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Was advised to ask this question here:Wheat Loaf posted:I've recently started BJJ. I've only been going for maybe three weeks, but It's good fun and there is a good sense of camaraderie in the classes. However, I think my main problem (aside from having trouble remembering techniques - I think that's something that will develop naturally once I've been going long enough) is that I lack a sort of "killer instinct" - everyone else can get stuck in and lean into it when they execute a hold or a throw whereas I tend to be cautious about it. Is that something that will develop as I become more confident, or is there anything I can do to condition myself to be more willing to stick the boot in?
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Feb 26, 2016 17:15
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 08:19 |
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The guy I was sparring with in class yesterday was telling me he felt like I was afraid I was going to hurt him with the choke hold we were practising; I think that about sums it up at the minute. I'm not used to doing anything that's "violent" so I suppose it will just take a bit of getting used to. I need to become more confident, but that's a big part of the reason I'm going. Regardless, I am proud to be giving it a go. When I was in my "physical wreck" phase last summer, before I started getting out to the gym regularly, I wouldn't have believed you for a second. Compared to that, even signing up to give it a try is a small achievement.
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Feb 26, 2016 18:17
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Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. It's all about perseverance. I didn't go into it expecting to be good right off the bat; it wouldn't be worthwhile if it wasn't challenging. And as I say, it is good fun as well. 
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Feb 27, 2016 01:27
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Exactly one month into starting BJJ now - I try to make it three times a week (but it still doesn't feel like enough; I never have time to stay after class for the rolling), and I've realised how much I've cut out my regular gym attendance for it (I used to go to the gym four times a week, but with BJJ I can only make it twice, because my regular activities on two nights of the week can't be moved in my schedule). It's making me concerned that I'm too weak for the sport - yesterday, I was trying to roll a guy over and I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't muster the physical strength for it. Is there any way I can compensate for this? (Still, yesterday wasn't the regular instructor, and he used a different approach to the class, while most of the guys there were at a much higher level than me - unusual for the fundamentals class - and I had a hard time keeping up with them when it came to sparring.) I am hoping it will "click" soon. It's still good fun to do. Can anyone recommend any trick to remembering the sequences of moves for techniques, or is that something that I will develop naturally? I find that's something I'm struggling with - I forget small but important steps in techniques, and have a difficult time committing techniques to memory. Thanks again.
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Mar 3, 2016 09:46
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Mechafunkzilla posted:You're a month in which means you're going to be goddamn terrible for about another year, so stop worrying so much. Just keep training. Siivola posted:Dude, you're exercising five times a week. If that wasn't enough to do BJJ nobody would have time to actually do BJJ as a hobby. 02-6611-0142-1 posted:The movement should feel effortless. It should be the physical equivalent of bench pressing a bar with no weight on it. If you're "not strong enough" to perform a motion, you've missed some technical details and you're trying to compensate for your mistakes with strength. Okay. Thanks again, everyone. I realise I'm only a beginner, but I'm easily impressed, and sometimes I still try to run before I can walk. It's not really ego or anything so much as perfectionism. I imagine there is no particular "trick" to remembering combinations of moves for techniques; it's all going to be good old-fashioned practice practice practice. I suspect getting into rolling when I feel a bit more confident will do me good on that front.
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Mar 5, 2016 02:38
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Hi everyone. I've been at BJJ for about two months now. I'm not sure if I'm improving or not - it is a little disappointing at times but I have realistic expectations, because I'm still only a beginner. In any case, it is still good fun, and I'm determined to stick at it and go as far as I can with it. However, there was some embarrassment in this afternoon's class, and it was in the warm-up, when I had to be taken aside by the instructor for a quest word because I wasn't doing the standing break-falls correctly. Ended up missing most of the self-defence portion of the class because I had to practice those instead. Oh, dear. I know it shouldn't get me down, but it cast a bit of a pall over the rest of my day. I didn't even feel up to my usual workout st the gym afterwards and left pretty early.  Well, regardless, it is an important skill to develop, especially for me, given how often I get tipped over. :p And while it's embarrassing, I feel motivated to try and improve my athletic base, which has always been my biggest shortcoming (I'm pretty skinnyfat, and I've never been terribly well-coordinated; seriously, you should see me on a treadmill, all gasping and hunched over.  )Anyway, that's beside the point. I came to ask whether anyone can recommend any good books I could try which describe techniques and how to do them. I continue to have trouble remembering most of what I've done, which disadvantages me in sparring even against guys and girls who have been coming for less time than I have. However, I'm pretty good at remembering most of what I read, so maybe if I had a book I could study it would help to supplement the practical dimension I get when I'm in classes.
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Mar 26, 2016 17:14
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I feel guilty about not getting out for rolling. I realise I need to do it, and I would love to do it, but it's tough fitting it into my schedule on top of my BJJ classes. If I wasn't still living with my parents it wouldn't be an issue - my mother insists that I come home after class is done so I can eat something (I have to go direct from work to the gym, and it doesn't leave time for tea), and it's their house, their rules. It strikes me as a bit silly (there is a very, very stupid story behind this which I won't bore you all with) but it is the way it is. v vI'm certainly think about writing things down. I'm not sure if they'll let me take a notebook into classes but I will certainly ask. A book might still be useful as a glossary of technique names. I know the basic manoeuvres but I tend to mix them up a bit, so I will look into the titles suggested. Thank you, everyone. Wheat Loaf fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Mar 26, 2016 |
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Mar 26, 2016 18:19
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origami posted:Jesus Christ dude Don't worry, I am suitably embarrassed. Not appropriate to share any of that stuff. Sorry, all, and thanks again.
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Mar 26, 2016 19:10
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I've taken the threads advice from a while back and started keeping notes after each BJJ class. I certainly feel a lot more confident for doing it; I remember most of what I write down. I am hoping to get into the open mat stuff once I've gone through as much of the regular fundamentals course as I can (i.e. as soon as I have a class I've done before). We had Braulio Estima doing a seminar for us on Saturday (I believe he trained our head instructor), which was lots of fun. Did a lot of stuff about breaking closed guards which I wasn't able to record, but drilled often enough that it's mostly stuck with me. Very friendly guy.
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Apr 14, 2016 12:50
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So, month four of my BJJ adventure commences. Still having a great time with it. I wanted to start staying on after class for the rolling last week, only to discover the extra mat that's normally used for that was in use. Same story this week, unfortunately (I believe it was extra black belt classes on there). Nevertheless, I'm not discouraged, and will just try again next week. I feel like I'm getting a little bit better all the time.
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May 11, 2016 22:47
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I'm going into my fifth month of BJJ now. I'm still having a great time with it, but I'm not pleased with my progress. We had a promotions day in the club a couple of weeks ago, and a few guys who have been doing it for less time than I have were advanced ahead of me. I'm not participating because I am interested in grades or ranks or having a stripe on my belt so don't think it's unfair and I certainly don't resent the decision; I want to get better, and obviously I haven't earned it yet. So it is an incentive to keep working, because I still have a long way to go yet! In any event, I have been making a special effort to roll more often after class, and there's one guy who I've sparred with a few times. I'd say we're about equal in terms of skill, but he has an advantage in that he's about a foot taller and probably (disclaimer: I'm not good at estimating these things) somewhere between 50 and 100 pounds heavier than I am; partly, this can be remedied through improved strength and conditioning training on my part, which I've quite unfortunately been having a hard time keeping up as I used to owing to the busyness of my schedule these past couple of months. However, from a strategic or technical standpoint, what is the most reliable approach to taking on someone who's at a similar level to you, but has a distinct physical advantage in terms of their size and strength?
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Jun 1, 2016 21:24
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Omglosser posted:Are you small of stature? Overhearing people at our gym, I hear that small people have the hardest time out of anybody, like spending a whole year getting steamrolled by everyone, but they end up getting the most perfect techniques because they HAVE to be perfect to be effective. Drill baby drill I think I'm about average (I am about 5ft. 10 and around 175 lbs or so) but the problem I encounter is that I tend to be smaller than most of the other guys I would be rolling with. There are guys my size there, but I can't recall any of them staying after class to roll. ElMaligno posted:Im 2 years into BJJ and im still a white belt. I have seen people getting their blue belts faster than I have, but I know what help me back. Well, as I say, stripes and belts aren't ends in themselves to me. I would like to have earned my first stripe by now, but because it would indicate that I have improved and advances in the eyes of my colleagues and instructors. That I haven't bothers me because it suggests to me that I haven't been doing as well as I would like.
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Jun 2, 2016 08:20
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Question about, IDK, etiquette, I suppose. Basically, I ended up sparring with a guy who started more recently than I, and we were doing attacks from mount. He was able to get me into an awkward position that left me unable to continue with the class's technique, and I reacted rather instinctively by getting into side control. The instructor told me to stop because we weren't doing side control; we were doing mount. So, my question is, should I take this as a personal reprimand for breaching a rule of etiquette, or was it more likely a case of the other guy being a bit newer than me, and I'm making too much of it?
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Jun 5, 2016 10:32
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I'm just starting my sixth month at BJJ. I'm still having fun with it - I'm honestly not sure how I'm doing with it but I've spoken to the head instructor about my progress so far and he says I shouldn't get too hung up on it. Had to miss a couple of classes next week and felt guilty about it, which is definitely a good sign.  Anyway, I've been thinking about the self-defence portion of the class lately; can anyone recommend anything that would help me to develop my striking ability? I'm not much of a puncher and never really have been (which is part of why I decided to give BJJ a go in the first place). Reason I ask is a couple of weeks ago I was paired with this guy who's at the same level as me in BJJ, but told me he'd previously done about a decade of karate, so he was able to hit me in the face and give me a black eye. It's convinced me it wouldn't do any harm to try and improve in that area.
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Jul 6, 2016 10:28
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That's great, everyone, thanks very much. I'll certainly look into some of that.
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Jul 6, 2016 20:24
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Question about identifying a technique which I'll describe it as best I can from the notes I made after class this evening: Basically, I start on my back with the other guy in a closed guard. He goes to stand, but he staggers his feet to stop me from grabbing his ankles, dropping my hips and pushing him over. So what I had to do was get a grip on one of his arms, then loop my other arm around the back of his near leg so I've got his ankle tucked into my elbow, and shift my upper body toward that leg so I've got my head close to the hand I'm trapping it with. I then push my hips up as high as I can (the hardest part) so they're sort of over his knee, and then use my hips to drive him over, using my other hand to push myself if necessary, so I can get him into a mount. Appreciate that this may be poorly described, but can anyone tell me if this technique has a name? I was having a bit of trouble with it and wanted to look up some videos that demonstrated it. Ta.
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Aug 17, 2016 21:14
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Kekekela posted:I know what you're talking about but not sure the name. Maybe single-x sweep. It's not quite that (though that is a very interesting video, thanks) - I don't think the guy on the bottom would be breaking his guard in the one I'm thinking of - his legs would stay anchored around his partner's waist while most of his movement is in his upper body on the floor. However, it is indeed very similar to that.
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Aug 17, 2016 22:15
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fatherdog posted:I believe this is what you're talking about - That's exactly the one, thanks very much! And that video is also very useful.
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Aug 17, 2016 23:12
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fatherdog posted:The part most people forget is planting the other hand, without which it's very difficult to destabilize someone with good base. I thought I would mention that we repeated the technique in question today, and the instructor called it a lumberjack sweep.  In other news, I was given my first stripe on my belt this evening. It's a small step but one I am proud to have made.
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Aug 19, 2016 21:21
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 08:19 |
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I have a free evening tomorrow and am trying to decide whether to go to the gym and do some running and some weights, or to go to BJJ class. I haven't really been to the gym in about a month for work-related reasons, but I make an effort to put in what weight training I can at home. I would normally go to BJJ three times a week but only made it twice last week and can only make it twice this week. One thing I'm considering is that having a free evening is a bit of an exception for me these days, and will be for the next year or so as I'm starting a new study course that's going to run simultaneously with full-time work, which is going to occupy most of my evenings and Saturdays. When it comes to budgeting the time I have left over after work and study, how should I prioritise the gym and BJJ? What sort of considerations do I need to make?
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Sep 5, 2016 22:54
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