How have your opinions of BJJ changed over the years?

TalkShowOnMute said:
I think the problem is that the IBJJF and it's rules have become synonymous with BJJ and it's rules. At least in many schools I have seen, you are forced to roll under IBJJF rules..whether you compete or not.

And to me, training jiu jitsu under IBJJF rules is not training jiu jitsu..it is training a specific subset of jiu jitsu moves that are allowed in particular competitions. It's jiu jitsu with explicit restrictions IMO.

In this way, the lower 3/5 and 4/5ths of the belt spectrum tend to train "Northern-Style" jiu jitsu and ignore much of the lower half of the body.

This is all just and observation and opinion of course. Nothing more.
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well, it is for safety.

It is better to have a set of rules so at least you know what to expect.

I know a brasilian guy that train with all leg locks from white belt in Brasil (including heel hooks).

It would be cool to find other clubs that do such rules.

In my club, you can do subs on someone that level.

so a white belt can knee bar a brown and vice versa but a white belt cannot knee bar a while belt.

I am also aware that it is limiting people skills as according to some people it should take you 7 years to brown belt which means most people would have quit by then.
 
Came from a boxing background so actually found it real difficult mentally, being constantly subbed by people I'd run over in the ring, I guess this is what's called 'dropping the ego' Then someone opened my mind by saying to me "who's the better martial artist? a guy who has solid boxing with an ever improving ground game, or someone who can just roll?"

I still wish I found bjj first but it was not to be. After about 4 years of rolling, my work shifts didn't allow me to make classes so I hired instructor for 1-2-1 tuition which went pretty well but I just got tired of it all, tired of injuries, tired of rolling with people who just wanted to tap me. It's over for me now, it's now bag work, hill runs, and gym work, and I know I can roll any time of need be so I took from it what I wanted.
 
TalkShowOnMute said:
Do you find that most school tend to use IBJJF rulesets?

For me, the best part is that I do not watch grappling tournaments...the occasional Metamoris or ADCC...or a super-hyped gi match here or there.

So even though I've trained since 2007 I honestly have very little knowledge of the ruleset as it pertains to each belt level and of how BJJ is scored.

I only know I've done something wrong when I catch something or start working on something and someone says "You can't do that at blue." Doh!
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The local comps here are toehold and kneebar at purple, and I find most schools tend toward that.

Personally, I'll only finish a leglock on a purple belt or above. Otherwise, its catch and release.
 
Oldguy said:
I feel very fortunate to have experienced BJJ in the 1990s. It is hard to describe. My start was before the first UFC. I had just received my Shotokan black belt. One day, I saw the Gracie in Action video at a martial arts bookstore. It was like I just learned the world was not flat. I just stood there and watched the strikers get destroyed. The guy behind the counter told me it was Brazilian. I thought to myself, "The Brazilians have martial arts?" He gave me Rickson's card. I went to my first private with Rickson in Laguna Nigel (I pronounced it with an "R").

I knew instantly that this was the real deal. One time when he was describing a potential self defense scenario, he matter of factly said, "So, there this guy. He rapu yu sista..." He went on to explain the situation and the response. I'm thinking to myself - Who are these people? What I took away - it was clear what they were teaching wasn't a game. They meant business.

People would line up to pay $35 for a half hour private with Rickson. Luis always had a fist full of cash. You could count on a line of people waiting. We trained in one of the raquetball courts on mats. The electricity in the air was amazing. I remember one night, a Kenpo instructor came to fight Rickson. After he warmed up, Rickson in a very friendly manner patted him on the shoulder and gave a hug. We all moved back to the walls. Then it started. After trying to strike him a few times, the Kenpo instructor shot a firemans carry. He actually picked Rickson up and as he was executing the throw, I could see on Rickson's face he was just calmly calculating what he was going to do. I still am not sure how it happened. But, Rickson ended up mounted when the throw was done. I was an amazing sight. He submitted him several times effortlessly.

As a brand new white belt, I really couldn't appreciate the technical things that I wish I could experience now. But, I do remember the atmosphere and attitudes. Rickson was the absolute coolest guy in the world to a complete white belt spaz (me). He treated me very respectfully and I really got the feeling he was trying to teach me what I could absorb. To this day, I still hear him say, "Take the move your opponent gives you, not the one you want to take." You could make that a philosophy of life.

After the first UFC happened, everything changed. The secret was out. Just like everything in life, there has been some good and some not so good.
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Cool story bro. Seriously.
 
I started hating the gi and refused to train in it. Now it's alright.
 
My opinions of what my 'style' is have changed.

I'm a rather big guy, so I didn't do many things...assuming them to be for smaller people, like going inverted for example. In truth, it had little to do with my size and more to do with my lack of experience and movement.

Now, things which I always considered (impossible, youtube crap) is actually opening up for me as I get more comfortable, mentally, in chaotic positions.

I'm sure, in another 5 years, I'll look back and laugh at what I consider impossible now.
 
I always thought it was great, but I didn't realize how much you have to take learning into your own hands. Karate, you just go in and drill, and whatever you can do comes out of sparring. The basics strikes and counters are all known and it takes a long time to learn to just do the drills, picking them up in the fastest order possible. You do the same things almost every class.

BJJ on the other hand, in my experience, you can't learn in a class without private lessons, unless you keep a journal and drill on your own, studying sources outside of class and focusing on basics despite the pull of a large class to focus on advanced tactics.

I think it is ironic that a scholarly approach to the art produced a person who uses sensitivity to overcome stronger people without hurting them, and it is full of fitness enthusiasts and jocks, when Kung Fu claims to be all that but relies on strict devotion to structure which produces people who only win by beating you in the face.
 
When I first started, I thought rubber guard was the coolest and most unstoppable position ever (and my only roadblock to becoming an elite level grappler was my hip flexibility). Heh....
 
First of all, great great read so far. Thanks for all those who shared.

My introduction was watching the first UFC and wondering "who they hell that guy in the pajamas was". After being in awe of Royce I wanted to eventually trained. At the time I still had a basketball career to attend to so it would be years later that I would actually start

I discovered Muay Thai first and went pretty hard with that for years before Bjj. So coming from the strikers background (combined with being a decent athlete still) I unknowingly had a big target on my back. I had no idea at the time why seemingly everyone under brown wanted to roll with me my first 4-6 months of training all the time. When i found out why It made me pretty resentful of it all at first. My teacher at the time really saved me because he really broke it down about how Bjj starts for a guy like me and how it will improve if I continue. He wouldn't let me quit and just got me to focus on the art. I'll always owe him for that.

My focus has always been on the self defense aspect and that hasn't changed. I enjoy supporting my teammates competition but I do not look at any medal with awe. I compete once per belt level because my teacher asked but as I look at my current situation I'll probably be too old to compete going forward at the higher belts and I'm fine with that. I do think the focus on sport aspect is not a good thing in general. I don't have much of an opinion of ibjjf other than...well they exist but they don't govern me.

When I first started I thought it was important to learn Portuguese and my instructor had a policy of free privates once a month if it was in Portuguese. So I learned a lot and had no idea that pretty much no Americans speak a meaningful amount of the language. It's actually my only "advantage" vs much higher belts. I view it as an important but not essential part of the art to get past just saying obrigado And boa.

The art, self defense and the fitness aspect remain paramount to me. Who knows if that will change. My personal Bjj highlights come from the years I spent bouncing at various clubs. I thank GOD that I was training Bjj before I started because in numerous real situations I bjj saved my face and body if not my life.

When I first started my goal was to be purple with a few stripes. But with what Bjj has done to save me during those rough days I figure I owe it to Bjj to get a black belt and teach my kids one day.

I now am on a Muay Thai similar path in that I'll go make that training pilgrimage soon. I've been to rio to party and chase chicks so I'm curious to see how different it will be to train hard. I do love brasil and Brasilian culture and Bjj is part of it.
 
I have a couple thoughts that are kind of a compilation of other people's posts--
I agree with with Balto said about the disparity among people at the same belt level now vs. a while ago. Someone else said that when they started a blue belt seemed like a jedi. Yes, totally agree. And even after I had a year or two of experience, being promoted to purple belt someday literally seemed impossible -- purple belts I was exposed to at the time were f'ing ninjas. There was no thought of, well "I just have to show up enough."

Also when my (very Brazilian) 1st instructor talked about self defense, it was the real deal. It wasn't some hypothetical lesson -- I 100% believed his stories of the countless real life situations where he had to use many of the technique he showed. At the time I sometimes would wish we'd get back to covering more sport related techniques, but in retrospect I'm glad I was exposed to that side of BJJ.

When I started (some) people did neck cranks and toe holds at all levels. Wasn't really crazy about the neck cranks even then, but there was a sense that you had to be aware of protecting yourself no matter what. You didn't stop a roll because someone crossed their foot over into a reap. To be honest though, I welcome the limitations of gi submissions that are typically enforced-- I enjoy not getting as banged up.

On a separate note, when I started I truly felt that all my training partners were proactive about helping each other improve. I think that still exists in my current training, but it doesn't seem to be as across the board. This could be a function of the school more than a change in BJJ culture, but that's just my experience.

For example, now I'm exposed to more classmates who train full time to compete, and somewhat understandably they're in it fully for themselves. Helping others around them, especially if they're not fellow full-timers, isn't high on the priority list. This leads to cliques within an academy which I think is kind of lame. As I write this, I do think this is more of an academy specific thing-- anyone have any thoughts/experience with this?
 
Initially: that gay stuff (not that there's anything wrong with that) some guys were doing in the (kick)boxing gym

After some time: fuck it

After some training: holy shit this is fun

Now: fun stuff that is inexplicably prone to some of the same catty bullshit as my job

I'm actually glad I didn't get into BJJ when it was first offered at my gym, as it used to be a TLI affiliate. Since that was like 10 years ago, I'd probably be like purple or brown by now, but ah well.
 
Blew my knee out in 2010 as a purple under a Pedro Sauer blackbelt and unfortunately never made it back :(

Life got in the way as it sometimes does. I still absolutely love the sport, though. Nothing like it imo.
 
Hmmmm. Some other things that have changed with my mindset.

I don't try to be good at all aspects of bjj now. There's some stuff that I just don't use.

I don't ask about nogi variants to new gi moves. I have a set of moves I use with the gi and a set without it.

I don't write down moves anymore. Just cool drills.

I am no longer impressed by belt rank or by who their teacher is. The only thing that impresses me are results rolling.

I think instructors are fallible now.

Complete indifference to the Gracie name.

I have no qualms tapping to a lower belt cleanly. Helps create a better atmosphere IMO.

Leaving ego at the door is sometimes too much to ask.
 
I used to think that strength/weight/mass does not matter in bjj- it does, I know it now.

I used to think that my goal is to have an awesome technique from guard, nowadays I know that the key is to be well-rounded, I would like to improve my gray areas also have a tree like gameplan and flow between techniques that I know very well.

I used to be a belt chaser, after getting my blue based on attendence and not competing even once- I regret it. Now I want to have the highest skill I can acquire, fuck the belts. I dreamed about being a blackbelt nowadays I find being a brownbelt more badass, I cannot explain why :)

I thought I would never compete- I tried and look forward to doing so again- I don't want to be promoted to purple until I have at least 5-7 medals. Then I will know that I deserve it.

I started bjj with intention of being able to defend myself, over the years I forgot about it. Nowadays bjj is a goal by itself.
 
Started BJJ because I wanted to be a proffessional mma fighter, 6 years later I don't really give a shit about mma and only occasionally watch fights (even then it might be the main and co main event).

When I started all I wanted to do was get better than the other people around me and rise up the belts, now I don't give 2 fucks about belt colour and just enjoy rolling and learning new stuff.

Finally, at some point (maybe already) we are going to have to stop referring to BJJ as a combat sport, as a lot of whats taught today serves no other purpose than to score points in a competition.
 
I find it so weird how uptight some schools are.

I train at a Renzo Gracie school under a member of the Gracie family and I have nothing but good things to say about it. Nothing is super uptight (Leg locks allowed blue belt and upward and are routinely taught to the students) and everyone is super respectful. No one was even dissing Bravo after Metamoris; Renzo himself was only complementary about it.

Just funny how different sides of the Gracie family are, I guess.
 
When I started, I thought that BJJ basically equals ground-fighting - I was an MMA fan and was unware of the "sport-only" techniques. Now I realize that there is a whole set of techniques and games that don't really work in fighting. I'm also aware that the art isn't united as I thought it was - I originally thought that basically the Gracies ran everything and everyone tipped their hat to them, but now I see that there is a lot of disagreement in the community and even outright hostility toward the Gracies.

My overall view of the value of training the art hasn't really changed though - I still think it's the best art to learn how to fight on the ground, and it's super-valuable for fighters to learn. It might even be increased - I have come to realize that most people can benefit from training it.
 
I remember the old days when blue belts were masters, purple belts were like jedis etc

The gym I started at was a Gracie Jiu Jitsu place, I didn't know anything about points. It was only about the submission. Rolling was a lot slower and lighter. There was some self defense techniques taught.

My second gym was a bit more intense than the first. I first learnt about x guard, DLR etc there. Points was only important at competition although things have changed a lot since I started there. It is very much a competition jiu jitsu gym now.

A few gyms and years later, positions, points and advantages shaped how I roll. I used half guard a lot more, half spider, leg drags etc. A lot of specific training and very intense rolling. Ibjjf rules apply to sparring apart from no gi where we can all do knee bars and toe holds.

My most current gym has no where near the talent pool of my last gym in London so I am experimenting a bit more. There is very little specific training but it is relatively intense but not as much as my gym in London. Everything is allowed apart from knee reaps in the gi. I am having to get used to defending leg locks a lot more.
 
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