A hard round with a 59 year old white belt 

I’m a 51 year old black belt, and I’m only 150 lbs. I’m at a point in my life where I just am not willing to deal with larger white belts who spaz and cannot relax. Because I am “going easy” to let the white belt work, it’s a recipe for me getting injured. Right now the most important thing to me is being able to train tomorrow.

This video is a great lesson for new white belts. I’m a 54 yr old white belt 3 months in and have been very aware of trying not to be that spastic white belt to protect myself and my partner. Gassing out quickly is part of the learning process too and learning when to breathe and recover. I still roll with other white belts who will agree to slow-roll or go 50% but then 30 seconds into the roll they’re looking to smash me lol. Thanks for the video and btw - I always appreciate a higher belt stopping during a roll to point something out or teach me in the moment - it’s invaluable.

I hope he doesn't quit. Will be interesting to see him again in 6-8 months if he learns to control himself a bit more.

As a 59 year old white belt that is about 2 months in, this was really great! Thank you.

Loved watching this… I’m a 40 year old female purple belt that just started to coach and this helped me communicate to my students what is happening when we roll….and omg I can’t agree more about that effortless sweep comment! I could care less about submissions compared to an effortless sweep 🎉❤

im a 63 yo 1 month white belt, can relate to this guy! i actually am trying harder to relax and breath than worry too deeply about techniques since i know so little. and like this guy, on my first few rolls, i gassed out and worked way too hard. am getting better at relaxing and figure only 3-400 more submissions put on me and by then i might actually tap someone else. (another white belt i am sure) it was good that you were coaching him as you rolled, a couple guys have done that for me and it helped me a lot. great informational video!

Thank you for these videos. I'm a 45 yo white belt and you are helping me learn. Most importantly helping remind me to STAY CALM!!! Luckily I have a lot of great people like you to roll with every class.

Brings back memories. I started at a Gracie school at 59 and loved it. Went for 14 months before moving to a different country.

Thank you for your content. I’m an early 40’s beginner overcoming some serious health issues. This practice really is an art. Your poise and graciousness are obvious.

It is funny just how exhausting it is when you’re just starting out. Engaging muscles throughout your body that haven’t been used like that I guess. Not breathing properly, and just the overwhelming body heat is a killer to me!

how many other combat sports can you start when you're almost 60 years old? Good on this guy for humbling himself to come into an environment like this !

Omg this is me in every roll. So helpful!

Anthony these videos teach me more than anything else on RU-vid. ❤

Very inspiring, great channel! I love how you roll calm and smooth and on the same time help and control explosive and aggressive opponents.

Just discovering this channel. It is gold. Thank you Coach

love watching you roll, thanks for the footage!

i am lucky to learn this lesson from my coach Mike and a few people in the gym that don't even breath heavy after a roll with me. Great lesson to learn and thank you for teaching it!

It feels that his frustration is out of knowledge of what is happening. This is normal. Some learn and calm down some learn and continue the same style. Great video

I enjoy these musings. Very creative thanks for sharing!!! I was super ‘aggressive’ or keen after starting BJJ and got injured after 1 week!!! Took months off and now returned more humble, more chill and just technique hungry now. I know it is a long patient journey now.

I'm a 20 year old white belt and I love these videos. You give some great information and really help me to slow down and get more technical. I'm a pretty strong guy and I don't want to hurt anyone. I've slowed down a bunch and I got tapped way more often. Now I'm able to maintain positions and roll for ~7 5 minute rounds back to back no problem. Great stuff! Thanks a bunch, sir :D

Great lessons for life in general! 👍

My experience has been you have to roll with them once and tap them 3 times before they really listen. After that, new white belts will listen.

I love it. I love watching it. More content. I'll watch them all.

Thanks for the video. I’m a 51 year old white belt and slowly learning. Fortunately my instructor and fellow students are great people.

This is a great video, you're going smooth, relaxed and being a valuable training partner. As the sport grows we need more supportive coaches and training partners as such.

You're a true purple belt sir, and your skill level is where it should be. Great coaching

I really like your style. It's so important to give new guys a clear understanding of appropriate energy.

I love this guy

love the smother as an arm bar set up!

Good stuff coach

Wow! Great instructional video. 😊

I'm 54 and just started. I like the running commentary so I can follow what is going on to learn more efficiently.

I'll be turning 50 next year and been in BJJ for about 9 months. It's going really well, I have professional fighting experience in boxing/kickboxing from my youth as well as black belts in other martial arts. Those dsicipliines have helped in my beginning BJJ only in the sense to take it slow, not be spastic and truly listen to the higher ranks/professors, etc. I survived my first marathon roll last week 19 rounds, first 6 were vs black belt instructors and it was rough but very informational. Got my first legitimate tap of a higher belt this week because of the tips I learned in the marathon. When you roll with 19 guys straight you sorta sink or swim. I mostly sank, but learned and only survived that crazy 19 round marathon because I took it slow and tried to stay calm and learn my body weight, etc and what my partner was giving me or not. BJJ really is a patient person's art otherwise? It won't work. Good vid.

One of the best for a new guy I've seen, thanks to both of you. I'm 4 weeks (59) in and this looks a lot like me.

Gassing out as a white belt is all true. too much muscle with no technique learned can really be frustrating for the older white belt. Been there done that. Keep rolling! OSS! Can you do content on rolling with frozen shoulder?

This 59 yo man reminds me so much of Branko Cikatic, a guy Mark Kerr fought at Pride FC 2, late 1990s. Cikatic foughtfor his very life, like at gun point, he had fire in his eyes, and a knife in his teeth. And you, the purple belt, the silent killer. I try to roll as a silent grappler. You said something that really pleased me, a good technical sweep is better than a sub. I thought we couldn't think this way in BJJ. Well, let me go ahead and tell you about what I fee is better than submission: Lot of my sparring I earn verbal submissions, like I defend so well they get tired of trying since it does work. Another thing I do vs better upperbelts, I just defend each and every moves and technique they offer me. The feeling I get is undescribable, like your brain on drug, I kid you not. It feel like they're just going through the motion of a telegraphed choregraphic movie scene on me.

Blows my mind how you tell people to relax and they are incapable of it. Even during drills they are using strength.

Very instructional. Hard for newbs to get the right balance between giving up and being overly aggressive without technique or experience. Good for you to try to address that balance as he is inadvertantly a danger, especially to other white belts. Better to roll calm and be subbed 20x. He'll learn quicker.

The sweep is an homage to Archimedes. The effortless lever. Well done.

These are always fantastic videos! Many thanks for uploading them, enjoy the format. Recently returned to the mat after 8 year layoff at 50 now..but jiu jitsu was always cross training for me as I teach Wing Chun/Chinese Boxing..have to approach it very differently to when I first got on the mat in 1999. 🙏

As a 55 y/o blue belt I am very glad you try to give him a very important lesson: go easy! Like you said, to don't gass out, but also to not injure your partners. This strong, spazy way of fighting will often lead to injuries, on him or on his training partners. I recently fought a 23 y/o new white belt, who after the roll told me he came from the French legionary army force. All speed, hard, spassy fight, but after 2-3minutes completely gassed out, so easy mount and arm triangle. Same story, so well done to you!

Good job Donny keep at it

22 year old former wrestler who recently started jiu jitsu. Strained a muscle in my rib almost immediately 😂 goes to show everyone could benefit from slowing down a bit

Great vid, i started jui jistu this time last year, 39 then 40 now, im very strong physically i have always been into powerlfting, and not in bad cardio shape could be better but the biggest thing i struggled with was staying relaxed during rolls and also i kept holding my breath and gassed out bad a couple of times, i would do breathing exersises and stuff before traning but as soon as we start rolling bang fight or flight kicks in, getting better now and relaxing and learning theres no rush and pick my spots to breath, fan from the uk 🇬🇧

5:30 is the definitely the guard pass of someone new to bjj :)

I need to find a school like this....I'm about to be 50 and definitely don't care to roll with young alphas! I know nothing about Jiu Jitsu...but dang, it looks fun. Great video.

Thanks for the videos. I am following everyday. Volkan ‐ 46yo ‐ whitebelt ‐ Turkey

Hahaha new people are innocent is a brilliant line, I am laughing so hard.

Yep. Every time.

I surf alot of bjj. Yours is the best at explaining. Voice over works great. I am a 66yr old blue belt

I’m a 47 year old power lifter with 8 months into JJ. Watching this fostered some much needed self awareness.

As a 58-year-old purple belt. I've learned over the years that by taking it easy when rolling, you learn a lot more, you see a lot more so when the time comes to roll harder your technique is better and you have a higher success rate.

This is Good. I am 58. Now starting 5th month important info.

What is that sweep called at 3:17? I've never seen it before.

I see so many things I did and still do.

He looks strong.

Blue belt here. I have to comment on the sweeps feeling better than submission. I am the same way ❤. I love sweeps lol. Its all I am currently going for. I average about 8 sweeps per open mat. My glory moment is I managed to land 4 sweeps on a brown belt in one 5min roll. Hitting a sweep is so much fun. It involves so many mechanics and seeing them slowly topple over is so rewarding. Great content 🙏

Yeah, new white belts are a mixed bag, but I totally understand the perceived aggression. They have no idea what they're doing, no understanding of how to position themselves or even how to start passing/sweeping/submitting, etc, and they're just reacting instinctively. They all calm down over time once they become more comfortable :)

Good stuff bro

Spazz!

Hi Anthony. I appreciate the videos. Just curious, what camera do you use? I film with a gopro but it's typically very grainy, yours is nice and sharp.

Old judo guy here but new to bjj. This aggressive behavior seems to be common to all those new to combat sports. I’ve always assumed 2/3 of it was ego and 1/3 lack of coordination. Something universal in our brains.

Nice 👍🏼 - looked like he was trying for a Stepover Choke a few times, but his grip was on the wrong side of the collar…

I can identify with Donny. As a 53 year old white belt most all of the upper belts that I rolled with have commented that I am strong. From your video I see that this might not have been a compliment so much as a critique that I should be focusing on technique instead of strength. The trouble is, as a white belt, I have no technique. I can't see anything coming and I don't have a game plan.

As a 54 yo white belt that’s about to get his 3rd stripe, this is exactly the type of ego driven white belt that one needs to stay away from while rolling. Instead of rolling to learn, in a more relaxed and playful fashion, these low JJ IQ “hard chargers” roll to win at all costs. Rolling with proverbial apes like this seems to just produce injuries, hence it is wise to stay away from them, until they become more civilized 😅. It’s almost as if these types need to be “broken in” by skilled higher belts such as yourself before they can become good rolling partners. Thank you for your very informative videos. I really appreciate your channel.

The most frustrating thing about these guys is when they’ve finally run out of gas and your opportunities for stack begin to open up, they tap from exhaustion.

Donny!

50 year old new white belt here. I still struggle with not going full speed as at this level its all you have, and I feel like danger from being subbed is everywhere. Your natural instinct is to try and suvive nevermind subbing anyone. I really have to concentrate on slowing down and breathing, especially when under someone's weight.

Excellent roll. What can I do to get out of mount sir? Blue belts always stay more time on me, when i do a sweap they recover in seconds and to me it takes a lot? ...could it be my age 35 years old? My time of training 2 months? Or should i learn a better technique?

Yeah the spastic phase is inevitable and something most people grow out of (by blue belt in the worst case scenario!). We all went through it and as soon as we start understanding technique, you let it go.

IMO....No white belt should be rolling yet like this. Maybe positional sparing but no full steam ahead.

Really enjoyable watch, I do question just how much good this will do in a real altercation with a genuinely powerful opponent droping elbows to the face? Like Mike Tyson once said, “we all have a plan until we get punched in the face” it seems the environment is so controlled that any variable might through these skilled bjj guys off, I may be wrong! And mean no disrespect as I think your a great athlete and sportsman/fighter , I think getting some random guys who have never trained to spaz out and stink the joint out could actually benifit the bjj guys if it’s agreed the most dangerous subs for injury are not to be used and just trying to set things up rather then the ego boosting subs. Or 80% of guys will suffer shock from thinking they have everything in order but when the rule book goes out the window are suprised by how ill prepared they are ? Btw I think your a great guy and excellent , skilled operator, your a purple belt and even you said yourself against some spaz in a street fight it didn’t all go to plan, now imagine a young , fit guy with some striking skills, students should be wise to understand this like yourself. Having said all this I would love to have your skill set on the ground! Thanks for your content it’s brilliant and inspiring stuff!! And ignore the muppets saying wait to after rolling to give advice, what aload of trash, you taking care and talking while rolling is exceptional tuition , Take care

Watching old boys rolling about the mat is much better than watching the Jets 🤦🏼‍♂️😢

im a 62 yr old white belt and i am a lot like this guy. I truly see the error of this aggression in JuJitsu thru this video.

Sometimes us old guys feel like we have something to prove lol

Ahhh this takes me back

11:47 lol

The problem is they have no experience of any other martial arts at all. They think it’s a fight to the death when you’re kindly showing them techniques. To us with experience it seems that they’re completely mental. I remember though after years of Karate and becoming an instructor in the 90’s then moving into other Jiu Jitsu related MA’s. I was stiff but never a ‘lost soul’ case like this guy. But I had to go to Tibetan Monastery to chill a bit. When I came out I found I could do JJ etc properly with gentle flow taking action with leverage and skill not fear or muscle.

white belts going balls out is my biggest problem right now. I try to be really chill but people are just ripping stuff on me and I dont have the skills to defend that without effort yet.

I’d much rather someone be aggressive and engage than someone who avoids engaging because they don’t want to get submitted. I always think why come to a jiu jitsu class if you don’t want to engage in jiu jitsu, getting submitted is part of the journey

You should be careful to not give guys like these a heart attack

It’s funny just around the corner from blue at 51. Trying to quit being that guy.

If this is life at 50 I don’t even want it

Yeah, I’m a 43 yr old no-gi purple belt. We get a lot of older gentleman doing this. I even had a 22 yr old kid go freaking death match on me a month ago. I was 14 weeks out of knee surgery. I had to ramp it up on him. I caught this kid in a guard arm bar. This kid didn’t tap. His arm was 10 degrees or so hyperextended. He literally were going to let his arm break. I finally had to tap for him and disengaged with him.

If he only has had six classes and in one of them, he broke a rib, the six classes must have been over a long period of time - since he had to heal before rolling again.

Fix the merch link. That ain't it.

Stealing the ankle pick from collar

Unfortunately, no matter the age, gender, race, physical abilities, there's alot of aggressive folks out there that need to experience the techniques and skill versus pure muscle and aggression. He deserves credit for being aggressive and athletic because in a Real street fight he will still be effective but BJJ will just make the fight more controlled and easier.

25 years and still a purple belt? bro you should tell us your story

That guy was not doing anything wrong. You want him to just let you win? Would you be happy then?

Man you tried to go for a gogoplata against an aggressive white belt at that weight who only knows how to either tense up or explode out... That is a knee pop waiting to happen for you.

Good teachers are not common.

I hate rolling with brand new white belts.

Oof. BJJ is super hard on the body; injuries are super common. Definitely not a good sport for a 59 year old beginner.

It is not good to converse while training. You can teach afterwards.

Talk less train more.

way too much talking. that is not helpful during rolling, do that afterwards.

My biggest issue with sparring with people like this is they always end up kicking me in the balls and i'm just like broooo

Problem is most people never get adrenaline exposure or conditioning, they live basically normal, uneventful, lives. Guys who have occupations, trained in other combat sports, or had colorful up bringings, that provided the fight or flight experience, usually... Dont get so spastic.

Dude is going 100% while learning... lol I hate people like this. Just relax. You're trying to LEARN.