The Worst Type of BJJ Videos to Study (If You Want to Improve) 

I think this is why it's so good to film and edit your own rolls. It's the opposite of potato chips. It's like teaching yourself to cook.

I have 3 playlists - "BJJ Watch Later", "BJJ Videos of the Week", and "BJJ Fundamentals." "BJJ Videos of the Week" I cap at around 10 videos. These videos address current challenges I'm struggling with. I'll watch these videos over and over again until I can repeatedly hit them during live rolls, at which time they graduate to the "BJJ Fundamentals" playlist, or I can't seem to get them to work and I remove them entirely. "BJJ Fundamentals" I'll review every now and again when a technique that's consistently worked for me stops working for some reason. When I re-visit these videos, I'll often notice a detail I've been missing and (re)learn something new. "You never read the same book twice". "BJJ Watch Later" is my junk food that I never eat but I also never throw out.

Sorry I prefer short 1-5 min technique videos over 30+ min videos that make me fast forward through 30 minutes of dialogue to so actually see the technique demonstrated.

I’ve learned lots of moves on RU-vid. Not so much the shorts but the longer format videos have taught me more than my real life coaches.

The amount of techniques I've picked up from RU-vid is frighteningly little given how many clips I've watched. Conversely, though I've only purchased a handful of instructionals from Chewy as well as Jordan Preseinger, yet I've picked up much more useful things that I've added to my game, that actually work.

this is so true about the shorts its really destroying peoples minds i have to reduce my time on it too.

This video RULES!

I love concept based videos between 5-15 min long like Jordan Teaches Jujitsu

I would qualify this a bit by saying that there are plenty of valuable IG clips for techniques as long as they’re not based around novelty. Any shorts/reels where they do replays that clearly demonstrate mechanics well can be helpful, but only as a supplement and once one’s own physical/conceptual vocabulary is built up enough. There are multiple aspects of my game I use live routinely from chasing down either techniques or concepts I’ve learned from short form vids. I even have them categorized cleanly in my saved folders. They’re no substitute for either in person training nor for longer deep dive videos, but they absolutely have value. The ones to avoid are the “Rube Goldberg Machine” type deals-overly convoluted sequences that aren’t based in sound positional mechanics or in live resistance realities.

Absolutely agree with this.Better yet...go to class and listen to your coach go through the techniques

LOL earlier this year me and my wife were against using Instagram. Then she saw one video and has been sucked into Instagram ever since. Damn cute cat videos.

Carry Kolat has some great short videos that help me out a lot.

As always, incredible advice Coach. Thank you!

I agree Chewy, keep telling my students to read the BJJ book “Keep Rolling” , time well spent

For me most of these bjj short reel videos are usually fancy moves that are not practical, but look cool and pretty.......However, practitioners such as Malachy Friedman and a few others have very useful, practical and easy techniques and are worth the time to train......and I really hate when the guy says "here is a technique every white belt should know" and as a brown belt I have never seen this move nor have I had it done to me!!!!! hahahaha!!!! I love the junk food comparison to these short reel videos! Thanks for another great mind engaging video!

I dunno. Any jiu jitsu video I see where the move has more than about three steps I just skip past. You’re never going to pull a mounted flying triangle berimbolo double wrist lock from side control. Too many things need to happen correctly and your partner only needs to disrupt one part of it.

I think they are important and help me a lot. When I get the analysis paralysis about my options in side control I like to see the ones that will blast through a quick list of options. When it turns into doom scrolling, of course that's bad.

Agree with the rant against social media and doom scrolling. However, with curation I do find value in select BJJ short and long format videos. There is a danger to align with the potato chips analogy but it can also be like cheat sheet or quick notes vs a lecture or lab class. So when seeking to generally improve my BJJ, long form is better. Like the Chewie half guard series or Rob Biernacki’s fundamentals series. But sometimes I’m working to improve something specific, like a takedown or sub finish. Then having some short form on that specific detail, like Chewie’s giggler sweep shorts, or sneaky armbar are nice to have on a playlist. So if you are curating lists, then categorize them by topic (e.g. position, guard, choke, arm lock, etc) and when you review, stay focused on the 1-5 you are currently focusing on improving (not everything all at once).

put the phone away and use a laptop and stop watching shorts because they will destroy your brain

Blue belt here. I don't look for "new" techniques in videos. I look for videos that review and reinforce what I've already learned for reference. Often I notice details I've missed before, or a different perspective that helps me understand something better. Something I've already experience and felt, but maybe haven't executed as well as I would like. It usually clicks later when a class instructor teaches the same concept or technique again and points out the same things I noticed in the video, and again reinforces it.

Every time I bust out a potato chip move I get smeshed by someone that was on the mat or in the gym instead of scrolling.

Sometimes I eat potato chips when I need 100-200 calories and I'm short on time. They are high in fat, so they can also provide that to slow down digestion of something else too. I like 30-60 second bjj videos because I can get an idea from them, which I can hopefully remember when I get into a position where it might be an option. They are parts of ideas or hooks... I saw the half guard pass video the other day and while it's not a short video, the thing I remembered from it could be... Using the "Lego hand grip" on the armpit, as opposed to committing to a wizzer or trying to fight for the underhook. That is something I am going to pay attention to. I like 5 to 10 minute videos because they give me more detail and usually more options on the setup and the payoff. I like 30 to 60 minute videos because they are usually bjj globetrotters and they do deep dives on concept. :) I think the least effective for me is the long form videos with a million techniques in one. Very poor "screen to mat" translation, although admittedly, there's usually something for everyone in those videos and they are good for becoming familiar with a variety of matchups in terms of style, ie a big guy vs a bigger guy, a big guy vs a smaller guy, or a small guy vs a bigger guy... I happen to be a bigger guy, but I need to know small guy vs a bug guy stuff because I need to know what they will try on me.

Great advice. My attention span has been ruined by my phone for sure

As a research data scientist in this field Ill weigh in on from a more technical perspective. First off, Chewy is not wrong about any of the points he made EXCEPT the assumption that because the recommendation algorithms are optimized on retention, not BJJ instruction quality, that therefore the short form videos necessarily do not have (or probably don't) have instructional value. The recommendation algorithms select for views and retention but those aren't causalities, they are KPI manifestations of causalities. For example, the reason a bunch of people might watch a video is BECAUSE it has value in the form of BJJ instruction. The algorithm doesnt know that or care, it (in a nutshell) only sees a large number of views, etc. and recommends the video. Interestingly, YT is actually now trying to identify causalities through surveys (you've probably gotten one) that ask why you liked/watched a video with a few options like "entertainment", "informative", etc. Consequently, the potato chip analogy argument is what we would call a false equivalency - it's one reason analogies are usually never considered compelling arguments.

I watch videos of what I’ve learned, to try to, perfect them, or make a my own. Stay on one technique at a time.

Thank you for kicking knowledge Chew you're an OG!!!

I actually find tim kennedy's shorter videos more useful than danaher's long form videos because the latter is the cure for insomnia for me.

Saved to my "Shit you'll never pull off when you roll" folder.

I love long form content, but I tend to watch/listen to it at 2x speed.

Great analogies and very wise advice

I still think that Andrew W's 2min Kimura instruction is the pinnacle of instructional technique.

I use short formats to help me find potential study leads. I am a white belt and when i see a submission that i feel is too complicated i now know its not for me right now. If we take the armbar as an example i found a diffrent grip that seems to work better than the one in the 45 min video showed. So its not useless its just not deep enough to be effective on its own

Excellent advice. I'll add that being a person who is not chronically online also makes you a better training partner.

excellent analogy. Thx!

Nice video Gonna click on the Chewy shorts right next to Chewy once it is done

If I come across a good Short that’s well set out I’ll save the link into my spreadsheet. So, then when I need revision of a technique I can watch that real quick in the car before class. For example, I kept getting the side that I put my head mixed up when doing a head and arm triangle so I’d quickly watch a Short so I got it right in rolls after class. So, for me I don’t use Shorts to learn, they supplement the learning (or, remembering lol) I’d never try an Omoplata etc etc from watching a 30-60 second Short but if you’ve already learnt and drilled it before but just forget one or two of the finer details then a Short can help you (me) remember. My 2c anyway

If you pick like 5 of them and watch them every day, before you watch them each time, try to run each technique in head first, then watch it to see what you forgot do that before class and then again after class. You can in this way memorize them but it doesn't mean you can use the technics very well.small stuff will be missing.

Aye. Im in the doomscroll cycle everyday all day. Thanks for this as always. Always got that gold stuff at the right moment

Bjjfanatics instructionals are gold. I then cut my own "drilling clips" from the instructional. I compress them and they are ready to be used on the mats at Open Mat day. tbh... It's a lot of work but worth it

Lots of talk and analogies but I’m still left wondering what’s wrong with a bjj technique short. I find a lot of value in them and add them to a playlist for future reference. This video was much less helpful than average. That said, I love your channel… keep up the good work!

Good vid. I take em as a both and. Im still a white belt, but I'm getting better every class. Be it getting beat by a blue on a choke I've never seen and learning from it(we have some great guys who help so much), or rolling with one of the (no disrespect) physically weaker white belts I try to do some of those moves I see on em. Like pushing my forehead into the stomach of whoever is on bottom when they are trying to pass guard. It annoys em, and lets me stay grounded for a minute to plan my next move. Or a different variation of a triangle. I just tried one tonight and my mate fell right into it. But otherwise you're right. They are designed to get you to keep watching. 🍻

This is why I uninstalled IG off my phone and study JJU and instructional instead.

Chewy, after all you said, I both agree and am confused....why do YOU make Y.T. shorts on Bjj techniques?

I'm the first to comment because I'm the #1 fan

Chewy on the pre-workout before this video haha

If it wasn't for the short clips online I would have never have found any bjj channels Also books are ok but they come 2nd to the real life hands on experience

Alright, so I rarely have potato chips, but when I have as a kid, it's usually because I've had mountains and mountains of chips and actually got sick and satisfied from them, and would not feel the need to eat them anymore So I imagine if you're going to learn from short-format, it should all focus on the same thing. Like a bunch of 30 second clips all focused on a singular move, or position, or concept. That way they all kind of stack like mini-lectures on the same module of study. But these probably still stuck compared to an actual BJJ instructional you pay for that features a high level grappler teaching, for multiple hours of consistent footage You can have as many potato chips as you want, and can def get full, but it'll never be like a nice steak

many of the short videos are advertisements for the full videos

Great message! I took your advice and got the book on stoicism. BTW doesn’t Ron and his crew in Costa Rica do a great job!! Can’t say enough good things about them

I was just polishing off a bag of potato chips while i watched this video. I feel personally attacked

Good video coach

This video was true and hilarious at the same time

I don't concur - I like the short form; as an appetiser. So I see say, a funky new triangle version, and I check it a few times, and then if it's cool, I try and reproduce it in class, with the help of my coach if needed. When I am time poor, I will doom scroll for a bit, and I find that it does inspire me a bit. My algorithm for the most part know bjj for me, and that's about it. I agree with the dopamine doom scrolling though; but if you make them work for what YOU want, then cool. For me, they can be bursts of inspiration.

People have zero attention span these days and it’s just getting worse. It’s pretty sad how things are becoming.

As I'm eating a bag of Potato chips watching this video..

WTH, I was scrolling through cat videos when this weird Jiu-Jitsu guy popped up talking about potato chips. 😊 If I ever get a cat, I will name him Oma Plata.

You nailed it bro 😂

I just try to learn easy movements just to have more options

John donaher and gordon ryan have some good videos on bjj fanatics Bernardo ferrare is great too.

What if I cover my steak with potato chips…?

If you don’t eat steak, replace it with whatever it is that you people eat.

I am curious though, respectfully, on how you can reject short form content and its usefulness in MOST cases when I can immediately go to your Instagram account-which I did, and find a :52 second flashy text, music, short form technique breakdown (dated from three weeks ago with some being as recent as a week ago). So are you just personally (morally) against it recently? Because I think there has to be an acknowledgement to the fact that you had and do put it out as well.

🔥

You always talk about your videos being too long - I wish they were longer so that you can long form information dump into a subject that may relate to me, which is many topics that you speak about.

I feel fine after eating potato chips, i don't know what drugs this guy is on 🥴

How did he not say "by the puppies" after he said "Id be distracted" lol

So watch chewy not other people?🤔😆😆

100% you can think you know a something in 1 minute or spend a real amount of time and learn but i remember seeing a Gordon ryan 45 second vid and now as a white belt most of the blue and some of the purple belts can't escape my mount can i sub them nooo but i can try and try cuz now i know how to hold the position

I do not agree. I use to think this way but now that I attend an ecological gym, I don't. I agree with the potato shorts analogy, but not when it comes to bjj. I have a youtube shorts file, it's the only videos that I watch. I don't believe that techniques should be taught especially if you've never experienced the problem yourself. It's fine for someone experienced in bjj to watch a course as they have experience in the situation. So I think the best case scenario is your get a concept from a video e.g. If in mount get to your side. Techniques are hard to remember concepts aren't. So here shorts are a secret weapon in bjj. Kit dale got to blue belt in 4 weeks and he learn ecologically. It will take you longer to memorise yourself to black belt then to feel your way. Music should be played and not read.

I think instagram shorts tend to be stupid content and youtube longer videos are higher quality content, and that's in general for everything, shorts just cater to short attention spam people.

The worst are the ones where they wag their finger at me about what not to do.

Great video coach!