First BJJ lesson earlier

[AdamTKD]

Hello There.

I had my first BJJ lesson earlier on today and basically spent the entire section of the lesson, when everyone else was either sparring or running through specific techniques, learning a couple of basic techniques.

After the class had ended I found out by talking to people who that were there that were white belts that they had been white belts for anything up to two years or longer.

I will go again because my 16-17 months of WTF Taekwondo has taught me the value of learning the basics but I was just wondering if this sounds familar to any BJJ students who still remember their early days of training.

Live long and prosper.

Adam.

[Madchat18]

That sounds like a VERY good school. It can take years just to get out of the white belt in bjj because there is so much to learn. I stopped going to my jui-jitsu club when I saw a girl get her yellow belt after being there for 2 months. All she knew was a few wrist holds and wrist escapes. It made me sick to my stomach so I stopped going. My advice to you is to keep going there and learn all you can. Sure you'll be sore and tap out but that goes with the territory. You will learn quickly what to do and what not to do, then you will work on doing it better. Congrats on finding such a gem. I have no JJ places around me :-(

[cakegirl]

I've been doing BJJ for a little over a year, with a break of a couple of months in the middle. I'm still a white belt. This is normal at my school too.

[cakegirl]

Originally posted by AdamTKD
I will go again because my 16-17 months of WTF Taekwondo has taught me the value of learning the basics

If your TKD is like the average TKD/karate school, your time there will also have taught you to focus on short-term goals, like your next coloured stripe or coloured belt, and your goals were easily achieved, which made you feel like you were advancing rapidly.

Please note, I'm not knocking it! A coloured belt system with many levels is a great motivator for students - having realistic goals (e.g. if I learn how to double-step, I can get my next stripe) and then achieving them gives students a genuine feeling of satisfaction upon reacing their mini-goals. It helps with student retention, which is good business for a martial arts school.

However, with most reputable BJJ schools, they just don't give into the commercialisation of the art like that. They offer the instruction, and it's up to the students to be motivated enough to attend class. Thus, BJJ attracts many, but only retains the truly self-motivated.

Cakegirl

[JaredExtreme]

If there are white belts who have been there a few years, that's a good sign. That means the instructor actualyl makes the students earn the belts and that he's not handing them out like a mcDojo.

[jaykay]

Doesn't BJJ go straight from white to blue?

Then it would make perfect sense that some students still have their white belts after 2 years.

And Madchat18, yellow belt is a very low grade and I think it is quite normal for somebody to achieve that after a couple of months. It generally indicates somebody has learnt a couple of things that would separate them from being a complete newbie (ie, white belt) yet still have much to learn...

[MrPoopy]

Doesn't BJJ go straight from white to blue? Then it would make perfect sense that some students still have their white belts after 2 years.

It's not the fact that it goes from white to blue that makes it so difficult. There are no other belts in between. It does not follow the same belt system as other styles.

It takes a long time because you have to have skill to get higher belts.

[jaykay]

That's what I meant. You are white belt for all the stages where you would otherwise be increasing rank in other martial arts, up to the blue belt level, where your instructor grants you a blue belt.

[MrPoopy]

AdamTKD, if you want to do BJJ, do it. But I wouldn't worry about the belts at all.

[AdamTKD]

Hello There.

Thanks for all the responses.
I will carry on with BJJ and not worry about belts etc.....The only thing is as I started WTF Taekwondo first that kind of comes first.....it's a loyalty thing.

Although it could also be that I get to go to places like Centre Parks in Nottingham, England and possibly also over to Portugal next year. How we do suffer for our chosen arts!!!

On a final note it's interesting having the experience of starting a different art from scratch.

Adam.

[MrPoopy]

If I were you I would take what you're learning from BJJ and give it to your TKD class mates.

I'd recommend showing the BJJ guys some TKD techniques, but they aren't going to be very receptive on something like that.

[falcon3624]

In BJJ yellow is a childrens belt. They give them to kids that way they are not a white belt forever and it helps to keep them interested. Let's face it if you take two kids and put on in BJJ and one in TKD the kid in BJJ is going to want to go take TKD when they find out they can get the belts twice as fast. For kids it's not about how much they are learning they want to see the pretty belts so they know they are getting somewhere.

[AdamTKD]

Hmmm.....go to my second ever BJJ lesson and show them TKD techniques....blink.....no I don't think they'd be very receptive either.....what with both instructors being brown belts.





Adam.

[Madchat18]

Jaykay, I didn't say that I was in a BJJ class. It was just a JJ class and this girl that I refer to happens to be a 24 year old woman who had been going to the class for maybe 2 months. I asked her if she sparred alot and she said that mostly they just go over the standing wrist escapes with the occasional ground work here and there. This really disappointed me because I am more into ther ground aspect of JJ. I think the class was more akin to maybe Akido or one of the other "wrist lock, trapping" styles. Sorry for any confusion. :-) BJJ is hardcore though and I can't wait to take a formal class.

I'm currently training with a SSgt over here in the desert every other day and he kills me :-) He's been doing Muay Thai for 11 years and Shootwrestling for 8. I have yet to get close to a submission on him in the month that we've been sparing. It's so much fun getting my arm barred or heel hooked because I learn a little more every day.

[briggfoot]

it sounds like a good club that you have found.

i am still fairly new to it and the fundamental techniques are really important, dont worry about learning all the sumbissions yet, learn good positions before submissions

its addictive innit