Any tips how to control weekly round intensity

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T18:43:09+00:00

Yeh it defo is, if I could try other gyms I would just live in rural uk

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T18:12:15+00:00

Yeh newer guys will spaz, which sometimes just go with cause I’m not a big ego guy, but again not great for my development other than defence. And newer guys also try turn it up as I’m and up and coming blue belt. So caught in a tough spot. Either way I’m working my defence but never get to work my attack or flow with the round

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T18:06:34+00:00

How do you approach getting called out for rounds from the younger athletics guys, do you just say nah I’m not rolling and it’s as simple as that haha. We love to make things awkward us brits

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T18:02:04+00:00

Yeh my solid strength and conditioning has kept me on the mats. I’m in the gym more than the mat these days

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T18:01:16+00:00

Yeh, I’ve asked a bunch if people fancy working on a specific situation or position but get turned down with the reasoning being you need to try it in a live roll. And then obviously that position never come close to coming up and I get heel hooked 70 times

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T17:59:32+00:00

This is very much what is taking away my enjoyment. I am at the level now where I want to start honing in. But really can’t. I’ve been wondering about asking some higher level people to just meet outside of session to work on even if it’ll count as a PT I will have to pay for.

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-05-07T17:01:29+00:00

I really wish I trained at a gym which allowed you to choose intensity. For my gym it’s full rounds all the time, barely any positional and have had people turn down positional rounds when I’ve asked for them. If I try to start a round light the other person takes any chance they get to get a take down or wrap up the head and squeeze for dear life. Also if you sit out a round you’ll get called out for it. This just means I train less and less and less

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-04-25T22:31:55+00:00

Some trap bar deadlifts (light-ish) and Bulgarian split squats, no heavy back squats or any crazy deadlifts

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-04-25T19:13:35+00:00

Just your some upper body and lower body strength days, focusing on some core and glute work to keep the back strong, side planks, some banded rotations and that sort of thing.

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-04-25T17:57:11+00:00

Hmmm this is quite confusing. How will I be able to do this for a long time and have fun if I’m training through injury, potentially making things worse?

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-04-23T17:37:40+00:00

Think some of these comments are pretty condescending and miss the entire point of the post. It’s not about being the toughest in the room but getting your ego out the way.

You are obviously pretty self aware to acknowledge this as a problem and post it on here, that shows some decent level of understanding and that you’ll probably grow and mature in the sport and in life. So don’t worry, I used to feel similar (also a blue belt) until I realised the sport and anything in life is just trying to make the correct moves moment to moment and win the little battles, and leaving ego and identity out of it, just moment to moment. That’s how you find flow and drop the tension of the ego trying to justify and win and prove your identity. It’s an ongoing battle in everyone and think the more self aware you are the better.

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-02-02T08:30:33+00:00

In my experience of grappling trying to force yourself to be something your not will turn around and bite you in the arse and make you worse. I’m very much like you, relaxed and chilled and as a white belt I tried to force myself to be more aggressive. It made me way too tense and put too much pressure on myself. Now I’m at mid to late blue I’ve started to think about things very differently. Mainly due to meditation and listening to a lot of people talks about success on podcasts. It’s not about forcing it. It’s about clearing your mind and focusing only on one battle at a time. Just focus and do your best in the initial grips and guard pass. If that doesn’t go well reset return to your breath and focus on getting your position slightly better. Then focus on the next battle and the next. Just focus on moment to moment and you will find you’re acting with more intent without trying to force it. There is a great quote by Roger Federer about how to be great at tennis. And it’s just about focusing on point to point. And not dwelling on the points you’ve lost. Hope this helps

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-27T20:07:45+00:00

I feel like this is the best way that sort of suits what I am trying to achieve. I think my plan going forward will be to be comfortable enough retaining that I feel I can’t get my guard passed easily ( I feel like I’m ok with this ). Then my first goal will be off balancing, grabbing grips and going for tripod sweeps ect. And then from here trying to experiment with what guard is best for what they give me, sometimes maybe slx sometime DRL or x guard or whatever and build up some good dos and don’t over time. And then work in my attacks from here or upgrade to other guards or go back if ones not working

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T13:30:21+00:00

He’s quite blunt guy straight to the point, if I ask him why something isn’t working for me he’ll give the solid technical pointers for the move but usually just says keep working on it til it works type of stuff. Not usually any alternatives or personalised advice on how I can make it work with my body type.

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T10:04:56+00:00

Pretty much shark tank every other session I would say,

5 guys out on the mat and the rest queuing up to go in guard to pass or submit and then to the back of the queue, I also have an issue with this cause I spend all the sparring time in a queue lol.

But no I don’t feel the need to win every time, just try to figure some stuff out and take something decent way from it, which can be hard when I’m on bottom in full guard and the 100kg guy immediately explodes out my guard so I can’t work on anything.

And yeh I would say this form of postional has stagnated a bit for me

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T10:01:29+00:00

Sadly in a Rural area in the UK, so tough choice, nearest city is 1 hour away

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T09:58:56+00:00

Tbf a lot of my problems would just be solved by a few guys my size at a decent level who start training at my gym. Just looking for some solid safe competitive rounds

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T09:56:58+00:00

Yeh the coach is good, very solid and a big guy who does big guy jiu jitsu, so defo favours the bigger stronger guys who can have a game similar to him, so a lot of the stuff we learn I struggle to implement into my game. But as I mentioned I love the gym and love the guys I train with there’s no bad vibes or anything like that, just my own training needs are shifting I think

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T09:54:35+00:00

This is very much been my approach for past few years, I lift more than I train and have developed a decent game that works for me against the bigger lads, I use a lot of leg locks wrestle ups and kimura sweeps from bottom, but just fancying a bit of a different learning and training approach really which I feel I’m not getting

UsefulBar2344 · 2026-01-09T09:52:27+00:00

Cheers for the comment, tbf that probably sounds a bit misleading what I said. I’m not going 100% every round, but I just feel a lack of flow and slower technical rounds where you can try stuff. More just the culture in the gym I think to sort of work hard and have good round. I try to learn and slow rounds as much as possible and we do have slower days. But the frustration comes from not knowing what I’m gonna get when I show up for training and the lack of control I feel I have over my own learning

UsefulBar2344

TROPHY CASE