The Four Phases of Learning When Starting Out in BJJ
This is something I’d thought I’d share for all the people relatively early in their training career. I can distinctly remembering considering quitting a number of times when I was a white belt out of frustration and thinking that I did not have the athletic ability to train BJJ. The real problem is I didn’t have perspective on how the learning process in BJJ works. And I didn’t gain that perspective and understanding until almost a year in. A lot of people quit before then just because they think they are doing so poorly when, in reality, what they were experiencing is fairly common. So, for those of you having a hard time with starting BJJ here is, in my experience, what you should expect:
One thing just about everyone struggles with when starting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is remembering all of the steps involved when learning a new technique. This is multiplied by the fact that not only are new players trying to remember the technique they just saw but the three other ones the instructor showed earlier in the class. It can be a huge source of frustration when you’ve just learned how to do all of these cool moves and you can’t remember how to do a single one of them after. I missed many an exit on the highway driving to and from BJJ class, rapt in concentration and trying to remember all of the steps to the techniques I just learned. I wanted to let everyone experiencing something similar that it’s ok, relax. This is completely normal. BJJ is a marathon not a sprint. The most important thing is to show up and be consistent. If you do that, the rest will take care of itself. In the meantime expect to go through these four phases for just about every technique you learn for quite a while.
Phase 1 - I have no clue what I’m doing You just saw this move for the first time, we’ll call it the ‘sushi bar’. It is literally like nothing you’ve ever done before. You have no idea where anything goes. It’s like some bizarre game of Twister except on another human body. You remember steps 3 and 4 on the first rep, then you realize you forget steps 1 and 2. Next rep you get steps 1 and 2, forget 3 and 4 and try to skip to 5. You look and feel totally awkward and by the end of the drill you only have a vague idea of how this works but then you forget most of it anyway in a few days.
Phase 2 - I saw the opportunity but I was too late to take advantage of it. After seeing the instructor show the sushi bar a few times in class and drilling it you can finally remember all of the steps. You’re rolling in class and you see the perfect set up but your opponent moves before you even have a chance to try. You spend the ride home after training kicking yourself for missing that golden opportunity and you resolve that you won’t miss it the next time, but you still do.
Phase 3 - I can’t quite finish it It’s been a month or two since you first learned the sushi bar. You’ve seen a lot of different moves since then and you have varying degrees of understanding for all of them. Some you still can’t remember and some you have a decent grasp on. The sushi bar is old hat, you could probably even show a newbie how to do it at this point. Now you see the opportunities when you’re rolling, you react and try to apply it but your opponent always seems to be able to just escape or counter it enough so it doesn’t work.
Phase 4 - Success! You finally pull it off. After seeing the sushi bar a few months ago, drilling it a bunch of times, just missing the technique while rolling you finally, finally, finally catch someone in it and get the tap! Congratulations! You’ve learned to apply a technique against a fully resisting opponent. The feeling is just awesome, like crushing a golf ball off the tee or hitting a home run.
Learning how to apply a BJJ technique in live sparring is a long process. When you look at how much time it can take to learn how to apply just one technique, let alone master it, you can begin to understand why it can take much longer to get a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu than other martial arts. This is just a rough idea of how learning every technique will go at first. There is good news. It’s only this hard and this slow in the very beginning. The more you train and the more techniques you know, the easier it gets to learn new ones and the faster you get at the whole process. You can even speed it up significantly by doing extra drilling for moves that you’re having trouble remembering. So if you’re feeling frustrated and overwhelmed by everything you’re learning remember that everyone goes through this. It’s all part of the process. Be patient, be consistent, remember to drill the moves and most of all, enjoy your time on the mat. Hopefully this gives some insight into what it’s like to start BJJ and can relieve some frustration and anxiety for anyone feeling overwhelmed by all there is to learn. Regards, Phil at BJJNation.com Edit: metaphor correction
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Originally Posted by Dismas316
