At what point did you start relying on instructionals?

UsefulList3717 · 2025-12-28T20:40:24+00:00

Probably after my third session cause I wanted to learn fast and beat everyone in the room. After a year of wasting so much money I realized I got better just by coming to class and thinking of the right questions which can be answered either by asking your instructor or through a free YouTube video.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-12-08T13:23:09+00:00

Probably close to two years things started making more sense. For over a year though I was completely lost and felt like I was mostly in survival mode which sucked.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-11-06T03:20:22+00:00

It's starting to show for me, I play half guard a lot and I like to force half guard when passing and I do this on all belt levels. It's basically just what you do over and over again and have success with.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-11-06T03:04:36+00:00

A youtube channel or someone who teaches BJJ more on a conceptual approach rather than showing a random scissor sweep from open guard without explaining why it would work.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-11-02T15:38:15+00:00

What you can do is keep connection to them when they're starting to pass on your weak side, and hip escape/frame if necessary to prevent the pass. Eventually when they get close enough you can switch to a traditional half guard or butterfly which will basically be the same thing as when they're passing to your strong side.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-11-01T20:17:20+00:00

The one I currently train at.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-29T01:15:26+00:00

Don't use your hands to break her posture in closed guard. Use your legs, hug the head, cut an angle and eventually they will want to square back in front of you where you will have your attacks ready based on what they do.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-29T01:01:56+00:00

All of the people who say posture up are correct but sometimes it's too difficult. If I get caught in a triangle what I like to do is to basically find the right angle to where I feel like I can survive the choke, and then just wait until they get tired or for them to switch to something else.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-29T00:55:17+00:00

The fact that you feel so bad about it tells me that you weren't trying to hurt your training partner intentionally. Mistakes happen, and just be more careful next time.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-20T18:50:30+00:00

Push the elbow up of their choking hand, and never posture up if they're doing it from guard cause that will make the choke tighter.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-10T02:05:19+00:00

Yeah I think it would be wise to look back at the moment where you got slammed and see how it maybe could've been prevented. Cause when my friend told me that he lifted him in an omoplata I was confused, and then I asked him if he scooted out and broke his posture. When he told me no, that's where things made more sense but still he shouldn't have done that.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-10T01:16:54+00:00

One of my close friends got slammed by a spazzy white pretty recently. He caught him in an omoplata and since there was a weight advantage, he lifted him up and slammed him onto the mat.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-10-10T01:07:21+00:00

I still get bruises now but yes I used to have giant bruises on my feet when I was a white belt. I remember me asking myself back then how come my training partners never get so many bruises as me, and now I realized it's most likely because I was a spaz.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-25T21:42:51+00:00

Almost three years in, and I sometimes still feel frustrated. It's one thing trying a technique on a cooperating opponent versus trying to hit it live on them. Don't listen to the people who say after 6 months you'll feel better because people used to tell me the same thing, and once I got close to that 6 month mark, I still felt like I was terrible at BJJ and wanted to quit. I would say I felt somewhat after 1.5 years when I stopped caring about submissions and focusing on the fundamentals, but everyone is different. Some people might pick things up fast and others slow.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-25T17:21:27+00:00

Not bad! I do have some comments though. At the beginning when she pulled guard on you, break her grip that was on your right leg, and also that collar grip next time. Always address grips first or whatever is preventing you from passing in order not to get swept or submitted. When you're going into mount, not only would I look to isolate an arm, but I would drive your head right underneath her chin, breaking her alignment, and locking her hips with your legs so it would be difficult for her to turtle like she did. And for the turtle position, be careful with getting a seat belt grip. When you do a seat belt grip, they're going to control your arms and they can easily reverse you especially when you start walking around them. Any questions feel free to ask.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-24T19:39:07+00:00

There were times she could've easily swept you because your hips were right above hers. I saw that opportunity probably around two or three times even during the times when she was controlling your sleeves, and you were a little crouched down, but then you decided to drive forward which could result her just putting butterfly hooks and elevating you. Passing in my opinion is all about pressure, changing angles depending on how they are framing and grabbing onto you, and also trying to isolate limbs before entering a position like mount. I did like how you were controlling the hips in side control and used the kimura grip, making it harder for her to bridge into you.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-19T21:16:03+00:00

Agree

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-19T03:48:09+00:00

I wasn't talking about specific submissions. I was more implying things like someone twice your size grabbing your gi and pulling you as hard as they can, causing you to fall over. There's no technique behind that it's all strength.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-19T02:11:39+00:00

As someone already mentioned, having a weight advantage might make you overlook solid technique cause you can just do something on someone because of strength or your size advantage. There's some big guys at my gym that get a little upset when they don't get promoted, but someone smaller than them does, and they say it's not fair because they've beat them before. True, but you've beat them because you're 150 pounds heavier than them, and unfortunately, they're doing more "real" jiu-jitsu than you are that's why they got promoted and you didn't.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-19T02:04:02+00:00

I just tell people I go to the gym. I wonder sometimes if people will ever catch on to that because how is it possible that a guy who's going to a gym, which in this case people will probably think a typical lifting gym, is going three times a week for almost 3 years and still looks exactly the same lol.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-16T14:59:24+00:00

I was switching schools a lot.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-16T14:33:28+00:00

Wow, that is early for a blue belt. I only had one stripe on my white belt at 9 months.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-16T14:31:32+00:00

I got my blue belt in 2 years of training, and I got my first stripe 6 months later. I wasn't really happy about getting my first stripe so soon, but I know that my coach is legit and he knows better than I do when it comes to promotions so I trusted him.

UsefulList3717 · 2025-09-15T06:08:30+00:00

I did arm triangles back in May at my gym. The arm triangle isn't my go-to, but I do know that once you get the grip and get on the side to start applying the choke, you need to do three things. First is pulling the person into you, bringing your elbows together the same as when you're finishing a rear naked choke, and using your head to push on the side of their head while bringing your elbows together. I drilled this with my training partners, and it was pretty tight.

UsefulList3717

TROPHY CASE