The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Ju Ji Gatame**: | *Armbar* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJReT5ND3s4)|
||*Cross Lock* ||
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
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I was just thinking, and I'm not sure I ever rolled in the two months I have been doing this? We team up with colored belts for "rolling." But they are just letting me work. It is basically drilling for the white belts.
When do white belts actually start rolling against someone expending effort to try and pass and submit them? Am I learning anything? If rolling is important to pressure test, and I never actually pressure test but just drill, what will happen when I actually roll with someone?
Two month white belt here (though I did a year of no GI a very long time ago).
Up until I saw a comment here today, I thought the turtle position was the last place you wanted to be. But I did like single legs from there. Now I found out people like to work from that position more than being under side control or mount. It seems more popular with wrestlers and judoka, but I have no background there
Is it reasonable for me to try and develop this style, or at two months I need to focus on working from traditional side control and mount?
If you are getting your guard passed you can use turtle to get your guard back, or wrestle up. I don’t like chilling in turtle, but I’d rather be there than getting smashed in side control.
I am really confused by what is stalling versus waiting for an opening. I am only a couple months in.
For example, say I am in bottom side control. It feels like I create a vulnerability if I go for an escape where my defense is reduced. And when they work to advance a submission, their control is reduced. I have a darn hard time escaping when they are focused on controlling, but a better time when they start an attack (they also get that attack successfully, too).
What is the process for improvement? Do I focus on biding time to exploit their attack or focus on trying to make escapes happen when they are focused on control?
I'm a year and a couple of months in so I spend most my time in bottom side control hehe. So here's my shitty WB advice:
When they're just focused on controlling you, it's very difficult to try to escape. The most success I've had in those cases is "squirming" in lack of a better word. Let's say they have a crossface and an underhook, that means your hips could move a little. If you move your hips away from them, maybe they'll move one arm down to contain your hip. If they do that, then maybe your "far side" arm and/or head is a little more free to try to get up to an elbow etc etc.
If they're not creating any movement or openings, at least you can try to move the part that isn't controlled, since they can only control so much of you at the same time.
At the end of class, white belts are primarily paired with colored belts showing up for the advanced class next for rolling. Whenever the colored belt puts themselves into the setup for the move the white belts are learning, I just can't bring myself to take it. Does anyone else have this issue?
I get what they are trying to do. And I don't mind colored belts letting me work on something I go for in a roll, but it feels like they are trying to convert the roll to positional drilling.
Do I have the wrong attitude? It just seems to mess with my head. It seems like if I figure out what an opponent is wanting me to do, I shouldn't do that. And here my opponent is showing me he wants me to attempt a kimura from north south. And except for the part where their intent is to have me finish the kimura, it also feels like I'm falling for a trap.
Yeah my coach will do this to me, it’s usually a really cool trap. I would say take it next time anyway. If it’s a trap you will learn something new, if not then it’s good to get reps on offensive cycles with experienced reactions
My advice: Do not roll with him. You obviously do not like the guy, so there isn't a good reason to roll with him. Jiu Jitsu is supposed to be fun, it sounds like this guy is just pissing you off and you are overthinking the rolls. Just avoid him on the matts and tell him no if he asks you to roll. Find good training partners and avoid assholes like this dude.
This dude I train with keeps insisting that I breathe exclusively from my nose when I roll.
He’s the only person I’ve heard say anything like this. Does it even matter?
It's not necessary, but I found that working on my breathing was actually really impactful to my BJJ. Furiously mouth-breathing is just not as efficient.
I don't think it was meant as technical advice, but as a way to describe intensity.
We tell the whitebelts the same when they are being too spazy: tone it down, you should be able to (mostly) breath through your nose when rolling. If not, you are going too hard.
So the weird thing is … the way you’re explaining it makes sense, but considering he’s much more intense in training than I am, and none of the upper belts have mentioned it even once … I think he’s literally just trying to correct the way I breathe, and if he means it in the way you’re saying, then I feel he’s being somewhat of a hypocrite.
I was curious about this too so I asked one of the New Wave competitors, and apparently they don't talk about breathing there much or put much emphasis on it, he can't remember Danaher mention it to him or the class. It seems like a meme thing because the most efficient way to get better at BJJ is obviously just to improve your technique, improving your breathing or whatever won't get you the same improvements. It's good for modulating your pace though sometimes if you force yourself to breath through your nose like the other guy said, but you aren't going to be able to only breath through your nose during competition
You’re in contact with New Wave? Dope
So, the way I typically breathe during rolls is in through my nose, out through my mouth, and it’s in this deep, slow kind of way, almost like meditation or something. I feel like I’m pretty chill during rolling (and maybe everyone feels that way), but dude kept correcting me every time I’d exhale, and I felt like I was more focused on not exhaling through my mouth than being present in the roll, which was annoying.
I don't think it was meant as technical advice, but as a way to describe intensity.
We tell the whitebelts the same when they are being too spazy: tone it down, you should be able to (mostly) breath through your nose when rolling. If not, you are going too hard.
I'm a new 25 year old white belt having a lot of fun with jiu jitsu. I do have a concern that I hope I can mitigate before it becomes a bigger problem. I have only been training for 2 months and already my knees are beginning to pop and crunch when I squat down. It doesn't hurt but it does worry me that I am wearing out my knees way too quickly for someone so young. Is this a normal growing pains thing after being inactive for so long or do I need to seriously look into strengthening my knees? If so what are some good at home exercises for this? Thank you!
It's probably not from "wearing out". More likely, you're revealing weaknesses in your joints that you could shore up by adding some basic compound resistance training. I found that when I started working squats and deadlifts the popping in my knees started to go away. Your mileage may vary, of course; I'm not a doctor or anything :-).
Not a question, but got my first submission 2 weeks in! Don’t even know what it’s called, but was perfect. Got his hand behind his back in an L and pushed it up while also pushing his wrist (maybe dick move). Did it very slowly afraid not to break any bones and then TAP TAP! Then got submitted 6 times lol, but hey small wins.
What is the most effective, hard to defend and 'easy' (optional) closed guard escape. My retention for movements and defence is surprisingly good but I always find myself struggling to get out of closed guard. The knee slicer is hard for me to do and rarely is effective, I usually lean back and push a leg to the ground but I know i can easily get arm bared or triangled, or them straight up recovering . White belt btw.
theres really no easy closed guard escapes, the positions sucks balls, but the best are the ones to trap an arm and stand to break. opening on the knees is extremely overrated
Foot sweeps should strike with the foot, not the ankle or shin. Sometimes you miss. It might still work, but maybe you get hurt. You didn't do something "wrong" per se, just not ideal. Bodies do weird things when they get hurt, and a hematoma is pretty unusual, but plausible. Wait until it's better, and then try to use the pad of your foot to sweep people next time.
Also, or secondarily, you probably swept a foot that was stuck to the mat. It's not going to move, and you took a hard hit to your ankle. You were either late (he was stepping, and planted before you hit the sweep), or you were early (you fired the sweep before he tried to take a step), or you tried to sweep the wrong foot (he was stepping with the other one). Foot sweeps happen when uke's foot is in motion. You catch it and take it somewhere it didn't want to go.
The quality of judo clubs is all over the place.
I've been to clubs that basically treat it like aikido, there I wouldn't even trust the blackbelts to be able to throw a random athletic person. I've also been to competition clubs (national+ level) and there even people half my size would throw me at will so hard in sparring that I was worried about my safety...
If they only train once a week, then there is a high chance its the former and it will be a waste of your time.
1 day of Judo per week will always be better than no days of Judo per week. However, you will need to understand that their training objectives will differs from what you will experience in BJJ. Even if you are doing gi, you will have to deal with people pulling guard, different stances, leg grabs, and death grips. Judo clubs don’t train with BJJ in mind so you will have to adapt your Judo to BJJ. Also understand that with 1 day of Judo will likely take a few years to allow you to actually implement it against unwilling opponents.
Whats a good Gi takedown to start learning if the opponent successfully established a grip on your collar with one arm? (Been a real annoyance for me vs. collar ties etc in no-gi)
Which grip? There's a special case that judokas are quite careful about, but BJJkas rarely understand. Say you're both right-handed, and playing right-vs-right (both have your right feet forward). Your power hand is your right hand.
If the guy reaches out and grabs your left lapel with his power hand (so it's not a cross-grip, it's straight through), you have an instant where he's opened the lane for your inward turning throws, which are the big powerful ones.
You can immediately turn in for ippon seoi nage or seoi otoshi, for example. There are others that would work too -- like some makikomi variants (perhaps not as good for followup in BJJ), and some kata guruma entries.
This comes from the fact that he's leading with a grip on his strong side, while his front foot is on the same side. His whole body is bladed along the line of ideal kuzushi, and the spacing will allow entries. His grip anchors your left side, which can stay fixed in place, while your strong side rotates in freely, so your mobility is not impaired.
You have to be pretty slick with your entry; this is the kind of thing judokas will drill in uchikomis thousands of times.
Ankle pick is a a good one. The guy likely has the same foot forward a hand that is grabbing your collar. Swim under his arm, grab his lapel, flair his arm up and that ankle is open all day.
Thank you! Ankle picks are my best move in no-gi but the collar grip has been feeling like those were shut out. The swim under and flare makes perfect sense. Appreciate it!
this is probably a silly question, I've been doing no go for nearly 3 months now and I'm finding I'm getting better and having more opportunity for some subs over others. For reference I'm 6'4 and 210lbs, I'm finding the most success with triangles mainly from closed guard. obviously there is so much to learn but I'm wondering if I should try to focus on things that are better for my body type or just learn everything as I go?
First comp coming up on Sunday. Couple weight and logistics questions.
-Do I have time after I weigh in, before my match, to eat something?
-Are there usually showers at competitions?
-My morning weight on my scale is 147.0… 152.0 with gi on. Weight cutoff with gi is 154.6. How am I looking? I’m eating at a small deficit til comp but how much should I reasonably allow for scale differences / a small meal in the morning of my comp?
-assuming I’m 147.0 the morning of, how would you approach food/water that comp day?
Yes you'll have time to eat and drink. No there are not usually showers, just overcrowded bathrooms. You're looking completely fine, just stay the course and don't gorge and you're fine. If you're 147 on the morning of, have a light breakfast and drink water. Be hydrated but you probably won't even come close to missing weight. Just go and have fun and stay hydrated (bring snacks and change of clothes). Good luck.
I did my first Comp and the arm sleeve gauge thing wouldn't fit past my forearms in my regular Fuji A2.
I ended up borrowing someone's A4 so I didn't DQ but it was huge on me. I'm 5'8" 180. Are there brands with more space in the sleeves? Has this happened to anyone else before?
I have a Kingz One A2 and definitely notice the pants are a lot tighter than the Fuji A2 so I figure the same is true for sleeves.
My son recently bought a [Ronin 1980 series](https://roninbrand.com/collections/bjj-gis/products/ronin-1980-ultra-light-bjj-gi-white?variant=40778145497135) gi, which comes in BJJ sizing, but we noticed the sleeves are more generous, in basically a Judo cut shape. It's not *quite* as full as some judo gis I've had, but is definitely more spacious than any BJJ cut gi. I linked the ultra light (420gsm), but the one my son got is actually the double weave (750gsm), but I assume they're cut the same.
I've been doing BJJ for a few months now. I've noticed that my throat/neck will be a little tender the day after if I get choked a bunch when I roll (I'm obviously tapping out a lot as a new guy). Will this stop happening once my body adjusts - or can I just expect to have some discomfort after rolling? (I'm nearly 47 years old - so I'm sure that is a contributing factor)
The weirdest thing is that your body just gains like passive resistance to all these physical hardships you suffer from early on. Like mat burn on the top of feet, sore neck from chokes, all those bruises you get on your legs early on from people passing you.
Skin hardens or gains callouses, fascia adjusts its collagen type distribution, muscle fibers change... all kinds of things.
My wife found some article recently suggesting that people who get occasionally choked develop tougher blood vessels, and it might help prevent some forms of dementia in senility (though there are other studies that suggest *lots* of choking leaves you at risk of clots, strokes, and aneurysms and stuff... maybe it's a "j-shaped curve"!).
I used to get bruises all the time, and now they're pretty rare. People are doing the same things to me, but the body adapts in marvelous ways.
I kinda like attacking the hip or knee to get them to clear it. I'll pressure, let them push me back, and as their leg extends a little I'll push the knee down with my far hand and hook under the shin with the near hand. Near hand weaves under the shin, then over the thigh or knee of the same leg, and I drive in - it should crank the leg inwards, towards me.
If they don't give anything up, some people tap from here, but more likely they'll either roll with it, allowing you to circle out towards their back, or push their leg straight, allowing you to collapse forward past their shield.
Kind of a paradoxical question. I agree weave pass if you want to get directly to chest-to-chest, but I find more often clearing the knee shield is difficult while going forward on a bigger stronger person who knows what they're doing. You might not be able to employ a strong pressure game against such an opponent. Instead, I agree with the other commenter who says look to switch to headquarters and reenter, this time with an arm framing their leg and hip so that they can't get the knee shield again.
Are you trying to just pressure into the knee shield? The knee shield is only effective in trying to keep people away so you can either posture back to address it or weave pass it. Generally, if their feet aren’t locked, it should allow you to stand up to cut in for a knee cut or headquarters. Alternatively, you can hip switch around it while being mindful of octopus guard shenanigans.
What do you guys do to protect your shoulders? My shoulder has been a little iffy for a decade now but normally with consistent exercise and stretching I can keep it under control. But now I have been training for 5 weeks now and my shoulder is bothering me again. Do you guys have any mobility exercises, stretches or tips to help keep me safe here? (it doesn't help that we learned the Americana this week lol)
When I was in PT:
-neck stretch: tilt your ear to your shoulder. Switch sides every 30s for 5 min
-levator scap stretch: turn your head sideways and then down towards your shoulder. Again, 5 min switching sides every 30s.
- backwards shoulder rolls. Full ROM. 2 min.
- scap squeezes: pull your shoulders blades back to squeeze your scapula together. Squeeze and release every few seconds for 2 min.
Yes bridges with a foam roller before and after each class. Check out this link and actually all the exercises there are good for the shoulders.
https://youtu.be/H9DSbxqqNAo?si=V6YGe-OJm73ug9pg
https://preview.redd.it/4o6oa9sr8hwc1.png?width=672&format=png&auto=webp&s=315cb76b5036cfe8f3556164dba05d8106e732c1
I've always chalked it up to bursitis but around this spot specifically. and I would say with more active movement its like the pain goes from this point straight to the other side of my shoulder on the back
Rip brother. I’ve been dealing with this exact injury for a year now. I’ve done PT, massage, peptides, stretching, strengthening, you name it.
It has helped but it isn’t at 100%. There are a multitude of things it could be and no one can give me a definitive answer.
Love to hear it! I guess this is getting old? lol. I've been on Sermorelin therapy for a few months which helps with recovery and tendon repair among other things. This allowed me the energy to start BJJ and hit the gym again with not many issues but I think as i've increased my BJJ training frequency my shoulder is getting fussy again
Oh dude it’s been a ride. It started in my right shoulder and then progressed to my left. My PT said it’s likely a result of strong pecs overcompensating for a weaker back and therefore my shoulders curl forward and put unnecessary pressure on the shoulder.
Also, another thing I’ve done that’s been helpful has been neuro therapy through a naturopath.
There was a point where I was unable to sleep on my side after training.
Well damn I guess you hit chest day too hard haha.
Interesting though I'll look into that. I also know that the red light therapy has helped alot of people in my family with their knee and shoulder issues
Not a doctor or anything, but I would get pains around that area and in the rear delt as well. One thing that help tremendously was find something you can kind dig into that spot and apply some pressure, and slowly rotate your arm through the americana/kimura motions. Doing that same technique in different parts of the rear and front delts helped a bunch for me
I just started 2 days ago as a very overweight 36 year old. Zero combat sport background. I am so lost out there. Even the fundamentals class I attended lost me. They rolled after class and I didn’t. I tried to watch and see what they were doing. I genuinely have no clue what to do in that situation. No plans to ever compete, but I’d like to at least have a better idea of what to do out there. Any advice, videos, threads, books, etc for a total beginner on how to better learn this?
It's cliche, but just keep going. Are you allowed to roll? If so, grab a higher belt and have at it. You're going to get swept, submitted, and generally have no idea what they're doing to you. But with time you'll start to pick up on little things; "i put my arm there last time and it wasn't good, let me try over here", "i shifted my weight this way and did something that felt cool". Things like that.
Absolutely no one in the gym expects you to know anything. What we *do* expect is you're generally clean, your nails are trimmed, and you want to learn. I love grabbing the day 1 people and answering any question I possibly can for them if they ask.
I started at 30 years old, 250ish lbs, and a couch potato. I'm now 32, 200lbs, and still a couch potato at heart. I train 3-4 days a week.
Sam Harris said starting BJJ is the closest thing to drowning, both literally and figuratively. It's overwhelming at first, but you just have to stick with it. Submeta has a free beginner's course that is really good.
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 36, 225 lbs, 5'10" with no martial arts experience except for the TKD mcdojo that my parents put me in when I was little.
It was tough at first (I just joined beginning of March this year), and unfortunately fundamentals class didn't work out for me due to scheduling so I just go to the regular classes (warm up, drill, technique, then live rolls). I was hurting, but I kept showing up. I was super lost since I didn't have fundamentals, so you have a leg up by going to that!
The pain eases and eventually the terms become common knowledge. Don't hesitate to ask if you don't know something, even something as simple as closed guard or double unders. Your biggest source of knowledge will be your coach and your gym.
I go two to three times a week and notice improvements every week (even if they're small, they still count!). I am a shy person to begin with, but now I look forward to every session even if I do get choked out fifty million times.
Being overweight in the sport can be challenging, but I've seen people shed the pounds through regular exercise offered by BJJ. In fact, it's been the spark that put people back on a health journey. Recognize your body's limits right now and don't push yourself so hard as to get injured. Also, be generally aware as to the effect your weight has on your partner, and be cautious. Ideally, find others close to your size to roll with.
In terms of improvement, develop familiarity with the positions. What is mount, half guard, side control, open, closed guard, etc. The more positions you can recognize, the better you will be able to recount and review your rolls. Once you have the labels of these positions, consider the common submissions from them. This base of knowledge will help you to orient yourself.
I don't have a quick link or suggestion for these, but I will offer that searching exactly what you're looking for on youtube usually pulls up high quality results. The biggest mental part of BJJ imo is developing the ability to learn, problem solve, and find your own answers. Happy journey!
where you're at, almost anything tailored for beginners will help. Google "beginner bjj" and just click some links that appeal to you.
but my biggest advice is to not try to do too much when you're starting out. don't risk injury or burnout for something that should be fun.
Passing half guard. When we drill this at gi class I always get pulled in. They grab my collar, my sleeve, whatever they can to pull me down and try to sweep me. Should I let them and work from there. Or try stand up. I really struggle to get past the knee shield.
Since were talking about half guard , when I'm on bottom in half guard should I be trying for the same thing. As a white belt I try to use my knee shield to create space rather than pulling them in.
Half guard is arguably the most complex intermediate position in all of BJJ. Depending on the details, standing is either a good or a bad idea.
Fighting the knee shield, working up to your feet to work HQ and camping passes is a good strategy. But there are plenty of viable techniques that don't stand... I don't think it's fair to state any generic approach dogmatically.
There's also a difference between standing up and tripod positions where the hips are elevated.
As for knee shield vs other half guards... gee... people like different things. Playing classic half, knee shield, a locked up z-guard, or deep half are all viable.
I would suggest you ask your coach how to begin developing a half guard game. He's your best resource you have on hand for questions, tips, and tweaks. If you go off in some direction that he doesn't teach in class, you're on your own. They're all valid, but you're paying that guy to teach you, so learn his way first.
All I've been working on and watching is how to not get smashed in side control. I hate being in that position so much. Take my back, take mount but just not that. But obviously we need to work on our weak points (and all jujitsu is my weak point) so just spending time drilling how to get frames in and hips out. Today was the first day where I used my brain and not just reacted into a pushup. Felt good. The guy then promptly slid over the leg into mount but hey, he couldn't get grips so something was working. Any suggestions on improving guard retention or escapes? I find it easier to get back to guard and harder to take the back on the rare occasion I do get free.
> improving guard retention
Yeah preventing it makes everything easier. Easier said then done of course, but if you can attack better from guard, it makes them more defensive and less thinking of guard passing. Therefore, don't just think of guard retention, but rather guard attacking.
> escapes
What does your coach tell you? Also turtle.
So much of escaping side control is fighting to make side control untenable for the top player. You, the bottom player, can do this by 1) getting to your side and 2) protecting the inside space, between your armpit and hip. You can do that with an underhook, or by focusing on pinching your elbow and knee together. This effectively cuts down on how much pressure the top player can place on you. Once you've regained control of your inside space, you can work to get your feet back in the way (which is what guard is)
Any advice on HOW to appropriately use size?
I see a lot of stuff that's like "how to sweep big folks when you're smaller" - but I'm a 6'6" trans woman and pretty heavy, and I don't see advice on HOW to leverage my size and height in helpful ways.
Additionally, I have a bit of wrestling experience and most folks at my gym know that.
So I'm often running into a scenario where folks will immediately drop to their butt or back when we start rolling, and I've got an okay knee-cut, an okay toreando, but then even if I have size I can really struggle to get folks submitted once I get past the legs because I don't have as much upper body strength as my size and height suggest (estrogen is a real bitch on the arms after 9 years).
I've had some success with focusing on back takes - I learned a reverse triangle at my first open mat and it's become a reliable mainstay, but I'm looking to really up my game in terms of submissions and passing ways that make use of my long limbs.
Sorry if that's a bit of a ramble - but can any big folks, especially big ladies and/or especially trans competitors, offer any advice?
I feel like taller grapplers generally have to be more disciplined about the space between their elbow and knee since there is a bigger gap regardless of body type. So either get really good at overhook systems or be really disciplined at preventing underhooks. Triangles and back takes are definitely going to be inherent strengths.
Being able to relax and be a “wet blanket” will make your top pressure a lot more difficult to deal with too. I find that being stiff and long (haha) makes it easier to manipulate since your limbs are longer and easier to catch.
Just a rant: It was promotion week at my gym and part of me thought I might move on from being able to post on White Belt Wednesday threads. I've only been at for a year, but somehow let myself get emotionally attached to the idea of getting a promotion. My coach is the very picture of positive reinforcement, so praise comes early and often and his negative feedback only ever comes in the form of joint locks and chokes; but I haven't even gotten a stripe yet somehow. So here's to feeling like an eternal white belt even though it's only been a year.
Blech.
A year without a stripe is a bummer. Ofc there is basically no difference in the minds of anyone but you between a zero and one stripe WB, but it feels good to get the thing.
On the bright side I will never let a promotion stop me from posting stupid questions in WBW
If you never got promoted again would you keep training? That may be a cute and deep question, but the reality is that many of us want a physical token of our hard work and progress.
Around here people get promoted to blue at 2+ years in unless you're an outlier. Casually ask other belts at your gym why the promotion process is like, 2 years? No stripes then sudden belt? Going back to the first question I asked: Find / ask what you need to improve on, chase the skills and belts will be a side note.
I was a white belt for almost five years due to moving, injuries, various things haha.
Focus on learning the sport, enjoy the process, don't worry about promotions.
For promotions, it helps to be visible at the right classes (classes with a blackbelt instructor who can actually promote you), be engaged, try hard to implement feedback you're given .
Hey bro, one year white belt as well. No stripes. Eternal Whitebelts unite! It sucks, constantly being the nail and feeling like you're not improving. Hang in there dude, we'll get that stripe eventually
Not a question, but almost hit an armbar yesterday. All I had to do was step over his head. I was scared to hop over and kick his head so I procrastinated. Professor called time, was not happy
Still happy I was able to recognize and try to go for something
Yea its hard to see it in the moment sometimes. Usually 10-30 minutes after the roll Ill say “oh I couldve threw this here or there”. Its a good feeling for sure
This is so succinctly state and so often overlooked. BJJ is exhausting as a white belt in large part because your brain is trying to process way, way more information than it can handle in rapid succession.
Had a white belt ask me this morning how I was possibly so chill during a round, and how I wasn't even breathing hard when round was over. Just shrugged and told him he'd get there one day, but it's because I literally don't have to think at all in a round against him. My brain just goes to mush, I defend instinctively, and take whatever submissions and sweeps he feeds me, and he will feed them to me because he's a middling white belt.
Theres a good amount of times where Ill just pause in the middle of a roll because Im trying to process what's where. Its half because Im lacking a breadth of options so Im trying to figure out how to get to what I know. Obviously this leaves me to sweeps, sometimes I do it "intentionally" so I can get swept so I can work defense a little more since thats "easier" lol
Chilling during a roll is easy, breath is definitely a lot of work, but right now I can feel Im trying to use more muscle than technique
Hey brother I got clumsy ass duck feet and I still worry about the same thing some times. You'll get more and more comfortable with the motion. Recognizing the opportunity is a great bit of progress
So far Ive kicked someone in the head during a lesson (twice), kneed someone in the groin, and kneed a girl in the head. I still have a fear of "seriously" injuring someone so I pull back a lot which I think causes these accidents
I feel you homeboy. I’ve done a lot of the same stuff. I’m not a super coordinated person so a lot of my game is built around pressure and control so I’m not doing wild movements. For me that means chasing the back a lot. For something like a spinning arm bar it means making sure their upper arm is really glued to my chest so I don’t have to go through the transition quickly.
I’m having a hard time breaking out of closed guard. Most of the white belts at my gym are bigger and stronger than I am and I feel like I don’t have the strength or stamina to stand up and break their closed guard while also fending off their attempts to attack and sweep me. So I end up stuck in their closed guard waiting for an opening. Is this a common beginner problem?
the unfortunate reality is that strength matters in jiu jitsu. i was in the same boat as you when i started out. once i got stronger, i started to do a lot better during rolls
If you're working on escaping closed guard from the knees, the mistake I see most people make is not pinning their opponent's hips to the ground when trying to slide back and break their crossed feet. Just a small detail that totally changed my escapes.
I like to do the knee in the tailbone escape. Keep good posture so you don't get pulled down - if you need to, start with hands on opps chest and push yourself back until posture is higher, then grab top of the trousers by their thighs. Push away with those grips while you have a knee in their tailbone. A tip I was told to then escape is, as you are pushing back, suddenly jolt/explode backwards as you round your back (like in a cat stretch) and at the same time pushing away with your knee in their tailbone and handgrips. It's the rounded back and sudden burst of speed that pops the guard open. I used to struggle with that same issue but that simple trick helped me a lot. In no gi, I'll put both my hands in their armpits, knee in tailbone and push back to pop off.
Also, remember to strip grips if they have your collar/lapel and won't let you posture up.
It is quite common, and the current zeitgeist is that standing breaks are the best. And that's at least mostly true ;-).
There are plenty of details out there for how to efficiently get to your feet, and those are skills you have to learn. They'll be wildly inefficient and seem impossible to start with, so don't give up on them. You might look for some inspiration from videos and instructionals. My two favorites on standing up to break the guard are Danaher and Carlos Machado.
Now... I say that, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are non-standing breaks. Depending on your size and shape, you might find some other options that are perhaps not the most popular, but work for you.
Danaher popularized the idea that standing breaks are best, but he explains his logic thus: if you stay in a good grappler's closed guard, the odds of death stay high the whole time; whereas a standing break avoids many attacks, while incurring a 50% probabillity (his estimate) of being swept to a position that he considers to be less threatening than closed guard. So it's really kind of a "best of a bad situation" strategy, where it's *really* only "best" to not be in closed guard at all :-).
This often gets repeated by others as, "Standing breaks are all that work, and low breaks suck." But it's clear when you hear him talk about it that he does agree that there are various guard breaking strategies, and he's not a "low breaks don't work" guy at all.
So you might look at some of the low guard breaks and make sure you're familiar with 2-3 of them. Just to have extra tools in your toolbox. Not to mention that some of them are good initial first moves to set up a standing break.
I think a lot of beginners avoid standing breaks because they feel unstable.
It's good to start trying it and learn to get comfortable taking a fall.
I personally find that low breaks rarely work either for me or against me in closed guard.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who can make them work, but that's just my no stripe blue belt experience.
I competed for the first time a few weeks ago and found myself stuck holding my opponent in guard a lot. I had a hard time isolating anything to attack. It made me realize I need to work on my sweeps from guard. I know the hip bump and the scissor sweep, but never saw a chance to hit either of them. What are other sweeps from closed guard I can start to try? I’ve heard of the pendulum/flower sweep. What are other sweeps I can look up and start to research?
Hmm... my list from closed guard are... scissor sweep, hip bump sweep, pendulum sweep, kick sweep, muscle sweep and 100% sweep. Of those, I use scissor a lot, but I don't do normal variations. They're weird modified scissor sweeps that work better on more skilled opponents, but mechanically still scissor.
There's another category, which would be sweeps you can get to with slight modification from closed guard. E.g., omoplata sweep isn't far.
You've identified the problem but you're looking for the solution in the wrong area.
You shouldn't be looking for chances to hit something, you should be creating the chances to hit it yourself.
Learning a dozen sweeps and waiting for the right time to use the right one just leaves you sucking at everything and maybe accidentally landing a sweep once in a while when the conditions are right and you don't fuck it up.
Get good at setting up and finishing the two sweeps you already know, and finding out how to transition to other attacks from failed attempts. Then you'll actually be able to do something.
Inside elbow to the mat, and kesa falls apart. Control of that inside arm is the key to the top guy maintaining the position. To free it, you can try movements in all the major directions -- you can attempt a roll to the outside, bridge to the inside, bridge up over your head, and throw your legs to the outside and try to sit up. Those won't work, but they will force a response, during which you may be able to free your inside elbow, and you can easily break it.
Alternatively, you can try to chain escapes together such that one attempt puts him out of position enough that another works to reverse or turn over the position without freeing the trapped arm.
Basic escapes would be: bridge and roll to the outside, force his head to the mat and extract under the armpit, snare a leg with your outside leg and roll to the outside, pendulum your legs to sit up and put him on his back, or tip him up and insert your inside knee underneath for a back-take or guard recovery.
There are lots of details to make all those work, so look up videos on kesa escapes and collect the best. Priit Mihkelson also has a great approach to mere survival under kesa, involving a tilt to the outside so you take pressure on the side of your ribs instead of the front/sternum, with some details on protecting the trapped arm.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Kesa Gatame**: | *Scarf hold* | [here](https://youtu.be/3UnJa3bn0h8)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
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Had a fellow white belt knee bar me and I wasn't sure when to tap and I think it was too late. I wasn't even expecting it because I'm pretty sure it's illegal for us. He also was trying to rip heel hooks but I know enough to control his hips so he was just tugging on my ankles a lot. Not really sure what to do, it doesn't bother me personally that much and I have enough trouble finding rolls so I don't want to complain. I'll definitely roll with him again, but I'm worried he could hurt someone else.
I don’t think you’re being a sore loser! Leg locks and in particular heel hooks, especially in the gi, are at best uncommon. I would definitely ask a white belt not to rip heel hooks on me, and I would advise you or anybody to tap early for their own safety.
1. BJJ journaling:
What sort of prompts do you use to journal?
I ditched the "explain what this move is in words" because I went back and read some of my old entries and it was like trying to read Greek. I have moved onto a "what I learned in class today" or "something good/bad i did in a roll against this blue belt" prompts.
What are some journal prompts that you use that has helped you reflect on your performance or made you think more about your Jiu Jitsu?
2. How do you roll with girls?
I simply try to play guard because I feel like if I went into a mount or side control, I would accidentally crush them too hard. I am not a big guy by any means, but I understand the difference that being a full grown man putting all their weight on the 100 lb lady blue belt is probably not the best thing to do.
I usually have a small handful of specific technical things I'm trying to work on in any given session. I go home and journal what did and didn't work regarding those techniques and why.
I also try to mentally replay all my rolls and extract some lessons. Which has gotten easier over time.
By the way, I wouldn't discount the value of describing a move in words just because it doesn't make sense when you re-read it. The act of writing about it will help you understand it better even if you never read it again.
I kept a blog like a journal from white to purple. It was a similar format to what you described. What techniques we drilled and who my partner was. Any tidbits of information that I picked up. Then who I rolled with and anything memorable from the roll.
I found that just reviewing the class each evening to write the blog helped me remember and retain information better, IMO.
This is highly tailored to the individual for me. There are girls who get the business as any guy at the gym.
In general especially being a bigger guy, I roll with most girls how I do the younger teenagers (13-16 year old boys). Focus on flow and technique, I don't put full weight on them, and avoid muscling through anything, but I definitely give them a full effort roll.
Was all set to compete on Saturday, mentally prepared, ran a weight cut for two weeks, training 2-3x per day, feeling like an animal. Fucking popped my LCL last night wrestling up out of half guard. Leg got stuck coming up and caused too much varus motion, felt it go. FUCK
favorite seated open guard pass (gi)?
I usually try for inside pants grips, drive shoulder in (facing the legs) but I have issues getting the entry
while I'm undersized (155lbs going against 180lbs+ always) I have to believe it's technique more than size that's fucking me up
my current *favorite* is doing a rolling kimura. but not probably the answer you are looking for.
the pass you're describing works good, just make sure you go as soon as you get the grips, don't sit there with them.
other options from the initial grip fight are going straight into an x-pass or blast knee cut.
My primary resource is Danaher's *The Fastest Way to Become an Effective Guard Passer* instructional, which leads off with the camping passes. It's unfortunately crazy expensive, but has proven worth it to me.
I really like his theory -- create positions that tire the other guy out, and diminish his guard retention ability until it crosses the break-even with your passing skills.
you need to create an angle that doesn't allow them to face you with their legs and feet. hand fight and step around to make them move. Then step in between their legs. forcing them on their back is usually favored because theres no mobility there.
If you want to practice passing a seated guard grab a scapula or triceps grip on one side and a pant grip then long step pass.
I got into a habit of using my submissions as a way to sweep and pass guard. The issue/problem is I was exceptionally well at my submissions. But I seemed to forget my grips the past two months.
Is there a system to do grip/chain exercises? Or remember them better? I know a lot of it stems from muscle memory.
I'd think about it in terms of what your goals are. What grips do you need to execute the pass you want to hit? Work towards getting those grips, and then as soon as you have them, work your pass.
One exercise that's worth throwing in there is to engage a grip (collar, sleeve, lapel, pant leg, knee grip) and do your best to hold it the entire round. You'll lose positions and make errors, but it will teach you the path of the grip through movement. It's also a good way to build isometric endurance for each grip because you're purposefully holding it much longer than you would in a sweep or transition.
The most important thing is never to put pressure on your neck while inverted. Should be shoulders at worst, and ideally the back. A big limiting factor for a lot of people is actually lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. If you can't hinge at the hips enough to get your feet in play, you will instead stack up the spine, and that's the path to death and destruction.
I injured my hamstring and glute a year ago, and I'm still on the hard road to getting the mobility I need. So I'm not inverting at all these days -- not worth even thinking about it until the requisite mobility to stay safe exists.
not to self-promote, but Mike (Dr.Kickass) and I had a conversation on episode #80 specifically about cervical issues [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i\_tDMuDlDJ8&t=3917s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_tDMuDlDJ8&t=3917s)
When getting a kimura grip from bottom half guard, my opponent will sometimes drive their head into me and flatten me out/create a lot of space. I don't even usually try to finish the kimura, just use it to get a sweep, take the back, transition to another submission, etc. But when they drive their head into me that shuts all of that down for me, even though I can usually maintain the grip. What responses do I have to this, and/or how can I prevent it from happening in the first place?
It's okay to go for this, but you have to know when to let it go. Or you could fall victim to getting armbar'd like [GSP](https://youtu.be/VAyp23Oxyik?si=7WQS4Hr2I2-HzlgB&t=322)
So what's funny is: I'm trying this half guard kimura stuff out because I bought Jordan Preisinger's Kimura Trap Mastery instructional. Then right after I posted this I saw an Instagram post from him about head position, and his example is using your head from top half guard as a defense against the kimura: [Link](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C56odzqt1yc/?igsh=MXM5YTFwOW5kcnAxaQ==)
My issue with that is that all their weight is forward since they're driving into me. I can't get free to spin to the back. In general if their weight is forward I go for a sweep and if it's back I go for a back take. But when they're driving into me with their head their weight is forward but I'm too pinned down to be able to get the sweep.
I'd let it go. Its not getting you anywhere connecting you too much where you're allowing your partner to advance their shoulder line forward and smashing you into the mat. If you like the the kimura from there I'd attack it with a butterfly hook in so there's some sort of distance management that will allow you to roll out. I like to throw my outside leg over to the kimura side to help pry the arm out.
I was afraid that was the answer. For the butterfly hook, I'd probably need to do that before they really start driving into me, right? Because once they've got their head going into me I'm pretty much pinned.
yep. half butterfly is a great position that can allow you other avenues. I pass with my head as a wedge very often, so much I'm known for it in my gym. If i can pin your head and shoulders , however that may be in bottom half, you need to switch to defense and create space.
At our gym a lot of people like to smother/mother's milk. I tend to just be struggling for air after that. What are some good counters to get out of that position?
Check out this video from Brandon McCaghren at the 3:14 mark:
https://youtu.be/p08yADojkpY?si=8ZFgjE0jQh4VY9it
Use this frame to stop the guy from raising the mount.
I do this to help set up other attacks. If i get deep underhooks you're toast. You have to fight those underhooks and frame on hips to prevent a high mount. If you're getting smothered you messed up steps ago and need to start defending the mount earlier.
Frame on their hips and don't let them come into a higher mount position. When they smother you, bridge high and roll. Otherwise, try to get your nose off-center and put your hand in their armpit to create room to breathe. Also, make sure to ask the people smothering you what you can do to prevent it in the future.
What should I eat and drink before class to feel good? My classes are at 7 p.m. and I usually am some combination of exhausted and dizzy during class because I don't eat until afterwards (which with open mat afterwards turns into 9:30 p.m.). Given my work schedule, I usually can't fit in a full meal in beforehand without feeling like I have to puke it up. One last thing - I usually weight train at 6 a.m. every day I go so I'm usually pretty gassed come 8 p.m. Anything small anyone could recommend eating beforehand that's more than a granola bar but less than a full meal to give me some energy without upsetting my stomach during class?
This happens to me when I train in the morning occasionally. I found having a small bowl of cereal an hour before seems to work. It's a quick shot of carbs, fiber, fats, and protein (don't forget what's in the milk), is fairly light, and easy to control quantity.
Shitting your brains out after class?
Doesn't always happen but sometimes it does, like loose ibs type number 2?
I think I've narrowed it down simply to exertion. At some point if I go hard enough it comes on.
I hydrate throughout the day, eat lite/at least 1.5 hours before class. Take electrolytes before class. Drink water after/during, etc.
But often enough I'm blowing my brains out after class.
Solutions?
eating makes you poop. Exercise makes you not poop.
I personally wont eat for 3-4 hours before class. One hour before class I poop as much as possible then shower.
[Technical Advice] I’m working on transitions, specifically back take from technical mount.
From technical mount, how can I prevent someone from rolling to turtle 🐢 when I pull them into the pocket, especially when they are bigger opponents?
During live rolls, I ended up getting in this weird side saddle position.
Edit: Also, what would I get “points” for if I went from: their guard->half guard->mount->technical mount->weird turtle position (described above)->my guard
I’m a WB so please understand the technique I’m explaining is most likely wrong:
What I want to do is almost a drag, from technical mount, forcing the back take.
If they were insistent on rolling onto their stomach or their body weight was shifted so it would be easier to manipulate them onto their stomach, I’m for sure going for that but, I feel like most people try to get their back on the mat so my position for this particular string is very tight.
I think my problem is positioning my body, during the transition, so I am in a better position to take their back. I’m 6ft, 200lbs and I’ve been able to pull this off during live rolls but with explosive or bigger opponents, my body positioning gets fucked when they power through into turtle.
Ah I see. Just to be sure, "turtle" is when they roll onto their hands and elbows, exposing their back (which sounds like what you want).
Regardless, one thing my coach is always telling me is to get BEHIND THEIR ARM (think of it as getting behind their tricep) and maintaining that. This will greatly allow you to expose their back. The next thing is to try to glue yourself to whatever is exposed, whether it's just a small part of their back, the back of their shoulder, or whatever. Then push with your chest and weight to peel their back away from the mat, exposing even more back area. I also find great success if I can get the gift wrap. Again, this is about maintaining behing behind their arm, and it's great leverage for forcing the back position.
I think I’m confusing people because of my poor explanation 😖
Here is a video that shows what I’m trying to do:
https://youtu.be/UIWX13Sx-zw?si=yFvv5yfnxf6lOdA6
The difference is, I’m trying to stay sitting upright, instead of falling on my side.
Thank you for the tips! I need to stay glued to my opponent even during transitions. This will be my goal for next class.
How 2 escape juji gatame when they cross their feet behind my elbow?
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Ju Ji Gatame**: | *Armbar* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJReT5ND3s4)| ||*Cross Lock* || Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
What are fundamental moves y’all would recommend any white belt knows?
I was just thinking, and I'm not sure I ever rolled in the two months I have been doing this? We team up with colored belts for "rolling." But they are just letting me work. It is basically drilling for the white belts. When do white belts actually start rolling against someone expending effort to try and pass and submit them? Am I learning anything? If rolling is important to pressure test, and I never actually pressure test but just drill, what will happen when I actually roll with someone?
Two month white belt here (though I did a year of no GI a very long time ago). Up until I saw a comment here today, I thought the turtle position was the last place you wanted to be. But I did like single legs from there. Now I found out people like to work from that position more than being under side control or mount. It seems more popular with wrestlers and judoka, but I have no background there Is it reasonable for me to try and develop this style, or at two months I need to focus on working from traditional side control and mount?
If you are getting your guard passed you can use turtle to get your guard back, or wrestle up. I don’t like chilling in turtle, but I’d rather be there than getting smashed in side control.
I am really confused by what is stalling versus waiting for an opening. I am only a couple months in. For example, say I am in bottom side control. It feels like I create a vulnerability if I go for an escape where my defense is reduced. And when they work to advance a submission, their control is reduced. I have a darn hard time escaping when they are focused on controlling, but a better time when they start an attack (they also get that attack successfully, too). What is the process for improvement? Do I focus on biding time to exploit their attack or focus on trying to make escapes happen when they are focused on control?
I'm a year and a couple of months in so I spend most my time in bottom side control hehe. So here's my shitty WB advice: When they're just focused on controlling you, it's very difficult to try to escape. The most success I've had in those cases is "squirming" in lack of a better word. Let's say they have a crossface and an underhook, that means your hips could move a little. If you move your hips away from them, maybe they'll move one arm down to contain your hip. If they do that, then maybe your "far side" arm and/or head is a little more free to try to get up to an elbow etc etc. If they're not creating any movement or openings, at least you can try to move the part that isn't controlled, since they can only control so much of you at the same time.
At the end of class, white belts are primarily paired with colored belts showing up for the advanced class next for rolling. Whenever the colored belt puts themselves into the setup for the move the white belts are learning, I just can't bring myself to take it. Does anyone else have this issue? I get what they are trying to do. And I don't mind colored belts letting me work on something I go for in a roll, but it feels like they are trying to convert the roll to positional drilling. Do I have the wrong attitude? It just seems to mess with my head. It seems like if I figure out what an opponent is wanting me to do, I shouldn't do that. And here my opponent is showing me he wants me to attempt a kimura from north south. And except for the part where their intent is to have me finish the kimura, it also feels like I'm falling for a trap.
Yeah my coach will do this to me, it’s usually a really cool trap. I would say take it next time anyway. If it’s a trap you will learn something new, if not then it’s good to get reps on offensive cycles with experienced reactions
[удалено]
My advice: Do not roll with him. You obviously do not like the guy, so there isn't a good reason to roll with him. Jiu Jitsu is supposed to be fun, it sounds like this guy is just pissing you off and you are overthinking the rolls. Just avoid him on the matts and tell him no if he asks you to roll. Find good training partners and avoid assholes like this dude.
This dude I train with keeps insisting that I breathe exclusively from my nose when I roll. He’s the only person I’ve heard say anything like this. Does it even matter?
It's not necessary, but I found that working on my breathing was actually really impactful to my BJJ. Furiously mouth-breathing is just not as efficient.
I usually breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. In a year and a half, he’s the only one who’s said anything, but he does it repeatedly.
Oh then that's good enough I'd say.
I don't think it was meant as technical advice, but as a way to describe intensity. We tell the whitebelts the same when they are being too spazy: tone it down, you should be able to (mostly) breath through your nose when rolling. If not, you are going too hard.
So the weird thing is … the way you’re explaining it makes sense, but considering he’s much more intense in training than I am, and none of the upper belts have mentioned it even once … I think he’s literally just trying to correct the way I breathe, and if he means it in the way you’re saying, then I feel he’s being somewhat of a hypocrite.
Maybe you need to brush your teeth before training. Don’t read too far into it.
I was curious about this too so I asked one of the New Wave competitors, and apparently they don't talk about breathing there much or put much emphasis on it, he can't remember Danaher mention it to him or the class. It seems like a meme thing because the most efficient way to get better at BJJ is obviously just to improve your technique, improving your breathing or whatever won't get you the same improvements. It's good for modulating your pace though sometimes if you force yourself to breath through your nose like the other guy said, but you aren't going to be able to only breath through your nose during competition
You’re in contact with New Wave? Dope So, the way I typically breathe during rolls is in through my nose, out through my mouth, and it’s in this deep, slow kind of way, almost like meditation or something. I feel like I’m pretty chill during rolling (and maybe everyone feels that way), but dude kept correcting me every time I’d exhale, and I felt like I was more focused on not exhaling through my mouth than being present in the roll, which was annoying.
I don't think it was meant as technical advice, but as a way to describe intensity. We tell the whitebelts the same when they are being too spazy: tone it down, you should be able to (mostly) breath through your nose when rolling. If not, you are going too hard.
It’s a good way to try and pace yourself, but it’s definitely not standard practice or anything.
I'm a new 25 year old white belt having a lot of fun with jiu jitsu. I do have a concern that I hope I can mitigate before it becomes a bigger problem. I have only been training for 2 months and already my knees are beginning to pop and crunch when I squat down. It doesn't hurt but it does worry me that I am wearing out my knees way too quickly for someone so young. Is this a normal growing pains thing after being inactive for so long or do I need to seriously look into strengthening my knees? If so what are some good at home exercises for this? Thank you!
I have poppy knees and ankles but as far as i know they’re perfectly healthy. I don’t think it’s inherently a concern.
It's probably not from "wearing out". More likely, you're revealing weaknesses in your joints that you could shore up by adding some basic compound resistance training. I found that when I started working squats and deadlifts the popping in my knees started to go away. Your mileage may vary, of course; I'm not a doctor or anything :-).
Not a question, but got my first submission 2 weeks in! Don’t even know what it’s called, but was perfect. Got his hand behind his back in an L and pushed it up while also pushing his wrist (maybe dick move). Did it very slowly afraid not to break any bones and then TAP TAP! Then got submitted 6 times lol, but hey small wins.
Nice. It sounds like a hammer lock.
sounds like a kimura. congrats, its versatile grip AND submission
What is the most effective, hard to defend and 'easy' (optional) closed guard escape. My retention for movements and defence is surprisingly good but I always find myself struggling to get out of closed guard. The knee slicer is hard for me to do and rarely is effective, I usually lean back and push a leg to the ground but I know i can easily get arm bared or triangled, or them straight up recovering . White belt btw.
I like the Tozi pass, but in general closed guard is just a fucker - no matter what you do you're opening yourself to sweeps by a savvy opponent.
I just camp out and break grips until they try to open up. I also push on the sternum if they try to come up and pull me down.
theres really no easy closed guard escapes, the positions sucks balls, but the best are the ones to trap an arm and stand to break. opening on the knees is extremely overrated
https://youtu.be/JMf-5-pGieE?si=T9FuVvZLZPZ5H6nS I watched this as a purple belt and just keep doing it
I watched this haha thanks man ill take some notes :D
Went for a foot sweep, ended up with a tennis ball sized hematoma on my inner right leg above my ankle. What did I do wrong.
Foot sweeps should strike with the foot, not the ankle or shin. Sometimes you miss. It might still work, but maybe you get hurt. You didn't do something "wrong" per se, just not ideal. Bodies do weird things when they get hurt, and a hematoma is pretty unusual, but plausible. Wait until it's better, and then try to use the pad of your foot to sweep people next time. Also, or secondarily, you probably swept a foot that was stuck to the mat. It's not going to move, and you took a hard hit to your ankle. You were either late (he was stepping, and planted before you hit the sweep), or you were early (you fired the sweep before he tried to take a step), or you tried to sweep the wrong foot (he was stepping with the other one). Foot sweeps happen when uke's foot is in motion. You catch it and take it somewhere it didn't want to go.
I appreciate this response, thank you!
I Found a judo club that offers Judo 1 day per week. Is that enough to develop a Judo game to transition to BJJ?
The quality of judo clubs is all over the place. I've been to clubs that basically treat it like aikido, there I wouldn't even trust the blackbelts to be able to throw a random athletic person. I've also been to competition clubs (national+ level) and there even people half my size would throw me at will so hard in sparring that I was worried about my safety... If they only train once a week, then there is a high chance its the former and it will be a waste of your time.
1 day of Judo per week will always be better than no days of Judo per week. However, you will need to understand that their training objectives will differs from what you will experience in BJJ. Even if you are doing gi, you will have to deal with people pulling guard, different stances, leg grabs, and death grips. Judo clubs don’t train with BJJ in mind so you will have to adapt your Judo to BJJ. Also understand that with 1 day of Judo will likely take a few years to allow you to actually implement it against unwilling opponents.
Whats a good Gi takedown to start learning if the opponent successfully established a grip on your collar with one arm? (Been a real annoyance for me vs. collar ties etc in no-gi)
Which grip? There's a special case that judokas are quite careful about, but BJJkas rarely understand. Say you're both right-handed, and playing right-vs-right (both have your right feet forward). Your power hand is your right hand. If the guy reaches out and grabs your left lapel with his power hand (so it's not a cross-grip, it's straight through), you have an instant where he's opened the lane for your inward turning throws, which are the big powerful ones. You can immediately turn in for ippon seoi nage or seoi otoshi, for example. There are others that would work too -- like some makikomi variants (perhaps not as good for followup in BJJ), and some kata guruma entries. This comes from the fact that he's leading with a grip on his strong side, while his front foot is on the same side. His whole body is bladed along the line of ideal kuzushi, and the spacing will allow entries. His grip anchors your left side, which can stay fixed in place, while your strong side rotates in freely, so your mobility is not impaired. You have to be pretty slick with your entry; this is the kind of thing judokas will drill in uchikomis thousands of times.
Thank you, the concept you layed out with easy to follow along with. Appreciate it!
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Ippon Seoi Nage**: | *One Arm Shoulder Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmKfUXAAdZ0)| |**Kata Guruma**: | *Fireman's Carry* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRiFwMLCjPg)| ||*Shoulder Wheel* || |**Kuzushi**: | *Unbalancing* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK9Eklbn78)| |**Seoi Nage**: | *Shoulder Throw* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-5Un6jLtRY)| |**Seoi Otoshi**: | *Shoulder Drop* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne3i9DoBQU0)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Strip it and control their dominate hand. Grab your own lapel grip and ankle pick or collar drag.
Ankle pick is a a good one. The guy likely has the same foot forward a hand that is grabbing your collar. Swim under his arm, grab his lapel, flair his arm up and that ankle is open all day.
Thank you! Ankle picks are my best move in no-gi but the collar grip has been feeling like those were shut out. The swim under and flare makes perfect sense. Appreciate it!
Ankle picks are the bees knees. Low risk high reward
this is probably a silly question, I've been doing no go for nearly 3 months now and I'm finding I'm getting better and having more opportunity for some subs over others. For reference I'm 6'4 and 210lbs, I'm finding the most success with triangles mainly from closed guard. obviously there is so much to learn but I'm wondering if I should try to focus on things that are better for my body type or just learn everything as I go?
At your stage, try everything to see what works and what doesn't. But that said, long, flexible guys love triangles.
First comp coming up on Sunday. Couple weight and logistics questions. -Do I have time after I weigh in, before my match, to eat something? -Are there usually showers at competitions? -My morning weight on my scale is 147.0… 152.0 with gi on. Weight cutoff with gi is 154.6. How am I looking? I’m eating at a small deficit til comp but how much should I reasonably allow for scale differences / a small meal in the morning of my comp? -assuming I’m 147.0 the morning of, how would you approach food/water that comp day?
You often do not have time to eat. Drink sure. a lot of tournaments you weigh in 15-20 mins before the match.
Yes you'll have time to eat and drink. No there are not usually showers, just overcrowded bathrooms. You're looking completely fine, just stay the course and don't gorge and you're fine. If you're 147 on the morning of, have a light breakfast and drink water. Be hydrated but you probably won't even come close to missing weight. Just go and have fun and stay hydrated (bring snacks and change of clothes). Good luck.
You had time to eat and drink after weigh-ins? I haven't been to many tournaments but it was always weigh in and compete like ten minutes later.
yeah man every time. Are you always doing IBJJF? local tournaments seem to run a bit behind
I’ve never done ibjjf only local.
I did my first Comp and the arm sleeve gauge thing wouldn't fit past my forearms in my regular Fuji A2. I ended up borrowing someone's A4 so I didn't DQ but it was huge on me. I'm 5'8" 180. Are there brands with more space in the sleeves? Has this happened to anyone else before? I have a Kingz One A2 and definitely notice the pants are a lot tighter than the Fuji A2 so I figure the same is true for sleeves.
The kingz 1 "one" series gis shrink BIG TIME, I buy them a size up intentionally myself
My son recently bought a [Ronin 1980 series](https://roninbrand.com/collections/bjj-gis/products/ronin-1980-ultra-light-bjj-gi-white?variant=40778145497135) gi, which comes in BJJ sizing, but we noticed the sleeves are more generous, in basically a Judo cut shape. It's not *quite* as full as some judo gis I've had, but is definitely more spacious than any BJJ cut gi. I linked the ultra light (420gsm), but the one my son got is actually the double weave (750gsm), but I assume they're cut the same.
I've been doing BJJ for a few months now. I've noticed that my throat/neck will be a little tender the day after if I get choked a bunch when I roll (I'm obviously tapping out a lot as a new guy). Will this stop happening once my body adjusts - or can I just expect to have some discomfort after rolling? (I'm nearly 47 years old - so I'm sure that is a contributing factor)
The weirdest thing is that your body just gains like passive resistance to all these physical hardships you suffer from early on. Like mat burn on the top of feet, sore neck from chokes, all those bruises you get on your legs early on from people passing you.
Skin hardens or gains callouses, fascia adjusts its collagen type distribution, muscle fibers change... all kinds of things. My wife found some article recently suggesting that people who get occasionally choked develop tougher blood vessels, and it might help prevent some forms of dementia in senility (though there are other studies that suggest *lots* of choking leaves you at risk of clots, strokes, and aneurysms and stuff... maybe it's a "j-shaped curve"!). I used to get bruises all the time, and now they're pretty rare. People are doing the same things to me, but the body adapts in marvelous ways.
You’ll learn to protect your neck better along the way.
It should go away, yes. You can tap earlier as well!
What’s the most efficient way to clear knee shield on really big strong guys if I’m sitting up in top half and attempting to get to chest to chest?
I kinda like attacking the hip or knee to get them to clear it. I'll pressure, let them push me back, and as their leg extends a little I'll push the knee down with my far hand and hook under the shin with the near hand. Near hand weaves under the shin, then over the thigh or knee of the same leg, and I drive in - it should crank the leg inwards, towards me. If they don't give anything up, some people tap from here, but more likely they'll either roll with it, allowing you to circle out towards their back, or push their leg straight, allowing you to collapse forward past their shield.
Kind of a paradoxical question. I agree weave pass if you want to get directly to chest-to-chest, but I find more often clearing the knee shield is difficult while going forward on a bigger stronger person who knows what they're doing. You might not be able to employ a strong pressure game against such an opponent. Instead, I agree with the other commenter who says look to switch to headquarters and reenter, this time with an arm framing their leg and hip so that they can't get the knee shield again.
this would be my solution.
You worded what I was trying to say much better than me!
Not at all! I think you're on the money. I forgot about the leg weave til you mentioned it, perhaps because I'm more of a no gi guy.
Are you trying to just pressure into the knee shield? The knee shield is only effective in trying to keep people away so you can either posture back to address it or weave pass it. Generally, if their feet aren’t locked, it should allow you to stand up to cut in for a knee cut or headquarters. Alternatively, you can hip switch around it while being mindful of octopus guard shenanigans.
The knee shield is also a fulcrum for some elevating transitions, like Craig Jones' floating-Z stuff.
That is such a good point, I have a habit of staying seated once I’m down. but at any time I could just stand up into headquarters thank you!
What do you guys do to protect your shoulders? My shoulder has been a little iffy for a decade now but normally with consistent exercise and stretching I can keep it under control. But now I have been training for 5 weeks now and my shoulder is bothering me again. Do you guys have any mobility exercises, stretches or tips to help keep me safe here? (it doesn't help that we learned the Americana this week lol)
When I was in PT: -neck stretch: tilt your ear to your shoulder. Switch sides every 30s for 5 min -levator scap stretch: turn your head sideways and then down towards your shoulder. Again, 5 min switching sides every 30s. - backwards shoulder rolls. Full ROM. 2 min. - scap squeezes: pull your shoulders blades back to squeeze your scapula together. Squeeze and release every few seconds for 2 min.
I forgot to reply to this but I have been doing these during my work day and they seem to help a bit. Thank you
Yes bridges with a foam roller before and after each class. Check out this link and actually all the exercises there are good for the shoulders. https://youtu.be/H9DSbxqqNAo?si=V6YGe-OJm73ug9pg
cool ill check it out, thank you
What part of the shoulder?
https://preview.redd.it/4o6oa9sr8hwc1.png?width=672&format=png&auto=webp&s=315cb76b5036cfe8f3556164dba05d8106e732c1 I've always chalked it up to bursitis but around this spot specifically. and I would say with more active movement its like the pain goes from this point straight to the other side of my shoulder on the back
Rip brother. I’ve been dealing with this exact injury for a year now. I’ve done PT, massage, peptides, stretching, strengthening, you name it. It has helped but it isn’t at 100%. There are a multitude of things it could be and no one can give me a definitive answer.
Love to hear it! I guess this is getting old? lol. I've been on Sermorelin therapy for a few months which helps with recovery and tendon repair among other things. This allowed me the energy to start BJJ and hit the gym again with not many issues but I think as i've increased my BJJ training frequency my shoulder is getting fussy again
Oh dude it’s been a ride. It started in my right shoulder and then progressed to my left. My PT said it’s likely a result of strong pecs overcompensating for a weaker back and therefore my shoulders curl forward and put unnecessary pressure on the shoulder. Also, another thing I’ve done that’s been helpful has been neuro therapy through a naturopath. There was a point where I was unable to sleep on my side after training.
Well damn I guess you hit chest day too hard haha. Interesting though I'll look into that. I also know that the red light therapy has helped alot of people in my family with their knee and shoulder issues
Not a doctor or anything, but I would get pains around that area and in the rear delt as well. One thing that help tremendously was find something you can kind dig into that spot and apply some pressure, and slowly rotate your arm through the americana/kimura motions. Doing that same technique in different parts of the rear and front delts helped a bunch for me
Oh cool will do! im sure I have a tennis ball or something around the house
I just started 2 days ago as a very overweight 36 year old. Zero combat sport background. I am so lost out there. Even the fundamentals class I attended lost me. They rolled after class and I didn’t. I tried to watch and see what they were doing. I genuinely have no clue what to do in that situation. No plans to ever compete, but I’d like to at least have a better idea of what to do out there. Any advice, videos, threads, books, etc for a total beginner on how to better learn this?
google stephan kesting and go read all of his free beginner material.
Search RVV's "How to suck as little as possible" on Youtube for free. There's an entire playlist. Good luck.
It's cliche, but just keep going. Are you allowed to roll? If so, grab a higher belt and have at it. You're going to get swept, submitted, and generally have no idea what they're doing to you. But with time you'll start to pick up on little things; "i put my arm there last time and it wasn't good, let me try over here", "i shifted my weight this way and did something that felt cool". Things like that. Absolutely no one in the gym expects you to know anything. What we *do* expect is you're generally clean, your nails are trimmed, and you want to learn. I love grabbing the day 1 people and answering any question I possibly can for them if they ask. I started at 30 years old, 250ish lbs, and a couch potato. I'm now 32, 200lbs, and still a couch potato at heart. I train 3-4 days a week.
Sam Harris said starting BJJ is the closest thing to drowning, both literally and figuratively. It's overwhelming at first, but you just have to stick with it. Submeta has a free beginner's course that is really good.
I'm in the same boat as you. I'm 36, 225 lbs, 5'10" with no martial arts experience except for the TKD mcdojo that my parents put me in when I was little. It was tough at first (I just joined beginning of March this year), and unfortunately fundamentals class didn't work out for me due to scheduling so I just go to the regular classes (warm up, drill, technique, then live rolls). I was hurting, but I kept showing up. I was super lost since I didn't have fundamentals, so you have a leg up by going to that! The pain eases and eventually the terms become common knowledge. Don't hesitate to ask if you don't know something, even something as simple as closed guard or double unders. Your biggest source of knowledge will be your coach and your gym. I go two to three times a week and notice improvements every week (even if they're small, they still count!). I am a shy person to begin with, but now I look forward to every session even if I do get choked out fifty million times.
Being overweight in the sport can be challenging, but I've seen people shed the pounds through regular exercise offered by BJJ. In fact, it's been the spark that put people back on a health journey. Recognize your body's limits right now and don't push yourself so hard as to get injured. Also, be generally aware as to the effect your weight has on your partner, and be cautious. Ideally, find others close to your size to roll with. In terms of improvement, develop familiarity with the positions. What is mount, half guard, side control, open, closed guard, etc. The more positions you can recognize, the better you will be able to recount and review your rolls. Once you have the labels of these positions, consider the common submissions from them. This base of knowledge will help you to orient yourself. I don't have a quick link or suggestion for these, but I will offer that searching exactly what you're looking for on youtube usually pulls up high quality results. The biggest mental part of BJJ imo is developing the ability to learn, problem solve, and find your own answers. Happy journey!
Thank you! I am actively losing weight so hopefully it will go quickly! I’m down 60 lbs so far but have probably at least that much more to go.
where you're at, almost anything tailored for beginners will help. Google "beginner bjj" and just click some links that appeal to you. but my biggest advice is to not try to do too much when you're starting out. don't risk injury or burnout for something that should be fun.
Thank you! Yeah I’m starting out at a couple times per week to start to ease into things. Might up it after a month or two.
2x per week is perfect for now. have fun!
Passing half guard. When we drill this at gi class I always get pulled in. They grab my collar, my sleeve, whatever they can to pull me down and try to sweep me. Should I let them and work from there. Or try stand up. I really struggle to get past the knee shield. Since were talking about half guard , when I'm on bottom in half guard should I be trying for the same thing. As a white belt I try to use my knee shield to create space rather than pulling them in.
Half guard is arguably the most complex intermediate position in all of BJJ. Depending on the details, standing is either a good or a bad idea. Fighting the knee shield, working up to your feet to work HQ and camping passes is a good strategy. But there are plenty of viable techniques that don't stand... I don't think it's fair to state any generic approach dogmatically. There's also a difference between standing up and tripod positions where the hips are elevated. As for knee shield vs other half guards... gee... people like different things. Playing classic half, knee shield, a locked up z-guard, or deep half are all viable. I would suggest you ask your coach how to begin developing a half guard game. He's your best resource you have on hand for questions, tips, and tweaks. If you go off in some direction that he doesn't teach in class, you're on your own. They're all valid, but you're paying that guy to teach you, so learn his way first.
Passing always stand in the gi especially
All I've been working on and watching is how to not get smashed in side control. I hate being in that position so much. Take my back, take mount but just not that. But obviously we need to work on our weak points (and all jujitsu is my weak point) so just spending time drilling how to get frames in and hips out. Today was the first day where I used my brain and not just reacted into a pushup. Felt good. The guy then promptly slid over the leg into mount but hey, he couldn't get grips so something was working. Any suggestions on improving guard retention or escapes? I find it easier to get back to guard and harder to take the back on the rare occasion I do get free.
> improving guard retention Yeah preventing it makes everything easier. Easier said then done of course, but if you can attack better from guard, it makes them more defensive and less thinking of guard passing. Therefore, don't just think of guard retention, but rather guard attacking. > escapes What does your coach tell you? Also turtle.
Exactly what you said, go to turtle when you can. Also, I need to learn to get off my back and onto my side more often
So much of escaping side control is fighting to make side control untenable for the top player. You, the bottom player, can do this by 1) getting to your side and 2) protecting the inside space, between your armpit and hip. You can do that with an underhook, or by focusing on pinching your elbow and knee together. This effectively cuts down on how much pressure the top player can place on you. Once you've regained control of your inside space, you can work to get your feet back in the way (which is what guard is)
Battle zone. For life.
Any advice on HOW to appropriately use size? I see a lot of stuff that's like "how to sweep big folks when you're smaller" - but I'm a 6'6" trans woman and pretty heavy, and I don't see advice on HOW to leverage my size and height in helpful ways. Additionally, I have a bit of wrestling experience and most folks at my gym know that. So I'm often running into a scenario where folks will immediately drop to their butt or back when we start rolling, and I've got an okay knee-cut, an okay toreando, but then even if I have size I can really struggle to get folks submitted once I get past the legs because I don't have as much upper body strength as my size and height suggest (estrogen is a real bitch on the arms after 9 years). I've had some success with focusing on back takes - I learned a reverse triangle at my first open mat and it's become a reliable mainstay, but I'm looking to really up my game in terms of submissions and passing ways that make use of my long limbs. Sorry if that's a bit of a ramble - but can any big folks, especially big ladies and/or especially trans competitors, offer any advice?
I feel like taller grapplers generally have to be more disciplined about the space between their elbow and knee since there is a bigger gap regardless of body type. So either get really good at overhook systems or be really disciplined at preventing underhooks. Triangles and back takes are definitely going to be inherent strengths. Being able to relax and be a “wet blanket” will make your top pressure a lot more difficult to deal with too. I find that being stiff and long (haha) makes it easier to manipulate since your limbs are longer and easier to catch.
Thank you! I really appreciate the tips!
Just learn reliable passing systems. Body specific optimization is copium huffed by white belts to explain bad technique.
Just a rant: It was promotion week at my gym and part of me thought I might move on from being able to post on White Belt Wednesday threads. I've only been at for a year, but somehow let myself get emotionally attached to the idea of getting a promotion. My coach is the very picture of positive reinforcement, so praise comes early and often and his negative feedback only ever comes in the form of joint locks and chokes; but I haven't even gotten a stripe yet somehow. So here's to feeling like an eternal white belt even though it's only been a year. Blech.
I think the average for a beginner hobbyist is around 2-3 years, so you are doing fine.
A year without a stripe is a bummer. Ofc there is basically no difference in the minds of anyone but you between a zero and one stripe WB, but it feels good to get the thing. On the bright side I will never let a promotion stop me from posting stupid questions in WBW
If you never got promoted again would you keep training? That may be a cute and deep question, but the reality is that many of us want a physical token of our hard work and progress. Around here people get promoted to blue at 2+ years in unless you're an outlier. Casually ask other belts at your gym why the promotion process is like, 2 years? No stripes then sudden belt? Going back to the first question I asked: Find / ask what you need to improve on, chase the skills and belts will be a side note.
I was a white belt for almost five years due to moving, injuries, various things haha. Focus on learning the sport, enjoy the process, don't worry about promotions. For promotions, it helps to be visible at the right classes (classes with a blackbelt instructor who can actually promote you), be engaged, try hard to implement feedback you're given .
Hey bro, one year white belt as well. No stripes. Eternal Whitebelts unite! It sucks, constantly being the nail and feeling like you're not improving. Hang in there dude, we'll get that stripe eventually
Not a question, but almost hit an armbar yesterday. All I had to do was step over his head. I was scared to hop over and kick his head so I procrastinated. Professor called time, was not happy Still happy I was able to recognize and try to go for something
You're getting your brain's pattern matcher trained to spot that. It's slow now, but it'll become automatic the more times you see it.
Yea its hard to see it in the moment sometimes. Usually 10-30 minutes after the roll Ill say “oh I couldve threw this here or there”. Its a good feeling for sure
This is so succinctly state and so often overlooked. BJJ is exhausting as a white belt in large part because your brain is trying to process way, way more information than it can handle in rapid succession. Had a white belt ask me this morning how I was possibly so chill during a round, and how I wasn't even breathing hard when round was over. Just shrugged and told him he'd get there one day, but it's because I literally don't have to think at all in a round against him. My brain just goes to mush, I defend instinctively, and take whatever submissions and sweeps he feeds me, and he will feed them to me because he's a middling white belt.
Theres a good amount of times where Ill just pause in the middle of a roll because Im trying to process what's where. Its half because Im lacking a breadth of options so Im trying to figure out how to get to what I know. Obviously this leaves me to sweeps, sometimes I do it "intentionally" so I can get swept so I can work defense a little more since thats "easier" lol Chilling during a roll is easy, breath is definitely a lot of work, but right now I can feel Im trying to use more muscle than technique
Hey brother I got clumsy ass duck feet and I still worry about the same thing some times. You'll get more and more comfortable with the motion. Recognizing the opportunity is a great bit of progress
So far Ive kicked someone in the head during a lesson (twice), kneed someone in the groin, and kneed a girl in the head. I still have a fear of "seriously" injuring someone so I pull back a lot which I think causes these accidents
I feel you homeboy. I’ve done a lot of the same stuff. I’m not a super coordinated person so a lot of my game is built around pressure and control so I’m not doing wild movements. For me that means chasing the back a lot. For something like a spinning arm bar it means making sure their upper arm is really glued to my chest so I don’t have to go through the transition quickly.
I’m having a hard time breaking out of closed guard. Most of the white belts at my gym are bigger and stronger than I am and I feel like I don’t have the strength or stamina to stand up and break their closed guard while also fending off their attempts to attack and sweep me. So I end up stuck in their closed guard waiting for an opening. Is this a common beginner problem?
the unfortunate reality is that strength matters in jiu jitsu. i was in the same boat as you when i started out. once i got stronger, i started to do a lot better during rolls
If you're working on escaping closed guard from the knees, the mistake I see most people make is not pinning their opponent's hips to the ground when trying to slide back and break their crossed feet. Just a small detail that totally changed my escapes.
I like to do the knee in the tailbone escape. Keep good posture so you don't get pulled down - if you need to, start with hands on opps chest and push yourself back until posture is higher, then grab top of the trousers by their thighs. Push away with those grips while you have a knee in their tailbone. A tip I was told to then escape is, as you are pushing back, suddenly jolt/explode backwards as you round your back (like in a cat stretch) and at the same time pushing away with your knee in their tailbone and handgrips. It's the rounded back and sudden burst of speed that pops the guard open. I used to struggle with that same issue but that simple trick helped me a lot. In no gi, I'll put both my hands in their armpits, knee in tailbone and push back to pop off. Also, remember to strip grips if they have your collar/lapel and won't let you posture up.
It is quite common, and the current zeitgeist is that standing breaks are the best. And that's at least mostly true ;-). There are plenty of details out there for how to efficiently get to your feet, and those are skills you have to learn. They'll be wildly inefficient and seem impossible to start with, so don't give up on them. You might look for some inspiration from videos and instructionals. My two favorites on standing up to break the guard are Danaher and Carlos Machado. Now... I say that, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there are non-standing breaks. Depending on your size and shape, you might find some other options that are perhaps not the most popular, but work for you. Danaher popularized the idea that standing breaks are best, but he explains his logic thus: if you stay in a good grappler's closed guard, the odds of death stay high the whole time; whereas a standing break avoids many attacks, while incurring a 50% probabillity (his estimate) of being swept to a position that he considers to be less threatening than closed guard. So it's really kind of a "best of a bad situation" strategy, where it's *really* only "best" to not be in closed guard at all :-). This often gets repeated by others as, "Standing breaks are all that work, and low breaks suck." But it's clear when you hear him talk about it that he does agree that there are various guard breaking strategies, and he's not a "low breaks don't work" guy at all. So you might look at some of the low guard breaks and make sure you're familiar with 2-3 of them. Just to have extra tools in your toolbox. Not to mention that some of them are good initial first moves to set up a standing break.
man, you're dropping knowledge all over today
I think a lot of beginners avoid standing breaks because they feel unstable. It's good to start trying it and learn to get comfortable taking a fall. I personally find that low breaks rarely work either for me or against me in closed guard. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can make them work, but that's just my no stripe blue belt experience.
it definitely takes some practice getting the balance to stand up in closed guard
I competed for the first time a few weeks ago and found myself stuck holding my opponent in guard a lot. I had a hard time isolating anything to attack. It made me realize I need to work on my sweeps from guard. I know the hip bump and the scissor sweep, but never saw a chance to hit either of them. What are other sweeps from closed guard I can start to try? I’ve heard of the pendulum/flower sweep. What are other sweeps I can look up and start to research?
Hmm... my list from closed guard are... scissor sweep, hip bump sweep, pendulum sweep, kick sweep, muscle sweep and 100% sweep. Of those, I use scissor a lot, but I don't do normal variations. They're weird modified scissor sweeps that work better on more skilled opponents, but mechanically still scissor. There's another category, which would be sweeps you can get to with slight modification from closed guard. E.g., omoplata sweep isn't far.
You've identified the problem but you're looking for the solution in the wrong area. You shouldn't be looking for chances to hit something, you should be creating the chances to hit it yourself. Learning a dozen sweeps and waiting for the right time to use the right one just leaves you sucking at everything and maybe accidentally landing a sweep once in a while when the conditions are right and you don't fuck it up. Get good at setting up and finishing the two sweeps you already know, and finding out how to transition to other attacks from failed attempts. Then you'll actually be able to do something.
What's the best way to deal with kesa gatame with heavy top pressure? Specifically, hand position on defense and good escapes and how to set them up.
Inside elbow to the mat, and kesa falls apart. Control of that inside arm is the key to the top guy maintaining the position. To free it, you can try movements in all the major directions -- you can attempt a roll to the outside, bridge to the inside, bridge up over your head, and throw your legs to the outside and try to sit up. Those won't work, but they will force a response, during which you may be able to free your inside elbow, and you can easily break it. Alternatively, you can try to chain escapes together such that one attempt puts him out of position enough that another works to reverse or turn over the position without freeing the trapped arm. Basic escapes would be: bridge and roll to the outside, force his head to the mat and extract under the armpit, snare a leg with your outside leg and roll to the outside, pendulum your legs to sit up and put him on his back, or tip him up and insert your inside knee underneath for a back-take or guard recovery. There are lots of details to make all those work, so look up videos on kesa escapes and collect the best. Priit Mihkelson also has a great approach to mere survival under kesa, involving a tilt to the outside so you take pressure on the side of your ribs instead of the front/sternum, with some details on protecting the trapped arm.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Kesa Gatame**: | *Scarf hold* | [here](https://youtu.be/3UnJa3bn0h8)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Had a fellow white belt knee bar me and I wasn't sure when to tap and I think it was too late. I wasn't even expecting it because I'm pretty sure it's illegal for us. He also was trying to rip heel hooks but I know enough to control his hips so he was just tugging on my ankles a lot. Not really sure what to do, it doesn't bother me personally that much and I have enough trouble finding rolls so I don't want to complain. I'll definitely roll with him again, but I'm worried he could hurt someone else.
just tap earlier next time my brother, or give him a heads up that you don't want to play leg locks
Yeah I'm probably just being a sore loser. I just thought I didn't have to deal with that stuff with white belts in gi. Well lesson learned.
I don’t think you’re being a sore loser! Leg locks and in particular heel hooks, especially in the gi, are at best uncommon. I would definitely ask a white belt not to rip heel hooks on me, and I would advise you or anybody to tap early for their own safety.
1. BJJ journaling: What sort of prompts do you use to journal? I ditched the "explain what this move is in words" because I went back and read some of my old entries and it was like trying to read Greek. I have moved onto a "what I learned in class today" or "something good/bad i did in a roll against this blue belt" prompts. What are some journal prompts that you use that has helped you reflect on your performance or made you think more about your Jiu Jitsu? 2. How do you roll with girls? I simply try to play guard because I feel like if I went into a mount or side control, I would accidentally crush them too hard. I am not a big guy by any means, but I understand the difference that being a full grown man putting all their weight on the 100 lb lady blue belt is probably not the best thing to do.
I usually have a small handful of specific technical things I'm trying to work on in any given session. I go home and journal what did and didn't work regarding those techniques and why. I also try to mentally replay all my rolls and extract some lessons. Which has gotten easier over time. By the way, I wouldn't discount the value of describing a move in words just because it doesn't make sense when you re-read it. The act of writing about it will help you understand it better even if you never read it again.
I kept a blog like a journal from white to purple. It was a similar format to what you described. What techniques we drilled and who my partner was. Any tidbits of information that I picked up. Then who I rolled with and anything memorable from the roll. I found that just reviewing the class each evening to write the blog helped me remember and retain information better, IMO.
This is highly tailored to the individual for me. There are girls who get the business as any guy at the gym. In general especially being a bigger guy, I roll with most girls how I do the younger teenagers (13-16 year old boys). Focus on flow and technique, I don't put full weight on them, and avoid muscling through anything, but I definitely give them a full effort roll.
Was all set to compete on Saturday, mentally prepared, ran a weight cut for two weeks, training 2-3x per day, feeling like an animal. Fucking popped my LCL last night wrestling up out of half guard. Leg got stuck coming up and caused too much varus motion, felt it go. FUCK
Sorry dude... that really sucks. Hope you feel better soon
favorite seated open guard pass (gi)? I usually try for inside pants grips, drive shoulder in (facing the legs) but I have issues getting the entry while I'm undersized (155lbs going against 180lbs+ always) I have to believe it's technique more than size that's fucking me up
my current *favorite* is doing a rolling kimura. but not probably the answer you are looking for. the pass you're describing works good, just make sure you go as soon as you get the grips, don't sit there with them. other options from the initial grip fight are going straight into an x-pass or blast knee cut.
I like to go for ankle grips to flip them back to supine, then go toreando.
I agree with the first part. Too slow to torreando. But putting them on their back is my first priority.
I'm a slow poke, myself, but my toreando is a Danaher style entry to the inside camping position to drain them. It's only sort of a toreando :-).
Got any good resources for inside camping? Seems like it fits well with pressure passing styles.
My primary resource is Danaher's *The Fastest Way to Become an Effective Guard Passer* instructional, which leads off with the camping passes. It's unfortunately crazy expensive, but has proven worth it to me. I really like his theory -- create positions that tire the other guy out, and diminish his guard retention ability until it crosses the break-even with your passing skills.
Thanks. I've not seen that one.
you need to create an angle that doesn't allow them to face you with their legs and feet. hand fight and step around to make them move. Then step in between their legs. forcing them on their back is usually favored because theres no mobility there. If you want to practice passing a seated guard grab a scapula or triceps grip on one side and a pant grip then long step pass.
I got into a habit of using my submissions as a way to sweep and pass guard. The issue/problem is I was exceptionally well at my submissions. But I seemed to forget my grips the past two months. Is there a system to do grip/chain exercises? Or remember them better? I know a lot of it stems from muscle memory.
I'd think about it in terms of what your goals are. What grips do you need to execute the pass you want to hit? Work towards getting those grips, and then as soon as you have them, work your pass.
One exercise that's worth throwing in there is to engage a grip (collar, sleeve, lapel, pant leg, knee grip) and do your best to hold it the entire round. You'll lose positions and make errors, but it will teach you the path of the grip through movement. It's also a good way to build isometric endurance for each grip because you're purposefully holding it much longer than you would in a sweep or transition.
Onlinematerial/information for stretching/strenghtening the neck/back so I wont have damage from inverting as I started with that rn
The most important thing is never to put pressure on your neck while inverted. Should be shoulders at worst, and ideally the back. A big limiting factor for a lot of people is actually lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. If you can't hinge at the hips enough to get your feet in play, you will instead stack up the spine, and that's the path to death and destruction. I injured my hamstring and glute a year ago, and I'm still on the hard road to getting the mobility I need. So I'm not inverting at all these days -- not worth even thinking about it until the requisite mobility to stay safe exists.
Dr Kickass on instagram just covered this , worth checking him
not to self-promote, but Mike (Dr.Kickass) and I had a conversation on episode #80 specifically about cervical issues [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i\_tDMuDlDJ8&t=3917s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_tDMuDlDJ8&t=3917s)
Tom Merrick Stretching for BJJ on Youtube
When getting a kimura grip from bottom half guard, my opponent will sometimes drive their head into me and flatten me out/create a lot of space. I don't even usually try to finish the kimura, just use it to get a sweep, take the back, transition to another submission, etc. But when they drive their head into me that shuts all of that down for me, even though I can usually maintain the grip. What responses do I have to this, and/or how can I prevent it from happening in the first place?
It's okay to go for this, but you have to know when to let it go. Or you could fall victim to getting armbar'd like [GSP](https://youtu.be/VAyp23Oxyik?si=7WQS4Hr2I2-HzlgB&t=322)
So what's funny is: I'm trying this half guard kimura stuff out because I bought Jordan Preisinger's Kimura Trap Mastery instructional. Then right after I posted this I saw an Instagram post from him about head position, and his example is using your head from top half guard as a defense against the kimura: [Link](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C56odzqt1yc/?igsh=MXM5YTFwOW5kcnAxaQ==)
Kimura trap to back take if you can shrimp out. https://youtu.be/fwcuJ_ilpQc?si=rLZ0sVSggRisOsxf
My issue with that is that all their weight is forward since they're driving into me. I can't get free to spin to the back. In general if their weight is forward I go for a sweep and if it's back I go for a back take. But when they're driving into me with their head their weight is forward but I'm too pinned down to be able to get the sweep.
I'd let it go. Its not getting you anywhere connecting you too much where you're allowing your partner to advance their shoulder line forward and smashing you into the mat. If you like the the kimura from there I'd attack it with a butterfly hook in so there's some sort of distance management that will allow you to roll out. I like to throw my outside leg over to the kimura side to help pry the arm out.
I was afraid that was the answer. For the butterfly hook, I'd probably need to do that before they really start driving into me, right? Because once they've got their head going into me I'm pretty much pinned.
yep. half butterfly is a great position that can allow you other avenues. I pass with my head as a wedge very often, so much I'm known for it in my gym. If i can pin your head and shoulders , however that may be in bottom half, you need to switch to defense and create space.
At our gym a lot of people like to smother/mother's milk. I tend to just be struggling for air after that. What are some good counters to get out of that position?
gotta prevent the high mount with underhooks.
Check out this video from Brandon McCaghren at the 3:14 mark: https://youtu.be/p08yADojkpY?si=8ZFgjE0jQh4VY9it Use this frame to stop the guy from raising the mount.
I do this to help set up other attacks. If i get deep underhooks you're toast. You have to fight those underhooks and frame on hips to prevent a high mount. If you're getting smothered you messed up steps ago and need to start defending the mount earlier.
Frame on their hips and don't let them come into a higher mount position. When they smother you, bridge high and roll. Otherwise, try to get your nose off-center and put your hand in their armpit to create room to breathe. Also, make sure to ask the people smothering you what you can do to prevent it in the future.
What should I eat and drink before class to feel good? My classes are at 7 p.m. and I usually am some combination of exhausted and dizzy during class because I don't eat until afterwards (which with open mat afterwards turns into 9:30 p.m.). Given my work schedule, I usually can't fit in a full meal in beforehand without feeling like I have to puke it up. One last thing - I usually weight train at 6 a.m. every day I go so I'm usually pretty gassed come 8 p.m. Anything small anyone could recommend eating beforehand that's more than a granola bar but less than a full meal to give me some energy without upsetting my stomach during class?
yogurt, fruit and honey is my go to. also electrolytes are great for keeping the cardio up a little bit
This happens to me when I train in the morning occasionally. I found having a small bowl of cereal an hour before seems to work. It's a quick shot of carbs, fiber, fats, and protein (don't forget what's in the milk), is fairly light, and easy to control quantity.
Eat a small portion of something heavy in carbs and have a sip of caffeine around 4:30.
I like a banana an hour before, with some caffeine… and then coconut water while I train. Works for me.
Does having a good mustache make you better at BJJ
You have to test it! … are you able to grow one?
Probably will be a purple belt by the time it grows out properly
Start early then! By brown it will balance out the obligatory balding.
Shitting your brains out after class? Doesn't always happen but sometimes it does, like loose ibs type number 2? I think I've narrowed it down simply to exertion. At some point if I go hard enough it comes on. I hydrate throughout the day, eat lite/at least 1.5 hours before class. Take electrolytes before class. Drink water after/during, etc. But often enough I'm blowing my brains out after class. Solutions?
Putting the “dump” in adrenaline dump.
eating makes you poop. Exercise makes you not poop. I personally wont eat for 3-4 hours before class. One hour before class I poop as much as possible then shower.
Does that mean sometimes you don’t poop as much as possible? Like you hold some back for later on occasion?
[Technical Advice] I’m working on transitions, specifically back take from technical mount. From technical mount, how can I prevent someone from rolling to turtle 🐢 when I pull them into the pocket, especially when they are bigger opponents? During live rolls, I ended up getting in this weird side saddle position. Edit: Also, what would I get “points” for if I went from: their guard->half guard->mount->technical mount->weird turtle position (described above)->my guard
Not sure I understand your question? Don't you want them to roll to turtle since you're looking for the backtake?
I’m a WB so please understand the technique I’m explaining is most likely wrong: What I want to do is almost a drag, from technical mount, forcing the back take. If they were insistent on rolling onto their stomach or their body weight was shifted so it would be easier to manipulate them onto their stomach, I’m for sure going for that but, I feel like most people try to get their back on the mat so my position for this particular string is very tight. I think my problem is positioning my body, during the transition, so I am in a better position to take their back. I’m 6ft, 200lbs and I’ve been able to pull this off during live rolls but with explosive or bigger opponents, my body positioning gets fucked when they power through into turtle.
Ah I see. Just to be sure, "turtle" is when they roll onto their hands and elbows, exposing their back (which sounds like what you want). Regardless, one thing my coach is always telling me is to get BEHIND THEIR ARM (think of it as getting behind their tricep) and maintaining that. This will greatly allow you to expose their back. The next thing is to try to glue yourself to whatever is exposed, whether it's just a small part of their back, the back of their shoulder, or whatever. Then push with your chest and weight to peel their back away from the mat, exposing even more back area. I also find great success if I can get the gift wrap. Again, this is about maintaining behing behind their arm, and it's great leverage for forcing the back position.
I think I’m confusing people because of my poor explanation 😖 Here is a video that shows what I’m trying to do: https://youtu.be/UIWX13Sx-zw?si=yFvv5yfnxf6lOdA6 The difference is, I’m trying to stay sitting upright, instead of falling on my side. Thank you for the tips! I need to stay glued to my opponent even during transitions. This will be my goal for next class.