I have trouble just staying alive while rolling and struggle to get out of mount and side control. I struggle to also be fast with submissions please help
1. Drill (with a purpose) 2. Do your homework (learn outside of mat time) 3. Ask your training partners how they’re beating you 4. Record your rolls 5. Be consistent
@@anti_Hype_334 i don't think so, i mean the first step in most jiu jitsu gyms is letting the more experienced players who know they aren't ALL that tear down the new ones who think they're ALL that. i don't know what sport you do though so you may be more experienced.
Do you think that taking notes is helpful? I’ve been writing down ah-ha moments, sequences, reminders, what I do right vs what I need to work on, etc after class and while learning at home. It seems to help, but I’d be curious to know if you’ve tried this or seen others improve this way.
Biggest challenge for me is constantly starting over due to breaks from surgeries and other injuries. Been training since 2007 and I’m far from where I should be this long into it. Super frustrating
@@JordanTeachesJiujitsu Wish I was able to pinpoint an exact reason. Wasn’t because of bad instructors, bad partners or from not tapping. Injuries come with the territory. My back has been the biggest problem for me. There was no specific incident that caused the injury. My shoulder, knee and pec were no one’s fault, things just break down I suppose. Jiu Jitsu may not be for me anymore.
Wow thank you so much Jordan! Someone told me you mentioned my channel and I feel very honored! ❤ Subscribed and I hope to learn some new things from you!! 🤙 Coach Brian
Thank you, Brian! Your channel and content is amazing. So happy that you're a part of the BJJ community - and I am really looking forward to collaborating with you sometime in the future! All the best man 🙏
Loved the line "you're going to be somewhere in 10 years, you might as well be a black belt" puts it into such great perspective and can apply to so many things in life not just BJJ. Cheers for the videos. 6 months into my jiu-jitsu journey at 30 yrs old :-)
As a blue belt that’s started to feel like my improvement is stagnating, this video was so helpful. Love this channel and the way you explain your techniques in rolls🤝
Just putting out banger after banger! 🔥🔥 My biggest challenge in Jiujitsu has been consistency. I work a very labor intensive job so many days after work all I want to do is go home and rest for the next day. I’ll have months where I let that side of me win, but then I’ll have other months where I’m extremely disciplined in showing up regardless. It’s definitely a work in progress. 😅
its a marthon not a sprint just do what you can bro dont get discouraged. Pick a schedule you can do and stick to i. Might only be 2 days a week at times but its better then taking a month.
Listen to Joe Rogan, you've got to defeat your inner bitch! I bet that on those occasions when you're tired and you go anyway you're glad you went. Keep those in mind when the couch is calling.
#3 is my favorite and I just started doing this. There was this one purple belt that always swept me from butterfly and I just asked him "what do other people do to defend your butterfly guard that give you trouble?" He gave me some fantastic tips that really helped me! It was great having someone that literally coached me through beating his best guard. Now that's a fantastic gym culture!
This is stuff I tell everyone all the time. Focus on guard passing/retention. Also, your point about watching lots of videos on the same topic. This has been invaluable for me. You find commonalities that ultimately help you understand the underlying concepts and each teacher gives you a different perspective.
That's right, man 👊 Becoming good at Jiu-Jitsu is as much about actually studying it, analyzing it, as it is about just rolling. You have to have both :)
Gi vs No Gi is my biggest frustration. I almost feel like a BJJ school should either commit to one or the other. Trained for over 5 years, I have never hit a gi choke. I may drill the technique only to not ever wear a gi again for the week depending on what my schedule is, and by then I've forgotten it. I can't for the life of me understand why I'm being taught techniques that only work 50% of the time depending on what my opponent is wearing as opposed to focusing on learning/improving techniques that work 100% regardless of what they're wearing. This is likely a mentality issue on my part as gi techniques don't interest me as much (due to their lower practicality). End Rant.
My Biggest issue is I'm 45+ and my body is not able to cash the cheques my brain is writing so would be interesting to see/hear your views of "Senior" BJJ strategies and adapting to a lack of body tolerance to injuries.
At 48, what helps me is that I’m very proficient with takedowns and continually try to improve in that area. Also, as Jordan mentions, passing guard is very important. I try to avoid scrambles so I stay tight and like to use passes such as the Cro magnon pass, body locks, etc. Now, I have to admit, if I am not worried about the person, I do use cartwheels, etc. I have a flashy side. However, staying tight and using takedowns helps me with the younger guys.
I'm a 46 year old brown belt. What's really helped me "get durable" has been weight training at least a few days a week. A bootcamp-style class like F45 is perfect for me, as the coach forces me to work, haha. In terms of injury prevention, it is critical. The other thing is, I don't have an ego, I tap early and often. A big blue belt taps me? Good for him, man, let's get on with it! If a young guy with amazing cardio wears me down and finishes me, good for him, his cardio should indeed be better mine. Tap and move on. Also, and this is so important - I stretch 15-30 min EVERYDAY.
Also having this problem. Im 41 and would love to earn a blue belt. But injury setbacks are wearing me down mentally. If i get through a month without some sort of back spasm its a miracle.
Same. Surgery for elbow tendinitis. Now shoulder tendinitis and either achilles tendon problems or some sort of nerve thing. Really hard to keep the spirits up. I started doing BJJ in my late 20s. Now I 'm 48. It's more off than on since then. Still very much a white belt.
"... Rather than ten seconds in your guard, and the rest just trying to survive" -this is probably the toughest challenge faced by beginners, and it certainly was the same for me. It's not just the taxing physicality of defending from bottom side control, it's psychologically challenging to know you're just getting dominated round after round.
Positional sparring is super useful from every position. Working on guard is great for white belts tired of getting smashed. No one seems to enjoy submission defense and guard recovery from bad positions but that's what makes your game resilient.
Jiujitsu takes a decade+ for most people to get a black belt, not because jiujitsu is so especially difficult but because the overwhelming majority of teachers dont do a good job of teaching and dont give students a skills based road map with known expectations and things to improve upon. And it's a shame people are paying someone for in person instruction but still need to spend just as much, if not more time supplementing it with online instructionals too Imagine if that's how college worked "Ayeee my friend just keep coming to class" is not teaching But it does keep someone paying dues for a long time so some might consider that a feature and not a bug
I agree with so much. It's hard to not sound "holier than thou" or egotistical when I say that the majority of people teaching jiujitsu are not good at teaching jiujitsu., but it's the truth. That's what's holding BJJ back the most.
My biggest problem is there's so much happening at once that my brain can't process what the right move should be in most positions. I have like a handful of positions where I can react correctly, but mostly a roll is just me putting myself in submissions without the other person trying much. I'm at a level where I can stall most seasoned white belts to the point where I can't be submitted, and brand new blue belts work really hard to tap me once (maximum twice) per roll. Purple belts and above are just Neo from The Matrix. Can't do shit. I don't see how I'll ever get there. It feels so far away.
Thanks for the wonderful content. I would like to add, in regards to drilling. Injuries of any kind are demoralizing. I injured my shoulder 20 yrs ago and quit BJJ. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Fortunately I came back 3 yrs ago and am on my way to purple belt. Now I believe injury can be a blessing in disguise to force adaptation in you BJJ game. One of my training partners hurt his back pretty badly. Almost couldn’t walk. He came to class every day took notes, and rehabilitated his back during class. He started basic guard movements, then started drilling with partners super lightly in his back control, which was not good before his back got hurt. He was a (3) striped blue for a very long time. With in the 4 months of his note taking and back rehab at the gym he is almost impossible to defend his back control and received his purple belt in June. He would have never worked on his back takes if he had not gotten injured to the level of proficiency he is at now.
What a story man, thank you! It's so inspiring. And yepp, I agree, obstacles are sometimes opportunities in disguise... Or at least we can make them so :)
Excellent advice! One huge thing you can do to speed up the time to black belt is to find a good school you like and stick with them from White to Black. Switching instructors will easily set you back a year or two 💥
Emphasis on good! If your at a gym you hate, do your best to find one you enjoy, even if that means you train less days in a week. Could prevent you from learning bad habits or just quitting all together.
The biggest challenge for me so far was to wear flip flops all the way from locker room to the gym mats. Remembering the days of the week when the club secretary is there so that I could pay the subscription on time. Also, when we end class there are high fives involved and its hard to get all of those to be on spot. All jokes aside, it's sometimes hard to put yourself out there. When there are a lot of beginners it's easier, but if not, it may seem like a tight cult. I'd advise all the other white belts to be gentle and polite and higher belts will appreciate rolling with you and giving you advice. Be smart, tap on time, ask questions and have fun. It's really not that serious as some may want to present it.
Great advice. As a 57 year old white belt time is not on my side. But I love it! Thanks Jordan looking forward to catching up on your past videos. And learning from future ones!
@@JordanTeachesJiujitsu I was just discussing with my coach my biggest challenge today: The first steps before the move... I know many moves but the initiation of these moves is challenging depending on the situation... for exemple we were working on the shoulder crunch sweep and its the initial hand fitting that i had issues with... basically once i get to the position all is good but engaging is more problematic for me ;) thanks for this amazing channel i learn a lot
Hey Jordan, what if I can’t find a legit gym that does nogi? The few gyms here are all gi heavy gyms and teach a lot if techniques that don’t transfer… any advice
Hi Zen, well to be honest - I don't think that there's much you could do. Maybe find a friend/training partner who's willing to train nogi with you? Or ask an instructor to introduce a nogi session, at least one per week. That might be most useful.
Here's a comment for you to possibly use for a future video. I am a white belt and I don't have the fundamentals down. However, I always show up for open matt & rolls after class. Do you think I'm wasting time and effort just rolling without putting all my effort on learning fundamentals. I have been arm barred & triangle so many times over the past 6 months I've stopped counting. Also, I swear blue belts & more knowledgeable white belts pretty much stand in line to roll with me, because how often I leave myself open for submissions. My gym is definitely full contact, and ive been hurt several times. For example, a black belt went knee on my rib cage & hurt my ribs. A blue belt decided to put his knee on my ear and shove my head into the matt, where I yelled in pain. What are your thoughts? I thought that was a total dick move, but maybe it's allowed? Final note I'm 49 years old, and I don't know if im being tough or just stupid by putting my body through this.
I would definitely try to spend time going to class to learn fundamentals. Likely that's what you're missing. Knddtin the ear is lame for sure. Everyone should treat their training partners with care. It's likely that the issue isn't that you're not tough, but maybe the gym culture is a bit more aggressive with less emphasis on rolling safe and smart.
I’m 4’11 and 115lbs. So I have many struggles ha! From retaining dominant positions, getting swept and overpowered. Been doing BJJ since March of this year, and your channel has helped me immensely! Thank you.
You'll get better, Dio! Just keep training and applying the things you've been shown (and these tips too lol). Happy that my content has been of use! I appreciate it 🙏
Yeah Jon Thomas and BJJ mental models are really helpful, thanks for the other mentions I'll go check them out, btw I'm out with broken ribs, you have any advice on that?
Here in the UK you just have to train at a Gracie Barra gym and they will give you a black belt for just showing up and paying them twice a week for a few years.
Kinda off topic, but do you think no-gi will eclipse the gi in popularity in the future? It sort of feels like the gi has peaked as far as new techniques go, while no-gi seems to be the one pushing the bleeding edge of jiu jitsu. Any thoughts on this?
Nogi will become very popular but there will always be a big market for Gi. In most gyms kids primarily train in the Gi. I find it way eaiser as well to teach kids in the Gi. We only have nogi for advanced students. Because of this I don't see the Gi going anywhere. They will both grow considerably but nogi will take over in terms of events people want to pay money to watch.
💪🤜Found myself using and teaching T-Rex Arms this weekend, I didn’t even show them what I meant at first…just told them use T-Rex 🦖 arms and they knew 😂 Thanks Jordan
This is great! I have progressed very quickly as well, getting my brown belt at 5 yrs and 5 months in. I di pretty much exactly what you are talking about. There were two other things I would add that I did that I felt helped me. 1. Have a training partner you trust very much, so you can continue training even when injured. I've had some injuries that would have otherwise sidelined me for weeks at least, but was able to come back quickly by modifying what I did and having partners I could trust. 2. Go the next step. Whenever learning and drilling a technique, my training partner and I would always eventually start going to "what would happen next" whether that be completely controlled position, or stopping them from finishing because they did something a little off and going into what you would do from there in that scenario. I feel like that helped to develop that ability to se what was going to happen before it happened. Just my 2 cents worth
Those are fantastic insights, Brad! Yep, having a great training partner is a huge bonus, because you can always go over stuff with them - plus, if the two of you share the same passion for BJJ (as the two of you do), then it's just a matter of time before you start progressing faster than others. Great job on that brown belt achievement man 🙏
Homework is real good stuff. I took advices from Jordan which is never letting your opponent grab your head or giving them underhook. I always think these two things when I’m in guard and also when I’m top position I’m focusing on those two things. Thanks Jordan.
You're a blackbelt in video editing! But the quality is even better. I think the tips you've provided can benefit any belt color. Thanks for this Qs: How do you time/rep your drilling? 2-5 minutes per move? Do you chain moves? How long do you test out techniques for before you decide to learn something else?
Rad content Mate, your films have helped me out heaps! My biggest challenge has always been rolling with heavier people (I'm 70kg, anyone over 90kg is pretty full on for me), I'll definitely watch as many tips and tricks films you can make about rolling with the big fellas!
Jordan’s RU-vid channel is a cheat code to get good fast. My defence has gone up massively due to your videos and simple tips, now just to improve my offence (always been my weak point)
I like your style, you are very goal oriented, no bs, no wasting time. That's why you where able to progress so fast, and hard work of course. I don't want to sound mean, but sometimes i wondering where you could have been if not the kids and pause at your "competition path". I know you have been happy, and you would not trade it and so on. But you know, would you be an ADCC champ? I think you are the material. Take care, and keep it up.
I've been training No-Gi for roughly 2 months, at least once a week. I know some basic guard passes, a single leg take down, and a kimura. But my main 2 problems is that I Gass out quickly, and when I spar with a partner, my mind blanks, I can't remember anything, and it's always fight or flight until I get submitted.
My biggest issues are: 1. I find it hard to remember moves I did a month ago. How to memorize the moves better? 2. when I learn a new move, I find it hard to integrate it into the other moves I learned. I'm missing the big picture of BJJ. 3. Im scared of injury. How to prevent them? What are the most common causes? Thanks for your wonderful videos!
Really want to get started with BJJ at my local spot at 24 years old. However social anxiety is keeping me from going for that 1st session, all by myself.
I've got pretty bad anxiety too but if I listened to it all the time I wouldn't be where I'm at now. Bravery is being scared to do something and doing it anyways. Just be brave and go for it 🙂
Stian, same here. I forced myself to start years ago… best thing I’ve ever done. It is now a lifestyle, with the fellow gym rats being my closest friends. Try it!!
Great video! Dude, the guard passing drill is the best drill. To me, it's the "wax on, wax off" drill of jiujitsu. I tell everyone, "You cannot possibly get too good at doing this drill. Do it again." Our version is, top person wins by passing, bottom person wins by getting full guard or standing up. You can learn like 75% of jiujitsu this way. My biggest challenge is usually that I'm the last one on the mats because everyone else has used up all their energy...
@@JordanTeachesJiujitsu It doesn't help that I work in aircraft maintenance, so I'm always using my fingers even when they're taped. I'm also clumsy and somehow manage to smack my finger on literally everything
Im a purple belt 9 years in, started at 16 but ive been working full time to support my family since highschool and dont always get enough time on the mats, one problem i always have is just feeling low energy and achy joints
@@JordanTeachesJiujitsu hi Jordan it was a wrestling class we did, literally at the end whikst sparring my arm got pulled and so left bicep got torn off, be my age too ( 42) its been repaired but it means i cant roll now until completely healed in bout 4 wks time ( injured it June) am bk training but jus light drilling no sparring, but then as u say ive jus been watching your videos in meantime so my minds getin worked so to speak, your vids have helped many thanks!
One such video is coming up relatively soon. 🙏 As well as my BJJ Performance and Longevity course, it's all about dealing with and staying away from injuries :)
Hey Jordan, right now I'm really wanting to work on sweeps from full guard. Generally speaking I'm a bit bigger and stronger/more athletic than my sparring partners so I want try to focus heavily on technique, but I have been running into some road blocks lately. Blue belt with a little over 2 years of training.
Hey Sam, as a white belt that's been heavily focusing on nothing but sweeps for several weeks, I highly recommend Eli's breakdown at Knights Jiu-Jitsu. He's very clear and concise. That's helped my technique become somewhat of a speciality now, becoming more consistent during rolls. If I'm not practicing with a partner, I'm at home drilling with a pillow. As silly as that sounds, it's helped build muscle memory.
My biggest challenge is remembering I’ve got arms and legs. When I’m in a position like the 50/50 before an ankle hook I will often get close to the submission but forget to squeeze his leg between mine while focusing on keeping his heel/ankle. They end up getting out of it and I miss the submission 9 times out of 10
Thanks man I want to do some vlogs but it's so hard to get in front of the camera like that haha. Hopefully by the time trials come I'll have the balls to do it lol.
@@JordanTeachesJiujitsu you should check out Jason khalipa’s ( he’s a CrossFit games champion )blog from masters worlds he competed at purple belt it was pretty cool to see how competing in a tournament would be like
I'm a white belt training for about 8 months and I weigh about 155lbs. I do okay with guys my size but anyone over 180lbs I begin to struggle. What would you recommend?
Ive been doinng this about 6 months, im 37 with 2 kids and im studying part time and i work...so Lol i lOVE BJJ though i do run the risk of obssessing and burnin out. Supposed to be fun is so important and narrowing my video watxhing to one move rather than too much stuff. Atm im going in on just guard passing, cos so many rolls i have with blue and the occassional purple takes me so much time and effort trying to pass...and often getting swept and subbed lol 😂 Love your stuff
My biggest frustration is trying to drill and experiment with techniques that work on players my size (6'0 140 lbs) but then fall off sharply against much larger or heavier players and questioning the balance between my conditioning, the practicality of implamenting offense that may not be suited to me, not being sure if I'm drilling it properly or I just need more strength. Basically, is it bad strength or bad technique that prevents me from doing a lot of the most frustrating techniques? My next promotion will be to blue belt hopefully within 6 months.
Bro, you are literally Build different. I don't know if even one percent of your viewers can do this, whatever you say - and we doing everything being said. :) I'm new at this, but I can deadlift around 200kg and yesterday I was tapped by a 15 year old weighing around 35 kilos less than me. Bjj is just something else. I'll be happy if I ever get to a purple belt, much less a black one in 7 years. :D
Compete! Compete! Compete! Go open mat at other gyms. Lift weights. Eat healthily. Ask your training partners how they do what they do as soon as the roll is over. It's working for this older white belt.
Thanks for sharing, my biggest challenge would be controlling my breath, im very competitive and tend to tense up and not follow my breath, dont want to lose position. Im also 42 so age is a factor especially rolling with 20 year olds. What precentage of effort did you put into every roll when you started? Did you gon100% 50% 70% ?.. thanks for sharing your videos are really helpful 🙂👍
Hey Jordan, I’m struggling to put things in combination and flow from one attack to the next. I’m quite proficient at a lot of submissions just stringing them together and understanding how to get to positions to set up the next move
"and now I'm happy to share my formula of success for you".... thought I was about to get an ad for a subscription service lol Seriously, great vid. I'm about to get back into jiu-jitsu and I am glad I found this channel
I am a 57 yr old new white belt (4 weeks) with a three year competitive judo background. So far, the hardest part for me is the lack of structure in the belt ranking system. There seems to be a vagueness to what is necessary to achieve the next ranking. I totally understand the need for experience, but to tell your student that it doesn't matter how good they are at the basics they will still need to put in at least two years to make blue sounds ridiculous. I can understand some time in purple to brown, certainly in brown to black, they are completely different levels of knowledge, experience and application. But when you have whites that can systematically beat blues, and give purples a decent sweat, why are they being sat on? Not everyone learns at the same speed, the same way or is as dedicated as the next person -myself included. Promotion shouldn't be arbitrary. Telling me "time" without a structure to work at just seems like being strung along.
Biggest issue- left knee won't bend. Much lol. Two knee surgeries on the same knee to remove cartilage, microfractures, and bone spurs. This was before I started jujitsu. I couldn't bend the knee, but now I am able to squat some, but I'm still not able to pull butterfly guard because of the lack of flexibility.
My biggest challenge as a 43 year old is getting physically used to BJJ while my skill level is low. I feel like there's an initial hurdle to overcome where my body isn't used to BJJ, yet I have limited ability to lower the intensity due to lack of skill. For context, I'm in pretty good shape, but my mat time is mostly limited by the need to recover.
Excellent advice Sir. I'm almost 54, started training at 49, but unfortunately, due to COVID and misfortune, haven't trained for a year, but hitting the mats again now. I'm still a blue belt and have stopped myself worrying about the "What if I'd not missed so much time, would I be close to, or even purple by now...?" I'm just going to pick up where I left off and time will dictate the rest. I love the sentence, "If you're going to be anything in ten years, why not be a black belt." I'm hoping to not be too far off by my 60th birthday. Thank you again. Oss!
Exactly man. No sense in crying over spilled milk. 🙏 You can only control what comes in the present and (somewhat) in the future - so focus on that! And enjoy the BJJ journey. The black belt is a milestone, but training and experience is the goal :)
My school does a similar pass/sweep round, except for us it's 2-min on top, and then 2-min on bottom. The next round is then started from the day's position, but is a live roll, and again is 2-min on top and 2-min on bottom. Then we do 5-min live rolls from the feet. If someone is new and/or nursing an injury, they often just continue either the pass/sweep or live roll from guard rounds instead.
You asked what is holding me back, money. I live in a very poor place and there are no jobs. I do not have a vehicle and that means I have to walk everywhere I go. I am 20 miles from the nearest gym. It costs $100 a month just for Jiu Jitsu, There some months that I do not make a dime. I have to grow a lot of my own food or live on beans and rice. Money is the only thing that is holding me back, I am moving soon though. I have an opportunity to move to the pacific north west, and there are lots of jobs in the area and I am gong to take it. Soon I will be able to train! I need weight training and yoga as well, I let myself go after having back problems and insomnia.
I have a small wrestling background with 10+ boxing experience. started jiu jitsu becuase i have goals in the MMA but either way i learned no gi is def for me lol. i went my first day and thats all people try to hold onto shit was kind of annoying lol. couldnt even go for takedowns cause these fools just holding onto your damn collar the whole time
Hey Jordan, great vid! Editing is looking sick. I enjoyed this new format. Would you ever consider putting subtitles on some of your vids? I tend to register things a bit better when I’m reading and watching, the CC option on RU-vid tends to go too fast & is a bit jumbled. Not sure if you’ve had the request before. Thanks for your vids as always. Love the podcast as well.
Biggest challenges so far is getting out of mount. I know the sweeps I've watched the videos, I understand the concepts but it feels like I am lifting the world.
It's interesting you said drilling but described what I would call positional sparring....which personally I had a sigh of relief as I totally agree.positional sparring is were it's at to improve
I have injured knees, i cant Bridge too hard or roll to hard. Im always passive and sit and let them pass me to side and then i try to sweep them or hang on. If i get mount because im heavy i can keep pressure most times. But this injured knee has cut my power and movement by 50%. What shpuld i do. Keep starting in the bottom and keep doing what im doing now or risk it and roll abit harder ??
Hi Jordan, My biggest weakeness is going all the way and finishing a player off. i find that my opponents (unless they are newbies) resist my, submissions and choke attemps. Maybe this is a negative mindset ive got into
