u/Reta_Thunberg

Fresh blue belt here who just hit the 2-year mark.

I just switched to a new gym that's heavily gi-focused. The gi classes are great and very structured with a big attendance.

The no-gi classes, though, are a different story. I'm the only person who shows up to the morning no-gi classes (which is awesome because it basically turns into free private lessons). In the month I've been there, I've only had two classes where someone else showed up.

Right now, it feels like the no-gi lessons are mostly going off vibes. One day we're working on leg entanglements, the next day we focus on passing, then we're doing escapes and attacks from turtle. There's no consistent theme, and as a newer blue belt I'm finding it hard to retain much because the topics change so dramatically from class to class and I'm getting whiplash from looking at such different topics.

The no-gi coach is a black belt with a ton of knowledge, and he seems open to tailoring the lesson to whatever I have questions on. The problem is that I don't know how to best take advantage of that opportunity. I know I have access to an incredible resource, but I'm getting analysis paralysis. There are so many things I could ask about that I end up not knowing what I should ask and just go with the lesson of the day.

For context, I'm a 36 yr old male and I'd like to continue competing at this new gym (I've only ever done 2 tournaments and not done so great), but I'll probably be competing mostly in gi rather than no-gi since that is the school focus and what all the other students seem to roll in during open mats.

TL;DR: If you had essentially two private lessons per week with a black belt, how would you capitalize on it? Curious to hear how more experienced folks would take advantage of this.

Fresh blue belt here who just hit the 2-year mark.

I just switched to a new gym that's heavily gi-focused. The gi classes are great and very structured with a big attendance.

The no-gi classes, though, are a different story. I'm the only person who shows up to the morning no-gi classes (which is awesome because it basically turns into free private lessons). In the month I've been there, I've only had two classes where someone else showed up.

Right now, it feels like the no-gi lessons are mostly going off vibes. One day we're working on leg entanglements, the next day we focus on passing, then we're doing escapes and attacks from turtle. There's no consistent theme, and as a newer blue belt I'm finding it hard to retain much because the topics change so dramatically from class to class and I'm getting whiplash from looking at such different topics.

The no-gi coach is a black belt with a ton of knowledge, and he seems open to tailoring the lesson to whatever I have questions on. The problem is that I don't know how to best take advantage of that opportunity. I know I have access to an incredible resource, but I'm getting analysis paralysis. There are so many things I could ask about that I end up not knowing what I should ask and just go with the lesson of the day.

For context, I'm a 36 yr old male and I'd like to continue competing at this new gym (I've only ever done 2 tournaments and not done so great), but I'll probably be competing mostly in gi rather than no-gi since that is the school focus and what all the other students seem to roll in during open mats.

TL;DR: If you had essentially two private lessons per week with a black belt, how would you capitalize on it? Curious to hear how more experienced folks would take advantage of this.