I took my first BJJ class yesterday - what advice would you give a neophyte?

[BWT]

Lots of great advice here.

The only thing I could add is - roll with different folks and various skills. For a long time you’ll be learning from everyone and eventually you’ll have things to share.

It’ll be a blast, and also if there are folks you roll with and figure out they do some undesirable stuff (a few ones exist in every gym but it’s usually stamped out) - don’t be afraid to pass on rolling with someone.

Rely on the Instructors for guidance over students.

You’re not new to learning or people thinking about it. I’d just say for skill development - variety of folks and body types. I rolled with higher belts exclusively for a few months and it did push me and my defense sharpened a lot from what it was. But! My offense didn’t, because I couldn’t experiment with them because they knew what I was going for. Other white belts won’t know that as readily.

Eventually you’ll get higher belts with those things eventually too, but just something to keep in mind.

ETA:

I forgot to add - that’s how I would work out new submissions. Practice with the white belts and partner with them during training too it pushed me to be on top of explaining things and I also could experiment different theories with. That was after 9-12 months though. For that first 9 months it was “Survive against this Purple belt for 30 seconds” - don’t tell him that, but it was a way to push myself when facing a clearly more advanced person in Jiu Jitsu. Or “Don’t get arm barred by (insert name)” - there was one guy who was just arm triangling everybody. I specifically would go in those rolls and know ahead of time - that’s probably what was coming. So, just try to prevent *that*. I think these little tweaks, “wins”, and adjustments help someone stay positive in a sport with a very high attrition rate. Have fun! I hope it’s a good bonding experience with you and your son! I’m jealous and hope to do that some day!

[P30]

I miss advice for stretching in this thread (searched all pages for "stretch" without a hit).

I already posted some of my favorite stretches.

A new favorite stretch (from 1:00 to 2:10), very good for the hips and the back (the audio is in German, don't know an English version but the video is pretty self-explanatory, you can also activate English subtitles).

[k_dub]

Congratulations on starting your BJJ journey. I started mine about 5 months ago after Cecil Burch’s class at Tac-Con. Thanks @Cecil Burch for convincing me I could do this.

All the advice given in this thread resonates with me. I Started at 50 (will be 51 tomorrow). Be sure to balance your newfound enthusiasm with how your body reacts to movement/stress you might not have experienced before. Sadly, we do not recover like our 20 year old selves.

If your gym offers some kind of striking like Muay Thai, give it a try. I found it has complimented my training so far, even if it gives you a different kind of movement.

[dldarrow]

All good advice list above!

I'll add:

If someone is trying to submit you, tap early. Like before it begins to hurt. Even if you know the escape or defense, tap.

If you partner is attacking your arm they will have a vested interested in "winning" this engagement.

If you tap, they win. At that point ask them to "rewind the tape" so that you can practice a defense/escape. Now at this point they are no longer invested in "winning" and can take the opportunity to assist you.

Much safer way to learn to defend/escape.

[KneeShot]

My .02 cents.

I just turned 40. Wrestled in HS. Blue belt. Left leg above the knee amputee since 2015 (injured 2012). 165lbs, 5’6”. Training for 5yrs. First 1.5yrs was very inconsistent. Since then I’ve been as obsessed as a husband, father of three and .mil career will let me be…meaning my goal is 3x a week on the mat. Sometimes it’s more and usually it’s less.
I train now way more than i shoot.

Here’s what I’ve learned.

Roll w/ everyone. Treat them how you want to be treated. It’s a journey and everyone is on one.
Roll w/ the young crazy white belts - protect yourself and stay calm, give up the Tap (early).
Roll w/ the upper belt women/men/teenagers who you can outsize/out strength and focus on technique (lighter person = lighter roll).
Roll w/ 250lb Mongo, and try not to get submitted (that’s a win). Survival Mindset-Work your defense.
Find your doppelgänger training partners and beat the shit out of each other.
Have fun and laugh a lot.
No-gi can give the over gripping hands a rest (I love the Gi, and choking people w/ it!).
Expect injuries - overuse, old scar tissue flare-ups, and new ones. That’s life in the fast lane. Get some athletic tape, and wrestling shoes if your Professor allows it.
Deep tissue massage and a good physical therapist is always a bonus.
Stay off the mat if truly hurt….and come back stronger!
Only drill, or seek out lighter rolls while recovering from an injury - remember all the cool lighter weight partners and upper belts that you created a respectable training relationship with?
Be nice to everyone, keep an open mind, and have fun.
Some days are light, some days are perfect, sometimes you walk into open mat and it’s all killer purple belts, brown belts and white belt Mongo’s.
Stay in the fight.

[BehindBlueI's]

I wrote that on TPI back around 2010 or so. Then I later expanded it and put it in a free e-book PDF I send out to anyone who requests one. The e-book needs desperately to be updated (and I will when I can carve out the time to do so) but that info is still valid as is.

Cecil sent me a copy, which I immediately read through. I found it well worth the read.

Week 2 and am having a lot of fun being tossed around. It reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me about a squirrel that got in his garage.

People feed squirrels in my neighborhood (city people...) so many aren't really afraid of humans any longer. D was working in his garage and a squirrel came in and sat on the floor looking up at him expectantly. D got a hockey stick and flicked the squirrel out into the driveway. (NOT a wind up and whack, just put the stick against the squirrel and shoved from there) The squirrel went sliding down the drive and as soon as it stopped it immediately ran back and sat in front of D again. D flicked it down the drive again. The squirrel immediately came back. D then realized the squirrel was enjoying the ride. I'm the squirrel. I'm getting flicked around with no control but going back again because it's too much fun to not go back again.

Since I drive a desk at work now, someone jamming their elbow in my neck and getting to feel that suck is putting some fun back into my day.

[BWT]

Cecil sent me a copy, which I immediately read through. I found it well worth the read.

Week 2 and am having a lot of fun being tossed around. It reminds me of a story a friend of mine told me about a squirrel that got in his garage.

People feed squirrels in my neighborhood (city people...) so many aren't really afraid of humans any longer. D was working in his garage and a squirrel came in and sat on the floor looking up at him expectantly. D got a hockey stick and flicked the squirrel out into the driveway. (NOT a wind up and whack, just put the stick against the squirrel and shoved from there) The squirrel went sliding down the drive and as soon as it stopped it immediately ran back and sat in front of D again. D flicked it down the drive again. The squirrel immediately came back. D then realized the squirrel was enjoying the ride. I'm the squirrel. I'm getting flicked around with no control but going back again because it's too much fun to not go back again.

Since I drive a desk at work now, someone jamming their elbow in my neck and getting to feel that suck is putting some fun back into my day.

I’m so glad to read this. It really can be a ton of fun. I highly recommend it. Also, you’re going to have some weird mildly nagging “thing” (ETA: injury) going on. But, the juice is worth the squeeze.

I’ll keep it short, but I find you make the closest friends when you go through difficulty together. Jiu Jitsu is constant difficulty and the time and investment others make in training with you, etc. you eventually just can’t help but come to a conclusion that you should be grateful and share what they have with you.

I do miss that. Everyone taking ownership of training / helping each other. Some day again. It’s like the intro theme song to Cheers except everybody’s choking each other.

[Totem Polar]

Two random new-guy thoughts: one, subscribing to https://www.bjjhq.com/ was useful for me—I just deleted most of the “daily deals” emails, until a long-sleeve rash guard came up, and after a month or two, I had all I need.

Unless someone else here has a better idea.

Also: train according to your strength. Always.

I am here to vouch that pushing too hard in the youthful competition/meathead gym and blowing out your knee will set your training back years.

And, lastly, consistency—as noted by the maestro above—will yield results. The coach at my gym has been pushing a particular guard pass into side control for a couple of weeks, and I’ve been there for 3-4 days of that POI a week. I’ve noticed that I was able to pull it off in live roll multiple times against people who are waaaaay more experienced than me; younger, fitter, etc. This, even considering drilling it the hour immediately before. Some of these guys with several years of experience knew exactly what I was trying to do, and it still worked. Pretty cool. That comes from just showing up a lot, taking notes, and reviewing/repeating.


(Don’t get me wrong: after frustrating the hell out of those guys and riding them like a carnival pony for tens of seconds at a time, everyone of them eventually escaped and choked the shit out of me by the time the 5 min bell rang, but having been squashed in side control a pile of times myself, it was nice to pay it forward against my superiors. Consistency = learning)

[High Cross]

Train safely and conservatively. Dont try and do too much at once as a beginner especially if older. I wish I had taken that route. Choose your roll partners carefully. I had my ACL completely torn in a beginner takedown class by an over zealous purple belt two months into a three month contract. It was my second class of the night near the end of the claas. If I had been more conservative i would have not been in that 2nd class. Two years later I still have trouble going down stairs. If I had taken another students advice to take it slow and steady I would have not been in that situation.

[LittleLebowski]

Don’t get staph or MRSA.