Started BJJ

That weight difference seems completely trivial from a training perspective. I think it's beneficial to roll with people of all different weights. When I was training I was 140, would roll with everyone including 200+, usually I'd just tell them to mind how fast they applied locks because I was probably more fragile than people they usually were working with. It was never any issue though. I definitely got some sweet air-time occasionally when I was thrown ^^

Also if you are light and ever get into an actual encounter the person will probably weigh far more than you so one should get used to that imo

Instead of asking people to roll I just put myself out there on the mat and wait for someone to join. This way they know what they are getting in to .
I noticed that the bigger the guy, the more I use proper technique for escapes. Ill try to get into their guard or them into my guard and work from there. I think I was putting lots on emphasis on the first grappling exchanges for collar grab and position. Considering I have no previous experience in grappling, I am mostly going feints and reaction without any proper understanding of the implication of cross grip etc.

Weirdly enough, it never felt weird to get into another man's guard lol. Last time I checked, I am not gay.

Its all good up until you get a boner.

I think that if guys don't want to roll with you then that's a big problem because that means there are fewer guys that you can learn from. I would suggest that you stop trying to beat them and just learn from them.

On August 25 2016 20:44 SleepyHead wrote: I think that if guys don't want to roll with you then that's a big problem because that means there are fewer guys that you can learn from. I would suggest that you stop trying to beat them and just learn from them.

It's kind of shitty if you have to go easy on people BETTER than you tho... It's hard to say without having seen it in person, maybe he's using more force than he thinks (that's not too unlikely, most people do when they are new). But if that's the case it should solve itself pretty quickly I think (like you said, it's mostly in situations you're unfamiliar with that you feel you are expending a lot of force).

Ill try to film the next time I roll to analyse myself and see what Im really doing. I think I'm applying force in response to the other guy. But, as I'm new and lack technique, its easy to compensate by using brute force, especially for escapes.
Bjj is hard on the joint right? My old tennis elbow problems are coming back.

As a complete BJJ newb, but some minor experience in other martial arts....
Aren't the fucking head trainers supposed to tell you if you are doing what you think you are doing aka responding to proper techniques with brute force? Or even the guys you are rolling with... I do get it if you are bigger and you are actually doing that and smaller guys wont want to go w you. No need to take unnecessary risks, but I doubt you ll need a lot of tips to be made aware of such fundamental mistakes.

+ What Sleepy said, it doesn't matter if they are overall better or not, you can surely learn things from ppl with good amount of experience in certain situations

I am feeling kind of bleh on BJJ recently. I have not been training as much. I am going through a hard time in the progression. I feel pretty solid with the fundamentals, sometimes the intermediate classes feel a bit advanced, and open mat basically means getting my ass kicked by blue belts (although I am getting better at surviving). Other 3 stripe and some 4 stripe noobs we usually have some good rolls but I rarely threaten to kill. It motivated me to perhaps be useful to anyone training. I will just run off some tips, some stuff I wish I would have known, etc. I have been practicing pretty regularly for 9 months (some time off for injuries and not going) and am a 3 stripe white belt. By the way, congratulations to longple who recently got his blue belt! Awesome stuff. It would be cool to see some thoughts, insights from some of the blue belts and above. I would like to hear some longple thoughts and also like to hear what Daut has to say on why he quit and looking back on it, etc.

- I would like to start with the idea that the fundamentals are important. It is a great time when there is enthusiasm to do like reps and reps and reps of side control bridge hip out escapes retain guard like 5 straight days. That is what I am going through now. I do not even want to go to 1 class of that and am thankful I got enough reps in early. Perhaps this is a bad attitude but that is where I am at.

Really pay attention to the professors and get the reps in. The technique is most important. Ask questions and make sure the technique is being done right down to the last detail. There was stuff I was getting lazy and not asking details and so then I am just drilling some bullshit that is not going to work live 100 times in a row. There is some stuff I learned and drilled really well that is just there. If the technique and timing are there it will work.

- Make friends. Be a good training partner. This is something that I am struggling with a little bit b/c I am not the most outgoing person. It seems like other white belts that I am friendly with drop off the planet sometimes or maybe I drop off the planet sometimes. There are some techniques I want to drill. There is no one I can really call or facebook message to get together at an open mat. So, I have to just hope I see someone in between classes or hope people are at the self-directed drill session which is only once a week. The guys that I see that improve really fast are constantly getting together to train and drill stuff and do open mats. They are also getting to a lot of classes and open mats. (but I also hold the opinion beginner's need a solid base in the fundamentals and a solid understanding of the positional hierarchy before they should be going live heavily. Top professor calls it light and flowy. Understanding different techniques and the differing levels of explosiveness. Energy efficiency. At most times everything should be pretty relaxed and flowy going back and forth with polished techniques. If someone is breathing super heavy they are doing it wrong. They are either in really bad shape or not understanding the efficiency of the techniques. Other professor calls it racing for position. At times there will be races for a position but most of the time it is pretty chill).

I will leave it at that.

OSS!

I have hit a tough spot also lately. I managed to go 4 times a week for couple weeks. Im usually at 2.5X/week. Everyone I have been rolling with stepped up their level against me as I was catching with submission of real bad spots for being too loose. All I'm doing lately when I roll is survive as I am not able to get any dominant positions. I am much more relaxed now and I don't get exhausted as easily. Im much more patient for opening.
I had a week off this week due to some holidays. It definitly helps with all the minor injuries. I got friend with a white belt who is about my height but I must have 20 pounds on him. We manage to drill a bit before classes so its cool. He is still much more advanced than I am though.

I finally rolled with a guy bigger than I am. He had close to 25 pounds on me and was very muscular. It was overwhelming sometimes but I managed to survive for 6 min. I also rolled with a college wrestler of 140 pounds. That dude was strong and technical as fuck.

Are your hips hurting a lot usually?

Overall Im pretty sure I will learn fast as I have been doing different sports all my life and I also have a very methodical/scientific approach to things. Thanks to that Biochem background.

Congrats Longple on the bluebelt. How long did it took for you to get there?

Boom! Pretty much exactly 2 years. The only difference now from before is that there now is a 30sec delay of suspicious respect til people I haven't rolled much with fucks me up.

A guy at my dojo just got his blue and now hes getting fucked by everyone lol. I guess its a rite of passage.
2 years by going regularly?

Yea only missed a few weeks the past 2 years and trained on avarage 3-4 times a week.

I think drilling things and asking questions after rolls is something that is good for extra exposure. You just gotta expose yourself with awareness to all sorts of things, getting commentary and something specific to aim for seem to help development in my own experience. Just focus on something everytime, it dosnt have to be anything crazy but anything and then what ever sticks, sticks and takes care of itself.

Im a big guy myself, and I got the luxury of figureing out/noticing quite early with help from others that being a big strong guy, go a bit lighter, try to focus on technique as much, go slow til you get it when drilling and learning techniques, if people try to make you go faster just ignore and say your a slow learner, getting things right slower in the beginning with focus as you amp up the speed more and more as you learn the actual move the right way is in my experience something that works for me. Be aware that you suck to roll with if your a strong big beginner and being one your gonna have that rep, even if you dont see that perspective yourself, so just dont be that guy, your hated for a reason. Focus on learning and not winning and fucking others up, be curious and friendly, ask for help and ask questions. Once you actually know some jiu jitsu you can start to implement force into your technique more and more and more and be more competative against the right sparring partners (people that fuck you up mostly)

gl

Quick question: Chris Haueter is coming to my club for a seminar. As I started a month ago or so, is it really relevant for me to go? I feel that those kind of seminar will really help you once you have a solid base. A as new student, I think I learn as much with my actual coach and purple belts we have at the club.

Any thoughts?

Go! I thought the same my first year but I learnt the most and best basic stuff in my game today still come from workshops with famous blackbelts. They tend to cover and be relevant for every level. Go! It will be awesome I'm sure

Any of you guys know schools in the Quebec City region? I can see Sampa Québec and BJJ Québec. Anyone aware of the BJJ scene in that area?

On September 25 2016 20:10 Montrachet wrote: Any of you guys know schools in the Quebec City region? Anyone aware of the BJJ scene in that area?

Same question for downtown Toronto? All schools are so expensive Share your experience

I am currently in St-Catharines in the Niagara region and we have at least 3 schools. The one I am at is 80$ a month and there are 4 practice slots. I will go check another one soon as its impossible for me to bike to my previous school anymore. I would expect the prices to be the same but they won't divulge them publicly. They do a sweet deal of 2 weeks+ free equipment+ for 50$. How much is it in Toronto?

Couldn't find any cheaper than $100

Most of my problems with jiu jitsu stem from not getting in enough mat time.

Lacking in training partners?

Train more.

Frustrations with getting worked by upper belts?

Train more.

Want a better guard or better guard pass?

Train more.

It really is that simple but my brain does not want it to be that simple.