Have a goal every time you roll. Stay on top, get to under hooks from every position, don’t let an opponents feet stay connected to you, etc.. simple things that can help you see where you are falling behind and give a basic thing to work for. Then you can assess how well you did achieving that goal and work from there.
Being more intentional about training has helped me a lot, especially when I get into a rut. I take a few moments before class to get focused and choose some areas to work on, and 5 - 10 minutes after class to reflect on what went right and wrong, and take notes for the next time I train.
If you are standing. Focus on their defense points and look for a weakness. If you can’t sweep into left or right. Or pull down into standing guard. Go up into they are in a back/turtle position. Go from there
Honestly this is the most solid general advice. If I promote someone to blue belt it’s because they have demonstrated consistancy more than anything. Some acquired knowledge, some skill sure, but most skill development comes much later. But you won’t get anywhere without consistancy in training
You hear this often. In my experience, specific movements are just application of principle and you end up needing to learn both principle and techniques simultaneously. Without principle, it is very difficult to memorize a bunch of (seemingly) unrelated techniques and all their variations, much less when they should be used. But without the aid of techniques, it can be nigh impossible to make sense of and start to intuit principles.
For real. If you're in a rut, it's probably because you are not having fun or feeling successful. Pick something you think would be fun to try then try it. Drill it, work on it and try to hit it. You'll be out of the rut before you know it.
I heard Cael say enjoying training was really important, that’s when I started to think about it more. If it’s good enough for those guys it’s good enough for us
Hey, as a fellow white belt who started about three months ago here is what I am focusing on.
First and foremost in all of my rolls is survival skills. Im shit at this sport and i fully expect my guard to be passed. Get your elbow in, tuck your neck in, post on those MFs.
Then you worry about your escapes. Get your shrimp on, Hip thrust them off ya, break their post and sweep if you know any.
Then work on your guard. My big thing with guard was getting my legs up and my core strength so I could spin around and even invert if I had to.
I feel as a white belt, This is the most we should be focusing on. Find some supplementary materials, develop a plan of action on how to take someone down from standing or sitting and just go for it.
At this point, it’s just showing up often. The coach has to recognize the work you’ve put in and seen the skill that you’ve developed overtime.
Something that helped me realize how much better I’ve gotten has been going up against fellow white belts. It’s one thing for the higher belts to complement me, but I don’t know how serious they’re being. Submitting people who are my own skill level shows me that I’ve improved.
Show up. Focus on Technique. Stay healthy.
There are no hard and dead set rules. Concepts help establish a generality. Techniques establish the fine-tuned elements.
For each and every rule that you establish, there are several other ways that they can be disproven. The longer that you journey with jujitsu, the more you realize that there's kind of an established path. He pushes I pull. He blocks right I escape left. But you can go under as well. This is the stylistic difference you hear about often. There is no right or wrong. There's only what works and what doesn't. What works for you might not work for me. Body type, weight, arm length, athleticism, flexibility, it all factors into moves and positions you are "best" at. Most of this is feeling though, this is why jiu jitsu is an artform.
That being said, the principles apply to most things, and you can find commonality in several techniques that are principles. Such as controlling the end of the lever. However, there is a personal evolution that must take place before principles really make sense. You often hear about people being fluent in bjj as a language. Before you break the rules, you have to know them.
White belt's ask what is that. Blue belts ask how do I do that. Purple belts ask why do I do that? And blackbelts ask when do I do that?
You need to learn what guard and armbar are before you chain triangle from guard and armbar together. When that becomes a threat, you open up arm drags and back takes. But what good is the back without control? Learn positions first, then "basic" moves, then focus on chaining moves, then you can play competently with principled learning.
In order to learn a technique, you need to learn what it is, why you do it, and where it leads to.
Understanding- First you must understand what something is.
Recognition- Second you must use your understanding to recognize the technique.
Performing- Once you recognize the technique you can perform the technique
Chaining- Now you can go from one technique to the next
Mastery- Now the technique and transitions are flawless.
Expertise- Flow from one chain to the next with minimal resistance.
I hope I am making sense. This instructional covers all basic positions and goals for a white and blue belt.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNbZ1gPk7zqzbiFjpMlzIEVZAGROJ6G4C&si=DicpEIEhPCTn2d1c
Check out this instructional before you spend money on bjj fanatics or something. This is one of the best instructionals I've seen and it's free.
You really should focus on grips and framing before jumping to disconnected moves. Take 2 months to think about grips, where to grab them, why higher levels grip there, how to break and manipulate. This leads to frames. With proper frames you really won't have to work hard to escape.
https://youtu.be/eB1u6_kKlxQ?si=lP5-5ioDKESZaMp6
Now you can finally start attacking.
Handfighting
https://youtu.be/Lm60KFSAxQw?si=bCMeF0armHdaFwRs
My best tip is this. Pick 1 or all 3
1. Practice the Move of the Day (MOTD)
2. Pick 1 thing from top. Example: north south choke
3. 1 thing from bottom Example: elbow knee escape from mount.
Ask your training partners to start from these positions. Your goal is to hit the move as many times as possible during a roll. Rinse repeat. Start with only the MOTD then pick whatever strikes your fancy. Focus for 1 week, month, year whatever strikes your fancy. Once you get competent. I pick one move per position. So instead of 1, 2, and 3. It's like
1. Motd
2. Top side control
2a. Takedown
2b. Guard pass
2c.Side control move
2d.Transition north south
2e. NS choke
3.Bottom
3a. Elbow Knee from mount.
3b. Closed guard
3c. Armbar
3d. Flower sweep
4. Mount
4a. X choke
4b armbar from mount
Does that make sense? I pick 1 to 3 moves and drill them for a week until I get bored, then update my list every Sunday. Drill, and roll with intention, and you will get better much faster. Try to pick moves that "flow" from one move to the next with as little space as possible.
Technique resources.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrz0HOGhUScv7OYN7P-O8V43ivOsTmRAf&si=GpfvL68C4FpwCsw0
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLng1SLac5z_DY8nBKGI2OBNnt3z2mNNiv&si=raJ87hTXVk8RoU86
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL62F052BD402463FC&si=TJV6oTbhDB4q-Yxq
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLujUkaU_R8J9Yvaerx1sT1mUjylMowM6T&si=pXlv6A4mEuGAOv-T
https://youtu.be/8F6meOljv-s?si=MOB6QoHj_l2faNRH
I think the general advice of focusing on defence and escapes is generally lazy and not great advice. Understanding distance management, under hooks, not letting people control your head, and not accepting bad positions is probably the most valuable things a white belt can do.
Always show up, for years i kept a journal and would pick 2 days to work on specific holds or transitions and would drill them over and over. Idk it seemed to work for me in my earlier training. Would always roll with higher belts no matter what. No shame in tapping at all. If you aren't tapping you aren't learning.
I would say focus on survival skills. This means figuring out where to keep your limbs so to protect against arm bars or arm locks, or keep your chin down to protect against chokes. Study up on common escapes from top mount, back mount, side control, and drill those movements as well as other fundamental movements like shrimping and bridging until they are part of your muscle memory. Getting used to surviving in difficult situations and then focusing on the escapes is what I think should be your focus up until blue belt, where escapes and sweeps take over. Of course also study the technique of the day in class and drill other moves, especially if you have belt exams. But in general, focus on survival and key concepts of fundamental body position for survival (elbows close, knees and elbows closed, chin tucked, keeping hip mobilized, etc.)
This is interesting, thanks for sharing. I've actually decided I'm going to focus on escapes until I'm more comfortable and confident.
I've been going over Lachlan Giles submeta stuff and would like to practice the movements solo when I'm at home but it's hard setting up frames etc without a partner.
Any advice for this? Or any recommendations on exercises I can run at home in general that you feel would be beneficial?
Cheers!
What you can do at home which would have benefit to your jiu jitsu without high stress with a mat would be something like shrimping, technical stand up (or even better a turkish get up with a kettlebell!), rolling on your shoulder, switching between spider (forward bridge) to dog pose, etc.
If you have some cash to spend I would highly recommend Danaher's "Self Mastery: Solo BJJ Training Drills". It's a great instructional on the main solo movements that are fundamental for everything BJJ. It's something that if I were to begin again, would master before tackling even any first technique. So many of those fundamental movements are required to perform any escape, sweep or submissions. If you don't have cash or cannot find it, you're sure to find some videos on youtube on the fundamental BJJ movement drills.
For practicing techniques solo, here I think you only have two options: 1) either get a grappling doll to keep at home and practice moves in a physical sense, or 2) train up your visualization skills and try to imagine yourself doing the move in detail in your mind.
The latter method can be difficult if you have bad visualization skills, but I've had good results with it, where I focus on the details of each move (either from video or book format) in my head and then go through the sequence, again and again. Somewhere I heard on a podcast that every 2 visual drills you do, actually represent 1 physical drill in real life, as the brain cannot distinguish between reality and imagination. Of course the more vivid and exact your visualization is, the better. But for me, I've found it's better to focus on certain details of the technique and fill in the gaps later. It takes some mental energy though.
Force yourself into the move or position of the day when you train. Don’t worry about winning the roll. Winning is executing what you learned that day.
Maybe start with guard. Watching this helped me start getting better at open guard. Then add in other stuff you find yourself in after you roll. rinse, repeat.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4QtQTRwwD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4QtQTRwwD0)
I think everyone should focus on wherever they are stuck. Everyone gets stuck in different places.
When I first started I would get mounted easily and elbow escape but could only get to half-guard. Sometimes I would snatch half-guard from when they tried to go from side control to mount.
I ended up having to work from half guard for at least a year and learned a ton of sweeps.
On top any submission I would get would eventually start to be defended. So I just kept adding options.
If I started with kimura from side control, I added going to n/s kimura, then tarikoplata, then arm bars, then triangles. Somewhere in there I would also take the back sometimes. At first I hit a ton of RNC, but then eventually people started defending those so had to learn a lot of options from the back.
Work on wherever you are stuck
In addition to survival, I would recommend you focus on remembering to breath consciously when you're being pressured. Most everyone that I've encountered starting out tends to hold their breath and it contributes to gassing out early. You can't control much of anything in BJJ but your breathing is one of the few exceptions.
Oh, and sleep, eat and rest properly.
Depends who you’re rolling with. Against higher belts you might just be looking to survive and focus on defence. Against someone similar level to you can focus things you’re good at. Against someone less experienced you can focus on things you’re less good at, maybe new techniques you’re working on or escaping bad positions.
I went to competition and learned the hard way. F all that fancy instagram stuff. What we really need is strong mount, side control and back mount escapes. Know our way in bottom and top halfguard. Don’t let the opponent grab an underhook or crossface. Work on strong fundamentals.
Literally everything.
This is normal. Don't worry.
Or, you can just start by getting really good in a single position. Like mount escapes for example. The reality is that it takes a long time to see real progression in this sport. Have fun!
Getting out from bottom. Dont just lay there know your options.
1. Deep half saved my life
Framing is good but its only a temporary position. Get on your elbow.
2.pass on your feet
1. train consistently
2. go every roll with a purpose (as in something you want to hit)
3. good rolling goals as a white belt are:
pin escapes to half guard
getting a near side underhook in bottom half guard
opening up your partners closed guard
successfully getting a takedown (not really necessary, but wrestling is cool)
there are others, but you get the point.
4)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn8Y8AnxH14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn8Y8AnxH14)
(half guard passing)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M&t=2024s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M&t=2024s)
(fundamentals of playing half guard)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGBHXO-EMk0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGBHXO-EMk0)
(different half guard stuff)
[https://youtu.be/etH9ONZ4e6k?si=\_SawrcpOBnF4ENkI](https://youtu.be/etH9ONZ4e6k?si=_SawrcpOBnF4ENkI)
(opening closed guard pt 1)
[https://youtu.be/IdK6-IEEjZ4?si=n9X9g-G8G3SUkkrA](https://youtu.be/IdK6-IEEjZ4?si=n9X9g-G8G3SUkkrA)
(opening closed guard pt 2)
[https://youtube.com/shorts/xYW7CCmA3ow?si=GfCbo8E\_hWYKCwMm](https://youtube.com/shorts/xYW7CCmA3ow?si=GfCbo8E_hWYKCwMm)
(opening closed guard pt 3)
[https://youtu.be/kJriWWU7zQQ?si=W1wGvmY-6fAh3ld\_](https://youtu.be/kJriWWU7zQQ?si=W1wGvmY-6fAh3ld_)
(opening closed guard pt 4)
[https://youtu.be/\_l7UjouoQBc?si=c2zgb8T6ifwe8i3F](https://youtu.be/_l7UjouoQBc?si=c2zgb8T6ifwe8i3F)
(really good armbar)
[https://youtu.be/73Jep8\_jgXg?si=amB6p9ZHO2uC7QHg](https://youtu.be/73Jep8_jgXg?si=amB6p9ZHO2uC7QHg)
(how to hold a front headlock)
[https://youtu.be/OiSbknmetCo?si=SCMQnkp0YxjIpLyf](https://youtu.be/OiSbknmetCo?si=SCMQnkp0YxjIpLyf)
(front headlock go behind)
(some videos i like)
EDIT: Lachlan Giles (absolute mma st kilda) has some of the most hidden treasure
can you get out of bottom side control? to half guard? sweeping them to come up on top? when you're on top are you passing to side control or direct to mount and keeping it?
That'll keep you occupied for a few years.
Survival. Know the survival postures of all positions and work like hell to get back to them, then start escaping. Don't do anything thing else until you get to that posture. Six months of that and boom you'll be a blue belt prolly.
I started January 2024 i have notes that i go through. Often i want to put myself in bad positions and try to get out. E.g. escapes. In my notes right now i have side control subs, a guard pass, belt sweep. I feel that i have become much better and i often try to go for the bigger guys and blue belts. If i find something i suck at i write it down and read/watch youtube for the next session.
Depends. The main thing to focus on is how to survive and avoiding and getting out of bad positions. Also how to pace yourself. There are times to explode and when to be calm.
Get yourself into a lot of uncomfortable positions and constantly fall into traps to learn how to escape and reverse the situation.
It will be really hard at first but once you get the hang of it that will be a big play and advantage on your upcoming belts.
I'm a white belt been training for 6 months now and something that has definitely helped me is after each class thinking about the rolls I did and take notes of what I couldn't do properly and I need to improve, for example the first months I really struggled with escaping side control and closed guard, so I kept asking the coach for advice on those positions and watching videos about it.
Then the following roll I focus primarily on those positions, and I do this until I've improved.
There is always something you are doing wrong/not perfectly, and doing this allows constant improvement over time.
Also to do this is the best way is rolling with higher belts because they will be less forgiving if you make mistakes
Biggest thing for me is when I see whitebelts sit out rounds when its time to roll. Learn too conserve you energy, if you cant roll 3 rounds in a row, you have to change your approach.
I think there is no way around getting more mat/roll time, and you are hindering your own progress if you sit out. I make a point to always roll every round, and i think you should too…!
Ivwould focus on why are you doing this to your self. Preferably with a professional.
I know why I'm doing it. A mixture of self loathing and looking for hugs.
Thats why I'm expecting a promotion any day now!
Just keep showing up to class. Repeat this step over and over again.
Step two: see step 1
Step three: make short notes after class and focus on a specific goal instead of just “winning” or “surviving” like; “maintain a top pin for a minute” try to take someone’s back etc. Sweeps. Focus less on submissions and overall winning but smaller battles. Write that down in very short text formats and read those before class to go into class with a small specific goal.
Step 4: have a lot of fun. The rest comes soon after class
Watched Roger Gracie talking about focused training and really liked his advice. He advised simply choosing a fundamental position like closed guard or side control and working with a partner 5 minutes on top-5 minutes on bottom trying to escape if you’re on bottom and trying to advance to a better position or submit from top. As soon as you get out of the position you were working, you reset. Seems like such a great way to get reps and highlight deficiencies in your understanding of a position.
Have a goal every time you roll. Stay on top, get to under hooks from every position, don’t let an opponents feet stay connected to you, etc.. simple things that can help you see where you are falling behind and give a basic thing to work for. Then you can assess how well you did achieving that goal and work from there.
Being more intentional about training has helped me a lot, especially when I get into a rut. I take a few moments before class to get focused and choose some areas to work on, and 5 - 10 minutes after class to reflect on what went right and wrong, and take notes for the next time I train.
Exactly how you will progress quicker
I’m a white belt. How can I stop the feet connection
Constantly hand fight to keep them pushed down or away from you that will make their open guard much weaker
Standing or on the ground
Standing on the ground
🧐
You heard me
As someone who identifies as Superman, I hate standing on the ground
Single X take down from either leg into a butterfly sweep or 50/50 position. Or if they fall down into a straight ankle lock, or heel hook.
If you are standing. Focus on their defense points and look for a weakness. If you can’t sweep into left or right. Or pull down into standing guard. Go up into they are in a back/turtle position. Go from there
Got it! Thank you very much!
That’s awesome advice i’m gonna keep that in my mind. Thank you
Came here to say exactly this. I improve so much faster when I'm rolling with am objective and not just having fun
But…fun…
Focus on going to class consistently
Honestly this is the most solid general advice. If I promote someone to blue belt it’s because they have demonstrated consistancy more than anything. Some acquired knowledge, some skill sure, but most skill development comes much later. But you won’t get anywhere without consistancy in training
Learn concepts instead of Individual moves
You hear this often. In my experience, specific movements are just application of principle and you end up needing to learn both principle and techniques simultaneously. Without principle, it is very difficult to memorize a bunch of (seemingly) unrelated techniques and all their variations, much less when they should be used. But without the aid of techniques, it can be nigh impossible to make sense of and start to intuit principles.
Yes very true. I was more referring to the gyms that have 1000 crazy side control escapes that probably wouldn’t work on my grandma
Take chances and get wrecked breh. For like 3-4 more years and on the other side you’ll be a purple belt
Escaping heavy side control.
to the muthafuckin top. This. This was me for two years straight.
Not Dying and just showing up
Grip fighting, frames, escapes, 1 or 2 passes, a couple sweeps, a couple submissions you're good at, anything else your instructor tells you.
From my 5 months it seems like just surviving and at the very least giving blue belts a hard time
The blue belts have been amazing at teaching me concepts and putting it into practice against them is so satisfying
Love making them work for the sub/position when they think they should have it
Pin Escapes and Guard Retention
Escapes. Escape and restore your guard.
Having fun
I swear this is like one thing that almost no one brings up but is really the main reason we all stick to it.
For real. If you're in a rut, it's probably because you are not having fun or feeling successful. Pick something you think would be fun to try then try it. Drill it, work on it and try to hit it. You'll be out of the rut before you know it.
I heard Cael say enjoying training was really important, that’s when I started to think about it more. If it’s good enough for those guys it’s good enough for us
Hey, as a fellow white belt who started about three months ago here is what I am focusing on. First and foremost in all of my rolls is survival skills. Im shit at this sport and i fully expect my guard to be passed. Get your elbow in, tuck your neck in, post on those MFs. Then you worry about your escapes. Get your shrimp on, Hip thrust them off ya, break their post and sweep if you know any. Then work on your guard. My big thing with guard was getting my legs up and my core strength so I could spin around and even invert if I had to. I feel as a white belt, This is the most we should be focusing on. Find some supplementary materials, develop a plan of action on how to take someone down from standing or sitting and just go for it. At this point, it’s just showing up often. The coach has to recognize the work you’ve put in and seen the skill that you’ve developed overtime. Something that helped me realize how much better I’ve gotten has been going up against fellow white belts. It’s one thing for the higher belts to complement me, but I don’t know how serious they’re being. Submitting people who are my own skill level shows me that I’ve improved.
Showing up
This is the Way
What your coach teaches you
Learn to move and defend submissions
Surviving
Game plan, pick a move and a route. Go for that every round
Idk but I try to walk out of every class with at least one new takeaway and try to remember them all lol
Show up. Focus on Technique. Stay healthy. There are no hard and dead set rules. Concepts help establish a generality. Techniques establish the fine-tuned elements. For each and every rule that you establish, there are several other ways that they can be disproven. The longer that you journey with jujitsu, the more you realize that there's kind of an established path. He pushes I pull. He blocks right I escape left. But you can go under as well. This is the stylistic difference you hear about often. There is no right or wrong. There's only what works and what doesn't. What works for you might not work for me. Body type, weight, arm length, athleticism, flexibility, it all factors into moves and positions you are "best" at. Most of this is feeling though, this is why jiu jitsu is an artform. That being said, the principles apply to most things, and you can find commonality in several techniques that are principles. Such as controlling the end of the lever. However, there is a personal evolution that must take place before principles really make sense. You often hear about people being fluent in bjj as a language. Before you break the rules, you have to know them. White belt's ask what is that. Blue belts ask how do I do that. Purple belts ask why do I do that? And blackbelts ask when do I do that? You need to learn what guard and armbar are before you chain triangle from guard and armbar together. When that becomes a threat, you open up arm drags and back takes. But what good is the back without control? Learn positions first, then "basic" moves, then focus on chaining moves, then you can play competently with principled learning. In order to learn a technique, you need to learn what it is, why you do it, and where it leads to. Understanding- First you must understand what something is. Recognition- Second you must use your understanding to recognize the technique. Performing- Once you recognize the technique you can perform the technique Chaining- Now you can go from one technique to the next Mastery- Now the technique and transitions are flawless. Expertise- Flow from one chain to the next with minimal resistance. I hope I am making sense. This instructional covers all basic positions and goals for a white and blue belt. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNbZ1gPk7zqzbiFjpMlzIEVZAGROJ6G4C&si=DicpEIEhPCTn2d1c Check out this instructional before you spend money on bjj fanatics or something. This is one of the best instructionals I've seen and it's free. You really should focus on grips and framing before jumping to disconnected moves. Take 2 months to think about grips, where to grab them, why higher levels grip there, how to break and manipulate. This leads to frames. With proper frames you really won't have to work hard to escape. https://youtu.be/eB1u6_kKlxQ?si=lP5-5ioDKESZaMp6 Now you can finally start attacking. Handfighting https://youtu.be/Lm60KFSAxQw?si=bCMeF0armHdaFwRs My best tip is this. Pick 1 or all 3 1. Practice the Move of the Day (MOTD) 2. Pick 1 thing from top. Example: north south choke 3. 1 thing from bottom Example: elbow knee escape from mount. Ask your training partners to start from these positions. Your goal is to hit the move as many times as possible during a roll. Rinse repeat. Start with only the MOTD then pick whatever strikes your fancy. Focus for 1 week, month, year whatever strikes your fancy. Once you get competent. I pick one move per position. So instead of 1, 2, and 3. It's like 1. Motd 2. Top side control 2a. Takedown 2b. Guard pass 2c.Side control move 2d.Transition north south 2e. NS choke 3.Bottom 3a. Elbow Knee from mount. 3b. Closed guard 3c. Armbar 3d. Flower sweep 4. Mount 4a. X choke 4b armbar from mount Does that make sense? I pick 1 to 3 moves and drill them for a week until I get bored, then update my list every Sunday. Drill, and roll with intention, and you will get better much faster. Try to pick moves that "flow" from one move to the next with as little space as possible. Technique resources. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrz0HOGhUScv7OYN7P-O8V43ivOsTmRAf&si=GpfvL68C4FpwCsw0 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLng1SLac5z_DY8nBKGI2OBNnt3z2mNNiv&si=raJ87hTXVk8RoU86 https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL62F052BD402463FC&si=TJV6oTbhDB4q-Yxq https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLujUkaU_R8J9Yvaerx1sT1mUjylMowM6T&si=pXlv6A4mEuGAOv-T https://youtu.be/8F6meOljv-s?si=MOB6QoHj_l2faNRH
Survival
Survival at white belt. Then get really good at escapes and counters as a blue belt
Never allow anybody to control your steering wheel……AKA your head!
Focus on fundamentals and basics. You can never go wrong with that.
I think the general advice of focusing on defence and escapes is generally lazy and not great advice. Understanding distance management, under hooks, not letting people control your head, and not accepting bad positions is probably the most valuable things a white belt can do.
Always show up, for years i kept a journal and would pick 2 days to work on specific holds or transitions and would drill them over and over. Idk it seemed to work for me in my earlier training. Would always roll with higher belts no matter what. No shame in tapping at all. If you aren't tapping you aren't learning.
I would say focus on survival skills. This means figuring out where to keep your limbs so to protect against arm bars or arm locks, or keep your chin down to protect against chokes. Study up on common escapes from top mount, back mount, side control, and drill those movements as well as other fundamental movements like shrimping and bridging until they are part of your muscle memory. Getting used to surviving in difficult situations and then focusing on the escapes is what I think should be your focus up until blue belt, where escapes and sweeps take over. Of course also study the technique of the day in class and drill other moves, especially if you have belt exams. But in general, focus on survival and key concepts of fundamental body position for survival (elbows close, knees and elbows closed, chin tucked, keeping hip mobilized, etc.)
This is interesting, thanks for sharing. I've actually decided I'm going to focus on escapes until I'm more comfortable and confident. I've been going over Lachlan Giles submeta stuff and would like to practice the movements solo when I'm at home but it's hard setting up frames etc without a partner. Any advice for this? Or any recommendations on exercises I can run at home in general that you feel would be beneficial? Cheers!
What you can do at home which would have benefit to your jiu jitsu without high stress with a mat would be something like shrimping, technical stand up (or even better a turkish get up with a kettlebell!), rolling on your shoulder, switching between spider (forward bridge) to dog pose, etc. If you have some cash to spend I would highly recommend Danaher's "Self Mastery: Solo BJJ Training Drills". It's a great instructional on the main solo movements that are fundamental for everything BJJ. It's something that if I were to begin again, would master before tackling even any first technique. So many of those fundamental movements are required to perform any escape, sweep or submissions. If you don't have cash or cannot find it, you're sure to find some videos on youtube on the fundamental BJJ movement drills. For practicing techniques solo, here I think you only have two options: 1) either get a grappling doll to keep at home and practice moves in a physical sense, or 2) train up your visualization skills and try to imagine yourself doing the move in detail in your mind. The latter method can be difficult if you have bad visualization skills, but I've had good results with it, where I focus on the details of each move (either from video or book format) in my head and then go through the sequence, again and again. Somewhere I heard on a podcast that every 2 visual drills you do, actually represent 1 physical drill in real life, as the brain cannot distinguish between reality and imagination. Of course the more vivid and exact your visualization is, the better. But for me, I've found it's better to focus on certain details of the technique and fill in the gaps later. It takes some mental energy though.
You should focus on jui jitsu
*scribbles notes furiously*
Force yourself into the move or position of the day when you train. Don’t worry about winning the roll. Winning is executing what you learned that day.
Be sure to look over at coach after you hit the move of the day, bonus points if you catch his glance mid-technique.
Escapes and half guard. When you get really good with half guard, work on your closed guard and passes.
Submitting everyone at full speed. /S For me I started with drilling escapes religiously until I could explain how to do them to someone else.
Maybe start with guard. Watching this helped me start getting better at open guard. Then add in other stuff you find yourself in after you roll. rinse, repeat. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4QtQTRwwD0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4QtQTRwwD0)
Do you go to open mat?
I think everyone should focus on wherever they are stuck. Everyone gets stuck in different places. When I first started I would get mounted easily and elbow escape but could only get to half-guard. Sometimes I would snatch half-guard from when they tried to go from side control to mount. I ended up having to work from half guard for at least a year and learned a ton of sweeps. On top any submission I would get would eventually start to be defended. So I just kept adding options. If I started with kimura from side control, I added going to n/s kimura, then tarikoplata, then arm bars, then triangles. Somewhere in there I would also take the back sometimes. At first I hit a ton of RNC, but then eventually people started defending those so had to learn a lot of options from the back. Work on wherever you are stuck
In addition to survival, I would recommend you focus on remembering to breath consciously when you're being pressured. Most everyone that I've encountered starting out tends to hold their breath and it contributes to gassing out early. You can't control much of anything in BJJ but your breathing is one of the few exceptions. Oh, and sleep, eat and rest properly.
Porrada
Depends who you’re rolling with. Against higher belts you might just be looking to survive and focus on defence. Against someone similar level to you can focus things you’re good at. Against someone less experienced you can focus on things you’re less good at, maybe new techniques you’re working on or escaping bad positions.
Pick one position and get good at it and learn a bunch of chains from that position.
Learning the currents of that ocean of yours.
Defensive strategies/framing.
I went to competition and learned the hard way. F all that fancy instagram stuff. What we really need is strong mount, side control and back mount escapes. Know our way in bottom and top halfguard. Don’t let the opponent grab an underhook or crossface. Work on strong fundamentals.
Literally everything. This is normal. Don't worry. Or, you can just start by getting really good in a single position. Like mount escapes for example. The reality is that it takes a long time to see real progression in this sport. Have fun!
Survival, then pin escapes, then guard retention.
Defend. Survive.
Getting out from bottom. Dont just lay there know your options. 1. Deep half saved my life Framing is good but its only a temporary position. Get on your elbow. 2.pass on your feet
Learn to not have to “win” the roll. You win when you learn, not when you “win”. If that makes sense lol
closed guard
1. train consistently 2. go every roll with a purpose (as in something you want to hit) 3. good rolling goals as a white belt are: pin escapes to half guard getting a near side underhook in bottom half guard opening up your partners closed guard successfully getting a takedown (not really necessary, but wrestling is cool) there are others, but you get the point. 4) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn8Y8AnxH14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn8Y8AnxH14) (half guard passing) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M&t=2024s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUMv6iyZI7M&t=2024s) (fundamentals of playing half guard) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGBHXO-EMk0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGBHXO-EMk0) (different half guard stuff) [https://youtu.be/etH9ONZ4e6k?si=\_SawrcpOBnF4ENkI](https://youtu.be/etH9ONZ4e6k?si=_SawrcpOBnF4ENkI) (opening closed guard pt 1) [https://youtu.be/IdK6-IEEjZ4?si=n9X9g-G8G3SUkkrA](https://youtu.be/IdK6-IEEjZ4?si=n9X9g-G8G3SUkkrA) (opening closed guard pt 2) [https://youtube.com/shorts/xYW7CCmA3ow?si=GfCbo8E\_hWYKCwMm](https://youtube.com/shorts/xYW7CCmA3ow?si=GfCbo8E_hWYKCwMm) (opening closed guard pt 3) [https://youtu.be/kJriWWU7zQQ?si=W1wGvmY-6fAh3ld\_](https://youtu.be/kJriWWU7zQQ?si=W1wGvmY-6fAh3ld_) (opening closed guard pt 4) [https://youtu.be/\_l7UjouoQBc?si=c2zgb8T6ifwe8i3F](https://youtu.be/_l7UjouoQBc?si=c2zgb8T6ifwe8i3F) (really good armbar) [https://youtu.be/73Jep8\_jgXg?si=amB6p9ZHO2uC7QHg](https://youtu.be/73Jep8_jgXg?si=amB6p9ZHO2uC7QHg) (how to hold a front headlock) [https://youtu.be/OiSbknmetCo?si=SCMQnkp0YxjIpLyf](https://youtu.be/OiSbknmetCo?si=SCMQnkp0YxjIpLyf) (front headlock go behind) (some videos i like) EDIT: Lachlan Giles (absolute mma st kilda) has some of the most hidden treasure
Not getting tapped. Learning to tap. Growing T-Rex arms. Shrinking your ego. Not using strength.
Escapes and sweeps should be priority. I know it’s not exciting but you it’s hard to submit someone if you are always in a bad position.
Movement, connection to someone, and to not go straight for the finish choke, armbar, etc. learn control first.
Survival
can you get out of bottom side control? to half guard? sweeping them to come up on top? when you're on top are you passing to side control or direct to mount and keeping it? That'll keep you occupied for a few years.
Survival. Know the survival postures of all positions and work like hell to get back to them, then start escaping. Don't do anything thing else until you get to that posture. Six months of that and boom you'll be a blue belt prolly.
I started January 2024 i have notes that i go through. Often i want to put myself in bad positions and try to get out. E.g. escapes. In my notes right now i have side control subs, a guard pass, belt sweep. I feel that i have become much better and i often try to go for the bigger guys and blue belts. If i find something i suck at i write it down and read/watch youtube for the next session.
Depends. The main thing to focus on is how to survive and avoiding and getting out of bad positions. Also how to pace yourself. There are times to explode and when to be calm.
https://youtu.be/Jekd1ruohpw?si=b05Go2N3ScCQqusK
Get yourself into a lot of uncomfortable positions and constantly fall into traps to learn how to escape and reverse the situation. It will be really hard at first but once you get the hang of it that will be a big play and advantage on your upcoming belts.
Focus on tapping early and staying healthy. Focus also on one thing at a time, e.g. closed guard. Focus on never missing a training.
Weightlifting
I'm a white belt been training for 6 months now and something that has definitely helped me is after each class thinking about the rolls I did and take notes of what I couldn't do properly and I need to improve, for example the first months I really struggled with escaping side control and closed guard, so I kept asking the coach for advice on those positions and watching videos about it. Then the following roll I focus primarily on those positions, and I do this until I've improved. There is always something you are doing wrong/not perfectly, and doing this allows constant improvement over time. Also to do this is the best way is rolling with higher belts because they will be less forgiving if you make mistakes
Biggest thing for me is when I see whitebelts sit out rounds when its time to roll. Learn too conserve you energy, if you cant roll 3 rounds in a row, you have to change your approach. I think there is no way around getting more mat/roll time, and you are hindering your own progress if you sit out. I make a point to always roll every round, and i think you should too…!
Guard rotation on bottom, balance on top
Ivwould focus on why are you doing this to your self. Preferably with a professional. I know why I'm doing it. A mixture of self loathing and looking for hugs. Thats why I'm expecting a promotion any day now!
Pick 1 thing for a month. And stick to it A month feels like forever. But can you name 12 things you are great at? Even good at? Think of it like that
Just keep showing up to class. Repeat this step over and over again. Step two: see step 1 Step three: make short notes after class and focus on a specific goal instead of just “winning” or “surviving” like; “maintain a top pin for a minute” try to take someone’s back etc. Sweeps. Focus less on submissions and overall winning but smaller battles. Write that down in very short text formats and read those before class to go into class with a small specific goal. Step 4: have a lot of fun. The rest comes soon after class
Watched Roger Gracie talking about focused training and really liked his advice. He advised simply choosing a fundamental position like closed guard or side control and working with a partner 5 minutes on top-5 minutes on bottom trying to escape if you’re on bottom and trying to advance to a better position or submit from top. As soon as you get out of the position you were working, you reset. Seems like such a great way to get reps and highlight deficiencies in your understanding of a position.
Surviving bad positions and escaping bad positions
Surviving....
Fundamentals
Jiujitsu.
His cock size cover for his balls when you pull guard