r/bjj

Unpopular opinion, i know.

Before you ask. Yes, I also train.

I'm just putting this out into the ether for the hell of it. My son has been training since he was five. I finally picked it up when he was nine. He's 13 now, and it's part of the landscape. Getting him into the gym is like pulling teeth at times, but he enjoys himself when he's there. He is bro-ing it up with his homies, doing bjj with flavor that's uniquely his own, and he's even remarked about how he digs being part of a community. However, i know that he'd rather be blasting tanks and racing cars and building shit out of blocks on xbox and watching youtube shorts.

When he asks why he has to go, i tell him it's because it's good for him. This dude doesn't want to brush his teeth. I make him do that... Doesn't want to read... I make him do that... etc. I'd gladly relent a bit if he'd come up with another physical outlet, but that hasn't happened yet.

The kid is good. He could be great. I don't care if he's ever great. I dont force him to compete. I just want him to keep showing up as long as I can influence it. I get that he will likely give it up at some point, but for now, training is a requirement.

Sorry, not sorry.

I’ve spent a lot of time setting up different variations of single legs in the gi to much success.

I’ve trained in judo for about 4 years off and on and know a wide variety of throws.

In judo I tend to favor Osoto gari using Kouchi and Ouchi to set it up. However, it gives me a hard time in jiujitsu.

I’ve been thinking of working more of my drop Seoi to develop.

Are there any throws I should spend more time with for jiu jitsu rule set?

What are your favorite traps to set?

Easy one for me was the Americana from side control!

I'm 37, and I have had an L5 disk herniation since high school (from wrestling and weight training). I picked up jiujitsu in my 30's, so I've had to come up with ways to train around the chronic low back pain. Here are some things that helped me along the way that I wish I paid more attention to:

1. Training no more than 3x per week.

2. Waiter's bow hamstring stretch every day. I do this before every session.

a. If things are really bad, I've found this routine helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI

3. Escape side control via knee escape (i.e. get far side underhook and bridge to get underneath).

4. Limit sweeps from straight ashi garami.

5. Don't play bottom with much heavier people.

6. Hang on pull-up bar for 1-2 minutes every week.

7. Weekly core-loading exercises like goblet/Zercher squats, planks (e.g. side planks)

8. Resting when needed (might be a week or more) and watching instructionals to at least stay mentally sharp

9. Never go 100%. 75% max. Focus on defense if that's what that ends up being.

10. Choose safe training partners.

11. Walk every morning.

12. Get a standing desk. When sitting, sit cross-legged.

I know that pro combat athletes (e.g. Travis Stevens, Kurt Angle, Mark Kerr) take an extreme route of putting enormous amounts of strain on their bodies to push past injuries and severe medical conditions.

I'm not trying to be an amateur MMA fighter. My priority is my career, so jiujitsu is a fun hobby that I hope to do for a long time where I learn practical self-defense, meet cool people along the way, and stay somewhat active.

Check out my BJJ progression vs. my brother who doesn’t train. This video is at the 2 month mark.

9 months of training: https://youtu.be/T99QkF0tUTA?is=c21Bz9fFKq2X4RUe

That gi is for sale on their website for $55 right now. Seems like a great deal. Anyone have experience with this gi and would share any reason not to get it?
Also, I wash and dry my gis in the machines. Do they shrink a lot?

I help run club out of a university. There are some fees but it’s by far cheaper than commercial gyms. We have a few paid instructors but all in all, it’s pretty much non profit.

It’s taken 8 years but the club is going very well. We’ve trained hundreds of students, some becoming quite good, and have a nice mix of beginners and upper belts now. It’s also become a place for people to make friends and find community. We compete as well and win some, so I know our jiujitsu is solid.

Most universities have tons of space, community centres too. There are probably a lot of people who would volunteer to coach. All you really need is mats and showers and some good, experienced teachers.

Why aren’t cities filled with this? I see so much benefit for the students and coaches. Taking out the business aspect also changes the vibe and removes some of the typical constraints of running private gyms.

ps: I’m not saying private gyms are bad, I still go to one and I like it a lot.

I always hear how simple Rogers game is and just fine tuned to the highest levels. But Marcelo is kind of looking to 3 positions on bottom (butterfly, slx, x) the few same passes, submissions (RNC, guillotine, north-south). Its also a "system"/positions you learn as a white belt. So why isn't his game looked at the same way?

I obviously know none of their games are "simple" or basic and they have been fine tuned.

Sometimes I have students (minority) who book privates with me, drill two moves and start asking me advice about relationship (girlfriend, familly life, etc.) or work. Like I don't see them on the regular, and they ONLY book privates when they seemingly have something they want to troubleshoot or talk about. This, I don't mind too much to be honest, it's like getting paid for consulting/therapy work, but dressed in jiu-jitsu attire while we sit at the gym (bar would be more comfortable - at least we could drink and eat while I listen but I don't chose the venue I guess).

Then there are new random people who book privates with me, do two moves and then start interviewing me (where do you come from / how do you like it here / are you full time coach / what job do you do outside of jiu-jitsu ? etc) then asking me to teach them any random skills completely unrelated to jiu-jitsu right there, right then (oh you know software development, can you teach me ? or can you teach me English ? Can you teach me how to edit videos ?). It feels like they are people just looking to make friends and so they book a private, just come talk about whatever with no strong interest in jiu-jitsu, like they just long for friendship. It's the kind of talk you'd have if you are at a friend's house and just met a random dude you didn't know, who somehow decided he wants to be your friend.

Also to be clear, I'm a dude and this so far only happens with other dudes, so it's not a GalvaoStein situation where it's some weird coach/woman power dynamic type of relationship. It's either people I never really see outside of the gym, or people I never met before.

For the latter I have mixed feelings, because it's just fucking weird, but then, there is no harm, I'm getting paid to get interviewed and it's good money for the gym, since they tend to just pay full price no questions asked. But it just makes me feel very uneasy. The regular students who use the private classes to troubleshoot, brainstorm or as therapy session, i don't mind much and by then I know them well so it just feels fine.

What do you guys think, or what have been your experiences ?

I can’t find it written anywhere. What are the rules for the absolute division in no gi grappling industries? Can you heel hook?

Going to be moving to OKC in the coming months. Looking for recommendations on some friendly BJJ gyms! Going to be living in the Norman, or Edmond area. Any help is appreciated thank you!

The Promotion Party Megathread is the place to post about your promotion, whether it be a stripe, a new belt color, or even being promoted from no belt to white belt.

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Just make sure that once you are done celebrating, you step back on that mat (I'm looking at YOU new blue belts).

Also, click here to see the previous Promotion Party Megathreads.

I’ve been training BJJ for a while now and I’m starting to wonder if I’ve hit a plateau.

I train 4x a week and also do one private lesson every week. Outside of class, I watch a lot of instructionals (mostly John Danaher, Gordon Ryan, and other high-level coaches) and I genuinely try to implement what I’m learning instead of just
watching for entertainment.

The problem is… I still feel like I suck.

When I roll, I don’t feel like I’m improving much. Sometimes I can see what I should be doing, but I can’t make it happen against resisting opponents. Other times I just feel lost and like everyone is improving faster than. Am I approaching training the wrong way? What helped you break through?

it feels different because not all white belts are doing leg entanglements. I am a white belt that can hang with the blue belts (kinda) but I still feel like im getting smashed.
Any advice would be appreciated.

What is the best video on guard retention?

Focusing on technique, strategy, mentality, etc.

Who has helped you get better, faster?