sucking at BJJ!

[shasan]

I've been training in BJJ for about 8 or 10 months now, mixed in with stand up stuff.

And I just suck at it.

I've upped my training time (just BJJ) to 2 hours per day, about 2-3 days a week, been doing that for about a month now, and I still suck and get tapped out by some beginners who have been here two weeks, and that's just plain embarrassing. I don't think it's a lack of effort on my part though, I've tried to train more than the other guys do.

I can't figure out exactly what it is. Is there a possibility that I'm just not cut out for it?

Are there any drills I can do to work on my balance and speed? (I think these are some major areas where I need work).

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Sameer

[skilzkid]

This is coming from someone who has done a Korean martial art (on and off in college) and is currently Thai boxing (about 6 months), but this should still apply...

What kind of shape were you in when you started the class? If you went in with no real previous workout/intense training experience, even after a year you can still easily get outclassed simply by the physical shape of someone just starting. If you look at Bob Sapp from PRIDE, he is whopping a$$ with (relatively) very little MMA experience because before doing MMA, he lifted weights and played football. So those beginners that are beating you may have earned their victories through training in activities other than JJ.

Also, when you get tapped, do you analyze what went wrong in that situation or do you just keep going without making adjustments. After sparring, discuss with your partner what openings you left and work for 5 or 10 minutes on just those weaknesses. I've noticed most beginning Thai boxers (I did this a lot myself) will drop their hands to catch foot jabs and will be wide open to a follow up punch. I had my partner throw about 5 minutes worth of kick-followed by punch combos and that 5 minutes pratically cured the problem. Extra thought and analysis go a long way.

Also, ask the instructor and other students to watch and provide feedback...that is what you pay them for . An outside eye can see things that you can't while you're sparring. Videotaping a sparring session or two can also help show you from the outside what you look like and what's wrong (too tight, too tense in the shoulders, leaving a lame leg after a kick, etc.)

It is possible that you're not a natural at JJ, but that just means it will take a little extra effort on your part. Good luck and keep training hard.

Oh, and for balance and speed, I like to work the skip rope, but I'm not sure how much that will help you for JJ...

[JIMI]

Try ballet then.........

[shasan]

thanks guys. I'll try some of that advice.

As for ballet, don't dig the warddrobe. Chicks are cool though. Smarta$$.

[dkm]

even if you believe that you suck at it, are you not better off than if you did not attend classes at all? Even if it makes you .001% better, it doesn't matter if you suck or not. As long as you keep going with persistence.

[Guest]

I'd mention it to the instructor. Without us seeing you we have no hope of giving feedback. If he won't (or can't) give you real tuition on both what is going wrong AND how to put it right, sack him and train elsewhere. Good luck.

PS - sorry about JIMI. He has this fantasy of grappling with men whilst dressed in a Tu Tu. In fact I have written a little song about him. It is a version of that old classic "Don't mess with my toot toot"


Don't mess with my Tu Tu
Don't mess with my Tu Tu
My real christian name is JIMI
But at weekends I'm called Sue

Don't mess with my Pom Poms
Don't mess with my pom poms
I dress just like a cheerleader
And I tape back my plum plums

Don't steal my medication
Don't steal my medication
When I've been on it for a whole year
Then I get my operation

Don't mess with my Pant Pants
Don't mess with my Pant Pants
Unless you give me $2,000
To finance breast implants

Don't mess with my Tu Tu
Don't mess with my Tu Tu
And every time I post the forum
I talk nothing but poo poo.



There. Not my most poetic offering. But a suitable one nontheless. JIMI, did you like it? I hope so, coz I sure pissed in my pant pants while I was writing it! Haw haw haw!!!!!

[sk12879]

Originally posted by Bri Thai
Don't mess with my Tu Tu
Don't mess with my Tu Tu
My real christian name is JIMI
But at weekends I'm called Sue

Don't mess with my Pom Poms
Don't mess with my pom poms
I dress just like a cheerleader
And I tape back my plum plums

Don't steal my medication
Don't steal my medication
When I've been on it for a whole year
Then I get my operation

Don't mess with my Pant Pants
Don't mess with my Pant Pants
Unless you give me $2,000
To finance breast implants

Don't mess with my Tu Tu
Don't mess with my Tu Tu
And every time I post the forum
I talk nothing but poo poo.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but Bri, you've got some talent there. That's hilarious.

[jcolvin]

I hope I quote this correctly, "It is not only the destination, but it is also the journey."

To be good you have to start somewhere and you are doing just that. So don't worry about beginners tapping you out all the time, because there is always going to be somebody who can tap you out and in a little while guys will be writting to this forum about you and how they can't get past you.

There are a couple of things I would suggest:

1) Buy a notebook and write down the techniques you do in class. What this does is force your mind to start really thinking about moves after you have practiced them in class.

2) work on you interval conditioning.

3) take a couple of private lessons from your instructor. This way you can get some private instruction and correction on some errors he sees.

4) try to get in some extra mat time with some of the people in your class

5) train hard or stay at home.

Good Skill

[JIMI]

LOL that was great Bri Thai! You should hook up with good ol' Elton John over there. I bet you guys would make beautiful music together, he is definately right up your alley if you get my meaning.

[Guest]

Yep! He's a real Rocket Man, and puts a Candle in the Wind......

PS - thanks Scott. He ain't too much of a challenge, though. It's like shooting fish in a barrel..........

[shasan]

LOL Bri. Any relation to Lord Byron?

and JIMI, I TOTALLY didn't 'get what you mean' for a good nanosecond. Not one for the subtleties of your humour I suppose.

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm writing all this down (actually, I'm printing it, but whatever).

dkm, that's very true, I obviously am a lot better off than I would be training by myself (don't think one can do that) and persistence is something I have an abundance of, so I guess I'm in good shape

I'm going to try and get more feedback from my instructors and classmates, can only get better I guess. Off I go to the club!

Thanks again guys.

[Mr. Miyagi]

A lot of "beginners" actually have some experience, whether it be training bjj somewhere else briefly, wrestling in high school, watching videos, or something else. When I started I was a real beginner, I did not even know what an armbar or triangle looked like. I've rolled with "beginners" that knew ways of passing the guard, neck cranks, kneebars, heelhooks, advanced gi chokes that convinced me that they weren't really beginners, they were liars.

Another thing to keep in mind is people progress at different rates, especially in the early stages. If grappling is new to you, some people will pick things up fast, some people will be awkward with each technique. I think this changes later on, especially at the blue level, where every student has a grasp of the basic concepts and learns techniques much more easily.

The conditioning thing someone mentioned before also matters. If a new guy in great shape shows up he'll obviously be better off at the end of class, when the sparring takes place. Upping your training time is a great idea, I don't believe in taking one class a week, three makes for much better continuity. You also have much more time to figure out which techniques you want to make part of your sparring arsenal and which ones you'd like to not use. If you're rolling with someone that is better than you always try to make them deal with your strong points, ie if you're better on bottom put them in your guard and if you like top better take them down. If you can dominate your partner, use this as a chance to work on positions you aren't as good in.

Hope this helps.
Good luck and let us know how things come along!

[Ice Phoenix]

Maybe your instructor(s) suck. Tell us what typically happens in your sparring? I think you've missed out on being taught fundamental skills. PM me if you want. I might be able to help.

[shasan]

Thanks Ice,
The reason I don't think it's the instructors is that the rest of the class (for the most part) seems to progressing just fine. Although BJJ is only a part of our training, I think I have the fundamentals down (from a theory point of view).

And I have arrived at the conclusion that I don't have problems with knowing techniques. When we're practicing/reviewing, I can sink in a triangle just as well as any one else. But when it comes to rolling, I have trouble applying the techniques, especially from the guard.

typically in a roll, we start on our knees, and most of the time I can manage getting my opponent into my gaurd. After that, I find myself waiting for the 'right time' and the right circumstances to lay on an armbar, or omo plata, or kimura or triangle, etc.

My instructor told me that instead of waiting for an opportunity, I should try and create the opportunity by distracting the opponent and doing different things. This I'm finding a little hard to do.

The overall problem, I think, is that I'm not really keeping track of what happens when I roll, and I should analyze my rolls a little bit more. My instructor said I should roll as much as I can to get the 'feel' of it.

My goal right now is to develop a strong game from the gaurd, kinda make it 'my thing' and keep at it.

One step at a time I guess.

Sameer.

[CHOKE UK]

shasan,
someone else mentioned this point but it is very true, so i'll repeat it.
These beginners are not necessarily as raw as you might think.

They are not necessarily better than you but they are more "advanced".
This is very probably because they have some experience of something similar.
I have seen people bragging how good they are then fall flat on their face.
So many people claim to be beginners but really have experience.

Its better to look a good beginner than simply not very good .

Another important thing is that you can sometimes learn more by getting tapped because it is highlighting a problem that you can work on.

You should not be preoccupied with winning, but instead on improving.

Look on the bright side, you are learning a hell of a alot more than if you were doing karate. (my pet hate at the moment) !