Another bit of advice from senior guys I took to heart early was slow... down.... Coming from a wrestling background, I had a tendency towards quick, explosive movements, which both gassed me quickly and lead to injuries. Learning to slow the pace, especially in training, relax even in bad position, and conserve energy have improved my game immensely. Also, it's easier to pull off a quick move if the pace has been relatively slow.
Such a solid tip. I was the same way with the wrestling background. We’re trained to be explosive and fast, but that’s not always the answer in Jiu Jitsu. Love that tip. Thanks 🙏🏻
I started my BJJ journey this week, at age 50. I've been doing martial arts my whole adult life, but wanted a new challenge. This video was incredibly helpful.
BTW speaking of BJJ injuries… here’s something that may be helpful - when i injured my ACL it took my orthopedic doctor over a month just to examine me (from xray to MRI) without doing anything to help my healing… however, while i was waiting for ortho as he was doing nothing helpful i also went to my accupuncturist who fixed it within 2 weeks… what i want to point out here is that although the injury may have appeared to be local to the knee, the accupuncturist stuck needles from the lower back all the way down to the toes because that was the actual injury… so while western medicine was of no help in an injury like this (unless it required surgery) eastern medicine actually fixed it in a very thorough way. another point here is i see many younger BJJ practictioners getting injuries all over their bodies without seeking proper treatement which as they get older will build up into more serious chronic problems
Love the content, very much appreciated! Im new to BJJ, no wrestling or combat background at all. 41yo, 6’0” 205lbs, athletic. I’m 3 weeks in and getting smashed by everyone but loving it! I have an amazing coach, supportive class and will do my very best to improve and remember these concepts. Thank you 🙏
Hey man, thanks for the videos. Im 6 weeks into this and after hearing your advice, im sparring longer and smarter. Learning to be calm, focus on defense, and stop "trying to win" was invaluable
As a 6’3 245lb white belt my coaches keep telling me “Learn to play Guard.” This is the start of my 3rd month, Im trying to be technical and pace myself to be a good rolling partner, but I just keep going against people that smash me and use brute force because of the weight diffence so I feel like im really not progressing at all. These next couple months I’m just focusing on losing weight so I can get down to 215-225 and drop weight classes to have a fair fight against the much smaller quicker guys.
Stay patient, learn to trust the technique without using your natural strength. With that said, use your natural strength when you need to, and in time you will be the one smashing guys💪🏼
Dude for real it's a tricky art I'm a 3 time golden glove champion as a boxer I'm a Lil over 7 months into my submission and grappling game and it's been a wall for me but there's lots of small wins as your training keep at it but it's deff a serious art that deserve your absolute attention and dedication only the ones that want it most will master it
I’m over a year in and get smashed on a regular basis. Just gotta keep with it. You’ll get better. I’ll have new guys come in that are your size and I can’t submit them and it’s frustrating.
I came from a Judo. I looked down on pulling guard. I focused on passing instead of guard retention. As a result, my guard sucked and I kept ending up in bottom position because I never developed my guard. To my stand-up crowd: Learn to play guard. Then discard it if you want. But learn it first.
Dude, I was talking to my coach about at least 3 of these a few days ago. I've been trying to temper my own expectations thus far, just trying to learn the flow, before jumping into "oh I want to master omoplatas". I'm just focusing on building offense from defense, trying to build from that and learning proper techniques. Thank you for these videos man 🤙🤙
My biggest weakness is weight distribution. I get swept from side control all the time and people escape my mount with ease while people 30lbs light than me feel heavy.
White belt here, doing bjj for about a year and a half now, and this video was definitely good information. Even though my technique is still awful, I have improved on being conscious of my breathing and conserving energy. I am definitely no longer a spazy white belt lololol
Nice video. Thanks for the advice. Is the mouthguard necessary, or is it just a personal choice? Does the mouthguard help with breathing or make it more difficult?
@@lptechCT happy to help. It’s a personal choice. You’ll get caught with an elbow, knee or hand from time to time. I personally don’t like them because I feel it’s more difficult to breathe with it in
@@willbrooksofficial i just turned 50 and i started learning BJJ a year ago after not exercising for over 30 years… i made almost every beginner mistake you talked about and injured my ACL within a month of training while rolling with a newer younger white belt😂 i wish someone had warned me ahead of time about all the potential BJJ injuries 😅 now… i am learning to breathe, slow myself down, and trying not to use so much strength because my instructor kept telling me if i am using strength i am not doing jiujitsu… what i really need to practice is pacing myself so i dont gas out too quickly and also when to use explosive strength while maintaining relaxed most of the time. QUESTION, where do you focus your ‘strength’ during a relaxed roll? do you focus on keeping the core strong while the limbs relaxed? because when i relax my entire body and try to roll softly, i often find myself getting smashed 😂
@@CoolDadManTalk haha sounds like you’re doing a great job. For your question, try to think of your strength as a light switch. Only flip it on when you need it i.e. initiating escapes, takedowns, and submissions. Turn your strength off as soon as you don’t need it anymore. It should only be used in bursts.
heya Will, finally watched all your videos m8, top of the top...i have question tho, your partner in crime in this video, have some bands on shin and feet, since i have small problem now with mine ankle, do you know by any case what is he using and how good is it, maybe i can find one to for me...keep rolling bro
I actually have a few videos on this but my number 1 option is just to spar more. Exercises would be HIIT style workouts that mimic bjj movements, the assault bike is really good, and so is Jacob’s ladder (if you can find one).
Please make a video about ribs injury in jiujitsu because in last 3 months I have had a twice ribs injury the last one it’s been two weeks but I’m still hurting bad so please what should we do to prevent a injury like that especially for white belt.thanks brother it’s a great video as usual
Glad you liked the video brother. Sorry to hear about your ribs. I’m no doctor so I think you should go seek medical help. Sounds like you may have an existing injury that you keep re-injuring. Rib injuries take a long time to heal so be careful and take time off to heal.
Might be you’re not break falling properly, after doing BJJ nearly 2 years I’ve just started Judo as well. I realized in my first lesson that if I didn’t break fall correctly my ribs were going to get broken quick time. Watch some videos, I used to think slapping the floor really hard was over the top, now I realize it’s super necessary, you want to make a loud bang to know it’s worked properly. If you can’t use your arms to break fall because they’re tied up in grips then just try to be more limp, once you feel you’re going down just accept it and try to think about how to fall more gracefully and be mindful of where your body is landing, and perhaps can fall into a guard even better.
Well I've had this problem. Do take it slow til you heal but, have you tried positional sparring and starting on your knees or in guard. That way you can train with out alot of impact.
I had a rib injury early, also a shoulder injury. Advice I was given was to slow the pace and not be too explosive or dynamic, especially in training. Work the moves, but don't do them at 100% speed. As for healing, I had to a couple months of time off the mat to give my body a chance to recover. You might still be able to train if you have good partner who can keep it at 10%. Good luck! It sucks missing time for injuries, so do whatever it takes once you get back not to collect any more!
White belt, about to enter my first tournament. Any advice for what to go after for first tournament? I don't have a "game" yet really. Don't want to just throw the kitchen sink at it.
I actually have a competition for beginners video I did semi recently. Go to my videos section and search for it. I bet you will find it helpful. As far as what moves to do, don’t get creative. Stick to the basics and only use what you can do well. Avoid shooting takedowns if you aren’t good at them yet. Let your opponent shoot, sprawl and then take advantage of it.
Grappling in general is hella complicated, when I use pure technique I get smashed by somebody who uses pure muscle and when I use muscle I can win a lot more but I always feel like I haven't learnt anything whenever I use muscles to force myself into positions
I agree with it being complicated. Eventually you’ll find that perfect mixture of technique and strength. It’s amazing what you can make happen once you get there. Keep up the good work.
Can i get some insight on breathing. Often I see people being told, breathe through your nose and out of your mouth, especially when someone is super exhausted. I tried and found it a lot easier to breathe in and out of my mouth, as breathing in through the nose just wasnt enough air and left me gasping. I abandoned the idea of proper breathing snd focused on not using my energy wherw not required. Now when i look around, everyone around me is dying and im not even breathing hard. I truly am curious, how does breathing through your nose help you when in reality youre only getting half amount of oxygen as that through the mouth
Breathe through your nose until you need to breathe from your mouth. Nasal breathing provides higher quality air (filtered, warmed, circulated). But once you need to use your mouth to breathe because nasal breathing isn’t enough, do it.
