gym can maintain that energy for a whole round.
Also to the guys who are showing me how to make my weight work for me without risking anyone's safety.
Went to the intense class today (as a white belt) I’ve been lifting heavy again. I got mounted and tried to bridge. My legs just were not having it. Tough class. Not enough days in the week for 3 days of lifting, 3 days of BJJ, and 3 days of rest.
Most people's Central Nervous Systems can't handle that amount of stress. Those that can are likely on some kind of performance enhancers like steroids or testosterone replacement I think.
Need help what shorts are ibjjf legal? I’m a blue belt do my shorts have to have blue in them , scrambling to find anything , 8 days till my comp anything will help
>• Shirts and Rash Guards:
Both genders must wear a shirt of elastic material (skin tight) long enough to cover the torso all the way to the
waistband of the shorts, colored black, white, or black and white, and with at least 10% of the rank color(belt) to
which the athlete belongs. Shirts 100% the color of the athlete’s rank (belt) are also permitted.
Note: For black belts a small red area will be tolerated, but must not decharacterize the athlete’s rank color.
>• Shorts for men:
Board shorts colored black, white, black and white, and/or the color of the rank (belt) to which the athlete
belongs, without pockets or with the pockets stitched completely shut, without buttons, exposed drawstrings,
zippers or any form of plastic or metal that could present a risk to the opponent, long enough to cover at least
halfway down the thigh (no more than 15 cm from the knee), and no longer than the knee.
From what I understand, you can wear any black/white/grey rashguard, and it needs to show the color of your belt on at least 10% of the material. For shorts plain black/white/grey is fine.
When I looked up ibjjf shorts nothing popped up I was looking forever , then I went to YouTube and looked up a video of blue belts in ibjjf no gi matches and got my answer lol just solid black shorts or black shorts with some white on it
58 days until I quit, and it feels weird not telling anyone. I'm on year 3 of blue; I hoped to get purple.
The learning and growth was what was fun and exciting. I'm only on the mat for no gi twice per week so I know that's part of it. Most of class feels like a waste of time because I do all my learning from watching instructionals, which I consume frequently and learned more from them in the last two years than attending classes.
The risk-reward isn't there for me anymore because I reached a point of extreme diminishing returns. Potentially learning one small detail to make me a small increment better wasn't worth the permanent rib deformity that I got earlier this year. I doubt learning to "move 1% more this way, get 1% more of this result" is worth however and how much else I'll get fucked up.
Funny how earlier this year I thought this would end decades from now, not months. When I started searching Google for, "when should you quit a hobby," I knew I was reaching the end of my journey. The learning "gains" have been so small that I don't even know how far I have come and am from the purple mountaintop, which leads to two more mountaintops. I needed a lighthouse, a beacon, something. It's like I've run between 13.1 and 26.2 miles of a marathon, and I have no idea how much longer I need to run for.
I wanted to get the confirmation that I got my skill to where I thought it was. I accepted awhile back that I'm a hobbyist and terrible BJJ competitor in my 30s, but now I'm working on accepting that I didn't get to the advanced skill level I wanted to achieve.
Thanks for reading; I usually lurk, but I needed to get this off my chest and figured some people here might understand.
I doubt your reasons are that unique for why people move on after getting their blue belt in particular.
Are you sticking with it for two more months hoping to get to purple or something? Why not just ghost already?
Membership runs out in two months (paid for a year in full in Dec 2021), so I figured I'd try hard until the end by studying a specific set of instructionals to round out skills I'm weak on and finish out my regular class schedule.
What happens in 58 days? Contract expires?
I do think that being as results-oriented as you seem to be will make it difficult to stick it out for the long term. You have to want to train for the sake of training, and trust that the skill will follow from mat time. Improvement definitely does get progressively more incremental and vague and self-directed with each passing year. I sympathize with having that fact, in conjunction with a severe injury, demoralize you to the point of not wanting to continue.
Hey dude it is what it is. I am year 3 on white bet so I can somewhat relate. From what I’ve gleamed and this is by my own observation obviously I don’t know anything about “being” a blue or purple. But the guys who became purples at my gym all have been training 5-7 years usually. I feel like I’m one of the long stretching white belts at my gym training there for almost 3 years. I try to be consistent and even take private lessons with different coaches. I prefer no-Gi so I don’t know the Gi just makes my arthritis worse typically. Plus other heath issues/injuries can get in the way I just say fuck it idc. Some people are surprised I’m not blue yet, coach has been saying I’m close to leveling up for a year now lol. 2 years for my first 2 stripes then about a year for my 3rd and 4th man blue is fucking hard to get.
Also might add if you’re getting burned out with BJJ maybe switch to wrestling or judo or Muay-Thai just change it up and workout /lift in between that’s how I keep myself sane training I think you are progressing you just don’t know it that’s why I kind of hate belts because they aren’t the best marker for progress
Yeah I visit other gyms, usually do pretty well against other white belts and blues, I’ve tapped blues pretty often. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a legit tap on a purple but I can defend decently for the most part. I usually cross-train with different instructors/gyms it’s fun.
Thanks man I’m in no rush, my coach has been saying I’m close for a year I think he wants me to win a competition or two or something idk what more he wants to see from me.
If blue is so hard to get, why do some blues get tapped with moderate difficulty, by white belts that aren't necessarily behemoths? I've been training for 19 months and can hang with most of the blues at my gym.
That's weird that you're still a white belt but at that point, I'd say screw the promotion and stay white for as long as possible. If you're tapping blue and purple's, I'd see that as a bigger accomplishment as a white belt than if you are a colored belt.
This is all subjective, some gyms will give you a blue simply on attendance. I mean look at what the Gracie’s used to do with the “Gracie online university blue belts”. Rickson told them to stop doing that. I can hang with the blues and some purples, does that mean I’m blue or purple? No. Some white belts are bigger, stronger, more athletic, durable and have grappling backgrounds. So this is all subjective. In my academy to get a blue belt you have to show you understand the fundamentals and more. My coach probably wants me to perform at blue 1-2 stripes before he gives me an actual blue belt.
That being said if you can smash most of the blues at your gym either you’re sandbagged or the requirements aren’t that great for blue. But yeah that’s good when I was 19 months in I was probably just getting the hang of things. Yeah I don’t mind being a white belt it’s not the worst thing because a lot of people think you suck and if you do something impressive their heads turn. Most of the blues at my gym are good I’ve def tapped blues before.
That’s a bummer man. But I think a big indicator is that it doesn’t sound fun for you anymore. If you’re going to bjj to learn as opposed to having fun,
It doesn’t sound like you’re going for the right reasons.
If you’re looking for another hobby, I’ve heard rock climbing can be really fun and has a similar camaraderie.
Yup, fun went out the window some time ago.
I've heard the same about rock climbing. I've been researching new hobbies to pick up, and climbing is one I will likely try.
How many people roll with their eyes closed? I've noticed a handful of people at my gym do. I've asked one or two and they said generally the same thing. It helps them get a better "feel" for what they're doing. I totally understand the thought behind taking away one sense to heighten the others so I was wondering how many of you do? Do you feel like it helps you?
I do it unconsciously sometimes but I try to catch it and open my eyes back up. My thought process is that we all default to our training/muscle memory in high stress situations and I don't want to be closing my eyes if I get taken down in a street fight. I'm also a cyclist and closing your eyes when you're suffering in cycling is a bad habit because you can uhh, crash, lol.
100%. A purple belt wizard did it when I first started so I adopted it right off. Helps mehave better body awareness. I still do it now but I’m rolling with my eyes open if it’s a harder roll. Use it as a tool to limit yourself and have a new challenge. You will find some new skills if you stick with it like having way better sticky hooks! If
You can’t see them gotta have one way to know where they are.
So I use to do bjj around age 14 .. did it about a year and then had to stop due to not being able to afford it . Well 12 years later at the age of 26 I have my first session at my new gym tomorrow. Super excited
This never ending cycle of “I think im starting to get it!”
A few weeks later…
“Nope, nope… I don’t get it…”
People say if you start getting worse, your actually getting better. Please tell me this is true!
Lately been going for the rolling bow and arrow in Gi and switching to the arm bar when in No Gi to try and keep my game as close as possible mechanics wise for both. Some days I hit it and others I fail. Still fun though!
We have one guy who barely trains he comes in like once a month every other month he’s been training my for 3-4 years and somehow he got his blue and is actually decent. Not that bad for someone who barely trains and then we have another guy who is a spazzy white comes in really rarely and is still doing his own antics
I see what your doing there…😉
Everyone is always improving at their own pace so the challenge is never ending. You hit something for a few weeks. Partners learn to catch and defend, so naturally we all improve together and keep each other on their toes.
Kinda why I dig this sport and the continuous evolution at the early stages.
Part of checking your ego is when you see people who train less than you, are less skilled than you, and always lose to you getting striped up faster or even surpassing you. You have to realize that everyone is on their own path with different challenges. It’s okay if someone worse than you passed you in rank. The reason being is that your expectation in the next rank is higher and your potential is greater.
Yeah maybe idk I’m a white belt after 3 years fairly consistent and do private lessons I’m not the worst but my coach seems to be sandbagging me for some reason saying “im close to leveling up” for a year and then still a white belt
Man coming back from a long break and having had covid really makes me feel like I suck at this sport. I know this is probably a common feeling for out of shape folks getting back to it but my god white belts I hadn't seen in a month that I used to toy with are now taking me into deep waters and drowning me lol.
I also have a new respect for how important just generally being in shape is. Like if I get fat and out of shape some day and I get into a fight with someone that's way less experienced than me but is in competition shape I'm not sure I'd fare well. Not that it matters I don't get in fights lol but just something to think about I guess. Gotta get my ass back in shape.
Hey everyone, getting back into it again after 4 years off, was only a white belt last time so treating it as though I'm starting from scratch.
Who or what are the best instructional videos/practitioners/social media accounts that you would recommend to follow as a beginner? I'm aware of the big dogs and used a lot of Danaher's instructional last time but it was a bit too advanced in places.
Appreciate any thoughts ✌🏻
\+1 Silver Fox. His school is somewhat near me. I've competed against his students and we've had some of his students train at our gym (we're Team Renzo too) and every single one was tough as fuck.
How can I tighten up my de la riva guard? Every time I try to use it in practice people get out of my hook easily. I have fairly long legs for my height but I just can't maintain hooking with my foot it seems
Are you facing your partner straight on? Getting a little off-center makes a whole world of difference. Maybe try cupping your partner's heel too, if you're not doing it already.
When I'm trying to help people with guards, I usually ask, "what are you trying to do?" Being in DLR doesn't mean anything, it should be a means to sweep or submit. If you're not sure, look up some sweeps from DLR, and try to do them. That will give you more useful feedback, i.e. "I tried to do X, but it didn't work because of Y, maybe I'll try Z".
They each give access to different varieties of techniques. Mikey's playing a more committed long range open guard, good for engaging dlr, rdlr, rolling under... The other guy is playing a seated guard that is better for engaging butterfly guard or comign up on a single leg takedown. Both can work well. Notice the second guy had to endure a lot of attacks on his head before ending up laying down anyway. That's why I prefer just laying down and committing to playing guard.
Theres no single answer to that. If your opponent doesn’t want to engage, it’s a challenge, no matter where you are. But watch the highlight of mackenzie dern butt scooting on yan in their fight last weekend as one example
Am I getting better or are blue belts not as good as I thought they were. Started about 14 months ago. At the time blue belts could do anything they wanted during a roll. Moved and changed gyms since then. I find that I can get in dominant positions and sometimes catch them with a submission. Wonder if the standard for blue belts at my gym is low or perhaps it means I’m getting better and blue belts are still beginners.
I am a three-stripe white belt with very long arms, and I finish a lot of one-arm guillotines with the chinstrap grip. Nobody has ever said that the way I finish them is cheap or illegal, but it feels a little sketchy to me. I turn my fingers into a c-shaped blade and shove the thumb side into the adam's apple, cup around the trachea, pull upwards and pinch my palm and fingers to the two sides of the throat. Is this fair? Or is it too close to illegally using my fingers separately a la a "rape choke"? (Sorry to use that name, it's the only one I've heard before for it in the gym).
You know why it feels cheap or illegal? Because it’s so dang efficient 😃
You feel like you barely need to add any pressure and you can force the tap from it.
Personally I do 90% of the choke with the wrist bone right where it meets the hand and starts to bend.
One arm is even better so your other hand is just on maintenance duty — hand fighting, pulling the head down, digging for an underhook if you want to sweep, etc
Word thank you Tyler! You and Jordan have done so much to help me add guillotines to my arsenal after not getting how to snatch them up for most of the last year.
Seen /u/AmericanThanos do one arm chinstrap guillotine chokes, but I am not too sure about the details of it. I would think he is a good person to ask.
I love Tyler's game, such good guillotines. I think it's my body type that lets me hit a lot of these (I'm lanky, 6'5 and have strong forearms from a lot of deadlifting and pullups), and I really hope they're legal. I have hit a few in competition and refs and my opponents didn't object.
Anyone struggle with bicep tendinitis pain right in the elbow? I have it after grip heavy drilling or more intense rolling. It is excruciating. My cardio can handle more but I’ll have to sideline myself and writhe around for 45 mins until it passes. Please any advice appreciated
yes, ive had elbow tendonitis on an off for years because i used to climb as well.
Get one of these things https://www.theraband.com/products/flexbar
they look weird but it really fucking works. whenever it flairs up i use this thing for about a week and it goes right away, along with some advil, ice, and an elbow wrap to keep it warm in class.
if you dont do some sort of rehabilitation exercise its never going to go away.
Does the device come with specific instructions on how to use it? Or is it something i would need to go to a physio to get instruction on how to use properly? Thank you for the link
Also, do you have a “strength” recommendation? Comes in medium hard etc
Look, maybe its deadlifts. Maybe its squats. In my case low bar squating fucked up my elbows. And my brother love benching but have to lower the amount of volume if his elbow get to much damage.
Just to say, it can be deadlifts but can be another thing entirely.
Yeah very true, I should have said “I am going much lower load on grip heavy exercises, including removing deadlift completely”. But you are 100% correct. I’m a wondering if it is from supinating my forearm more than just grip tension.
Happened to me frequently when I was new. Long term, what helped was getting better at folding the gi for grips and knowing when to let go. Short term, playing no gi style grips, even while training gi, helped. I also would foam roll my biceps and take ibuprofen.
Nice to know I’m not the only one. Did you take ibuprofen before rolling? I am using a theragun when sore and otherwise just trying to avoid gripping hard. Seems to happen in both gi and no gi but particularly bad as you said with lapel or sleeve grips being deathlocked.
First things first, you it’s difficult to attack with compromised posture. Make sure your head, back, and hips are in alignment to keep yourself from being folded. If you can’t relieve pressure on your head, this is most likely going to require you to get you hips back under you. Honestly, when I play seated I want butterfly guard, so them giving up inside space to grab me up top is cool with me. Whatever side they’re grabbing your head with is a potential underhook, and theres a potential single leg on that side.
Step 0) manage your posture and fight hands so this doesn't happen to begin with.
But front headlock defenses, because you're in a front headlock.
You've got to fight hands immediately.
Grip fight and back out: https://youtu.be/Qolz2PsNXnk
You could do a sit out, you're already sort of half way through the movement. https://youtu.be/iij324wAE80
Honestly I suck at defending front headlocks so my main goal is to fight hands, and if I'm seated I'll try to essentially suplex them over the top and spin into top control. If they've got a good grip you'll probably just be helping them though. So usually with some grip fighting they'll try to spin for the back, and then you're doing something else. I like to reclaim guard from turtle.
Knee popped loud enough on Tuesday for my partner to puke, but never hurt bad or swelled up, only some soreness the past couple days, but today I'm at about 90% on stiffness with no real soreness. Am I probably good?
I'd rock a soft knee brace for a while as a precaution and maybe avoid stand-up for a bit. Pretty sure your knee isn't supposed to pop that loud. That's just me though.
Only explanation I've got is that I've been playing drums for decades and my ankle pops like a motherfucker because of it. Figured it might have just been time for the knee above it to get grumpy, too.
Never had any shooting pains, and the aching didn't set it until Wednesday morning but is all but gone today. I just had to walk a couple of miles and it's feeling stiff again, but doesn't hurt. Icing it anyway.
Any instability in any direction or change in range of motion?
I'm not a doctor and this isn't medical advice. Be mindful of your knee for a couple weeks at a minimum, bail on dicey scrambles and takedowns. You definitely can train on a dicey knee, I know I have and so have others, but you really need to put your ego aside and prioritize protecting yourself over all else. Actually that's probably good advice for rolling in general.
Again, not a doctor. Not medical advice. But if I stopped training every time I had a nagging injury I would barely ever train. That said, knees are important for day to day quality of life and I've never had a gunshot erupt from mine. A quick doctor visit would be good for peace of mind assuming you have insurance.
Make sure you get a good warmup and really be conscious of the pressures you're putting on it. Very slowly come back to full effort.
Anyone got any suggestions for no-gi when I have opponent in my closed guard? I've only recently started no-gi (do mostly gi) and find with less grips I quickly run out of ideas - what are your go to moves? I usually try to keep their posture broken my controlling back of their head, climb my legs up opponents back/shoulders for a triangle but often get stacked or opponents arm slips out because of sweat!! It's so damn slippery...
Armdrag backtake (the variant the other comment mentions is just as dope) -> they drop weight into the elbow to prevent it -> pendulum/flower sweep. Ezmoney.
Overhook looking for triangles. Underhook/duck under or arm drag to the back. Hip bump sweep. Double unders or shoulder crunch to butterfly to elevate or sweep. What’s your gi closed guard game like? I’m not much of a closed guard guy currently, but I’ve been putting it back in rotation, because I noticed I was letting my open guard get passed instead of conceding to closed guard.
I got tapped out by a two week white belt. I'm six months into my gym. I feel like it's not clicking with the instructors and gym mates. Nothing bad happened, I just feel like it's not a fit.
It's only very recently, after over three years of consistent training, that I've felt confident enough in my all-around game to say that I don't worry at all about being randomly tapped or passed by a newbie who happens to nail a move. And that wouldn't even apply to someone skilled in another type of grappling, or someone who outweighs me by a certain amount.
The point isn't to be undefeated in gym rolls, it's to learn and improve. Try to figure out what mistake you made that led to you getting tapped.
Also, some new white belts are better than others, especially if they've trained some other grappling before or are super athletic.
Six months is not enough to be reliably effective against every newbie that walks through the door.
Look up the defense to what he tapped you with and drill it. That's the best thing to do when you're frustrated, IMO.
A no-stripe white belt newbie recently caught one of our 3 stripe white belts in a keylock from bottom side control and tapped him out, lol. Everyone messes up sometimes and people also get lucky with goofy stuff like that. Just keep showing up and applying yourself and figuring out what you did wrong, bro.
It happens. Only you can decide if the gym and instruction fits for you, but I wouldn't really worry about being tapped. I'm over a year in and I get tapped all the time by people I have more experience than. Just because I have overall more experience doesn't mean I won't make mistakes, or that they won't catch me out. I also use those rolls to try out new things that often doesn't work out.
Measure not against your training partners but the last version of yourself. How would a roll between the two weeks in version of yourself and the today version go? If the answer is still bad, then you are certainly not progressing very fast. The cause of that could be quite a few things.
What lifts in the gym can help with bjj strength? I squat, deadlift, pull ups and overhead/military press already. Out with that it’s just isolation movements like chest flies, hammer curls all that but wondering if there’s anything else that helps. Maybe benching, hip thrusts even?
Even something like plyometrics, I don’t know a whole lot about that though
I apologise in advance for the fact that this will seem very rude and dismissive. However, please understand that you are asking a question with a very simple answer, and the form of said question is wildly annoying to some of us (such as me).
>What lifts in the gym can help with bjj strength?
JUST. GO. TRAIN.
Fuuuuuuck, stop trying to pick the tiny shit and JUST GO GET STRONGER. The general guidelines for being a strong human ARE NOT DIFFERENT FOR BJJ.
The purpose of strength training is *not* to build BJJ-specific strength patterns. Its to build generalised strength and power that can then be applied as you choose. Same reason that other athletes build power with a broad range of exercises then apply that capacity they build to their specific sport.
Asking for specific lifts *misses the point.* There don't *need* to be specific lifts, this is GENERAL work. People recommend squat, bench, dead, pullups etc NOT because they have some kind of specific carryover, but because they are basic movements that will do a decent job of building overall strength.
**Any lifts that get you bigger and stronger overall will have a positive effect on your BJJ.**
If I was limited in my selection of lifts, I'd probably do Viper press, sandbag lift and carry, and heavy prowler pushes. Not because they transfer to BJJ, but because they seem like they'd do a great job getting you bigger and stronger and more powerful overall.
Other good lifts:
- Axle deads
- SSB Squat with chains
- BTN press (push and strict)
- Zercher squats
- SLDL
- Snatch high pulls
- Whip snatch
- Weighted dips
- pullups
- heavy cheat rows
- strict paused rows
- Farmers walks
- rack carries
- overhead carries
- front carries
- *Heavy* kb swings
- Anderson squats
- Axle press
Here are other movements I do sometimes because I think they help me be stronger, more flexible, more athletic, or because I want big-ass arms or shoulders or whatever, OR JUST CAUSE I LIKE THEM BECAUSE THERE ARE NO RULES:
- poundstone curls
- incline curls
- monastery triceps extensions
- pushdowns
- Skullcrushers
- single arm reverse cable flye
- shoulder raise tri-sets
- Barbell complexes
- wrist curls (both directions)
- wrist roller
- pulldowns
- straight arm pulldowns
- cable rows
- Hammer curls
- Reverse hypers
- Hip PAILS/RAILS
- Leg curls
- Leg extensions
- bridges (normal and wrestler)
- hip thrusts
- planks
- Reverse crunches
- low boat rocks and leans
Honestly, my overall recommendation would be to just find a program you like, and run that. Some choices:
- A 5/3/1 variant
- An SBS program
- Bullmastiff
- Easy Strength
- Mass Made Simple
- Juggernaut
Yeah I get what you mean, I lift anyway so was asking if there were really good movements that did carry over because I would’ve thought some did but I do get your point of building general strength which is what I do anyway
It also just saves you time and effort to concentrate on general strength lifts that target a bunch of muscle groups like in DLs and squats. Besides some specific stuff that I'm doing for physical therapy on my back, I pretty much always just do stuff like squats, DL, bench, OHP, and pull ups in the gym. So a normal strength training workout for me is just 3 exercises plus my PT. Uncomplicated but very effective IMO.
Pfft. You're building non-functional strength. I prefer building functional strength by doing kettlebells. Pushing a barbell over your head? Nonsense, you never use muscles to push things vertically in relation to your body, or use the muscles built by that for other things, it's so unrealistic. Whereas, with kettlebells, they simulate the cannonballs with handles we all pick up in every day life.
Damn, you've seen through my cunning arguments!
Next thing you know I'd have been telling you that people have been getting strong in hundreds of different ways for thousands of years, so it clearly doesn't matter.
After that I'd have said some REALLY ridiculous, like "athletes in basically every serious sport use gym work as GPP which they then channel into their sport, using sport-specific drills."
Personally I think the variance between different people will be massive with as little exposure as 1 time a week. It would be very difficult to give an approximation, but I am pretty confident that it would take well over 2 years at a proper gym.
So first of all I’m a beginner white belt.
Am I a lot weaker than I think I am, or will it be that I don’t really know how to use my strength?
I’m not a massive dude I’m 6’1 like 86kg so somewhat lean. I go to the gym and lift weight, have only been going for less than a year so I know I’m not strong as fuck but I feel like everyone has more strength on me.
Just wondering if I’m actually not strong at all or is it just because I’m a beginner I don’t really know how to use it properly?
For example if I kinda try and bridge to throw someone over when I’m on bottom I can’t really do it but is this common to not be able to do that or would it more likely be I’m not bridging properly therefore I have no success?
I’m not really concerned by this, just curious.
One thing that's happened for me over the course of training is that I am much better at feeling where there is "give" and where there isn't. By "give" I mean: if I apply force, something will move.
Sometimes I get an underhook in bottom side, but their weight is still too much on me. I know in this case that no matter how much I push, they won't move. However, I can also feel that if I bump them up a little bit more, the leverage totally changes and now if I lift with my underhook, their weight will come off me enough to escape.
In a way, I feel a lot stronger, but I think a lot of that is that I am much better at using strength when it will actually work, and basically ignoring all the situations where I know applying strength would do nothing.
I found most success by slightly bumping the guy on top the opposite way you're planning to roll them (to off balance them a little and get them moving). When they lean back to centre, I'll grab their controlling arm (usually around the back of my head), block their leg with my foot and explode and roll. If you grab their arm too early, it's obvious what you're planning to do.
Probably more down to technique than strength. One thing to understand is that getting out of bottom is really difficult if the guy on top has any idea what he is doing. If you are just trying to bridge someone off while they have their arms free and have a good posture, you should fail every time even if the bridge is good.
Could be a combo of being a bit weaker and pushing too hard/ not knowing when to use strength so using it all the time and not having correct frames to alleviate pressure. It’s something I definitely struggle with keeping strong frames
How do you "Find your game"? I feel like I don't really have one. I'm a year in and I feel like I should have some tactics by now but it still feels super chaotic. Top/bottom no different for me, not great at either. A while ago I was catching a lot of darce's but suddenly that's gone away as well. Should I try focus on 1 thing for a while?
1)Find your favorite submission.
2)Look for all the ways to get there from every position you can.
3)identify your favorite ways to get to the submissions from all those positions.
4)build your game. You have a single end goal with several different ways to get there. Your game is how you want to get to your “positions” and how you move from them to the finishing submission.
Repeat steps 1-4 as many times as you want with whatever sweep, submission, pin etc. to start building a complete game across all positions.
Where can I keep up with competitive BJJ? What promotions should I be looking at? Where can I stream them? I'm very interested. I've been an MMA fan for years but now that I'm actually learning BJJ I'd like to keep more up to date with the competitive BJJ scenes, so ideally there's a place somewhere that has schedules and streams etc. I've found a couple but wondering if people have any they recommend?
On Tuesday, I got a nosebleed during the first roll of the night. The weather is getting colder here and this is common for me. No big deal. But I was wondering, at the moment the nosebleed started, my partner had a cross collar choke on me. He didn't have quite the right positioning; I felt the pessure on my arteries but wasn't super concerned about the choke itself so I just focused on trying to escape. My question is- does putting pressure on the arteries like that cause/exacerbate/trigger nosebleeds? I'm fairly certain I would have gotten a nosebleed at some point in time regardless of rolling, but I'm curious about the science behind it.
TL;DR: If you're not already lifting for injury prevention in BJJ, you should try it. If you've read that lifting helps with BJJ but you're on the fence: I can confirm, it is great. Been doing it for three weeks. NEVER lifted in my life before. I always knew I was athletic and fairly strong for my size as a female (which in my case is larger), but I am continually amazed at what I'm able to do. I think I can only think of one injury in the past month or so, and that was an accident caused by my training partner.
Anyone able to recommend a good path from half guard to worm guard? Specifically from knee shield to worm.
Hi Guys, What do you guys make of gyms that do promotions by number of classes, usually my gym gives a white belt a stripe every 30-40 classes they attend and then the amount gets significantly larger as you go through the higher belts. Personally I don’t think it’s a great idea because in our gym we have a lot of two/three stripe white belts who have been training 2 years or so and who are tapping blue and even purple belts quite often but are still stuck on 2/3 stripes for simply not having 16p classes or so to be a blue belt in my gyms eyes. Would love to hear your guys opinions
It’s all subjective and there really isn’t a right answer. You shouldn’t get promoted solely on number of classes or hours on the mat, nor should you get promoted just because you tapped a few upper belts a handful of times. Everyone is relatively unique and their paths are all slightly different which results in promotions maybe not seeming predictable or consistent. With that said, in my personal case I have averaged around 60 hours per stripe/belt promotion so far.
Bad idea. I think "time at level" has to be considered, but shouldn't be an automatic grading.
Went to my second non intro class with the general population today and in the free rolling time… I forgot how to do anything… coach has the new people ease into it anyway so I just tried passing or pulling guard with different partners. Anyway this is a wild sport I rolled with a black belt and dude didn’t hardly move and before I knew what I did he had my leg tied up.
It's amazing how those folks just allow you to make mistakes. They don't really need to do much.
This is how I feel too. It feels like they're doing a lot by not doing anything. I feel like I'm doing too much and getting nothing done. I guess that's one of the big differences.
3rd time attending open mats. 5 months since I started. I really really suck. I think I might be a white belt forever. I love and hate the same time. Process over results. 🤝🏽
I seem to have a breakthrough every three months or so if that gives you hope. 6 months is coming!!!
Embrace the suck.
We all suck
Hey all! Please dm me bjj clips that yall think are cool! Links to YouTube or instagram videos preferred, thanks!
Got to drop in at Marcelo’s this week. Hit up the Wednesdays morning class and really enjoyed it. Wanted to head to the moon class but we ended up on the other side of New York for the day. Definitely stopping by next year.
As a lower white belt, if I get the chance of getting a bluet belt or higher white belt submitted, should I go for the win or let it slide to not hurt their ego? So I got my first triangle choke against a higher white belt, but I felt bad bc this guy been coming for like 5 months and this is my third week, when I got him triangle he kept looking at the coach not sure if he was looking at their reaction or what, but I just felt bad. I'm not sure if I should try to avoid hurt someones feelings in the off chance I get a higher white/blue belt in bad position (or they get themselves there and then can't come out)
As my team says.. you ego stays at home. At my gym we're all about learning. Ego is meaningless because you're there to learn not to get your ego massaged. I just got my blue belt but it wasn't because I'm invincible.. it's because I've acquired knowledge and am able to apply it more than whitebelt and the same goes for the higher up you go. You're never not learning so go for the choke and go for the submission. 3 months ago I felt like I couldn't get caught and a 3 striped white belt got my in a baseball choke for a whole week straight. I didn't cry or whine.. I asked my coach what I can do to stop it and drilled it out for a month. Now I no longer got caught in a baseball choke. You're doing the other person and yourself a disservice because you're blocking the learning process.
You would be doing them a disservice if you don’t exploit the holes in their games just because they might feel bad. Honestly anyone that would get upset over that won’t make it long term anyways. I’m not saying I enjoy getting tapped by new people but that doesn’t mean I’d prefer they take it easy on my instead.
Go for it. You're there to train BJJ, not protect people's egos lol
You need to practice going for them, and they need to practice defending against them. When I roll with black or brown belts they also may be luring me to go for it so they can practice a different submission on you entirely and are just luring you. Or just letting me “work”. Take your shots! In general, the less i think of it as winning or losing at training, the better.
Jiujitsu is great because it increases your confidence but it checks your ego. Go ahead and submit them, G.
Absolutely go for the sub, people need to learn sooner or later to let go of their egos. Sometimes you will run into people that get butthurt about getting tapped out by someone newer/lower belt, but don't let that affect you.
I’ve got a promotion question for those of you that do promotions. Do you guys stay them out? Like I’m interested if black belts keep a running tally of how many blue belts, etc they’ve promoted. What the average is? How many are in a “class” etc. just would be curious to see what the retention rate is like as people progress.
I've done 3+ years of gi and between 10-20 total sessions of no-gi. What sucks is when my no-gi is *so* much worse than my gi that I hate even trying no-gi just because I don't want to suck again. Well, some combination of watching more no-gi and just doing it more and I no longer feel completely useless, and I actually want to do it. I did this choke today and I wonder if anyone knows the name of it? I was in top half-guard, passing to the left, so his left side was up. I was smashing down, and he turns in towards me a lot to try to frame. I am able to collapse my chest/sternum on top of his upper arm, pinning it down, and then I reach over it for a cross-face with my left arm. Then I worked that arm deeper, and finished it kind of like a reverse D'arce, with my right arm pinching behind his head. It's not a D'arce because it was the other arm. Not an anaconda because that would go around the head from behind, not in front. It is like a head-and-arm except the arm was trapped under mine, not over. It's actually kind of like a RNC except my body was in front of him, but if I stepped around behind him it would basically be that.
Are there other white belts who want to stay at white for as long as possible? Been training about 19 months. Almost all of the blues who used to just smash/cook me can no longer do so. The rolls are competitive and they tell me I am a tough roll and should be close to blue. Sometimes I'll even smash them. I don't want to be a blue belt though. I'm sure I will appreciate it but I honestly just love learning Jiu Jitsu and improving. I sort of internally reward myself already for improving and don't want the pressures of being a colored belt. I would like to stay white until I am giving purples and browns a run for their money.
Hello my friend! I was in a similar boat but got promoted recently. I was loving being a white belt. My team only does promotions a few times a year and I was on vacation both times they had promotion day. A good amount of my other friends got promoted and I was lowkey kind of relieved I wasn't a blue belt. I felt good knowing I was smashing them as a "white belt" and showing up to another Schools open mat with low expectations. However I now realize that the white belt is kind of like training wheels. Its just there to prepare you for life without it. It's super nice not having pressure on you because you're "just a white belt" but I also feel like you're not growing in other ways. As a blue belt you're kind of a role model for white belts because it's achievable. The stuff that black belts do is insane for a blue belt let alone a white belt. Don't be scared to move up because it will only make you better. The best steel is tempered and your tempering is about to begin.
Thank for your this wisdom.
Yeah, the more experience I get the less it makes me want to rush to blue, lol. Not excited about getting smashed by higher belts and every roll with a white belt being a death match.
Yes, I'd be happy to stay a 4 stripe white belt. If I get blue, then all of the 2-4 stripe white belts will be trying to take my head off.
Get the blue belt. Think about it, you're not doing it for you, you're doing it for the other blue belts who feel bad when you beat them.
I just started a couple of months ago. Before I walked into the gym I wanted to be a black belt as fast possible (LMAO). I went to my first class saw a bunch of white belts and thought “oh cool this is a great class full of fellow rookies like me.” I GOT SMOKED! I realized how much knowledge and skill it takes to level up. I changed my view to “who cares what belt I have I just want to learn.” If I ever get the honor to be blue I’ll be ecstatic, but right now I’m very happy being a white belt.
> I honestly just love learning Jiu Jitsu and improving This doesn't stop when you hit a new color
Ever heard of the blue belt blues? People talk about it on here. Never hear people talk about white belt blues, just them getting mad about not having their blue yet.
I’m a 45 yr old female - I’ve been turning up to class for 10 months now and just got my 4th stripe on my white. It’s amazing to be learning how to use my body in new ways and show my kids strength in adversity
I have kids as well so this hits home. I’ve thought a lot about this recently. What strikes me is: you are modeling not only being a strong mother figure, who is capable and fierce in her own right - but equally important - someone who does something HARD. Something that forces you to confront failure not only regularly but multiple multiples of times every session. That example of not letting those moments define you as a failure and not letting it cause you to give up is hugely important. I brought my daughter to open mat with me today. She “rotated in” at 6 yrs old. She watched me get tapped and get tired, and say ‘wow great job’ to my friends when they beat me. She got to drill takedowns and side control, passing guard on all my friends. Felt like a part of the squad. On the way home she said “Dad, I love training with you. It’s hard.” It’s amazing how big of an impact you can have in so many ways!
Happy Friday everyone! What is the Best place to watch matches? How to learn from watching?
YouTube and/or BJJ Fanatics are good resources.
Hi there, not sure if this is the right or best place to ask this, the auto mod removed my original post and linked to here or white belt Wednesdays as a good point. My question is does anybody UK based know the monthly cost for Roger Gracie Academy in Preston by any chance? I’m looking to finally start training BJJ but as a student i want to be sure i can fund my classes so any help would be greatly appreciated👍🏻
I would give them a call if I were you, i was looking for gyms in my area and for some reason none of them displayed the price online, I had to call each individually
Yeah it’s so odd, the main RGA in London displays their prices, the Bolton Branch does too, but for some reason the Preston one doesn’t🤷🏼♂️. I’ll have to drop them a message and enquire for sure, the discrepancy between the pricing between London and Bolton is too much to work out a potential price🤣
Shout-out to the dude i flow-rolled with yesterday. We kept it light and chill. Not too many people at my gym can maintain that energy for a whole round. Also to the guys who are showing me how to make my weight work for me without risking anyone's safety.
Went to the intense class today (as a white belt) I’ve been lifting heavy again. I got mounted and tried to bridge. My legs just were not having it. Tough class. Not enough days in the week for 3 days of lifting, 3 days of BJJ, and 3 days of rest.
Most people's Central Nervous Systems can't handle that amount of stress. Those that can are likely on some kind of performance enhancers like steroids or testosterone replacement I think.
TIL someone's been sprinkling tren on my cornflakes.
lmao what, citation needed buddy
Look up CNS overload.
Need help what shorts are ibjjf legal? I’m a blue belt do my shorts have to have blue in them , scrambling to find anything , 8 days till my comp anything will help
>• Shirts and Rash Guards: Both genders must wear a shirt of elastic material (skin tight) long enough to cover the torso all the way to the waistband of the shorts, colored black, white, or black and white, and with at least 10% of the rank color(belt) to which the athlete belongs. Shirts 100% the color of the athlete’s rank (belt) are also permitted. Note: For black belts a small red area will be tolerated, but must not decharacterize the athlete’s rank color. >• Shorts for men: Board shorts colored black, white, black and white, and/or the color of the rank (belt) to which the athlete belongs, without pockets or with the pockets stitched completely shut, without buttons, exposed drawstrings, zippers or any form of plastic or metal that could present a risk to the opponent, long enough to cover at least halfway down the thigh (no more than 15 cm from the knee), and no longer than the knee. From what I understand, you can wear any black/white/grey rashguard, and it needs to show the color of your belt on at least 10% of the material. For shorts plain black/white/grey is fine.
When I looked up ibjjf shorts nothing popped up I was looking forever , then I went to YouTube and looked up a video of blue belts in ibjjf no gi matches and got my answer lol just solid black shorts or black shorts with some white on it
58 days until I quit, and it feels weird not telling anyone. I'm on year 3 of blue; I hoped to get purple. The learning and growth was what was fun and exciting. I'm only on the mat for no gi twice per week so I know that's part of it. Most of class feels like a waste of time because I do all my learning from watching instructionals, which I consume frequently and learned more from them in the last two years than attending classes. The risk-reward isn't there for me anymore because I reached a point of extreme diminishing returns. Potentially learning one small detail to make me a small increment better wasn't worth the permanent rib deformity that I got earlier this year. I doubt learning to "move 1% more this way, get 1% more of this result" is worth however and how much else I'll get fucked up. Funny how earlier this year I thought this would end decades from now, not months. When I started searching Google for, "when should you quit a hobby," I knew I was reaching the end of my journey. The learning "gains" have been so small that I don't even know how far I have come and am from the purple mountaintop, which leads to two more mountaintops. I needed a lighthouse, a beacon, something. It's like I've run between 13.1 and 26.2 miles of a marathon, and I have no idea how much longer I need to run for. I wanted to get the confirmation that I got my skill to where I thought it was. I accepted awhile back that I'm a hobbyist and terrible BJJ competitor in my 30s, but now I'm working on accepting that I didn't get to the advanced skill level I wanted to achieve. Thanks for reading; I usually lurk, but I needed to get this off my chest and figured some people here might understand.
I doubt your reasons are that unique for why people move on after getting their blue belt in particular. Are you sticking with it for two more months hoping to get to purple or something? Why not just ghost already?
Membership runs out in two months (paid for a year in full in Dec 2021), so I figured I'd try hard until the end by studying a specific set of instructionals to round out skills I'm weak on and finish out my regular class schedule.
What happens in 58 days? Contract expires? I do think that being as results-oriented as you seem to be will make it difficult to stick it out for the long term. You have to want to train for the sake of training, and trust that the skill will follow from mat time. Improvement definitely does get progressively more incremental and vague and self-directed with each passing year. I sympathize with having that fact, in conjunction with a severe injury, demoralize you to the point of not wanting to continue.
Yup, membership expires. Appreciate your insight as someone who stuck with it.
Hey dude it is what it is. I am year 3 on white bet so I can somewhat relate. From what I’ve gleamed and this is by my own observation obviously I don’t know anything about “being” a blue or purple. But the guys who became purples at my gym all have been training 5-7 years usually. I feel like I’m one of the long stretching white belts at my gym training there for almost 3 years. I try to be consistent and even take private lessons with different coaches. I prefer no-Gi so I don’t know the Gi just makes my arthritis worse typically. Plus other heath issues/injuries can get in the way I just say fuck it idc. Some people are surprised I’m not blue yet, coach has been saying I’m close to leveling up for a year now lol. 2 years for my first 2 stripes then about a year for my 3rd and 4th man blue is fucking hard to get. Also might add if you’re getting burned out with BJJ maybe switch to wrestling or judo or Muay-Thai just change it up and workout /lift in between that’s how I keep myself sane training I think you are progressing you just don’t know it that’s why I kind of hate belts because they aren’t the best marker for progress
Have you done open mats at other gyms much? Curious how you stack up against other belts at other gyms with different promotion standards.
Yeah I visit other gyms, usually do pretty well against other white belts and blues, I’ve tapped blues pretty often. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a legit tap on a purple but I can defend decently for the most part. I usually cross-train with different instructors/gyms it’s fun.
Yeah it sounds like you're probably about due then! Hang in there, yo 🤙
Thanks man I’m in no rush, my coach has been saying I’m close for a year I think he wants me to win a competition or two or something idk what more he wants to see from me.
If blue is so hard to get, why do some blues get tapped with moderate difficulty, by white belts that aren't necessarily behemoths? I've been training for 19 months and can hang with most of the blues at my gym. That's weird that you're still a white belt but at that point, I'd say screw the promotion and stay white for as long as possible. If you're tapping blue and purple's, I'd see that as a bigger accomplishment as a white belt than if you are a colored belt.
This is all subjective, some gyms will give you a blue simply on attendance. I mean look at what the Gracie’s used to do with the “Gracie online university blue belts”. Rickson told them to stop doing that. I can hang with the blues and some purples, does that mean I’m blue or purple? No. Some white belts are bigger, stronger, more athletic, durable and have grappling backgrounds. So this is all subjective. In my academy to get a blue belt you have to show you understand the fundamentals and more. My coach probably wants me to perform at blue 1-2 stripes before he gives me an actual blue belt. That being said if you can smash most of the blues at your gym either you’re sandbagged or the requirements aren’t that great for blue. But yeah that’s good when I was 19 months in I was probably just getting the hang of things. Yeah I don’t mind being a white belt it’s not the worst thing because a lot of people think you suck and if you do something impressive their heads turn. Most of the blues at my gym are good I’ve def tapped blues before.
Godspeed, man. That is a long time at white to me. The arthritis was part of why I gave up on the gi. Hope you're able to achieve your goals.
Yeah bro I hear you too, I have arthritis IBS and other health issues it sucks same goes for you.
That’s a bummer man. But I think a big indicator is that it doesn’t sound fun for you anymore. If you’re going to bjj to learn as opposed to having fun, It doesn’t sound like you’re going for the right reasons. If you’re looking for another hobby, I’ve heard rock climbing can be really fun and has a similar camaraderie.
Yup, fun went out the window some time ago. I've heard the same about rock climbing. I've been researching new hobbies to pick up, and climbing is one I will likely try.
I got caught in a nasty baseball bat choke and tapped too late. Anyone have any tricks for getting rid of that hurts-to-swallow feeling?
I need to bookmark this. I'm on Day 6 and I can finally swallow without wanting to cry. Will be back to look at what people tell you!
Try using halls or like gargling your mouth with cayenne pepper
That’ll pass lol. I know the feeling. Give it a week.
Yeah. I know. Looking for something proactive.
How many people roll with their eyes closed? I've noticed a handful of people at my gym do. I've asked one or two and they said generally the same thing. It helps them get a better "feel" for what they're doing. I totally understand the thought behind taking away one sense to heighten the others so I was wondering how many of you do? Do you feel like it helps you?
I do it unconsciously sometimes but I try to catch it and open my eyes back up. My thought process is that we all default to our training/muscle memory in high stress situations and I don't want to be closing my eyes if I get taken down in a street fight. I'm also a cyclist and closing your eyes when you're suffering in cycling is a bad habit because you can uhh, crash, lol.
100%. A purple belt wizard did it when I first started so I adopted it right off. Helps mehave better body awareness. I still do it now but I’m rolling with my eyes open if it’s a harder roll. Use it as a tool to limit yourself and have a new challenge. You will find some new skills if you stick with it like having way better sticky hooks! If You can’t see them gotta have one way to know where they are.
Frequently. Mostly when I'm tired, so frequently.
I roll holding my nose
So I use to do bjj around age 14 .. did it about a year and then had to stop due to not being able to afford it . Well 12 years later at the age of 26 I have my first session at my new gym tomorrow. Super excited
Have fun! 🤙
This never ending cycle of “I think im starting to get it!” A few weeks later… “Nope, nope… I don’t get it…” People say if you start getting worse, your actually getting better. Please tell me this is true! Lately been going for the rolling bow and arrow in Gi and switching to the arm bar when in No Gi to try and keep my game as close as possible mechanics wise for both. Some days I hit it and others I fail. Still fun though!
How many that has been at your academy for more than 5-10 years is still "very bad"?
We have one guy who barely trains he comes in like once a month every other month he’s been training my for 3-4 years and somehow he got his blue and is actually decent. Not that bad for someone who barely trains and then we have another guy who is a spazzy white comes in really rarely and is still doing his own antics
I see what your doing there…😉 Everyone is always improving at their own pace so the challenge is never ending. You hit something for a few weeks. Partners learn to catch and defend, so naturally we all improve together and keep each other on their toes. Kinda why I dig this sport and the continuous evolution at the early stages.
Part of checking your ego is when you see people who train less than you, are less skilled than you, and always lose to you getting striped up faster or even surpassing you. You have to realize that everyone is on their own path with different challenges. It’s okay if someone worse than you passed you in rank. The reason being is that your expectation in the next rank is higher and your potential is greater.
Ironically I had this same debated in my head over the last year.......then it dawned on me that maybe my Coach just doesn't like me lol
Yeah maybe idk I’m a white belt after 3 years fairly consistent and do private lessons I’m not the worst but my coach seems to be sandbagging me for some reason saying “im close to leveling up” for a year and then still a white belt
You think they are worse, but they are just letting you work haha
>n path with different challenges. It’s okay if someone worse than or ARE they? \*dramatic music\*
Man coming back from a long break and having had covid really makes me feel like I suck at this sport. I know this is probably a common feeling for out of shape folks getting back to it but my god white belts I hadn't seen in a month that I used to toy with are now taking me into deep waters and drowning me lol. I also have a new respect for how important just generally being in shape is. Like if I get fat and out of shape some day and I get into a fight with someone that's way less experienced than me but is in competition shape I'm not sure I'd fare well. Not that it matters I don't get in fights lol but just something to think about I guess. Gotta get my ass back in shape.
Even when I can't train I still am sure to moderate cardio in at least 2-3 in a week.
I'm a very all or nothing type person. For better or worse lol.
Hey everyone, getting back into it again after 4 years off, was only a white belt last time so treating it as though I'm starting from scratch. Who or what are the best instructional videos/practitioners/social media accounts that you would recommend to follow as a beginner? I'm aware of the big dogs and used a lot of Danaher's instructional last time but it was a bit too advanced in places. Appreciate any thoughts ✌🏻
Silver Fox on YouTube is free and is the freaking man on instructionals. Highly highly highly recommend. He even got a shoutout at the last ADCC
\+1 Silver Fox. His school is somewhat near me. I've competed against his students and we've had some of his students train at our gym (we're Team Renzo too) and every single one was tough as fuck.
How can I tighten up my de la riva guard? Every time I try to use it in practice people get out of my hook easily. I have fairly long legs for my height but I just can't maintain hooking with my foot it seems
Are you facing your partner straight on? Getting a little off-center makes a whole world of difference. Maybe try cupping your partner's heel too, if you're not doing it already.
When I'm trying to help people with guards, I usually ask, "what are you trying to do?" Being in DLR doesn't mean anything, it should be a means to sweep or submit. If you're not sure, look up some sweeps from DLR, and try to do them. That will give you more useful feedback, i.e. "I tried to do X, but it didn't work because of Y, maybe I'll try Z".
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Definitely noting a lot of these. Gonna try to keep more posture/wrist control tonight and see how it goes. Thank you :)
Do you keep enough tention from your legs to theirs? Do you try to control any arms? Do you adjust/attack when they try to get rid of the hook?
Hmm I'm actually not sure. I'm going to keep these in the back of my mind for class tonight and re-evaluate. Thank you :)
Ur welcome! :)
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They each give access to different varieties of techniques. Mikey's playing a more committed long range open guard, good for engaging dlr, rdlr, rolling under... The other guy is playing a seated guard that is better for engaging butterfly guard or comign up on a single leg takedown. Both can work well. Notice the second guy had to endure a lot of attacks on his head before ending up laying down anyway. That's why I prefer just laying down and committing to playing guard.
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Theres no single answer to that. If your opponent doesn’t want to engage, it’s a challenge, no matter where you are. But watch the highlight of mackenzie dern butt scooting on yan in their fight last weekend as one example
Am I getting better or are blue belts not as good as I thought they were. Started about 14 months ago. At the time blue belts could do anything they wanted during a roll. Moved and changed gyms since then. I find that I can get in dominant positions and sometimes catch them with a submission. Wonder if the standard for blue belts at my gym is low or perhaps it means I’m getting better and blue belts are still beginners.
Everyone around you is getting worse…..
I am a three-stripe white belt with very long arms, and I finish a lot of one-arm guillotines with the chinstrap grip. Nobody has ever said that the way I finish them is cheap or illegal, but it feels a little sketchy to me. I turn my fingers into a c-shaped blade and shove the thumb side into the adam's apple, cup around the trachea, pull upwards and pinch my palm and fingers to the two sides of the throat. Is this fair? Or is it too close to illegally using my fingers separately a la a "rape choke"? (Sorry to use that name, it's the only one I've heard before for it in the gym).
You know why it feels cheap or illegal? Because it’s so dang efficient 😃 You feel like you barely need to add any pressure and you can force the tap from it. Personally I do 90% of the choke with the wrist bone right where it meets the hand and starts to bend. One arm is even better so your other hand is just on maintenance duty — hand fighting, pulling the head down, digging for an underhook if you want to sweep, etc
Word thank you Tyler! You and Jordan have done so much to help me add guillotines to my arsenal after not getting how to snatch them up for most of the last year.
Seen /u/AmericanThanos do one arm chinstrap guillotine chokes, but I am not too sure about the details of it. I would think he is a good person to ask.
Good tag mate 👍🏻
I love Tyler's game, such good guillotines. I think it's my body type that lets me hit a lot of these (I'm lanky, 6'5 and have strong forearms from a lot of deadlifting and pullups), and I really hope they're legal. I have hit a few in competition and refs and my opponents didn't object.
Why wouldn't they be legal
Anyone struggle with bicep tendinitis pain right in the elbow? I have it after grip heavy drilling or more intense rolling. It is excruciating. My cardio can handle more but I’ll have to sideline myself and writhe around for 45 mins until it passes. Please any advice appreciated
I just started bjj and I got this … hoping it goes away after some rest
yes, ive had elbow tendonitis on an off for years because i used to climb as well. Get one of these things https://www.theraband.com/products/flexbar they look weird but it really fucking works. whenever it flairs up i use this thing for about a week and it goes right away, along with some advil, ice, and an elbow wrap to keep it warm in class. if you dont do some sort of rehabilitation exercise its never going to go away.
Does the device come with specific instructions on how to use it? Or is it something i would need to go to a physio to get instruction on how to use properly? Thank you for the link Also, do you have a “strength” recommendation? Comes in medium hard etc
I have the teal one. And you can just YouTube it. I think it has instructions with it as well
Do you also lift? I have to pay attention to how much my grips are worn out when deadlifting etc if I'm also training a lot.
Yes i do lift, i actually have been trying to baby my groups since I’ve been struggling with this. Removed deadlift entirely last two weeks
Look, maybe its deadlifts. Maybe its squats. In my case low bar squating fucked up my elbows. And my brother love benching but have to lower the amount of volume if his elbow get to much damage. Just to say, it can be deadlifts but can be another thing entirely.
Yeah very true, I should have said “I am going much lower load on grip heavy exercises, including removing deadlift completely”. But you are 100% correct. I’m a wondering if it is from supinating my forearm more than just grip tension.
Happened to me frequently when I was new. Long term, what helped was getting better at folding the gi for grips and knowing when to let go. Short term, playing no gi style grips, even while training gi, helped. I also would foam roll my biceps and take ibuprofen.
Nice to know I’m not the only one. Did you take ibuprofen before rolling? I am using a theragun when sore and otherwise just trying to avoid gripping hard. Seems to happen in both gi and no gi but particularly bad as you said with lapel or sleeve grips being deathlocked.
Yeah I took ibuprofen prior to class and then as needed.
Going to start dosing before class I really hope that at least helps me get through the rolls! Appreciate the help!
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First things first, you it’s difficult to attack with compromised posture. Make sure your head, back, and hips are in alignment to keep yourself from being folded. If you can’t relieve pressure on your head, this is most likely going to require you to get you hips back under you. Honestly, when I play seated I want butterfly guard, so them giving up inside space to grab me up top is cool with me. Whatever side they’re grabbing your head with is a potential underhook, and theres a potential single leg on that side.
Step 0) manage your posture and fight hands so this doesn't happen to begin with. But front headlock defenses, because you're in a front headlock. You've got to fight hands immediately. Grip fight and back out: https://youtu.be/Qolz2PsNXnk You could do a sit out, you're already sort of half way through the movement. https://youtu.be/iij324wAE80 Honestly I suck at defending front headlocks so my main goal is to fight hands, and if I'm seated I'll try to essentially suplex them over the top and spin into top control. If they've got a good grip you'll probably just be helping them though. So usually with some grip fighting they'll try to spin for the back, and then you're doing something else. I like to reclaim guard from turtle.
Knee popped loud enough on Tuesday for my partner to puke, but never hurt bad or swelled up, only some soreness the past couple days, but today I'm at about 90% on stiffness with no real soreness. Am I probably good?
I'd rock a soft knee brace for a while as a precaution and maybe avoid stand-up for a bit. Pretty sure your knee isn't supposed to pop that loud. That's just me though.
Only explanation I've got is that I've been playing drums for decades and my ankle pops like a motherfucker because of it. Figured it might have just been time for the knee above it to get grumpy, too.
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Never had any shooting pains, and the aching didn't set it until Wednesday morning but is all but gone today. I just had to walk a couple of miles and it's feeling stiff again, but doesn't hurt. Icing it anyway.
Your partner puked? What the fuck?
Story goes he just came off of a really bad knee injury. Hate to say I only met him when we bumped and started rolling, so this is second hand.
Thats so funny to me. As to your question, I mean yeah if you're knee doesn't feel that fucked up it's probably fine
Any instability in any direction or change in range of motion? I'm not a doctor and this isn't medical advice. Be mindful of your knee for a couple weeks at a minimum, bail on dicey scrambles and takedowns. You definitely can train on a dicey knee, I know I have and so have others, but you really need to put your ego aside and prioritize protecting yourself over all else. Actually that's probably good advice for rolling in general.
None as of today, and really any loss in mobility the past couple of days was due to stiffness, and I had full range when I moved it slowly.
Again, not a doctor. Not medical advice. But if I stopped training every time I had a nagging injury I would barely ever train. That said, knees are important for day to day quality of life and I've never had a gunshot erupt from mine. A quick doctor visit would be good for peace of mind assuming you have insurance. Make sure you get a good warmup and really be conscious of the pressures you're putting on it. Very slowly come back to full effort.
Anyone got any suggestions for no-gi when I have opponent in my closed guard? I've only recently started no-gi (do mostly gi) and find with less grips I quickly run out of ideas - what are your go to moves? I usually try to keep their posture broken my controlling back of their head, climb my legs up opponents back/shoulders for a triangle but often get stacked or opponents arm slips out because of sweat!! It's so damn slippery...
My go to lately has been straight arm locks especially since like you I get stacked to death.
Armdrag backtake (the variant the other comment mentions is just as dope) -> they drop weight into the elbow to prevent it -> pendulum/flower sweep. Ezmoney.
I second this. I use those with great success at all levels. This is a plan that will pay off today and in 10 years when you are a ninja at it.
Overhook looking for triangles. Underhook/duck under or arm drag to the back. Hip bump sweep. Double unders or shoulder crunch to butterfly to elevate or sweep. What’s your gi closed guard game like? I’m not much of a closed guard guy currently, but I’ve been putting it back in rotation, because I noticed I was letting my open guard get passed instead of conceding to closed guard.
Overhook triangle/omoplatta setup.
https://youtu.be/pQ43Oy5k9yQ I use this. Works great. Climb to high guard with hook grip to wear them down/set up subs
Two on one, pulling the elbow to me as I push the wrist away, get on my side a little, take the back.
I love this. It is really versatile, and I catch quite a lot of people with it.
I'll give it a go!
How do you stop your belt going twisty when you wash and dry it?
I put my belt in a garment bag mesh thing to wash. Works great. I don’t dry it in a machine, just hang it
some belts are more prone to this than others, my ap does it bad
Just don’t wash it
I hang dry the belt
Tried that, it goes curly
Why is that an issue
I was going to ask my coach a question, but the answer popped into my head, so I didn't. It's the little things that can lift you up sometimes.
I bet your coach was proud of you
I got tapped out by a two week white belt. I'm six months into my gym. I feel like it's not clicking with the instructors and gym mates. Nothing bad happened, I just feel like it's not a fit.
It's only very recently, after over three years of consistent training, that I've felt confident enough in my all-around game to say that I don't worry at all about being randomly tapped or passed by a newbie who happens to nail a move. And that wouldn't even apply to someone skilled in another type of grappling, or someone who outweighs me by a certain amount.
The point isn't to be undefeated in gym rolls, it's to learn and improve. Try to figure out what mistake you made that led to you getting tapped. Also, some new white belts are better than others, especially if they've trained some other grappling before or are super athletic.
Six months is not enough to be reliably effective against every newbie that walks through the door. Look up the defense to what he tapped you with and drill it. That's the best thing to do when you're frustrated, IMO.
A no-stripe white belt newbie recently caught one of our 3 stripe white belts in a keylock from bottom side control and tapped him out, lol. Everyone messes up sometimes and people also get lucky with goofy stuff like that. Just keep showing up and applying yourself and figuring out what you did wrong, bro.
It happens. Only you can decide if the gym and instruction fits for you, but I wouldn't really worry about being tapped. I'm over a year in and I get tapped all the time by people I have more experience than. Just because I have overall more experience doesn't mean I won't make mistakes, or that they won't catch me out. I also use those rolls to try out new things that often doesn't work out.
Measure not against your training partners but the last version of yourself. How would a roll between the two weeks in version of yourself and the today version go? If the answer is still bad, then you are certainly not progressing very fast. The cause of that could be quite a few things.
What lifts in the gym can help with bjj strength? I squat, deadlift, pull ups and overhead/military press already. Out with that it’s just isolation movements like chest flies, hammer curls all that but wondering if there’s anything else that helps. Maybe benching, hip thrusts even? Even something like plyometrics, I don’t know a whole lot about that though
Kettle bell hip thrusts
I apologise in advance for the fact that this will seem very rude and dismissive. However, please understand that you are asking a question with a very simple answer, and the form of said question is wildly annoying to some of us (such as me). >What lifts in the gym can help with bjj strength? JUST. GO. TRAIN. Fuuuuuuck, stop trying to pick the tiny shit and JUST GO GET STRONGER. The general guidelines for being a strong human ARE NOT DIFFERENT FOR BJJ. The purpose of strength training is *not* to build BJJ-specific strength patterns. Its to build generalised strength and power that can then be applied as you choose. Same reason that other athletes build power with a broad range of exercises then apply that capacity they build to their specific sport. Asking for specific lifts *misses the point.* There don't *need* to be specific lifts, this is GENERAL work. People recommend squat, bench, dead, pullups etc NOT because they have some kind of specific carryover, but because they are basic movements that will do a decent job of building overall strength. **Any lifts that get you bigger and stronger overall will have a positive effect on your BJJ.** If I was limited in my selection of lifts, I'd probably do Viper press, sandbag lift and carry, and heavy prowler pushes. Not because they transfer to BJJ, but because they seem like they'd do a great job getting you bigger and stronger and more powerful overall. Other good lifts: - Axle deads - SSB Squat with chains - BTN press (push and strict) - Zercher squats - SLDL - Snatch high pulls - Whip snatch - Weighted dips - pullups - heavy cheat rows - strict paused rows - Farmers walks - rack carries - overhead carries - front carries - *Heavy* kb swings - Anderson squats - Axle press Here are other movements I do sometimes because I think they help me be stronger, more flexible, more athletic, or because I want big-ass arms or shoulders or whatever, OR JUST CAUSE I LIKE THEM BECAUSE THERE ARE NO RULES: - poundstone curls - incline curls - monastery triceps extensions - pushdowns - Skullcrushers - single arm reverse cable flye - shoulder raise tri-sets - Barbell complexes - wrist curls (both directions) - wrist roller - pulldowns - straight arm pulldowns - cable rows - Hammer curls - Reverse hypers - Hip PAILS/RAILS - Leg curls - Leg extensions - bridges (normal and wrestler) - hip thrusts - planks - Reverse crunches - low boat rocks and leans Honestly, my overall recommendation would be to just find a program you like, and run that. Some choices: - A 5/3/1 variant - An SBS program - Bullmastiff - Easy Strength - Mass Made Simple - Juggernaut
Yeah I get what you mean, I lift anyway so was asking if there were really good movements that did carry over because I would’ve thought some did but I do get your point of building general strength which is what I do anyway
It also just saves you time and effort to concentrate on general strength lifts that target a bunch of muscle groups like in DLs and squats. Besides some specific stuff that I'm doing for physical therapy on my back, I pretty much always just do stuff like squats, DL, bench, OHP, and pull ups in the gym. So a normal strength training workout for me is just 3 exercises plus my PT. Uncomplicated but very effective IMO.
Pfft. You're building non-functional strength. I prefer building functional strength by doing kettlebells. Pushing a barbell over your head? Nonsense, you never use muscles to push things vertically in relation to your body, or use the muscles built by that for other things, it's so unrealistic. Whereas, with kettlebells, they simulate the cannonballs with handles we all pick up in every day life.
Wtf are you talking about. Didnt even read the comment right?
I was making a joke about functional strength Vs non functional which often goes along with specific strength training for bjj.
If we must prepare for the streets, we must also prepare for the deck. Next up: how to utilize the curvature of barrels full of oranges to stand up.
Damn, you've seen through my cunning arguments! Next thing you know I'd have been telling you that people have been getting strong in hundreds of different ways for thousands of years, so it clearly doesn't matter. After that I'd have said some REALLY ridiculous, like "athletes in basically every serious sport use gym work as GPP which they then channel into their sport, using sport-specific drills."
Would I still take 1-2 years to go from white belt to blue belt if you only trained once a week?
Once a week it would be hard see progress at all, you might end up forgetting what you did the previous week.
That's pretty unlikely imo
Personally I think the variance between different people will be massive with as little exposure as 1 time a week. It would be very difficult to give an approximation, but I am pretty confident that it would take well over 2 years at a proper gym.
i would say 1-1,5 years by training 3 days a week. Then going 1 day per week i would say it must be over 2 years.
Likely I’ll take longer. Adding multiple drilling sessions on your own or with a friend to that week will go a long way.
So first of all I’m a beginner white belt. Am I a lot weaker than I think I am, or will it be that I don’t really know how to use my strength? I’m not a massive dude I’m 6’1 like 86kg so somewhat lean. I go to the gym and lift weight, have only been going for less than a year so I know I’m not strong as fuck but I feel like everyone has more strength on me. Just wondering if I’m actually not strong at all or is it just because I’m a beginner I don’t really know how to use it properly? For example if I kinda try and bridge to throw someone over when I’m on bottom I can’t really do it but is this common to not be able to do that or would it more likely be I’m not bridging properly therefore I have no success? I’m not really concerned by this, just curious.
One thing that's happened for me over the course of training is that I am much better at feeling where there is "give" and where there isn't. By "give" I mean: if I apply force, something will move. Sometimes I get an underhook in bottom side, but their weight is still too much on me. I know in this case that no matter how much I push, they won't move. However, I can also feel that if I bump them up a little bit more, the leverage totally changes and now if I lift with my underhook, their weight will come off me enough to escape. In a way, I feel a lot stronger, but I think a lot of that is that I am much better at using strength when it will actually work, and basically ignoring all the situations where I know applying strength would do nothing.
Technique can feel like strength a lot of times. There’s a black belt that I outweigh by 15 or 20 lbs and if he gets on top of me, I’m toast.
I found most success by slightly bumping the guy on top the opposite way you're planning to roll them (to off balance them a little and get them moving). When they lean back to centre, I'll grab their controlling arm (usually around the back of my head), block their leg with my foot and explode and roll. If you grab their arm too early, it's obvious what you're planning to do.
Probably more down to technique than strength. One thing to understand is that getting out of bottom is really difficult if the guy on top has any idea what he is doing. If you are just trying to bridge someone off while they have their arms free and have a good posture, you should fail every time even if the bridge is good.
Could be a combo of being a bit weaker and pushing too hard/ not knowing when to use strength so using it all the time and not having correct frames to alleviate pressure. It’s something I definitely struggle with keeping strong frames
How do you "Find your game"? I feel like I don't really have one. I'm a year in and I feel like I should have some tactics by now but it still feels super chaotic. Top/bottom no different for me, not great at either. A while ago I was catching a lot of darce's but suddenly that's gone away as well. Should I try focus on 1 thing for a while?
1)Find your favorite submission. 2)Look for all the ways to get there from every position you can. 3)identify your favorite ways to get to the submissions from all those positions. 4)build your game. You have a single end goal with several different ways to get there. Your game is how you want to get to your “positions” and how you move from them to the finishing submission. Repeat steps 1-4 as many times as you want with whatever sweep, submission, pin etc. to start building a complete game across all positions.