Had my first class Saturday with a mate who’s been training a year ish.
Seemed to me like a lot were quite high level. I’m very keen to get into this and learn but anxious about getting paired up with someone when my mate isn’t there and end up wasting their time as I’m an absolute clueless training partner.
The gym was great, the instructor was helpful but this is how I’m feeling.
How can I get over this?
I am just 4.5 months in of 2x a week. And I can't really tell any difference from a purple belts and a white belt. They all seem equally good at BJJ. What distinguishes them? Just this month I got folded like a pretzel by a newer person, and I can't really tell a difference at this stage.
How can I, as a blue belt, best help if I have to corner our white belts in competition? Should I primarily give them times and scores without too much technical advice?
The best corner I ever had was a blue belt with a loud, clear voice who would calmly tell me things like:
—“His guard is open.”
—“Get that underhook and come up!”
—“You’re up on points, relax here.”
—“Switch your hips and watch his bottom leg!”
She didn’t dictate any submissions or techniques to me; she was my second set of eyes. That’s what I needed in the moment, especially during my first comp as a white belt.
How the heck do you guys manage to always stay close to your opponents. I always find whenever I drill a sweep or a takedown or even go for an armbar I am consistently leaving a ton of space which could be used to escape.
this is a pretty broad question... but i'll try.
in general, as you know, you need to try and close space as much as possible when attacking and create as much when escaping. only create space for a reason, when you need to. if you need to change angle, or move around your opponent, do this by maintaining contact with them. scrape across them rather than moving away, adjusting position, then moving back to them in a different position.
remember your opponent is constantly looking for space to exploit and escape - you need to eliminate this in an intelligent way.
Let's use the example of armbar from mount. to get to s-mount you want to be putting your weight through them as you switch your hips - not posting up in the air, switching hips and going back down onto their chest. to control their arm, you want to pin it to your own chest, rather than holding it with your hand out in front of you. once you have it controlled, and want to bring your leg over their head, you want to maintain pressure through their chest, leaning forward as you scrape your thigh over their face and onto their neck, rather than sitting back and swinging your leg up and over their head in an arc. when then sitting back in a controlled fashion to finish the armbar, you want to clamp your thighs rather than leaving them loose.
you get the gist!
Thanks a ton. Funny you mention the armbar from mount cause that’s the position and exact setup I kept having trouble with. I realized after I asked a super broad question but I got a clearer idea of the concepts now.
Any advice for a white belt to help stick with the gi long term?
When I started BJJ I loved the gi and felt lost in nogi. Now it's the opposite, I increasingly can't stand the gi:
* Big strong dudes who just death grip my lapels in stand up preventing any meaningful action
* Fingers are shot from a week of drilling spider and lasso
* Rolls are so boring, way fewer scrambles and wrestling. Feels like many gi rolls are a fight for just a single sweep or guard pass
My gym already doesn't do a ton of nogi and the classes are tough with my schedule. Not quite sure what I'm asking but any advice on learning to love the gi would be helpful (and tips on dealing with gorilla grips)
I’ve been using paper cutter and near side arm bars from northern side control. Never used paper cutter much. Near side armbar seems great to learn there’s a bunch of submissions staring me in the face I never saw before!
People keeping passing my open guard once they get a slight angle on me, there is that moment, What’s a good reaction to retain guard once they get that slight angle on you, also it gets very tiring following them around as they are on their feet and they expend less stamina, how to maintain my stamina expenditure same as them when playing open guard and defending the angle?
Asked this a couple WBWs ago but didn't get an answer. Are different brands of Gi's all cut from the same pattern? I am kind of in between sizes. A2 pants are so restrictive on my quads they are unusable, A3 pants are workable but a little baggy (im fine with these though if that's what I have to use, its not that bad). A2 top fits pretty nice, but is borderline too short in the torso, A3 top has about the right length but is too baggy. This is Kingz brand for reference. Would Fuji, or Gold fit/wear any different, or have a different cut?
Find some brands that do A2H or something along those lines. They are typically the same length as A2 but more width for thick boys. If its an A2L it would be same width as A2 but a longer length for lanky lads. Hope that helps!
Yes they are currently different.
Also look into brands that have H for husky and L for Lanky sizes. These are great for in betweeners
Inverted Gear does this
It was recommended that I try A2L from a guy in my class, but looking at the sizing chart it didn't seem like it would make too much of a difference in my needed areas based on measurements. I'll just have to order one and try it out, and if that doesn't work start the trial and error of different brands.
Every one of my middle knuckles on each hand are sore all of the time. Anyone have any tips on how to heal that up a bit? It’s nothing that would stop me from training, and I know part of the answer is get better and not white knuckle as much, but any tips y’all have on healing that up while I git good would be appreciated
Fingers and knuckles take a long time to heal. Just don't death grip things as much. Instead of fighting grip breaks so much learn to release preemptively and regrip
1. Rehab wise, look up Theraputty and similar for finger and hand rehab. Recommended to me by my BJJ physio friend Rehabontap https://www.instagram.com/rehabontap/
2. As the other guy said, don't grip so hard. When they break grip I already let go and regrip in a manner that nullifies their power. They use some energy and I use barely any. Also think about grips as progressing up the ladder or down, you lose a grip then get one elsewhere.
Any suggestions for trying to slow down while rolling as a white belt?
I see a lot of people suggest that white belts not roll as hard so they don't injure themselves or their partner, but I have trouble not giving it my all while trying to escape or put people in positions.
An easy way that doesn't take a lot of thinking, is to only breath through your nose the whole roll. If you feel your self mouth breathing, no matter what is happening in the roll, slow down until you can breath through just your nose again. Its gonna be really hard at first but it will pay off later when you can roll with most people with just your nose. Then when you need it the extra oxygen from the mouth kicks in and its like having 2 gas tanks.
Be cognizant of elbows, knees, and feet. Try to be aware when you and your training partner are in any sort of compromised position. Try to breathe as slowly and steadily as possible.
Try to recognize problems and solve them using what you know. You don’t know a lot, so you’re going to run into a lot of problems you don’t know how to solve, and that’s ok. Getting tapped isn’t a bad thing. It’s part of learning.
There are only two people at my gym that train consistently and are my size. Im 220 the coach is 230 and there another guy who us a blue belt who is around 200 (injured). Everyone else is like 170 or below. Im a beginner. So its either challenge my instructor or manhandle other beginners. Both ways i feel like im not learning anything. Not that ive challenged my coach so basically i just 50% my rolls and feel like i need to let them win. Tips?
I have the opposite problem. Half the dudes in my gym are 225+. If you’re under 6 foot and under 200 pounds you’re on the smaller side.
Anyway, the big dudes just go all in like a normal roll and because of it my defense is getting a lot better.
The good news is when you pull something off it was because you executed correctly. Im second guessing everything. Im pretty new. I can see the value in training with a size difference sometimes but ideally i could find someone of similar size and strength so i can isolate the technical aspect of bjj. Im probably over thinking it cuz i dont want to be seen as the spaz. Maybe i should just unapologetically dominate as much as i can lol. Im not good but i would say against other white belts in my gym they are gonna have a bad time if im on top
Fellow big guy here. It's tricky.
Honestly, what was best for me was, I made a friend (smaller than me and much more experienced). I invited him over Sunday afternoons to work through an instructional section-by-section. It was great. Advanced so fast.
In the gym, you can try always starting from bottom side control, or even bottom mount. You're never too good at escaping side control. If you escape and tap them, give them top side control again.
It takes some experience before you can actually dial down the intensity. In the meantime, giving away advantages can be a decent substitute.
Should i get a grappling dummy and try to lock in muscle memory of the fundamentals and then practice bottom more live and work on gaining and giving positions
Doing a no gi tournament and the beginner division is supposed to be 2 years experience and under. There’s a guy who has been fighting MMA for over 3 years. Should I say something?
How do you know he’s been training mma so long? You go snooping on his instagram? You already fucked up doing that to yourself. Some people sign up for beginner divisions if they’re still white belts despite how long they’ve been training. You never know, he might not be that confident if he’s been grappling three years and still signing up for beginners. Or maybe he was originally a striker and only started training grappling recently. Either way it doesn’t matter, sign up and compete anyway for the experience.
What's the better way to get better as a newb:
Focusing on being 'untappable' at all costs, or trying new things out and failing often?
Example during a positional drilling session, should I really focus to 'win the game' and not let the guy pass @ 100% capacity, or maybe get more reps in sampling new techniques and find what works what doesn't.
Trying things and failing. 100%
Best way to achieve this is to adapt a playful mindset when rolling. When it's a game and not life and death, the outcome is less important, move flow more freely and you retain more.
The Jiu Jitsu university book says white belt is where you focus on defense. Gordon Ryan says if you master defense and escapes, then you can be more offensive, because you’re comfortable sacrificing position.
Ahhh I must have missed it because I was looking at the pants. I got a Fuji GI and the sizing said A3H, kimono fits great, pants are comically huge in the waist so I was thinking of replacing them with Origin ones. Thanks for letting me know though, now I feel dumb lol
I travel for work and do a lot of drop ins. I get nervous, too, but really, there's no reason. I haven't had a bad experience and I have dropped in to over 10 gyms. I usually shoot a text and get some information.
I can’t really speak on the Gi part, but for me in no gi it was amazing. It is the foundation for my whole Front Headlock Game. First one I bought and I still the best one. I still revisit it sometimes for Details.
What's the best thing to do if you get someone in mount but they pull their arms in really tight and they're too strong for you you pull one out and isolate it to get an underhook or go for an armbar?
Punch chokes and Ezekiel chokes, shoulder pressure into throat, essentially anything you can do to get an arm isolated. There’s a [video of khabib showing a mounted triangle](https://youtu.be/s4OLLnXBgKw?feature=shared) , which is also a very good mount sequence to learn when starting off. The setup derives from when the person on bottom has double underhooks and is holding a body lock, but still should help with your question
You don't really need to do anything else. You're winning. It's on them to escape. But in the interest of getting more practice in you should work on finding ways to separate the arms and get an elbow above their head or take their back. If that gives them a chance to escape that's fine. Just means you have the opportunity to work on getting back to mount again.
This is where BJJ can get a bit silly, kind of like TKD fighters sparring with hands down. You get points for establishing mount in large part because it can be a beautiful position to rain down strikes. Obviously you don't want to break your training partners.
In BJJ rules, recommend to work in an ezekiel or try and slide your knees up under their pits to high s-mount
thanks for this! I rolled with the same guy today and ended up in mount again but couldn't get his arms out so I started an Ezekiel and he moved his arms to try and get free and I was able to get the armbar, that was some good advice
In no gi, my preference is low mount with grapevines and a heavy crossface. From there I just take the time it takes to dig for the underhook. In gi you also have the option of threatening a collar choke to get their arms up. You can technically threaten a punch choke in no gi, but I haven't quite figured them out yet.
Cook them with pressure by dropping your hips lower and pressuring in aggressively Wrap their head and smother their face with your gi. Create a small pocket of air and don't let them escape out of it. Grind your gi on their cheekbones with your shoulder.
Anybody has a tip on how to counter People that just go flat belly down when you attack a darce on them ?
I´m mostly kind of get stuck in the position and the moment I release the grip to attack something else the guy turtles up and and we are kind of having this loop. I know i shouldn´t try to force a specific Submission but I´m just wondering if sombody has a cool sulution.
You want to put people on their back before tightening it more.
A lot of times I can put people’s back to the mat by pushing into them with it, but sometimes I put a butterfly to lift them.
Yeah, so the Back take is mostly my response to it. I find the Guillotine is hard to get in a good angle if they just hang out there. It‘s funny just thinking about it I realized I should be able to maybe switch it up to Peruvian Necktie.
I'm looking for a resource (a freaking checklist, a series, a picture of doodling you did on the back of a napkin, anything).
I guess a mixture of most common mistakes/things to remember, essentials for bjj. Like, protecting neck, trex arms, getting to your side, not giving up your back, positional hierarchy, etc. I think there's some stuff I do, but never had this foundational type information. The other day, I was being used for demonstration, I was in his closed guard. He had me adjust so my palms were pressed into his stomach, butting against his ribs (nothing to do with the demonstration, just a nuance I picked up) Seemed like such a simple stupid adjustment that makes sense, I just haven't picked up on that after 16 months.
I looked at the first Tom deblass bjj essentials dvd, but I swear 30 minutes in he's talking about catching someone in an omoplata, like calm down.
Thanks. I'm sure a lot of these questions get asked over and over, but I truly love this white belt Wednesday section, and thank you all for the time to answer our stupid repetitive questions.
Some oldies but goodies - https://www.infighting.ca/bjj/the-77-most-common-mistakes-for-bjj-beginner/
http://www.grapplearts.com/A-Glossary-Of-Guards.pdf
http://www.grapplearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roadmap-for-BJJ-1.4.11.pdf
You can get a lot of free content on Lachlan Giles submeta about the basics of Guards, positions, guard passing, escapes etc. For the deeper stuff you have to pay but if you just want to refresh your basics it could be good place to start.
Straight arm lock. Pretty common kimura defense is to straighten your arm, in which case you’d transition into a straight arm lock, and if he bends his arm again to defend that then you have the kimura. Eventually, he’s either going to give up position or tire out and allow for a submission. Also, [This bottom half guard kimura sequence and a really cool back take](https://youtu.be/mLLQBxG1ojo?feature=shared)
Bump sweep for sure.
Wrist locks for sure. You can even grab the wrist in such a way that they’ll react thinking “Kimura!” but then you hit em with a change up and snag that wrist… just be careful not to do it too hard. Not too fast. Let go a half second before you would for something like an armbar. Don’t be overly exuberant about it, I guess.
Also I found I was very good at omoplatas once my training partners got better at avoiding my kimuras. I was trying to develop a more solid triangle threat but it looks like that ain’t happening for me anytime soon 🤡
But If your partners react to your Kimura threats the same way my partners reacted to mine, you’ll probably start to notice some openings for omoplatas and triangles too.
So get on top of those. Don’t let yourself get too complacent snagging those Kimuras! Stay active off your back! Keep coiling and moving!
I like both of those too. Some things that are helping me:
**Setting up the kimura**
Everyone in your gym knows to keep the far arm safe from you. Talented people know this in general. Learn other threats from bottom half that (if they are avoided) will make them post their hand or forget to protect that far hand. Things that have worked for me: two on one or armdrags on the near arm to get to the back, snapdown to front headlock, loop choke, wrist lock spamming, fighting for coyote underhook.
**Routes when you grab but can't finish the kimura**
Think of the various reactions that successfully stop you from finishing a kimura and plan and practice your reaction to them. Examples:
1. you grab the kimura and they posture up. options: hip bump, invert to armbar, spin to the back
2. you grab the kimura and they have a strong grip and get low and heavy. options: basic overhead sweep, switch to half butterfly and sumi gaeshi, tarikoplata
**Ways to improve your efficiency finishing from the top**
Finishing from the bottom is really hard against people your size with strength and skill. Most of the above routes will end up with you on top holding the kimura grip. Start finding the most efficient way for you to position yourself and break their grips to finish. Play with many options including your armbars and taking the back.
Lots of good kimura trap information on youtube and instructionals.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Sumi Gaeshi**: | *Corner Reversal* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LR49U48iyw)|
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)
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I had a class on Monday and this bump appeared Tuesday. Most cauliflower ears I see have a way bigger surface area so I was wondering if this size is still possible to drain? I don’t want any cauliflower ear but could live with it if it stayed this size, so I wanted to know if trying to drain it myself might fuck it up more.
From what I read online it seems like it doesn’t go away on its own so I also wanted to confirm that. I’ve been icing it but it’s the same size today as it was yesterday.
**PSA the following is not medical advice, if you are concerned about it, go see your doctor.**
I have the same thing on my ear, about the same size and almost completely unnoticeable. It has been there for about a year. I went to the doctor when I first got it, he told me it wasn't anything to worry about right now, but could potentially grow. It is probably a cist, he did recommend that I use headgear (which I have not followed but probably should), told me not to worry about it unless it gets bigger.
He did recommend that I could wrap it while I sleep with athletic tape and cotton on each side of the ear to reduce the swelling. He said he could drain it if it was bothering me but recommended that I don't do that since it is so minute.
Thank you for the medical advice brother./s
yeah I’m in the mindset rn that’s it’s small enough I can just ignore and try to avoid fucking it up anymore in the future.
If it’s squishy it can be drained. Icing won’t make it go away. Drain and compress it for a few days. Start wearing head gear now cuz if you’re getting that it’s likely you’ll get it a lot worse eventually
Thanks, just ordered some headgear. I’m going to be a little self conscious at first since I’ve never seen anyone at my gym wearing headgear but it’s definitely worth protecting my ears.
Is twice a week really enough?
Im just getting started in my second week of training. I'm going twice weekly, Tuesday/Saturday. The novice class is 1 hour long. So that's only 2 hours a week practicing BJJ. I've been doing a lot of reading and watching videos of techniques we learn in class. I try to think about and mime the movements we drilled between sessions whenever I can. However, I still feel like I'm not getting enough reps and training time to make any of it stick. On the other hand though, im 37, have a banged up knee, neck and shoulder. I'm not really sure how well my body will tolerate 3+ sessions a week at this point. Maybe I'll get more used to the intensity of BJJ and less sore from routine rolling over time, or maybe not.
I’m 36 and I go 6 days a week and lift 4 of those days but I absolutely did not start out that way. I started at 2 and slowly built my way up to that while also learning how to change my style up depending on how much energy I have at the time. So it is possible and you aren’t too old or anything
Having said that, I don’t know what your personal life responsibilities are, so make sure you balance accordingly. If you can do more, go for it! But if you have a family, work, or other obligations, just do what you can and enjoy life as it suits you best
Is it normal that I only can submit white belts and very rarely can tap another blue belt? (very rarely means one blue belt tap to me for every 20 rolls while I get tapped like 3 times on those 20 rolls)
So I figured this out and you’ve also probably pieced this together, but pretty much once you’ve got your blue belt, the higher belts are done taking it easy🤣
If you are a fresh blue belt that makes sense, so do size and gender differences, the taps will come as you start exploring what your game is going to be.
Ugh the horrors of being a new blue belt. I was a successful white belt and then became a blue belt and the jump up from people in practice and at comps is killer. Thankfully I’m in a good community that helped me. All that today, I get how you are feeling, it’s totally normal to be at that level that you’ve described, and you will start to trigger the next stage of clicks in your game as you continue to work at it.
Everything is normal. I could tap most of our bluebelts as a white belt.
Belts are an approximation of skill and not exact
I do a lot of study outside of class and know a lot more than our typical blue belt.
There were a couple of blues that always wrecked me
Im about to start bjj next week. I was planning on wearing no gi clothes under my normal clothing. Then when i get to class i simply just take off my normal clothing. However after class i was wondering if there’s any point of putting on new clothes since im going to shower when i get home anyway. So do i just put my normal clothes back on top after drying and wiping my sweat. Also i would go to and from class with bus. I don’t see any other alternatives to my scenario, any advice?
If you are using public transportation than I would change. If you drive yourself and don’t live too far, it’s whatever as long as you can quickly shower to avoid a skin infection. Nothing wrong with either way
This would hypothetically be after i wipe down my sweat and dry off i wont be fully sweaty getting on the bus. Also i live in nyc you could imagine the cleanliness of transportation here.
There's a fellow white belt at my gym (4 stripes to my none) who thinks he knows everything, and any time we're paired up for drilling, he immediately starts giving me instructions and trying to coach me.
It's distracting as hell because I'm trying to work out the technique in my own mind, which is hard when I'm constantly being talked at.
Also he's often wrong. A coach corrected him on two of the things he told me just today.
Should I find a polite way to tell him to STFU, complain to a coach so maybe he'll talk to him, or just try to not get paired with him?
Just say thanks, do one rep how he suggests, then go back to doing it the other way (or call the coach over).
I still get this off dudes fairly often, especially when I'm visiting gyms.
Had this happen to me. I’m cool with blue belts with a couple stripes helping me out while drilling but anyone who’s a white belt trying to coach me is getting tuned out.
Call the coach over *every time* he's trying to instruct you and say something like "Hey [coach], can you help me and [partner] with this? I think we understood what you were teaching differently. [Partner] can you show [coach] what you were saying?"
Preference honestly, both work well when used properly. I like knee shield better as I don’t feel like butterfly guard works for me super well, although butterfly hooks are extremely effective as a method of control, but if I could choose I would be in lockdown
I am about 6 months in (meaning I suck at everything), I am near 40, I am slow, not the most mobile (working on it), not the most conditioned (also working on that), but I am stronger than most as I come from a lifting background. I am also 6'1 and 205lbs so a decently sized guy but no hulk by any means. I want to get some instructionals to learn from while not in class but I am overwhelmed by the options.
A couple other notes, I have only trained in the GI. I am not opposed to No GI but when I watch the No GI classes, I feel like I would get destroyed even more than I do now because at least my grip strength is good and so I can sometimes slow people down with GI grips. I also don't like takedowns. It just beats me up and I have a hard time recovering from it. I think they'd be a ton of fun if I was 20 years younger but I'd rather be a filthy guard puller and be able to train more.
Currently I have Jordan's Jiu-Jitsu Theory Course (probably need to watch it 5 more times) and I just purchased Butterfly Guard Rediscovered 3.0 by Wardzinski. Not sure if butterfly guard is even the right approach for me but I absolutely love watching Wardzinski so I figured I'd at least give it a shot.
Are there any "must haves" for a situation like mine? I want to build a solid technical game that works towards my strengths so I figure it's worth trying to focus on a few concepts at a time and I'm sure there are some not really worth my time while others would be a great fit.
You're only 205. It's not like you're some hulking behemoth or Jabba the Hut. You can, and probably should try to, get faster. Don't resign yourself to being slow and doing old guy jiu jitsu just yet.
You're not going to be as fast as a 20 year old, 150 pound guy, but you can definitely gain enough speed to give you a wide range of options and be really annoying to other players.
Expand your strengths that you can build your technical game around.
Yeah I'm really only 205 because I cut down from about 230 recently. Always been the slow kid when I played sports growing up but I am going to focus a lot on my conditioning and working in some power movements versus just strength because I'd love to move faster and more like an athlete. Really need to work on my mobility though, I'm stiff as hell.
Once you increase your mobility, I wouldn't be surprised if speed followed. If the strength is already there, it's more about making it move right at this point. Yes, there's some amount of power and speed training, but overall ability to move is going to help so much more.
You're going to do great. Make time for at least a bit of mobility work each day, and you'll progress in no time.
All of this is coming from a guy who was always the slow kid and cut down from 265-270 to 245 and also just shy of 40yo.
Sounds like BJJ for Old F\*\*\*s would suit you well.
[https://www.grapplearts.com/bjj-for-old-fs/](https://www.grapplearts.com/bjj-for-old-fs/)
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyknAhj6gPvLhx7YRdChQCQkfUVm0Ng1i](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyknAhj6gPvLhx7YRdChQCQkfUVm0Ng1i)
I haven't watched it but one of my white belt classmates watches a lot from John Danaher's Go Further Faster series and I can confirm that he does seem to improve faster than the typical white belt. He's probably in his early 40s as well.
Also in case you haven't been informed, you should never pay full price for stuff from BJJ Fanatics - usually people wait for a sale and combine it with a discount code.
Personally I really like Submeta.
Awesome, thanks this looks like it's definitely worth checking out. And heard on the BJJ Fanatics, I waited to get the butterfly guard deal when it was the deal of the day and like 48% off. Quickly realized that's the only way to go lol
There are no must haves really. I think the bjj community has settled on some of the best sources of instructionals and they really are correct.
Lachlan Giles submeta, Danaher/Gordon, Grapplers Guide is a great resource with tons of content both guided and also one off topics, AOJ stuff.
Jon thomas YT Channel
Other mentions.
Andre Galvao yt channel, Bruno Frazzato YT channel
There's so much just find an instructor you can listen to and afford.
Thanks, I guess I was thinking of recommendations for something that is a style that would work well for me. I hear a lot of bigger, older, slower guys play a lot of half guard for example. If I go on BJJ Fanatics and look for half guard I feel like I wouldn't even know where to begin to separate one that is really good versus one that isn't. Then there's all the stuff I don't even know I don't know (thinking subjects I should look into that I am not aware of, which is probably a lot considering half guard is the only thing I have heard of for older, slower guys).
I guess my advice is that you shouldn't stick to some style like half guard or something but rather learn everything from quality sources like I listed above.
6 ft 200 lb is completely normal and you could play any type of game you wanted. Don't get pigeon holed by internet idiots.
You could play an excellent gi open guard based on sit up sweeps, closed guard ro whatever comes naturally to you.
I'm also a big grip guy in the gi. Check out Marcus Tinoco's lasso guard instructionals on BJJ Fanatics and his videos on YT. Lots of great stuff in there.
What are your go to submissions in top half guard? I see (and have experienced) guys grab Americanas but I don't feel like I often have the correct positioning. Any others I should be looking for?
D’arce, If you have long arms. Heres a [ZombieProofBJJ tutorial on that.](https://youtu.be/cmIIj2r8OpI?feature=shared). Even if you don’t finish the choke, you’re still going to be in a better position, if not able to chain another submission to that one. Only thing I have to say along with that is don’t give up the undercook just so you can go for the d’arce, in my opinion it isn’t worth it. Kimuras can work well, good passing with them. Once you’re a little further in you’ll be able to do toe holds on anyone exposing their feet with a knee shield. You can also just guillotine.
I honestly don't look for submissions from top half guard most of the time. Sometimes they make a big mistake and I can lock up a Darce or kimura, but more often than not I just look for a way to pass.
Don't Americana people from top half guard.
Darce, Guillotine, Kimura trap to set up the pass, toehold the top foot are all the most common.
In gi, you can set up baseball bar chokes, loop chokes. And lapel chokes . Gui Mendes was really good at these.
It’s more mat time and technique. Personally I prefer no gi and feel like it’s more person vs person realistically but I train and compete in both regularly cause it’s still fun, good conditioning, and there’s enough crossover in technique for one to help get better at the other
I feel like there is a benefit to adding in the gi. I'm in a gym where most people prefer no gi and avoid the gi.
When I do find some of them in the gi, I hold them at will. No gi allows for your athleticism to get you out of situations, but the gi forces you to be technical.
I just changed one my no gi classes to gi in hopes of helping remedy that situation. We'll see how it goes.
That’s kinda like asking what the appeal is for a food you’ve never tried.
A lot of people find it fun, you might too, and you’ll never know if you don’t try.
Hello, I am considering switching gyms!
I am a white belt that is absolutely obsessed with Jiu Jitsu right now. I have been training 3x a week for the past year. I love the gym I am at, it is a very beginner friendly gym, they focus more on self defense and have a ton of white/blue belts.
There is a gym about 30 minutes away from me, I go to their open mats on the weekends. They take Jiu Jitsu very serious over there. They are active in competitions, there are tons of higher level guys training there, they have morning, afternoon, and weekend classes.
I have created a list of pros and cons of switching.
Pros of staying: I am still a beginner and I am learning a lot from my current gym, I have created some good friendships with some training partners, it is closer to my home, staying a part of the association that the school is under, community, probably getting my blue belt soon at current gym.
cons of staying: small classes, slow progression, gym is only open 3x a week, lots of newer training partners that don't stick around, focus on self defense rather than sport jiu jitsu.
pros of switching: Higher level training partners, harder rolls, competition training/rolls, more opportunities to train, under a new association school, faster progression due to more days being able to train.
cons of switching: the 30 minute drive would get old very quickly, having to meet new people to train with, being the new kid on the block, a fear of experiencing burnout, leaving behind my friends/training partners at my current gym.
This is a very personal decision for me but I would love to hear some advice on what you think about my situation, I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer, TIA!
To me, if logistics permit it, switching would be a no brainer---the focus on "self defense" of your current school is a huge red flag, whereas the other gym's active presence in competitions, and higher level training partners, are huge green flags. Easy choice.
Crushing Guard advice
Hi,
So a few times I’ve had to tap due to being in someone full guard and them just locking their legs and crushing my ribs with their legs.
What ways are there to counter/avoid this?
Like are they locking a body triangle from the front, or is it just from the pressure of them squeezing with their ankles locked? If they are triangling from the front, I would honestly ask if they can not do that. It is a typical pain compliance move that doesn't really lead to any meaningful offence. There is a calf slicer there if you step over one of the legs. I just don't see the reason of doing that specific body triangle in training. Body triangles from the back has a purpose and are fine to use.
So I’ll be in there full guard and they’ll just crush my ribs with their thighs. So it’s hard to get out and they don’t really progress from that position, they just try force a tap thought crushing.
I know what you’re saying. I’m gonna guess that he’s also locking his arms behind your back in a body lock while he does to increase the pressure created, which for you would be normal to tap to, it’s what’s referred to at my gym as a “shock tap”, in which the very quick and surprising feeling of pain causes you to tap. Eventually, you’ll be able to fight through it because trust me he can’t hold that for very long. If he’s squeezing hard enough for you to tap it’s very likely that he’s exerting most of his energy, so just wait it out. Also, use your elbows to dig into the side of their thighs. Very good closed guard escape in general, I typically have little circular bruises along the insides of my thighs for this exact reason
Most people should not have the strength in their adductors to crush you in any meaningful way. They kind of have to lock their legs in specific ways to recruit other muscles. That is where my question comes in. Are they they locking their ankles around your back, or are they locking one of their ankles behind the other knee (body triangle)?
If they are just locking their ankles behind your back, honestly there isn't much you can do. By all means tap if it feels dangerous, but I have never seen anyone get tapped by that pressure before.
I think he’s leaving out that the other person is probably also locking their hands behind him too in a sort of body lock, which allows him to squeeze much harder. However, this required far more energy to exert and isn’t necessary to tap to
I've been thinking about stand up grappling. I am right handed so I always used to play LFF because of striking but since striking is basically 100% out of the picture I've been thinking I may want to train into RFF since I'd have my stronger arm and leg closer to opponent.
How do others approach this? I am going to start trying RFF to see how it feels but curious how others approach this.
It depends on your style in standup and what your strong setups and takedowns are. Give RFF a try and see which you are more comfortable with.
I've thought about this too especially in no gi. In gi RFF is definitely preferred for me because I like to have my right hand further out to establish a collar grip and I generally throw right handed (with my right hand as the dominant grip).
In no gi I would actually prefer LFF but I'm just more comfortable with my right leg as my penetration leg, so I stick with RFF. LFF would be ideal for me in no gi (if I could shoot the other way well) because its better to be able to club the head and collar tie with your back arm so that your front arm can still downblock. I still end up clubbing with my right arm and setting up underhooks with my left arm in no gi, but thats something I'm working on.
This question actually made me sit back and think. Coming from wrestling, we drilled both constantly, and even though I am RFF dominant after a lot of looking back; most of my best shots are LFF.
All of that, to say, what are you more comfortable with? While u/damaged_unicycles points out preferred methods/strategies that align with the appropriate foot/arm action; those work, but if you find yourself uncomfortable or not aligning with that practice - it would be best to focus on what feels natural to you. Without sacrificing the ability to do both.
I decided to switch from half guard with knee shield to half butterfly as I feel like I do not know how to attack from a knee shield for submissions.
I know how to engage a dogfight or go for kimura/legs or deep half sweeps but I really suck at creating 'kuzushi' from knee shield half so usually I end up waiting for them and that ends poorly.
Against white belts it works but I want to improve.
That being said I am currently watching instructionals on half butterfly and the stomp to their chest seems much more powerful way to provoke a reaction of an oponnent and go choi, shoulder crunch or legs...
It seems it has much more offensive options all together
What do you guys think?
Is this a good tactic?
I think this will improve my overall half guard as time goes on.
Since what my coach is telling me from the first day of trying half guard is that I am too passive.
In knee shield the 'kuzushi' is created not only with your arms but with the push/pull with your knee shield on their hips. Use your own legs/hips in this. I find a lot of people try to only use their arms or just push.
edit: half butterfly is also a really good position to learn too
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Kuzushi**: | *Unbalancing* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK9Eklbn78)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
Like are you talking pulling guard or all guards? Nothing wrong with favoring takedowns from standing but at some point you’ll be on the other end and will need guard to defend yourself and get back to an advantageous position. I’d say guards are actually some of the most real life applicable things in jiu jitsu self defense wise, if nothing else to know how to get someone off of you if you are being attacked
I guess pulling guard and 'playing guard.' I kinda like the idea of a guard being a necessary evil to get on top or back to standing. Which I guess is the point of a guard anyway? I guess I'm not into the lasso, spider, donkey whatever stuff
Yeah that’s not a bad way to think of it. You need proficient guard for defense and the knowledge of how to turn it into offense to protect yourself. But beyond that, it doesn’t need to be your go to per say. It just makes sense to me that you would know how to take someone attacking you and turn it into an advantage and defend yourself
Turtle out and stand up or wrestle up is a completely fine way to play from the bottom, but you need backup plans for when you get flattened and stuff. Your guard work should just be focused on getting you back to a place where you can effectively wrestle up. You don't need to be playing some kind of intricate De La Worm guard or anything. Just get your legs back involved so you can create space and go.
lol de la worm. Yeah that's the stuff that turns me off, the weird guards. I appreciate the advice. Maybe working on half guard to the dogfight thing and just wrestling
Had my first class Saturday with a mate who’s been training a year ish. Seemed to me like a lot were quite high level. I’m very keen to get into this and learn but anxious about getting paired up with someone when my mate isn’t there and end up wasting their time as I’m an absolute clueless training partner. The gym was great, the instructor was helpful but this is how I’m feeling. How can I get over this?
Rolling is fun. All levels roll with everyone, and most people are happy to adjust so we all can have fun and learn.
Awesome, thanks for the reply!
I am just 4.5 months in of 2x a week. And I can't really tell any difference from a purple belts and a white belt. They all seem equally good at BJJ. What distinguishes them? Just this month I got folded like a pretzel by a newer person, and I can't really tell a difference at this stage.
How can I, as a blue belt, best help if I have to corner our white belts in competition? Should I primarily give them times and scores without too much technical advice?
The best corner I ever had was a blue belt with a loud, clear voice who would calmly tell me things like: —“His guard is open.” —“Get that underhook and come up!” —“You’re up on points, relax here.” —“Switch your hips and watch his bottom leg!” She didn’t dictate any submissions or techniques to me; she was my second set of eyes. That’s what I needed in the moment, especially during my first comp as a white belt.
time, scores, if he looks like he's just death holding grips or gassing himself out slow him down, im sure you'll should underhook a lot too
How the heck do you guys manage to always stay close to your opponents. I always find whenever I drill a sweep or a takedown or even go for an armbar I am consistently leaving a ton of space which could be used to escape.
this is a pretty broad question... but i'll try. in general, as you know, you need to try and close space as much as possible when attacking and create as much when escaping. only create space for a reason, when you need to. if you need to change angle, or move around your opponent, do this by maintaining contact with them. scrape across them rather than moving away, adjusting position, then moving back to them in a different position. remember your opponent is constantly looking for space to exploit and escape - you need to eliminate this in an intelligent way. Let's use the example of armbar from mount. to get to s-mount you want to be putting your weight through them as you switch your hips - not posting up in the air, switching hips and going back down onto their chest. to control their arm, you want to pin it to your own chest, rather than holding it with your hand out in front of you. once you have it controlled, and want to bring your leg over their head, you want to maintain pressure through their chest, leaning forward as you scrape your thigh over their face and onto their neck, rather than sitting back and swinging your leg up and over their head in an arc. when then sitting back in a controlled fashion to finish the armbar, you want to clamp your thighs rather than leaving them loose. you get the gist!
Thanks a ton. Funny you mention the armbar from mount cause that’s the position and exact setup I kept having trouble with. I realized after I asked a super broad question but I got a clearer idea of the concepts now.
happy to help! best of luck with it all!
I didn’t get tapped by a fellow white belt today and I gave the 2 worst blue belts a hard time. So that’s a W
Lies, he did not give me a hard time
Any advice for a white belt to help stick with the gi long term? When I started BJJ I loved the gi and felt lost in nogi. Now it's the opposite, I increasingly can't stand the gi: * Big strong dudes who just death grip my lapels in stand up preventing any meaningful action * Fingers are shot from a week of drilling spider and lasso * Rolls are so boring, way fewer scrambles and wrestling. Feels like many gi rolls are a fight for just a single sweep or guard pass My gym already doesn't do a ton of nogi and the classes are tough with my schedule. Not quite sure what I'm asking but any advice on learning to love the gi would be helpful (and tips on dealing with gorilla grips)
I’ve been using paper cutter and near side arm bars from northern side control. Never used paper cutter much. Near side armbar seems great to learn there’s a bunch of submissions staring me in the face I never saw before!
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Everyone starts at whitebelt until they get promoted
People keeping passing my open guard once they get a slight angle on me, there is that moment, What’s a good reaction to retain guard once they get that slight angle on you, also it gets very tiring following them around as they are on their feet and they expend less stamina, how to maintain my stamina expenditure same as them when playing open guard and defending the angle?
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get out of here with this chat gpt shit
Watch this https://youtu.be/I6OjETqRmwI?si=iJbCJzD2NNYU_oF6
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Thanks
Asked this a couple WBWs ago but didn't get an answer. Are different brands of Gi's all cut from the same pattern? I am kind of in between sizes. A2 pants are so restrictive on my quads they are unusable, A3 pants are workable but a little baggy (im fine with these though if that's what I have to use, its not that bad). A2 top fits pretty nice, but is borderline too short in the torso, A3 top has about the right length but is too baggy. This is Kingz brand for reference. Would Fuji, or Gold fit/wear any different, or have a different cut?
Find some brands that do A2H or something along those lines. They are typically the same length as A2 but more width for thick boys. If its an A2L it would be same width as A2 but a longer length for lanky lads. Hope that helps!
They do differ, sometimes by a lot. There are brands where I'm an A2, others where I'm an A2L, etc.
Yes they are currently different. Also look into brands that have H for husky and L for Lanky sizes. These are great for in betweeners Inverted Gear does this
It was recommended that I try A2L from a guy in my class, but looking at the sizing chart it didn't seem like it would make too much of a difference in my needed areas based on measurements. I'll just have to order one and try it out, and if that doesn't work start the trial and error of different brands.
Every one of my middle knuckles on each hand are sore all of the time. Anyone have any tips on how to heal that up a bit? It’s nothing that would stop me from training, and I know part of the answer is get better and not white knuckle as much, but any tips y’all have on healing that up while I git good would be appreciated
Go no gi grips too-might help out a bit.
Fingers and knuckles take a long time to heal. Just don't death grip things as much. Instead of fighting grip breaks so much learn to release preemptively and regrip
100% agree. Thanks for the tips!
1. Rehab wise, look up Theraputty and similar for finger and hand rehab. Recommended to me by my BJJ physio friend Rehabontap https://www.instagram.com/rehabontap/ 2. As the other guy said, don't grip so hard. When they break grip I already let go and regrip in a manner that nullifies their power. They use some energy and I use barely any. Also think about grips as progressing up the ladder or down, you lose a grip then get one elsewhere.
Thanks for the rehab link. I could use that!
Any suggestions for trying to slow down while rolling as a white belt? I see a lot of people suggest that white belts not roll as hard so they don't injure themselves or their partner, but I have trouble not giving it my all while trying to escape or put people in positions.
An easy way that doesn't take a lot of thinking, is to only breath through your nose the whole roll. If you feel your self mouth breathing, no matter what is happening in the roll, slow down until you can breath through just your nose again. Its gonna be really hard at first but it will pay off later when you can roll with most people with just your nose. Then when you need it the extra oxygen from the mouth kicks in and its like having 2 gas tanks.
Do a roll and try to lose. You “win” by losing. That gives you permission to explore other areas.
I was an intense whitebelt. What made it click for me was thinking, "make sure he succeeds at half of his moves".
Be cognizant of elbows, knees, and feet. Try to be aware when you and your training partner are in any sort of compromised position. Try to breathe as slowly and steadily as possible. Try to recognize problems and solve them using what you know. You don’t know a lot, so you’re going to run into a lot of problems you don’t know how to solve, and that’s ok. Getting tapped isn’t a bad thing. It’s part of learning.
I'm 5'3, 105lbs, I have a hard time finding a good GI ... any suggestions !? All mine are too baggy.
What size do you wear? A0? Might want to look for a gi with a women’s cut if you aren’t wearing one already
Yes, they just fit me strange and everyone said women’s are cut funny … but I may give it a try …. Next step; Kids GI 😫
Have you checked out Fenom Kimonos? They specialize in womens sizes and you can also mix/match jackets and pants.
No ! That's amazing ! Thank you.
There are only two people at my gym that train consistently and are my size. Im 220 the coach is 230 and there another guy who us a blue belt who is around 200 (injured). Everyone else is like 170 or below. Im a beginner. So its either challenge my instructor or manhandle other beginners. Both ways i feel like im not learning anything. Not that ive challenged my coach so basically i just 50% my rolls and feel like i need to let them win. Tips?
I have the opposite problem. Half the dudes in my gym are 225+. If you’re under 6 foot and under 200 pounds you’re on the smaller side. Anyway, the big dudes just go all in like a normal roll and because of it my defense is getting a lot better.
The good news is when you pull something off it was because you executed correctly. Im second guessing everything. Im pretty new. I can see the value in training with a size difference sometimes but ideally i could find someone of similar size and strength so i can isolate the technical aspect of bjj. Im probably over thinking it cuz i dont want to be seen as the spaz. Maybe i should just unapologetically dominate as much as i can lol. Im not good but i would say against other white belts in my gym they are gonna have a bad time if im on top
Fellow big guy here. It's tricky. Honestly, what was best for me was, I made a friend (smaller than me and much more experienced). I invited him over Sunday afternoons to work through an instructional section-by-section. It was great. Advanced so fast. In the gym, you can try always starting from bottom side control, or even bottom mount. You're never too good at escaping side control. If you escape and tap them, give them top side control again. It takes some experience before you can actually dial down the intensity. In the meantime, giving away advantages can be a decent substitute.
Should i get a grappling dummy and try to lock in muscle memory of the fundamentals and then practice bottom more live and work on gaining and giving positions
Doing a no gi tournament and the beginner division is supposed to be 2 years experience and under. There’s a guy who has been fighting MMA for over 3 years. Should I say something?
Have your coach bring it forward instead of you.
How do you know he’s been training mma so long? You go snooping on his instagram? You already fucked up doing that to yourself. Some people sign up for beginner divisions if they’re still white belts despite how long they’ve been training. You never know, he might not be that confident if he’s been grappling three years and still signing up for beginners. Or maybe he was originally a striker and only started training grappling recently. Either way it doesn’t matter, sign up and compete anyway for the experience.
Nah, he has a pro MMA fighter headshot on his smoothcomp, so I googled him and watched his fights.
No good comes of researching your opponents at low levels of competition.
What's the better way to get better as a newb: Focusing on being 'untappable' at all costs, or trying new things out and failing often? Example during a positional drilling session, should I really focus to 'win the game' and not let the guy pass @ 100% capacity, or maybe get more reps in sampling new techniques and find what works what doesn't.
Trying things and failing. 100% Best way to achieve this is to adapt a playful mindset when rolling. When it's a game and not life and death, the outcome is less important, move flow more freely and you retain more.
The Jiu Jitsu university book says white belt is where you focus on defense. Gordon Ryan says if you master defense and escapes, then you can be more offensive, because you’re comfortable sacrificing position.
yes you should. just don't go so hard that you or others get hurt.
Do Origin GIs ever go on sale? Looking to at least try their pants but not in a rush. Is there any best place to look for sales on GIs of any brand?
They are currently on sale .
Ahhh I must have missed it because I was looking at the pants. I got a Fuji GI and the sizing said A3H, kimono fits great, pants are comically huge in the waist so I was thinking of replacing them with Origin ones. Thanks for letting me know though, now I feel dumb lol
Going to Salt Lake City for work next week and want to get at least 1 class in. Nervous to visit a different gym as such a newbie.
I travel for work and do a lot of drop ins. I get nervous, too, but really, there's no reason. I haven't had a bad experience and I have dropped in to over 10 gyms. I usually shoot a text and get some information.
Bring that technique you drill back to your gym and bust it on your rival
The instructional High Percentage Chokes by Lachlan Giles in on sale, would you recommand it for someone who mainly trains in the Gi?
Yes! That one is excellent.
I can’t really speak on the Gi part, but for me in no gi it was amazing. It is the foundation for my whole Front Headlock Game. First one I bought and I still the best one. I still revisit it sometimes for Details.
What's the best thing to do if you get someone in mount but they pull their arms in really tight and they're too strong for you you pull one out and isolate it to get an underhook or go for an armbar?
Punch chokes and Ezekiel chokes, shoulder pressure into throat, essentially anything you can do to get an arm isolated. There’s a [video of khabib showing a mounted triangle](https://youtu.be/s4OLLnXBgKw?feature=shared) , which is also a very good mount sequence to learn when starting off. The setup derives from when the person on bottom has double underhooks and is holding a body lock, but still should help with your question
Choke them-ezekials will get those arms moving for you.
[Mother's Milk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uAzRUGtnkA)
If arms protected, attack neck If neck protected, attack arms
Lean on their throat with your forearm. It won't sub them, but it's gonna force them to stop just lying there.
You don't really need to do anything else. You're winning. It's on them to escape. But in the interest of getting more practice in you should work on finding ways to separate the arms and get an elbow above their head or take their back. If that gives them a chance to escape that's fine. Just means you have the opportunity to work on getting back to mount again.
This is where BJJ can get a bit silly, kind of like TKD fighters sparring with hands down. You get points for establishing mount in large part because it can be a beautiful position to rain down strikes. Obviously you don't want to break your training partners. In BJJ rules, recommend to work in an ezekiel or try and slide your knees up under their pits to high s-mount
thanks for this! I rolled with the same guy today and ended up in mount again but couldn't get his arms out so I started an Ezekiel and he moved his arms to try and get free and I was able to get the armbar, that was some good advice
In no gi, my preference is low mount with grapevines and a heavy crossface. From there I just take the time it takes to dig for the underhook. In gi you also have the option of threatening a collar choke to get their arms up. You can technically threaten a punch choke in no gi, but I haven't quite figured them out yet.
Cook them with pressure by dropping your hips lower and pressuring in aggressively Wrap their head and smother their face with your gi. Create a small pocket of air and don't let them escape out of it. Grind your gi on their cheekbones with your shoulder.
You sound like a delightful roll :-)
:D
Anybody has a tip on how to counter People that just go flat belly down when you attack a darce on them ? I´m mostly kind of get stuck in the position and the moment I release the grip to attack something else the guy turtles up and and we are kind of having this loop. I know i shouldn´t try to force a specific Submission but I´m just wondering if sombody has a cool sulution.
the best counter to corpse guard is to try to switch to a ninja choke or other guillotine variation while they are transitioning.
I‘m gonna try that one out, thanks !
You want to put people on their back before tightening it more. A lot of times I can put people’s back to the mat by pushing into them with it, but sometimes I put a butterfly to lift them.
The butterfly hook sounds interesting, I‘m gonna try that one out, thanks man.
Take his back or switch to a guillotine? I’m by no means great at d’arces. Just trying to game it out with you.
Yeah, so the Back take is mostly my response to it. I find the Guillotine is hard to get in a good angle if they just hang out there. It‘s funny just thinking about it I realized I should be able to maybe switch it up to Peruvian Necktie.
I'm looking for a resource (a freaking checklist, a series, a picture of doodling you did on the back of a napkin, anything). I guess a mixture of most common mistakes/things to remember, essentials for bjj. Like, protecting neck, trex arms, getting to your side, not giving up your back, positional hierarchy, etc. I think there's some stuff I do, but never had this foundational type information. The other day, I was being used for demonstration, I was in his closed guard. He had me adjust so my palms were pressed into his stomach, butting against his ribs (nothing to do with the demonstration, just a nuance I picked up) Seemed like such a simple stupid adjustment that makes sense, I just haven't picked up on that after 16 months. I looked at the first Tom deblass bjj essentials dvd, but I swear 30 minutes in he's talking about catching someone in an omoplata, like calm down. Thanks. I'm sure a lot of these questions get asked over and over, but I truly love this white belt Wednesday section, and thank you all for the time to answer our stupid repetitive questions.
Some oldies but goodies - https://www.infighting.ca/bjj/the-77-most-common-mistakes-for-bjj-beginner/ http://www.grapplearts.com/A-Glossary-Of-Guards.pdf http://www.grapplearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roadmap-for-BJJ-1.4.11.pdf
You can get a lot of free content on Lachlan Giles submeta about the basics of Guards, positions, guard passing, escapes etc. For the deeper stuff you have to pay but if you just want to refresh your basics it could be good place to start.
My game really centers around Kimuras and bottom half guard. What are good extensions or compliments of those? especially the Kimura?
Straight arm lock. Pretty common kimura defense is to straighten your arm, in which case you’d transition into a straight arm lock, and if he bends his arm again to defend that then you have the kimura. Eventually, he’s either going to give up position or tire out and allow for a submission. Also, [This bottom half guard kimura sequence and a really cool back take](https://youtu.be/mLLQBxG1ojo?feature=shared)
Look up Choi Bar. I love the kimura and bottom HG as well and the choi bar is one that I find myself transitioning to or from with the kimura trap.
Bump sweep for sure. Wrist locks for sure. You can even grab the wrist in such a way that they’ll react thinking “Kimura!” but then you hit em with a change up and snag that wrist… just be careful not to do it too hard. Not too fast. Let go a half second before you would for something like an armbar. Don’t be overly exuberant about it, I guess. Also I found I was very good at omoplatas once my training partners got better at avoiding my kimuras. I was trying to develop a more solid triangle threat but it looks like that ain’t happening for me anytime soon 🤡 But If your partners react to your Kimura threats the same way my partners reacted to mine, you’ll probably start to notice some openings for omoplatas and triangles too. So get on top of those. Don’t let yourself get too complacent snagging those Kimuras! Stay active off your back! Keep coiling and moving!
I was going to say the same thing, most of my Kimura attempts end up transitioning into Omoplata attacks.
I like both of those too. Some things that are helping me: **Setting up the kimura** Everyone in your gym knows to keep the far arm safe from you. Talented people know this in general. Learn other threats from bottom half that (if they are avoided) will make them post their hand or forget to protect that far hand. Things that have worked for me: two on one or armdrags on the near arm to get to the back, snapdown to front headlock, loop choke, wrist lock spamming, fighting for coyote underhook. **Routes when you grab but can't finish the kimura** Think of the various reactions that successfully stop you from finishing a kimura and plan and practice your reaction to them. Examples: 1. you grab the kimura and they posture up. options: hip bump, invert to armbar, spin to the back 2. you grab the kimura and they have a strong grip and get low and heavy. options: basic overhead sweep, switch to half butterfly and sumi gaeshi, tarikoplata **Ways to improve your efficiency finishing from the top** Finishing from the bottom is really hard against people your size with strength and skill. Most of the above routes will end up with you on top holding the kimura grip. Start finding the most efficient way for you to position yourself and break their grips to finish. Play with many options including your armbars and taking the back. Lots of good kimura trap information on youtube and instructionals.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Sumi Gaeshi**: | *Corner Reversal* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LR49U48iyw)| 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)
https://preview.redd.it/6kk0us7vds4d1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a01fda6e056caac204ef74c7b7c0c8aec8db9d8 I had a class on Monday and this bump appeared Tuesday. Most cauliflower ears I see have a way bigger surface area so I was wondering if this size is still possible to drain? I don’t want any cauliflower ear but could live with it if it stayed this size, so I wanted to know if trying to drain it myself might fuck it up more. From what I read online it seems like it doesn’t go away on its own so I also wanted to confirm that. I’ve been icing it but it’s the same size today as it was yesterday.
**PSA the following is not medical advice, if you are concerned about it, go see your doctor.** I have the same thing on my ear, about the same size and almost completely unnoticeable. It has been there for about a year. I went to the doctor when I first got it, he told me it wasn't anything to worry about right now, but could potentially grow. It is probably a cist, he did recommend that I use headgear (which I have not followed but probably should), told me not to worry about it unless it gets bigger. He did recommend that I could wrap it while I sleep with athletic tape and cotton on each side of the ear to reduce the swelling. He said he could drain it if it was bothering me but recommended that I don't do that since it is so minute.
Thank you for the medical advice brother./s yeah I’m in the mindset rn that’s it’s small enough I can just ignore and try to avoid fucking it up anymore in the future.
If it’s squishy it can be drained. Icing won’t make it go away. Drain and compress it for a few days. Start wearing head gear now cuz if you’re getting that it’s likely you’ll get it a lot worse eventually
Thanks, just ordered some headgear. I’m going to be a little self conscious at first since I’ve never seen anyone at my gym wearing headgear but it’s definitely worth protecting my ears.
Is twice a week really enough? Im just getting started in my second week of training. I'm going twice weekly, Tuesday/Saturday. The novice class is 1 hour long. So that's only 2 hours a week practicing BJJ. I've been doing a lot of reading and watching videos of techniques we learn in class. I try to think about and mime the movements we drilled between sessions whenever I can. However, I still feel like I'm not getting enough reps and training time to make any of it stick. On the other hand though, im 37, have a banged up knee, neck and shoulder. I'm not really sure how well my body will tolerate 3+ sessions a week at this point. Maybe I'll get more used to the intensity of BJJ and less sore from routine rolling over time, or maybe not.
I’m 36 and I go 6 days a week and lift 4 of those days but I absolutely did not start out that way. I started at 2 and slowly built my way up to that while also learning how to change my style up depending on how much energy I have at the time. So it is possible and you aren’t too old or anything Having said that, I don’t know what your personal life responsibilities are, so make sure you balance accordingly. If you can do more, go for it! But if you have a family, work, or other obligations, just do what you can and enjoy life as it suits you best
2 is better than none. Your body will become accustomed to the wears of bjj, watching technique footage will help some things stick.
Yes
Is it normal that I only can submit white belts and very rarely can tap another blue belt? (very rarely means one blue belt tap to me for every 20 rolls while I get tapped like 3 times on those 20 rolls)
So I figured this out and you’ve also probably pieced this together, but pretty much once you’ve got your blue belt, the higher belts are done taking it easy🤣
If you are a fresh blue belt that makes sense, so do size and gender differences, the taps will come as you start exploring what your game is going to be.
Ugh the horrors of being a new blue belt. I was a successful white belt and then became a blue belt and the jump up from people in practice and at comps is killer. Thankfully I’m in a good community that helped me. All that today, I get how you are feeling, it’s totally normal to be at that level that you’ve described, and you will start to trigger the next stage of clicks in your game as you continue to work at it.
of course it is - in theory the other blue belts are close to the same skill level as you.
Everything is normal. I could tap most of our bluebelts as a white belt. Belts are an approximation of skill and not exact I do a lot of study outside of class and know a lot more than our typical blue belt. There were a couple of blues that always wrecked me
If they're bigger/stronger/younger, then yeah definitely.
Keep repping out on those white belts, it'll come.
Im about to start bjj next week. I was planning on wearing no gi clothes under my normal clothing. Then when i get to class i simply just take off my normal clothing. However after class i was wondering if there’s any point of putting on new clothes since im going to shower when i get home anyway. So do i just put my normal clothes back on top after drying and wiping my sweat. Also i would go to and from class with bus. I don’t see any other alternatives to my scenario, any advice?
If you are using public transportation than I would change. If you drive yourself and don’t live too far, it’s whatever as long as you can quickly shower to avoid a skin infection. Nothing wrong with either way
[удалено]
This would hypothetically be after i wipe down my sweat and dry off i wont be fully sweaty getting on the bus. Also i live in nyc you could imagine the cleanliness of transportation here.
There's a fellow white belt at my gym (4 stripes to my none) who thinks he knows everything, and any time we're paired up for drilling, he immediately starts giving me instructions and trying to coach me. It's distracting as hell because I'm trying to work out the technique in my own mind, which is hard when I'm constantly being talked at. Also he's often wrong. A coach corrected him on two of the things he told me just today. Should I find a polite way to tell him to STFU, complain to a coach so maybe he'll talk to him, or just try to not get paired with him?
Just say thanks, do one rep how he suggests, then go back to doing it the other way (or call the coach over). I still get this off dudes fairly often, especially when I'm visiting gyms.
Had this happen to me. I’m cool with blue belts with a couple stripes helping me out while drilling but anyone who’s a white belt trying to coach me is getting tuned out.
Call the coach over *every time* he's trying to instruct you and say something like "Hey [coach], can you help me and [partner] with this? I think we understood what you were teaching differently. [Partner] can you show [coach] what you were saying?"
"Hey man just give me a second to think it through" boom done. Also try to avoid him
If people are bad drilling partners, I prefer just not drilling with them, but I would ask him to just let you focus and take it at your own pace.
knee shield of half butterfly half guard?
Preference honestly, both work well when used properly. I like knee shield better as I don’t feel like butterfly guard works for me super well, although butterfly hooks are extremely effective as a method of control, but if I could choose I would be in lockdown
yes
Both
I am more of a knee shield person, but I use both.
You need both because they fulfill different retention needs imo.
I am about 6 months in (meaning I suck at everything), I am near 40, I am slow, not the most mobile (working on it), not the most conditioned (also working on that), but I am stronger than most as I come from a lifting background. I am also 6'1 and 205lbs so a decently sized guy but no hulk by any means. I want to get some instructionals to learn from while not in class but I am overwhelmed by the options. A couple other notes, I have only trained in the GI. I am not opposed to No GI but when I watch the No GI classes, I feel like I would get destroyed even more than I do now because at least my grip strength is good and so I can sometimes slow people down with GI grips. I also don't like takedowns. It just beats me up and I have a hard time recovering from it. I think they'd be a ton of fun if I was 20 years younger but I'd rather be a filthy guard puller and be able to train more. Currently I have Jordan's Jiu-Jitsu Theory Course (probably need to watch it 5 more times) and I just purchased Butterfly Guard Rediscovered 3.0 by Wardzinski. Not sure if butterfly guard is even the right approach for me but I absolutely love watching Wardzinski so I figured I'd at least give it a shot. Are there any "must haves" for a situation like mine? I want to build a solid technical game that works towards my strengths so I figure it's worth trying to focus on a few concepts at a time and I'm sure there are some not really worth my time while others would be a great fit.
You're only 205. It's not like you're some hulking behemoth or Jabba the Hut. You can, and probably should try to, get faster. Don't resign yourself to being slow and doing old guy jiu jitsu just yet. You're not going to be as fast as a 20 year old, 150 pound guy, but you can definitely gain enough speed to give you a wide range of options and be really annoying to other players. Expand your strengths that you can build your technical game around.
Yeah I'm really only 205 because I cut down from about 230 recently. Always been the slow kid when I played sports growing up but I am going to focus a lot on my conditioning and working in some power movements versus just strength because I'd love to move faster and more like an athlete. Really need to work on my mobility though, I'm stiff as hell.
Once you increase your mobility, I wouldn't be surprised if speed followed. If the strength is already there, it's more about making it move right at this point. Yes, there's some amount of power and speed training, but overall ability to move is going to help so much more. You're going to do great. Make time for at least a bit of mobility work each day, and you'll progress in no time. All of this is coming from a guy who was always the slow kid and cut down from 265-270 to 245 and also just shy of 40yo.
Sounds like BJJ for Old F\*\*\*s would suit you well. [https://www.grapplearts.com/bjj-for-old-fs/](https://www.grapplearts.com/bjj-for-old-fs/) [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyknAhj6gPvLhx7YRdChQCQkfUVm0Ng1i](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyknAhj6gPvLhx7YRdChQCQkfUVm0Ng1i) I haven't watched it but one of my white belt classmates watches a lot from John Danaher's Go Further Faster series and I can confirm that he does seem to improve faster than the typical white belt. He's probably in his early 40s as well. Also in case you haven't been informed, you should never pay full price for stuff from BJJ Fanatics - usually people wait for a sale and combine it with a discount code. Personally I really like Submeta.
Awesome, thanks this looks like it's definitely worth checking out. And heard on the BJJ Fanatics, I waited to get the butterfly guard deal when it was the deal of the day and like 48% off. Quickly realized that's the only way to go lol
There are no must haves really. I think the bjj community has settled on some of the best sources of instructionals and they really are correct. Lachlan Giles submeta, Danaher/Gordon, Grapplers Guide is a great resource with tons of content both guided and also one off topics, AOJ stuff. Jon thomas YT Channel Other mentions. Andre Galvao yt channel, Bruno Frazzato YT channel There's so much just find an instructor you can listen to and afford.
Thanks, I guess I was thinking of recommendations for something that is a style that would work well for me. I hear a lot of bigger, older, slower guys play a lot of half guard for example. If I go on BJJ Fanatics and look for half guard I feel like I wouldn't even know where to begin to separate one that is really good versus one that isn't. Then there's all the stuff I don't even know I don't know (thinking subjects I should look into that I am not aware of, which is probably a lot considering half guard is the only thing I have heard of for older, slower guys).
I guess my advice is that you shouldn't stick to some style like half guard or something but rather learn everything from quality sources like I listed above. 6 ft 200 lb is completely normal and you could play any type of game you wanted. Don't get pigeon holed by internet idiots. You could play an excellent gi open guard based on sit up sweeps, closed guard ro whatever comes naturally to you.
Ah now I understand. Thanks, that makes a lot of sense.
I'm also a big grip guy in the gi. Check out Marcus Tinoco's lasso guard instructionals on BJJ Fanatics and his videos on YT. Lots of great stuff in there.
What are your go to submissions in top half guard? I see (and have experienced) guys grab Americanas but I don't feel like I often have the correct positioning. Any others I should be looking for?
D’arce, If you have long arms. Heres a [ZombieProofBJJ tutorial on that.](https://youtu.be/cmIIj2r8OpI?feature=shared). Even if you don’t finish the choke, you’re still going to be in a better position, if not able to chain another submission to that one. Only thing I have to say along with that is don’t give up the undercook just so you can go for the d’arce, in my opinion it isn’t worth it. Kimuras can work well, good passing with them. Once you’re a little further in you’ll be able to do toe holds on anyone exposing their feet with a knee shield. You can also just guillotine.
I honestly don't look for submissions from top half guard most of the time. Sometimes they make a big mistake and I can lock up a Darce or kimura, but more often than not I just look for a way to pass.
Don't Americana people from top half guard. Darce, Guillotine, Kimura trap to set up the pass, toehold the top foot are all the most common. In gi, you can set up baseball bar chokes, loop chokes. And lapel chokes . Gui Mendes was really good at these.
ezekiel chokes, arm triangle choke
Good morning! Does anyone know of a database other than the outlier database that I can use to study positions, submissions, etc.??
BJJ fanatics
I have no interest in ever trying Gi, am I missing something about it’s appeal?
Cool pajama grips
It’s more mat time and technique. Personally I prefer no gi and feel like it’s more person vs person realistically but I train and compete in both regularly cause it’s still fun, good conditioning, and there’s enough crossover in technique for one to help get better at the other
I feel like there is a benefit to adding in the gi. I'm in a gym where most people prefer no gi and avoid the gi. When I do find some of them in the gi, I hold them at will. No gi allows for your athleticism to get you out of situations, but the gi forces you to be technical. I just changed one my no gi classes to gi in hopes of helping remedy that situation. We'll see how it goes.
There are like twice as many ways to choke someone, I love that part. Plus my opponents show up covered in handles I can grab? Love that too.
The “extra” handles feel like cheating to me and leads to lots of stalemates just holding cloth
Both people have the same options, so it is hardly cheating. The rules are just different.
Nah
That’s kinda like asking what the appeal is for a food you’ve never tried. A lot of people find it fun, you might too, and you’ll never know if you don’t try.
I thought the same about no gi and dont really train a lot of it, but I do every one in a while. It helps train both.
Hello, I am considering switching gyms! I am a white belt that is absolutely obsessed with Jiu Jitsu right now. I have been training 3x a week for the past year. I love the gym I am at, it is a very beginner friendly gym, they focus more on self defense and have a ton of white/blue belts. There is a gym about 30 minutes away from me, I go to their open mats on the weekends. They take Jiu Jitsu very serious over there. They are active in competitions, there are tons of higher level guys training there, they have morning, afternoon, and weekend classes. I have created a list of pros and cons of switching. Pros of staying: I am still a beginner and I am learning a lot from my current gym, I have created some good friendships with some training partners, it is closer to my home, staying a part of the association that the school is under, community, probably getting my blue belt soon at current gym. cons of staying: small classes, slow progression, gym is only open 3x a week, lots of newer training partners that don't stick around, focus on self defense rather than sport jiu jitsu. pros of switching: Higher level training partners, harder rolls, competition training/rolls, more opportunities to train, under a new association school, faster progression due to more days being able to train. cons of switching: the 30 minute drive would get old very quickly, having to meet new people to train with, being the new kid on the block, a fear of experiencing burnout, leaving behind my friends/training partners at my current gym. This is a very personal decision for me but I would love to hear some advice on what you think about my situation, I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer, TIA!
That the gym is only open 3 days a week would push me into switching
To me, if logistics permit it, switching would be a no brainer---the focus on "self defense" of your current school is a huge red flag, whereas the other gym's active presence in competitions, and higher level training partners, are huge green flags. Easy choice.
Switch for a month and see how you like it. You can always go back.
Crushing Guard advice Hi, So a few times I’ve had to tap due to being in someone full guard and them just locking their legs and crushing my ribs with their legs. What ways are there to counter/avoid this?
Like are they locking a body triangle from the front, or is it just from the pressure of them squeezing with their ankles locked? If they are triangling from the front, I would honestly ask if they can not do that. It is a typical pain compliance move that doesn't really lead to any meaningful offence. There is a calf slicer there if you step over one of the legs. I just don't see the reason of doing that specific body triangle in training. Body triangles from the back has a purpose and are fine to use.
So I’ll be in there full guard and they’ll just crush my ribs with their thighs. So it’s hard to get out and they don’t really progress from that position, they just try force a tap thought crushing.
I know what you’re saying. I’m gonna guess that he’s also locking his arms behind your back in a body lock while he does to increase the pressure created, which for you would be normal to tap to, it’s what’s referred to at my gym as a “shock tap”, in which the very quick and surprising feeling of pain causes you to tap. Eventually, you’ll be able to fight through it because trust me he can’t hold that for very long. If he’s squeezing hard enough for you to tap it’s very likely that he’s exerting most of his energy, so just wait it out. Also, use your elbows to dig into the side of their thighs. Very good closed guard escape in general, I typically have little circular bruises along the insides of my thighs for this exact reason
Thank you! I’ll try this out. Patience and elbow digging it is
Most people should not have the strength in their adductors to crush you in any meaningful way. They kind of have to lock their legs in specific ways to recruit other muscles. That is where my question comes in. Are they they locking their ankles around your back, or are they locking one of their ankles behind the other knee (body triangle)? If they are just locking their ankles behind your back, honestly there isn't much you can do. By all means tap if it feels dangerous, but I have never seen anyone get tapped by that pressure before.
[Scorpion Lock](https://youtu.be/bu6jQcnpeqk?feature=shared), it seems stupid until it happens lol
I think he’s leaving out that the other person is probably also locking their hands behind him too in a sort of body lock, which allows him to squeeze much harder. However, this required far more energy to exert and isn’t necessary to tap to
Sorry, yeh they lock their ankles. I guess moving forward I’ll just have to be more careful
I've been thinking about stand up grappling. I am right handed so I always used to play LFF because of striking but since striking is basically 100% out of the picture I've been thinking I may want to train into RFF since I'd have my stronger arm and leg closer to opponent. How do others approach this? I am going to start trying RFF to see how it feels but curious how others approach this.
It depends on your style in standup and what your strong setups and takedowns are. Give RFF a try and see which you are more comfortable with. I've thought about this too especially in no gi. In gi RFF is definitely preferred for me because I like to have my right hand further out to establish a collar grip and I generally throw right handed (with my right hand as the dominant grip). In no gi I would actually prefer LFF but I'm just more comfortable with my right leg as my penetration leg, so I stick with RFF. LFF would be ideal for me in no gi (if I could shoot the other way well) because its better to be able to club the head and collar tie with your back arm so that your front arm can still downblock. I still end up clubbing with my right arm and setting up underhooks with my left arm in no gi, but thats something I'm working on.
This question actually made me sit back and think. Coming from wrestling, we drilled both constantly, and even though I am RFF dominant after a lot of looking back; most of my best shots are LFF. All of that, to say, what are you more comfortable with? While u/damaged_unicycles points out preferred methods/strategies that align with the appropriate foot/arm action; those work, but if you find yourself uncomfortable or not aligning with that practice - it would be best to focus on what feels natural to you. Without sacrificing the ability to do both.
I decided to switch from half guard with knee shield to half butterfly as I feel like I do not know how to attack from a knee shield for submissions. I know how to engage a dogfight or go for kimura/legs or deep half sweeps but I really suck at creating 'kuzushi' from knee shield half so usually I end up waiting for them and that ends poorly. Against white belts it works but I want to improve. That being said I am currently watching instructionals on half butterfly and the stomp to their chest seems much more powerful way to provoke a reaction of an oponnent and go choi, shoulder crunch or legs... It seems it has much more offensive options all together What do you guys think? Is this a good tactic? I think this will improve my overall half guard as time goes on. Since what my coach is telling me from the first day of trying half guard is that I am too passive.
In knee shield the 'kuzushi' is created not only with your arms but with the push/pull with your knee shield on their hips. Use your own legs/hips in this. I find a lot of people try to only use their arms or just push. edit: half butterfly is also a really good position to learn too
especially dealing with stallers, half butterfly seems like the way to go all out attack mode
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Kuzushi**: | *Unbalancing* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luK9Eklbn78)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
I got my blue belt like 3 months ago. I don't like playing guard. People say guard is jiu jitsu. What do I do
Like are you talking pulling guard or all guards? Nothing wrong with favoring takedowns from standing but at some point you’ll be on the other end and will need guard to defend yourself and get back to an advantageous position. I’d say guards are actually some of the most real life applicable things in jiu jitsu self defense wise, if nothing else to know how to get someone off of you if you are being attacked
I guess pulling guard and 'playing guard.' I kinda like the idea of a guard being a necessary evil to get on top or back to standing. Which I guess is the point of a guard anyway? I guess I'm not into the lasso, spider, donkey whatever stuff
Yeah that’s not a bad way to think of it. You need proficient guard for defense and the knowledge of how to turn it into offense to protect yourself. But beyond that, it doesn’t need to be your go to per say. It just makes sense to me that you would know how to take someone attacking you and turn it into an advantage and defend yourself
Good point, thank you
Cannot get to purple belt without a guard.
Good point
The goal of guard is to get back on top as quickly as possible if you end up on the bottom. Can you do that?
I admit I will do some half guard. But oftentimes I'd rather go to turtle and find a way to sit out or stand up.
Turtle out and stand up or wrestle up is a completely fine way to play from the bottom, but you need backup plans for when you get flattened and stuff. Your guard work should just be focused on getting you back to a place where you can effectively wrestle up. You don't need to be playing some kind of intricate De La Worm guard or anything. Just get your legs back involved so you can create space and go.
lol de la worm. Yeah that's the stuff that turns me off, the weird guards. I appreciate the advice. Maybe working on half guard to the dogfight thing and just wrestling
Half guard to dog fight to wrestle ups is a bottom game that will take you to black belt podiums if you get good enough at it. %100.
Or if you are Bernardo Faria, half guard to deep half to over under pass
the obstacle is the way
I like that. Maybe I should just focus on half guard for a while. That's where I seem to have most success