This Happens to Every White Belt when Rolling with Coaches in BJJ 

This one hits close to home. It's embarrassing how I just freeze up when I roll with coach.

I'm a 42 year old woman who just started BJJ last month. I've only taken part in about 10 classes, split between our women only group and our mixed adult class. Most of the people in my mixed class are blue and above, with several black belts in the group. The point you make about noob jitters is so correct. I have NO idea what I'm doing, and the great thing about the people in my gym is that nobody goes out to hurt you, they're all there to help you learn. They'll go as hard as I will, but they'll coach me they whole way by offering grip strategies etc... It's addictive, I'm hooked and I have the bruises to prove it.

I'm 43 years old and since I started bjj tonight will be my 5th class I found you on you tube and I want to say thank you

I love rolling with my coach. He shows all kinds of weaknesses in my game. I always knew he took it easy on me, but once a training partner asked professor how to be heavy in side control and the head prof. demonstrated it on me... that made me realize how easy he was really taking it on me. My ribs were sore for a bit afterwards and I'm 25 lbs heavier.

It's actually a true honor to be able to roll with my coach! The only way you can truly experience the power of JiuJitsu. The way He naturally slow things out and guide you is amazing!

A small addition from my experience (not a white belt but an early blue): A lot of times in these rolls, when we free our mind and just kinda go for it, higher level belts are going to catch us in the same thing over and over again, and that's because we're making the same mistake. So you know, at some point, Billy Black Belt always triangles you when he recovers guard, so you can make your goal to not expose that same pathway next time you roll with him. He'll definitely, definitely get you with something else, but if browns and blacks aren't going crush mode or hardcore submission hunting, usually the things they catch us in are capitalizing on fundamental mistakes. Patch the hole and then find the next one!

Took years to be comfortable rolling with professor. Now I try all my riskiest stuff on him because I know he can counter it. It's gone from intimidating to actually quite fun.

As an upper belt my advice would be to try and be as calm as possible when you roll, and limit really jerky movements. I know that’s difficult when you’re new due to all Of the anxiety, but it really goes a long way with more experienced people, and will make them much less likely to “destroy” you as Chewy put. Ossss

I got great feed back from my coach this week. I'm a new blue belt and I have rolled with my coach as a white belt and now as a blue belt. He gives me great advice everytime

I like to literally approach it like I played games with dad as a little kid. Outrageous hubris that you can somehow beat them, followed with inevitable laughs when they absolutely destroy you

I rolled with one of the coaches (Brown belt, about my size) last week and he chained 3 subs before finishing me. The first 2 I defended but it also felt like he could finish and was just moving to something else as a "reward" for not letting it happen

I had a huge issue with this. One way I started to overcome it was to make some mistakes on purpose, mostly to see *how* they capitalise on that error. Mind you, this was only if I was in a position where I didn't know what I should do, but only what you should not do. That physical reminder of why you don't do that thing is much more powerful than when your coach just tells you not to do something. Gets some of those nerves out, then when you're back to neutral ground where you know some stuff... just get to work.

I just started bjj 3 weeks ago and this helped a lot. Thanks bro! Keep up the great work!

I used to completely freeze up when rolling with coaches as felt so much pressure to perform and show I’d learned, also when u can feel they’re letting you have things it can be off putting because they’re not giving you the kind of energy you’re used to, also felt like I should go super light because they were going super light on me nd it almost felt kind of disrespectful to be putting in more intensity than they were, which made it even more awkward as I was slacking on technique and losing positional control too easily, but I eventually realised everything went smoother when I just tried my hardest to control and submit them as I would anyone else… and fail of course…but nevertheless it made it so much smoother to just roll normally which sounds stupidly obvious but I remember it didn’t come naturally at all

this just happened with one of my students...I told him all this stuff works. be more confident with everything we're teaching you...it works at all levels...

Big time. First time I rolled with my main professor he let me pull his hands down to the mat from closed guard and it surprised me so much I just stopped and was like your not supposed to do that what's going on here?

On my first week, I got one lesson where it was just me and my coach (3rd degree black belt). He said he was going to ramp up the resistance on the drill up to 100%. Something tells me that he didn't really give me 100%.

Got my first mma fight today I'm very nervous but excited at the same time I'm fighting a wreslter and I'm more of a striker so it's gonna be a hard one but what ever happens I want to thank-you for these bjj videos amd other people's scenarios because it's really helped me improve my bjj and my fighting game in general so thank you for making this content look forward to fighting tonight

I really enjoy rolling with my coach. I partially view it as an opportunity for a teacher-student evaluation, so I go into the rolls wanting an outside perspective on my progress. Also they're roughly my size/weight so it gives me a good idea of what I could do with better technique.

Great video, 100% I get this, if I get to a dominant position it makes me nervous lol, when I tap and ask where I went wrong he generally says "you did everything right" .....then I understand I did everything right considering I'm a white belt 🤣

My suggestion as a coach in my academy, is when you roll with me or any upper belt/coach is to have something you want to work on; and let your partner know! I have a habit of always asking "is there anything you want to work on" when they ask to roll with me, and I generally get the "No, let's just roll" response; which is fine, but i don't think as engaging or productive. Then when my partner says "Actually yes, I'd like to work on my escapes from different side controls" - BOOM, I love it! I get to work on entries into, and working different side control as well as allowing my partner to practice exactly what he/she wants to work on. AND, I am going to let you work, while at the same time letting you know when something isn't working or going to work by shutting it down. Great content as always Chewy - see you all on the mats!

My coach always makes sure to roll new students first. One of my favourite sweeps I learned from him on my first roll.

As a recently promoted blue belt (1 year of training), I have always loved to roll with brown and black belts because they clearly let you try things, especially when you get into a position that's been taught on that day. Of course, they will not let you finish them, but they will let you get into a submission attempt and escape from it. I've never had fear of trying new things on more graduated colleagues because I think that's when you learn by yourself what works or not for you.

I'm a white belt. I once did a friendly challenge with my instuctor. I wanted to test my cardio and asked him not to go easy on me during a five minute round. I got submitted over and over again. It was fun but an eye opener.

Rolling with higher belts is challenging, but never forget it’s a lesson, just go with it, and have fun, it’s always what I do in our dojo when I roll with my professor and coaches.

I got 40 pounds on my coach at the gym I just switched to and there’s dudes who could tap me every 30 seconds there, despite wrestling my whole life, and he can tap THEM every 30 seconds. Lmfao

Bruce Lee talked about the process of learning martial arts in three parts. 1.No technique but movement is free from mental impediments. Unashamed to lose. 2. Technique is learned but now the fighter thinks and is impeded. Afraid to lose. 3. The techniques are now muscle memory and the fighter is no longer impeded by thought. No longer afraid and willing to learn from losses. It sounds like this practitioner is stuck at 2 and your advice is perfect for him. I had the same problem when I first started sparring in kickboxing. The strikes i practiced probably a thousand times weren’t there and I felt “frozen” and gun shy. What helped me was sparring with professionals. Every time my friend Manu landed a shot, he’d teach how not to get caught like that again. He really helped me gain confidence. You can see him in One championship. Beast dude that broke a guy’s leg with a few kicks.

"I can finish this whenever I want to." Oh the power. -1-stripe white belt 🙂

I am 47 and brand new to the sport. I love rolling with my coach. He just tells me to have fun and play. If I actually do something correct, he matches his strength to mine and "allows" me to make the move because he says it would have worked on someone my size and strength. Otherwise, he has put me in lots of submissions. He always warns me they are coming. After they happen, we reset to just before the sub, and he gives me ideas on what I could have done. He says to try it, and again, just play and have fun

My advice is have fun at my gym we did a fundemental class on leg lock defense for straight ankles and then the brown belt who did that class rolled with me in the next session done by the black belt coach he just kept putting me in ashi garami to see if I would defend to see if I was learning well I appreciated it a lot just go with it

I used to have this issue when I was rolling with higher ranking folks. There was a lot of second guessing myself and I didn't want to get submitted. I know it would've been something out of my skill range and perhaps some black belt magic stuff I've never seen. However, I would learn something new. Whether it's something new to look out for or just a new technique. I've nerded out a few times when I've seen a pass,sweep, or submission I've never seen. Then it turns into "Geez I can't wait to learn that" or "omg that was super cool. How'd you do that".

i got to roll with my coach the other day, he let me get a submission off and then proceeded to put it on me over and over again and didn't let me quit until round was over. i loved it and cherish this moments

None of us want to look bad in front of the instructors. Let's just face it: we're all gonna make mistakes and we know what we know at that point in time. No reason to stress about it. If they lead you into traps or find defenses to your moves, you are able to learn from that and get better. Just part of the process.

As a purple belt I still experience this when rolling with newer members of the gym. They will be hesitant and then they feel like they're letting me down, so they apologize. I always try to reassure them that although I'm not going full out and crushing them, I am still getting my experience in my own ways. Sometimes thats by coaching them through a submission. Sometimes thats through rolling with my eyes closed to feel their weight shifts. Sometimes it's putting myself into bad situations so I can practice getting out of them. I don't have to be smashing someone in oder to learn something. You just practice what you want to practice and I will find a way to learn something out of it.

I had gotten to mid level blue before quitting after 3 years due to a serious hand injury. My gym in general had really good people in it and I never felt more safe or taken care of than when rolling with a brown or blackbelt. I'd do my best to try to forget that they were 4-5 moves ahead and just be in the moment, looking for openings or position the best I could. One day while rolling I was thrilled to realize that I was now thinking 1-2 moves ahead instead of just reacting. In the end the best thing to do is just relax if possible and let the process take its course over the months and years of training.

It’s nearly 3 am and what a fun way to pass time while waiting for sleep to come ( if it ever does! 😩😩). Watch chewy of course!

Accurate assessment. White belt first month in bjj here. I find myself really overthinking when I roll with my coach.

Man your videos have helped tons. I just started bjj and your video basically read my mind and they keep me going and calm and I am enjoy the ride even if it involves me tapping or getting gassed it’s pretty fun.

When rolling with someone a lot lighter than me or very inexperienced, I just put pressure on them to make them work. Sometimes they'll do something that genuinely surprises me. That also gives them confidence knowing they can pull some techniques off.

100% - Chewy Knows Best

I'm so glad I came across this wonderful video.

Man I'm just binging your videos because I miss Jiu jitsu and my gym only runs twice a week.

This came at the perfect time. Thanks!

I rolled no gi with a brown belt who’s also a wrestler and he just totally murdered me. I wasn’t even sure what was happening to me but I tapped every single time he trapped my legs.

So I just started back with BJJ last week(after 7 years off, and some wrestling experience), and my first day I rolled with my instructor/coach, and every practice since I have rolled with one of the coaches. The first day after the roll, the coach told me that he kinda wanted to see what I was about in terms of ability. The other rolls, with the other coaches, my goal was 1, to make it through the 5min rolls without quitting due to exhaustion, and 2 work on defending as much as I can. Now the other 2 rolls of those days, I was against people that had more experience, but where closer to my level. I think they were like 2 to 4 stripe white to maybe just receiving blue. I was able to get 1 or 2 subs in the entire time I've been training since coming back.

Great videos man, I’m glad I found them! Perfect display of humility and ego sacrifice. This is the Philosophy I needed to give everything I have to this new journey I’m on. And since your in the Ville, I may just have to make my way there as my confidence raises

I don’t care if I get submitted by the coach, he/she is supposed to be able to beat me. I learn a lot from them, especially how much different it feels when they set up a submission vs a white or blue belt. I learn what I am doing wrong and ask for advice. Even if they don’t give advice I see what they are doing and I learn.

I am a Bluebelt in Judo but I still ask lower and higher belts when they do some amazing stuff. I put my ego at the door, and I dont about winning or losing. The point I was there was to learn not to win.

i really dont like when higher belts dont do anything but stay in a stable defensive posture doing nothing. I prefere getting smashed or even better if they slow down. But dont sit there doing nothing, so we both dont get anything out of this roll

I was a white belt and I gave Black Belts trouble all the time. Allot of the time we would stale mate. The only time got tore up was a young guy that had a Wrestling and professional MMA background. His youth, speed and aggression stoped my strength advantage.

When I roll with my coach or one of the high belts I always just try and be technical and pay very close attention to whats going on. It's always a comfortable roll because they don't try and force stuff like the blue belts and experienced white belts. He just slowly closes me down, but that gives me a great opportunity to see what he's doing and how I left myself open to it. So the next attempt I will try and foil that and he will do something else and it just repeat

My coaches were always the most fun to roll with. We always knew exactly what was going to happen so there’s no stress about anything and you can just talk shit and have fun. It’s like playing a video game you’re not good at on maximum difficulty just to see how far you can get. Sure you maybe don’t want to do that all the time but shying away from it is only gonna limit your experience.

Something that I realized after going to a few no gi sessions is that knowing that your opponent is better than you really changes the way you roll. I went to a no gi class where I didn’t know most of the people there and I was able to roll much better than I normally did. I’m a white belt and I come to find out the people I was rolling with were blues and purples and I was actually doing very well at passing and defending their attacks and even at setting up submissions. I feel like they also did not know I was a white belt and they were more careful because they did not know how good I was. I think if they knew that I basically sucked they would have smashed me. There is also this old guy who is a black belt at my gym and a lot of people try to avoid rolling with him because he’s old and stuff but I really like rolling with him because I learn ALOT from rolling with a black belt and basically have one on one training sessions with him.

I am taking private lessons. I do not get nervous . I only get self cautious and nervous with group classes. Private is costly but worth it to me.

I'm a one striped white belt, so when I roll with my coaches, I feel no pressure not to be submitted, because, I'm a one striped white belt rolling with a black belt. So if I get submitted, well, duh. I just try and focus on giving them a good match and earning their respect. I'm a very experienced white belt, I just don't get to go on a regular basis, but I probably have 2 solid years of training spread out over 20. My coach tries to match my skill level and keep it interesting and he mostly defends and makes me work really hard. He'll throw some submission attempts at me to keep me thinking, as well. If he feels that I've done enough to earn a position, he'll ease up and let me get it. Every once in awhile, I surprise him and he said I almost got him twice on a straight arm bar, ironically that he had just taught me the week before. So he had to step it up in order to smash me. That's really all I'm concerned with when it comes to my coaches. I feel more pressure rolling with a white belt or blue belt, because I feel my skill is about a low level blue belt, so I feel that I should be able to get the submission. But, I really am just more concerned with earning my coaches respect as being a really tough white belt who gives him 100% effort, attention and respect. The bond between coach and student is pretty strong after awhile.

This happened to me my first day. I was rolling with a black belt not really knowing anything, second guessing everything I was doing, feeling he would submit me at any second. He was super nice and helped me figure out what I should be doing, but in the back of mind I was expected to be tapping at any time.

'Nothing to lose" - this is the mantra!

I rolled with my coach at 50% and he tapped me 4 to 5 times in 4 minutes. Lol I was intimidated but it was fun. He gave me a compliment.

1:14 mark: it's not fun for you as a white belt, you're not going to stick around and you're not going to learn in those situations. *THIS* is precisely where I'm at and it's hard enough at 52 and getting cranked/locked/choked where it affects my job and not train for a few days because I'm hurt. I've been told 'learning curve' but it seems pretty steep. Wonder if schools consider this turnover/churn when people leave.

10 months in, rolling with my coach feels like the first time i drove a car with my dad on the passenger seat after getting my driver's license

When I’m rolling with my coaches I realized they’re leaving openings or opportunities a lot for me so they can see if im learning and remembering the techniques they’re teaching

It all comes with experience you stop thinking and flow

Two weeks ago, me, a white belt, started to roll with a brown belt. He let me get to an advantageous position, but stopped me from getting too far in the sequence, lest I manage to submit him. Like we reset, he gets directly to turtle, so I thought this is funny as hell, let's go for the twister, see how far I come. He lets me capture the near leg, lets me get the seatbelt, lets us roll to our sides. But there was no way he was letting his near arm behind my head. He got out, I don't know how, and casually went knee-on-belly to armbar ^^ Fun times

Haha one of coaches would remind me that if i didn't go after him, he was going to come after me. This helped stamp out some of the hesitation. Now i love rolling with higher belts. I let them know what I'm trying to work on and they usually give me great pointers or insight

I found something else. when I was too new and sparred with the main Coach I felt like he wasn't doing anything which meant for me I couldn't react. I knew he wanted to see what I can do but at the time I learned through reacting to my opponent's movements. Basically I wanted to survive because I had no confidence in being able to finish. After a while that changed 😁

Just and amazing video bro i’m from México 🇲🇽

I'm kind of an anomaly, I wrestled for 14 years and coached for 3, but that was 12 years ago now. I trained BJJ for 2 months about 4 years ago and just recently started up again. Getting back into it, i still have a lot of mobility and heavy pressure, but I'm extremely out of shape. I always tend to surprise higher belts because I'm good defensively with that pressure wrestlers are known for (was always a more defensive style for wrestling) but I am atrociously bad at getting any kind of submission other than a key lock. Haven't had the instructor roll with me though... but he is also a Pan Am, World Masters, and World No-gi champion... so there would be 0 chance of ever even taking an advantageous position on him if he didn't allow me to.

This definitely happened my first couple days and they weren’t even the instructors

For me I treat my rolls as a learning experience. I'm one of the few white belt adults. I'm in survival mode. All the time. So I expect to lose. Whatever tricks they do I try remember and learn from it.

I remember this time I rolled with a brown belt and I saw a slim chance of pulling a Kamura on him sure enough it didn't worked and as I'm falling apart on the move he said "Did you thought I would let you pull a Kamura on me" and I remember just saying "I can only try" as I felt his crushing weight on my chest!!! He had a laugh for what I said and also I fell good I pull a Joke on the middle of it all!!! Big Dave is 50 something but above all I felt I was having my fun!!

My coach makes it so easy. He beats the fucking shit out of me. There’s no time where I’m thinking about what should I do. My only option is survive and I go without thinking about it at all.

That's very helpful. When a higher belt let's you work. If you are keeping a journal, should you claim the taps that are given to you for your self or just tell yourself it doesn't count because they could totally kill you? Thanks just trying to keep my confidence despite not being any good yet. Thanks.

I find this is the same in Judo I overthink shit with the black belts, especially the competitive ones that are 2nd Dan and above

As a white belt the coach is right your gona submit anyway so might aswell have fun rolling with them :) well said master

My hesitation is more not knowing where to go from where I am. I'm not sure if I should go inside or outside (especially because I'm so new and haven't learned that situation yet), so I just wait until he progresses further and try to stop that.

You sound exactly like my coach. Like your voice wth

I always think it's insulting that lower belts expect to win or even do better than they do, vs upper belts. "This is crazy! I've spent months training and just because you have many many many more years and thousands of rolls, you can beat me this easily?!" There was one time I was rolling with my coach and about 30s into the roll he stopped and said "Are you trying to turn it up?" I sheepishly said yes and all I got in return was a bearded "Huh." I think about that a lot.... what do you think he was thinking?

The look on a white belts face when you all of a sudden step it up and make them Realise they're helpless 🤣

Chewie, with all due respect you've quite literally waaay over thought this! Frankly, im not surprised! As a blue belt i find its often the case with blacks belts when your so used to being 4-5 or more moves ahead of everyone on the mats and even in life, it leaves you very susceptible to being blindisded by the obvious. This is the playground of people like myself and how we catch you guys off guard! The simple and very clear answer to this question it heefa and mushrooms, the magic kind natuarally!!! Just kidding chewie, love your work! Wise words as always! 😅

I am not enjoying rolling with my coach. There is a high pressure and I have problem dealing with it. It is even hard for me to breath and deal with blue belt.

I tend to overthink every.single.time I roll. I get upset when I know the move but my brain makes me second-guess myself.

great vid i shared with all my student thanks!!!!

Some of my fave rolls are with coaches. I try some shit and they will tell me why it didnt work or how I could do it better.

Well said, brother

As a blue belt I'm just happy that my coaches don't need to guide me every 5 seconds rolling. Now they still take it sorta easy on me but don't correct me as much.

When I roll with Brown/Black belts and really good purple belts (I'm 1-stripe blue belt), I always imagine that when I start progressing too easily, it's like a Yugi-Oh match and I'm activating their trap card.

I recently rolled with my brilliant Coach. What I learnt is go for your moves but don’t spaz, I spazzed. 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

You can def sub a black belt as a white belt if you surprise them, because they're going easy, no reason not to make your attempts.

It’s a mental defeat before the roll starts

Im a 4 stripe white belt, but when I roll with other white belts or even people that are just starting out (doesnt even need to be a coach), I ALWAYS freeze up like a deer in headlights... Any tips??

My coach hilariously trolls me and covers my face so i cant breath 🤣

I rolled with a lot of black belts but I have a new male black belt instructor who doesn’t let up on anything and it’s a stalemate all the time because he not only stronger than me, he also is better than me technically. Feels like a useless roll at this point. Am I wrong for feeling like this?

Rolled with my prof and same thing brain turned off in half gurard. He then just kept submitting me to show how easy was for him and actually made the roll alot more light hearted . Ended up getting tossed from spider guard cause had no clue what to do

Is it proper etiquette for lower belt to submit a black belt and even your top Professor?

The paranoia of “I’m walking into a trap” is sooo real when rolling with the professor.

Rolling with your coach is a speed race. Who's faster? Coach submitting you? Or you tapping to literally anything?

Yeah this gets me lol. I freeze a lot when rolling with my coach and it sucks because he's letting me work so if I'm not doing anything, he's not doing much either so it's pretty awkward lol. Getting better slowly though.

Great video

I don't care who I roll with I'm just having fun .

Any advice on a gym with loads of new white belts who are just strong, and want to tap you regardless