Jiu Jitsu discussion / complete beginner!
Discussion
Whipping - Happens more than you think in the UK, I don't think it's a thing in the bigger schools e.g. Barra but definitely in the smaller ones (I had it when I got my blue belt), doesn't hurt too much and its a weird team building thing.
Anyway, it happened, I went back last night, albeit to a different club which isn't too far away from where I live and is actually affiliated under the same organisation as my old club in the UK. One 1.5hr basics gi session and one 1.5hr no-gi session.
Gi session went pretty well, it was taken by a purple belt and we had a roll at the end, neither one of us submitting each other and no real dominant positions but still a fun roll and nice to be getting back into the swing of things.
No-gi session, different story. My no-gi is definitely miles behind my gi and it needs alot of work to get it up to scratch. I was mauled pretty badly by the higher belts and my legs molested for 30 minutes straight but despite this I really enjoyed being back on the mats.
So anyway, theres nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end, I'm back tonight for another gi session and then probably a no-gi session on Wednesday depending how my body feels.
Anyway, it happened, I went back last night, albeit to a different club which isn't too far away from where I live and is actually affiliated under the same organisation as my old club in the UK. One 1.5hr basics gi session and one 1.5hr no-gi session.
Gi session went pretty well, it was taken by a purple belt and we had a roll at the end, neither one of us submitting each other and no real dominant positions but still a fun roll and nice to be getting back into the swing of things.
No-gi session, different story. My no-gi is definitely miles behind my gi and it needs alot of work to get it up to scratch. I was mauled pretty badly by the higher belts and my legs molested for 30 minutes straight but despite this I really enjoyed being back on the mats.
So anyway, theres nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end, I'm back tonight for another gi session and then probably a no-gi session on Wednesday depending how my body feels.
Hello body pain and aches, my old friends, oh how I've missed you.
Trained again last night, 1.5hr gi session intermediate/advanced. Nothing too fancy, some guard passing and a little bit of back takes from giftwrap / modified side control finished up with positional sparring (5 or 6 rounds, it was a blur after a while).
Fitness is letting me down at the moment but I can work on that.
No-gi tonight, pray for me.
Trained again last night, 1.5hr gi session intermediate/advanced. Nothing too fancy, some guard passing and a little bit of back takes from giftwrap / modified side control finished up with positional sparring (5 or 6 rounds, it was a blur after a while).
Fitness is letting me down at the moment but I can work on that.
No-gi tonight, pray for me.
First point - It's never too late, just accept you probably won't be a world champion (unless you work really hard and enter a masters division), but enjoy that you're doing something different, out of your comfort zone and investing in your own skills and well being.
Second point - You're not wasting anyone's time. If you stick it out long enough to earn your blue belt you'll realise that as a higher belt, sparring with lower belts can be incredibly rewarding in terms of giving us chance to practice new techniques, put ourselves in bad positions and generally take a more relaxed and measured approach that we typically can't against equals or higher belts (unless we want to get smushed).
Third and final point - Weight loss will come, a typical 1 hour BJJ session with sparring is easily over 500 / 600 calories, 1000 is not uncommon for 90 minutes (using an optical heart rate sensor). I'm 6ft and somewhere around 17st, granted I have a little bit of muscle, I'm regularly complimented on using my weight...well, atleast I take it as a compliment
.
Welcome to the art, which club are you training at?
As for buying DVDs etc, I'd wait. There is a massive amount of free stuff on Youtube and as Tony has pointed out, one of the lads will probably have a secret stash. Look up the following guys:
Chewjitsu
Keenan Online
Stephan Kesting
Roger Gracie
When you get further in you'll find practitioners who more closely match your style, but John Danahar is wildely regarded as one of the modern day greats (if a little philosophical at times).
Second point - You're not wasting anyone's time. If you stick it out long enough to earn your blue belt you'll realise that as a higher belt, sparring with lower belts can be incredibly rewarding in terms of giving us chance to practice new techniques, put ourselves in bad positions and generally take a more relaxed and measured approach that we typically can't against equals or higher belts (unless we want to get smushed).
Third and final point - Weight loss will come, a typical 1 hour BJJ session with sparring is easily over 500 / 600 calories, 1000 is not uncommon for 90 minutes (using an optical heart rate sensor). I'm 6ft and somewhere around 17st, granted I have a little bit of muscle, I'm regularly complimented on using my weight...well, atleast I take it as a compliment
. Welcome to the art, which club are you training at?
As for buying DVDs etc, I'd wait. There is a massive amount of free stuff on Youtube and as Tony has pointed out, one of the lads will probably have a secret stash. Look up the following guys:
Chewjitsu
Keenan Online
Stephan Kesting
Roger Gracie
When you get further in you'll find practitioners who more closely match your style, but John Danahar is wildely regarded as one of the modern day greats (if a little philosophical at times).
Edited by Pete102 on Monday 6th September 10:24
Back on the mats last night, I've been off for a month or two with just general lack of motivation, energy, commitment etc. Decent session focusing on side control escapes to top turtle and then the various choke options.
Considering the time off I didn't feel too rusty at all during sparring, although I will admit to being quite fragile this morning!
I have a sneaky suspicious that with some commitment over the next few months, at the next promotions I'll be handed a purple (I've been getting on for 4 years at blue now!).
Considering the time off I didn't feel too rusty at all during sparring, although I will admit to being quite fragile this morning!
I have a sneaky suspicious that with some commitment over the next few months, at the next promotions I'll be handed a purple (I've been getting on for 4 years at blue now!).
Ok, for those of you that followed this thread from the beginning, you'll know that in May 2021 I upsticked and moved abroad. I've been training reasonably consistently since then.
Fast-forward to last Friday, I was back in the UK and dropped in at my old club for an open mat no-gi session. Had some good rolls, nice catch up with the guys etc.
I was then surprised at the end of the session with promotion to purple belt. I say surprise, it wasn't a huge surprise since a lot of the guys I used to train with all got theirs in November last year, had I still been there it would have been me also.
Anyway, slightly awkward situation now since I don't want to simply rock up at my regular club with a new belt without talking to the coach first, both my current and old coach fall under the same black belt lineage (both awarded BB's from the same guy) but I have a horrible feeling this could be a bit of a delicate situation.
I plan on speaking to my current coach, telling him what happened and offering to continue to wear my blue if he prefers (although I am getting the point of catching the purples / browns with the odd sub), in addition to catching the instructor a couple of weeks back - it didn't go down too well!
Fast-forward to last Friday, I was back in the UK and dropped in at my old club for an open mat no-gi session. Had some good rolls, nice catch up with the guys etc.
I was then surprised at the end of the session with promotion to purple belt. I say surprise, it wasn't a huge surprise since a lot of the guys I used to train with all got theirs in November last year, had I still been there it would have been me also.
Anyway, slightly awkward situation now since I don't want to simply rock up at my regular club with a new belt without talking to the coach first, both my current and old coach fall under the same black belt lineage (both awarded BB's from the same guy) but I have a horrible feeling this could be a bit of a delicate situation.
I plan on speaking to my current coach, telling him what happened and offering to continue to wear my blue if he prefers (although I am getting the point of catching the purples / browns with the odd sub), in addition to catching the instructor a couple of weeks back - it didn't go down too well!
ben5575 said:
Congrats 
I can't imagine there is any other solution than to continue to be a blue belt at your current club is there?
I mean I'm only going by your post (so apologies if I've missed the context/nuance) but isn't it a little odd that your old club that you happened to drop into awarded you a purple belt out of the blue (excuse the pun) if you're regularly training elsewhere?
Your old club seems to have well and truly pissed on the chips of your new club and your professor. Very odd.
What an awkward position you've been put in.
Agreed, its a little awkward and I'm happy to keep my blue at my current club. I have a very good relationship with my prior club / coach, we were quite a tight training bunch. I can't imagine there is any other solution than to continue to be a blue belt at your current club is there?
I mean I'm only going by your post (so apologies if I've missed the context/nuance) but isn't it a little odd that your old club that you happened to drop into awarded you a purple belt out of the blue (excuse the pun) if you're regularly training elsewhere?
Your old club seems to have well and truly pissed on the chips of your new club and your professor. Very odd.
What an awkward position you've been put in.
Both my current coach and my previous coach are under the same lineage and awarded their black belts from the same guy in America so I'd say the standards should be broadly similar. Either way, I suspect that, following a conversation with my current coach, staying 'as is' may before the best.
The more I think about it, the more I lean towards just wearing my blue belt and waiting to be honest. If I put myself in the shoes of my new coach, I'd probably feel a little put out by it and then there's the potential 'elephant in the room' of an expected promotion at the next graduation date.
When I say that I'm happy to stay at blue, I'm being entirely sincere although in reality I know that deep down I'm at purple level based on performance sparring with purple / brown belts and time of relatively consistent training (6 years now). It's just getting a little awkward explaining at times after mauling someone that I've been a blue belt for 4 years now (not helped by having no stripes either).
For those dipping in, BJJ is much like any other sport at times - very political, have a browse through r/bjj or the UK BJJ Underground on Facebook for validation.
On the previous page someone mentioned earning a belt and then rocking up to a 10P gym wearing it, as far as I'm aware, although they have belts, they don't wear them in training / sparring anyway so it's probably not an issue.
Thanks for your input chaps, its given me some pause for thought and clarity.
Edited to add, I want to make it clear that I didn't go to my old club expecting a promotion, I just dropped in the for the open mat. I'm of the opinion that when you move clubs and start training permanently with them then they become responsible for grading etc.
I also wanted to tack on that I'd have no hesitation in wearing a coloured belt if I was dropping into other clubs for a week, or temporarily, at the end of the day the belt often represents a lot of hard work and commitment, as well as letting people know what they are potentially dealing with in terms of skill level.
When I say that I'm happy to stay at blue, I'm being entirely sincere although in reality I know that deep down I'm at purple level based on performance sparring with purple / brown belts and time of relatively consistent training (6 years now). It's just getting a little awkward explaining at times after mauling someone that I've been a blue belt for 4 years now (not helped by having no stripes either).
For those dipping in, BJJ is much like any other sport at times - very political, have a browse through r/bjj or the UK BJJ Underground on Facebook for validation.
On the previous page someone mentioned earning a belt and then rocking up to a 10P gym wearing it, as far as I'm aware, although they have belts, they don't wear them in training / sparring anyway so it's probably not an issue.
Thanks for your input chaps, its given me some pause for thought and clarity.
Edited to add, I want to make it clear that I didn't go to my old club expecting a promotion, I just dropped in the for the open mat. I'm of the opinion that when you move clubs and start training permanently with them then they become responsible for grading etc.
I also wanted to tack on that I'd have no hesitation in wearing a coloured belt if I was dropping into other clubs for a week, or temporarily, at the end of the day the belt often represents a lot of hard work and commitment, as well as letting people know what they are potentially dealing with in terms of skill level.
Edited by Pete102 on Tuesday 18th January 10:48
This raises an interesting point that I was aware of and never really got to a firm conclusion. I would personally always want to be awarded a belt based on skill and ability, rather than time served i.e. I want to be able to walk into any gym at that belt level and hold my own.
This obviously raises the issue of those that take up BJJ and will never reach the perceived level of physical skill and ability expected of a purple / brown / black belt...but they turn up, week in week out and put in the hours on the mat, they still deserve the recognition and kudos that comes with a new belt.
I've heard about the Barra approach e.g. ticks on an attendance sheet, being honest it's not something I'd ever sign up for, then again, the other approach is down to judgement of the coach. I moved clubs when I had 4 stripes on my white belt, I was still held back 9 months to my blue (despite hanging with the blues every session), afterwards it was alluded that this was to make sure I was committed etc.
This obviously raises the issue of those that take up BJJ and will never reach the perceived level of physical skill and ability expected of a purple / brown / black belt...but they turn up, week in week out and put in the hours on the mat, they still deserve the recognition and kudos that comes with a new belt.
I've heard about the Barra approach e.g. ticks on an attendance sheet, being honest it's not something I'd ever sign up for, then again, the other approach is down to judgement of the coach. I moved clubs when I had 4 stripes on my white belt, I was still held back 9 months to my blue (despite hanging with the blues every session), afterwards it was alluded that this was to make sure I was committed etc.
lemmingjames said:
When i used to train at Mill Hill, Nick used to use competition success as part of the promotion whereas other gyms just seemed to hand out their belts based on time served which wasnt always long. It probably helped that MH had some beasts at the time that i used to train with but you could tell who where promoted (at the lower ranks) based on time as opposed to 'combat' and id consider to be soft 'coloured' belts if you know what i mean. Its probably changed now but it used to take people ages to get to Black belt at certain gyms, yet i know someone who got his within 5 years but never competed and id class as a cereal box promotion (not MH BJJ)
Anyway, talking of Nick, not sure if some are aware of this (or knew him) but he passed away at the start of December 2021 and MH are having open mat sessions where anyone is invited to raise money for Nicks family.
I never met Nick, but I read lots of testimony following his passing, very sad and a pioneer of BJJ in the UK. I've trained with two of Nicks students - Dan Strauss and Luc Lamude, both absolute beasts. Anyway, talking of Nick, not sure if some are aware of this (or knew him) but he passed away at the start of December 2021 and MH are having open mat sessions where anyone is invited to raise money for Nicks family.
Just to add some meat to your comments above, I also know of a particular BB who's never competed and cannot hold his own against other BBs, yet was awarded based on time and helping out at the gym (Barra).
I read Lloyds Instagram poking fun at GB, it was a nice evenings entertainment!
Oh how time flies.....Today marks 6 years and 1 day since I started this thread. To mark the occasion I've pulled together a few little stats and anecdotes for you to enjoy:
Number of clubs I've been a member of - 6
Number of promotions - 3 (now a purple belt)
Number of major(ish) injuries - 1 (intercostal rib sprain, out for 6 weeks)
Number of minor injuries - Immeasurable
Times choked out unconscious - 1
Times tapped - Immeasurable
Competition entries - 4
Competition wins (gold) - 1
Countries I've trained in - 7
So, for those wondering why I've been a member of so many clubs I'll elaborate. I originally started at Gracie club which had a heavy emphasis on self-defence, whilst valuable and worth learning, after a year or so I felt that I wanted to move more into the sport BJJ arena, hence move number 1. This was to another local club run from an MMA gym, the coach visited from another club 50 miles away once a week - I wanted to train more so I moved to his club after a few months (move 2).
Another club then started up in my home town, under affiliation from my then current coach, it made sense to start training there (cheaper, less travel, many friends training there) and we have move 3.
Fast forward to summer 2021 and I moved to Switzerland to live and work, I found a club relatively close who operated under the same lineage as my old club in the UK, great club, nice people but ultimately the 50 minute train journey and £10 cost each way became too much after 6 months (move 4).
This brings us up to date where I have been training for the last month or so, a club here in Basel which is door-to-door 30 minutes on the same tram line from home. Classes every night and its cheaper membership every month. My training volume has increased, on average I'm in 4 times a week and hoping to progress quickly (as much as my broken body allows).
Interestingly, despite the club changes, my belts have all been awarded by the same person (he also happened to win the Europeans in his category this year).
To close things out, my daughter doesn't train at the moment (hasn't since COVID) but she's showing signs of getting back into it. Her brother, however, has started once per week.
Number of clubs I've been a member of - 6
Number of promotions - 3 (now a purple belt)
Number of major(ish) injuries - 1 (intercostal rib sprain, out for 6 weeks)
Number of minor injuries - Immeasurable
Times choked out unconscious - 1
Times tapped - Immeasurable
Competition entries - 4
Competition wins (gold) - 1
Countries I've trained in - 7
So, for those wondering why I've been a member of so many clubs I'll elaborate. I originally started at Gracie club which had a heavy emphasis on self-defence, whilst valuable and worth learning, after a year or so I felt that I wanted to move more into the sport BJJ arena, hence move number 1. This was to another local club run from an MMA gym, the coach visited from another club 50 miles away once a week - I wanted to train more so I moved to his club after a few months (move 2).
Another club then started up in my home town, under affiliation from my then current coach, it made sense to start training there (cheaper, less travel, many friends training there) and we have move 3.
Fast forward to summer 2021 and I moved to Switzerland to live and work, I found a club relatively close who operated under the same lineage as my old club in the UK, great club, nice people but ultimately the 50 minute train journey and £10 cost each way became too much after 6 months (move 4).
This brings us up to date where I have been training for the last month or so, a club here in Basel which is door-to-door 30 minutes on the same tram line from home. Classes every night and its cheaper membership every month. My training volume has increased, on average I'm in 4 times a week and hoping to progress quickly (as much as my broken body allows).
Interestingly, despite the club changes, my belts have all been awarded by the same person (he also happened to win the Europeans in his category this year).
To close things out, my daughter doesn't train at the moment (hasn't since COVID) but she's showing signs of getting back into it. Her brother, however, has started once per week.
Cheers Ben, without wanting to get all philosophical and preachy, I have the following to say:
- Overall its been an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable experience, that said I have gone through periods of low or no motivation where I stopped training for a few weeks. This has usually coincided with stuff going on in my personal life, now I try to view BJJ as a backstop in that as long as I'm training, it is a consistent in my life retaining some level of physical activity and mental relief.
- No matter how good, tough or strong you think you are, there's always someone who will smash you into dust (unless you're a world-class competitor a la Gordon Ryan)
- Before I started, I didn't realise how much I didn't know about physical combat. I still don't consider myself to know much (despite a couple of years of BJJ and a little bit of striking).
- BJJ is about the grind. Nobody is born knowing how to grapple or wrestle effectively. Obviously there are certain people who have good body awareness and general athleticism, but the mats are a great equalizer. You cannot cheat putting the time in.
- Equally, to practice BJJ long-term you have to be resilient. There will be injuries, niggles and mentally challenging periods where you literally feel like trash. The feeling of being dominated against your will by another human being can be difficult to deal with if you're emotionally fragile. I've seen a few guys storm off the mats and never come back.
- Be nice to white belts. These guys are not just training partners, they are the future of not only BJJ, but also the club you train at. Any higher belts that smash white belts week in week out and take pleasure from it need to have a good look at themselves.
- Try to avoid BJJ politics like the plague.
- I have built stronger bonds with guys and girls from the mats than anybody else in my life. Simulating murder week in week out builds an incredible amount of mutual respect and trust that I've never found anywhere else. My two best friends are as a result of BJJ.
- Finally, wash your damn training gear after every session!
Edited by Pete102 on Wednesday 16th March 09:52
Edited by Pete102 on Wednesday 16th March 09:53
The old saying - there are black belts....and there are black belts.
Last nights Gi session going over a half guard - quarter guard - knee slice - choke sequence, taken by arguably one of the best competition black belts in the country, this guys resume includes wins at the No-Gi Europeans, several IBJJF regional's and Pans at brown.
Managed to get a roll with him, he absolutely destroyed me. I couldn't do anything, it was like going back to being a white belt again, fearful of putting a limb in the wrong place due to impending danger. Of course it didn't matter what I put where, he had his way and more. I've learned to love these experiences as a way to keep grounded and appreciate the levels at play.
What's really an eye opener is there are guys even above him e.g. Jones, Ryan, Tonon, Hulk, Lepri, Ruatolo twins etc.
Mindblowing.
Last nights Gi session going over a half guard - quarter guard - knee slice - choke sequence, taken by arguably one of the best competition black belts in the country, this guys resume includes wins at the No-Gi Europeans, several IBJJF regional's and Pans at brown.
Managed to get a roll with him, he absolutely destroyed me. I couldn't do anything, it was like going back to being a white belt again, fearful of putting a limb in the wrong place due to impending danger. Of course it didn't matter what I put where, he had his way and more. I've learned to love these experiences as a way to keep grounded and appreciate the levels at play.
What's really an eye opener is there are guys even above him e.g. Jones, Ryan, Tonon, Hulk, Lepri, Ruatolo twins etc.
Mindblowing.
AJB88 said:
Know that feeling, I got wrapped up by Ffion Davies a few years ago.
I haven't been training since getting my blue belt annoyingly as I'm on nights this week.
I think it’s important to keep it in context, Ffion is world class, against hobbyists (even black belts) she’s a wizard. I haven't been training since getting my blue belt annoyingly as I'm on nights this week.
Taking that approach, I rolled with a new guy tonight and it must have seemed hopeless for him. Always other levels, I lover it.
Big week of training for me, tonight was no gi / wrestling, tomorrow no gi again, finishing off with gi Thursday Friday. I’m really into the swing of things now but I’m picking up little injuries in my toes, shoulder, fingers etc. Such fun
Pomanski - https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/philippe-po...
So, a little update. I've been at my latest club for almost 2 months now and I can safely say its been a good move, not only in terms of cost, ease of access, class availability, gym facilities etc. but also technical level and standard of training partners.
Having the gym much closer (30 mins on the tram from either home or work) means that I'm much more motivated to train and this has translated to a huge increase in the amount of time I'm on the mats each week (anywhere between 6 and 8 hours). To give you an idea of my schedule over a 2 week period:
Monday - Travel day, catch the late Gi class after landing , 2 hours
Tuesday - NoGi / Wrestling 1.5 hours
Wednesday - NoGi / Wrestling 2 hours
Thursday - Gi 1.5 hours
Friday - 1 hour Gi, 1 hour open mat
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Open Mat / Rest day depending how I feel
Monday - Gi 2 hours
Tuesday - NoGi / Wrestling 1.5 hours
Wednesday - Rest day
Thursday - Gi 1.5 hours
Friday - Travel day, take the evening Gi class at my old club in the UK, 1.5 hours
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Depending when I drop the kids back home, possibly get open mat at my old club for 1 hour.
So there we have it, its a fairly heavy schedule and obviously I need to be careful with my rest and recovery. Last night I skipped the last 2 rolls as I had a bit of a feeling that they would result in an injury. Have to say it, I'm warming to the wrestling / nogi stuff alot, but I do miss the Gi.
So, a little update. I've been at my latest club for almost 2 months now and I can safely say its been a good move, not only in terms of cost, ease of access, class availability, gym facilities etc. but also technical level and standard of training partners.
Having the gym much closer (30 mins on the tram from either home or work) means that I'm much more motivated to train and this has translated to a huge increase in the amount of time I'm on the mats each week (anywhere between 6 and 8 hours). To give you an idea of my schedule over a 2 week period:
Monday - Travel day, catch the late Gi class after landing , 2 hours
Tuesday - NoGi / Wrestling 1.5 hours
Wednesday - NoGi / Wrestling 2 hours
Thursday - Gi 1.5 hours
Friday - 1 hour Gi, 1 hour open mat
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Open Mat / Rest day depending how I feel
Monday - Gi 2 hours
Tuesday - NoGi / Wrestling 1.5 hours
Wednesday - Rest day
Thursday - Gi 1.5 hours
Friday - Travel day, take the evening Gi class at my old club in the UK, 1.5 hours
Saturday - Rest day
Sunday - Depending when I drop the kids back home, possibly get open mat at my old club for 1 hour.
So there we have it, its a fairly heavy schedule and obviously I need to be careful with my rest and recovery. Last night I skipped the last 2 rolls as I had a bit of a feeling that they would result in an injury. Have to say it, I'm warming to the wrestling / nogi stuff alot, but I do miss the Gi.
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