How to improve in BJJ?

[Oldguy]

Most of us have been grappling a long time. What activity do you believe actually improves your BJJ the most?

Here is a list of what we do:

1. Drill
2. Flow roll
3. Videos
4. Mat time
5. All of the above

The toughest part of improving in grappling is getting the moves you see or drill to actually show up as real techniques in your sparring. I have seen and drilled soooo many techniques that I feel I understand. Yet, they do not show up in my grappling. I am just scratching my head on "why?"

One thing I have noticed, if I successfully land a technique a few times during sparring, it will tend to make the technique "mine" and more likely to happen in the future. It is just getting to that point that is the mystery.

FYI - I watch videos all the time. But, I am not sure it is worth the effort. Very little of what I see ends up on the mat. For that matter, the same could be said for the technique of the day that we drill before rolling.

Any insights?

 

[maximus__]

Most of us have been grappling a long time. What activity do you believe actually improves your BJJ the most?

Here is a list of what we do:

1. Drill
2. Flow roll
3. Videos
4. Mat time
5. All of the above

The toughest part of improving in grappling is getting the moves you see or drill to actually show up as real techniques in your sparring. I have seen and drilled soooo many techniques that I feel I understand. Yet, they do not show up in my grappling. I am just scratching my head on "why?"

One thing I have noticed, if I successfully land a technique a few times during sparring, it will tend to make the technique "mine" and more likely to happen in the future. It is just getting to that point that is the mystery.

FYI - I watch videos all the time. But, I am not sure it is worth the effort. Very little of what I see ends up on the mat. For that matter, the same could be said for the technique of the day that we drill before rolling.

Any insights?

Targetted training is the best for me. Rolling doesn't make me better, specific training during rolling does.
I need to have a goal for the session and I can adjust it for my training partners.
For example:
If we are working the bottom of half guard, I direct every roll there either with me having the position or my opponent having that position if I am able.

People better than me, I work on defence and pay attention to what they do successfully to beat me from top or bottom. The roll may go where they choose it to.
People my level turns into a bit more of a fight and I may force things a bit more to get us there, but I try and spend my time in the position as much as possible still.
People worse than me, I just work on getting as many reps of the technqiue or position as possible as I can guide the round.

My school has a curriculum so I usually combine the current weeks topic with the previous weeks. Usually you will struggle to hit the technique from that class in the same session against a decent grappler, but 1-2 weeks later when it's not so fresh you will be able to hit it because they are so focused on the current topic.

I use videos for concepts and specific problems only. I rarely find they help me without targetted practice like above.

 

[Forceof1]

Most of us have been grappling a long time. What activity do you believe actually improves your BJJ the most?

Here is a list of what we do:

1. Drill
2. Flow roll
3. Videos
4. Mat time
5. All of the above

The toughest part of improving in grappling is getting the moves you see or drill to actually show up as real techniques in your sparring. I have seen and drilled soooo many techniques that I feel I understand. Yet, they do not show up in my grappling. I am just scratching my head on "why?"

One thing I have noticed, if I successfully land a technique a few times during sparring, it will tend to make the technique "mine" and more likely to happen in the future. It is just getting to that point that is the mystery.

FYI - I watch videos all the time. But, I am not sure it is worth the effort. Very little of what I see ends up on the mat. For that matter, the same could be said for the technique of the day that we drill before rolling.

Any insights?

I always have one or two things I'm typically trying to work on adding to my game.

I know as a black belt the trend is (your game shrinks and you just do a few things unstoppably well) but I'm a technique collector, and I typically teach what I know I can hit in training. So if I'm going to be doing a month on omoplatas, I'm getting omoplata's in every roll, different entries, finishes, etc. Or I'll feed my opponent omoplatas and work on my counters, escapes, etc. I'll research a few videos, instructionals, etc, to see if there is any new ideas to try to incorporate.

I feel this is what helps me improve, both as a practitioner and an instructor.

I fully acknowledge this would not be an ideal approach as a competitor, but I'm no longer interested in that.

 

[kintana]

In the last year I have made massive improvements to my jiu jitsu. For some info I am a 12 year BJJ practitioner and a blackbelt for 1 year.

In 2023 I got silver in a ADCC trials as a +35 year old competing against some young guns. Even did the absolute division and got to the medal rounds but lost in broze medal match due to injury.

In the past year I got levels better, I started giving people trouble who gave me a ton of trouble.

What I did different in 2023:

- I really studied my game, I recorded video of my training matches after each sparring session I really focused on what I did right and wrong.
1.) During video recordings I saw what were some basic concept mistakes I was making. And I was making a lot that a black belt should not. Such as bridging with poor technique, not applying my weight correctly.

2.) I looked at my strengths and realized what happens if someone neutralizes them, do I have another option? Or can I still get the position.

3.) I never left a training session without asking a question to my sparring partners like "Why did you not tap to that choke"

4.) In summary I did not just practice or drill for drilling sake I really focused on why I was good and why I was bad.

- I always tried the technique we learned in class unless it was something I know I will never do. It did not matter if it was a blue belt or a black belt. I know most people say roll with blue belts but I found this was not the best for me. Here is why it was not for me, being a blackbelt some blue belts respected me and never went full force. And if you do not get a 80% resisting opponents you will not get better. Drilling a move on a weaker opponents I never found much success because weaker opponents did not help me improve. If i went against a black belt and they knew the move was coming I still went for it. Because if you can hit that move when the opponent has skill and knows it is coming you will only get better.


- I went back to basics, believe it or not one of the best BJJ fanatics video I got was John Danaher's solo drilling. Not only was the instruction good but he really highlighted the value of shadow rolling. Some of his details really showed me how I knew the basics but I was not applying it.


- BJJ fanatics, I started getting the videos I needed after studying my game and realizing what I wanted to work on. Mainly John danaher and gordon ryan videos. I remember watching some moves not all moves and saying okay I just need to do this and nothing else. And in sparring I would just do it. But I break it down, for example heel hooks, I noticed I was getting always in a decent heel hook position but never finishing. So I just watch danaher breaking mechanics clips until I started finishing people from there.


- Focus on sequences not moves. Danaher explains it well, if you drill a armbar you get good at that armbar but you need to get to that armbar. This was probably the biggest change to my game. I never looked at one move or two moves. I looked at it from every aspect of the fight. Fights start standing so I said what is the sequence i need to do to get to this armbar. And often you need to develop multiple sequences. When I starting thinking this way I think this was when I got considerably better. Even my coach said "you got very dangerous recently"


- Let yourself get caught in bad positions and work from there. Train for you not for your opponent. If you build confidence in escapes you suddenly will get better. If you know no matter what I am fine ,no matter where I land it really boosts your confidence.


- Finally i did 1 to 1 training with a knowledgeable coach. I do not mean any blackbelt or my head instructors but a coach who knows how to build your skills up. I am a blackbelt but I would not make a good 1 to 1 training coach. I found a coach who really thought about all aspects of a grappling match. And I took advantage of it. I did not just switch moves every 1 to 1 session sometimes I would just drill will him the same sequences for 5 privates sessions straight. He knows what I need to work on and I know what I need to get better. They are my sessions so I did not ask random questions or we switch techniques, we trained to win.

- Physical training helps cardio and strength and conditioning but I had a friend help me with this and I wont give advice.


Finally it depends why you want to get better and what you wanted to do with it. I felt like a imposter blackbelt for a long time. So I said the only way to prove to myself that I was a legit blackbelt was to do well against top competition. And no better place than ADCC to prove it. I wont be a ADCC world medalist(I have a family and have a pretty intense job that keeps me around 90+ hours a week) but I wanted to prove I could get there against some of the best and hold my own.

Sounds corny but it makes a different, the why.

Hope this can give you some ideas.

 

[generalyum]

1. Cardio and strength is a technique you can weaponize
2. Mental rehearsal and visualization helped me a bunch especially when I've been injured
3. Taking notes and targeting what you learned/gained from the training session

For context I'm a brown belt (less than a year though)

 

[mattemate]

There's a convo Eddie Bravo had with Rogan once talking about Demian Maia.

Ed broke it down in terms of Maia having a very specific path that he takes.

For my own game, although it's not perfect by any means, I feel it's complete in a sense that I have at least two options for every position (I think of it as a front door and a back door, and they chain together), which will get me back on the path that I'm looking to be on.

Once I'm back on my path, I can impose my will a lot of times, and do what it is I'm looking to do.

If a technique doesn't fit in with that path, I discard it. There are lots of techniques I don't go for and probably never will. Baratoplata, for instance, while it works, doesn't fit in with my game, so I don't fuck with it.

 

[randomg1t]

I felt like a imposter blackbelt for a long time.

this one cuts a bit too close to home.

 

[randomg1t]

There's a convo Eddie Bravo had with Rogan once talking about Demian Maia.

Ed broke it down in terms of Maia having a very specific path that he takes.

For my own game, although it's not perfect by any means, I feel it's complete in a sense that I have at least two options for every position (I think of it as a front door and a back door, and they chain together), which will get me back on the path that I'm looking to be on.

Once I'm back on my path, I can impose my will a lot of times, and do what it is I'm looking to do.

If a technique doesn't fit in with that path, I discard it. There are lots of techniques I don't go for and probably never will. Baratoplata, for instance, while it works, doesn't fit in with my game, so I don't fuck with it.

this. coincidentally, i actually try and do a lot of what demian does with my passes.

the biggest improvement for me was when i started to fight with a clear path in mind. not just the goal of submitting my opponent, i could literally draw up a flowchart of what i do every time i roll. everything i do is just a step in the path towards the mount (or the back, depending on what they do).

but, not to be confused with anyone actually competing at a high level, there are guys at my gym that still fuck me up no matter what i do. my path runs straight into a brick wall pretty early with them. so me getting better is relative.

to anyone new, i would suggest to just keep showing up and trying to pay as much attention as possible to what's being done. it's difficult, but try to not just go through the motions, but actually focus. other than that, keep showing up and eventually you'll become pretty good at it.

 

[mattemate]

the biggest improvement for me was when i started to fight with a clear path in mind. not just the goal of submitting my opponent, i could literally draw up a flowchart of what i do every time i roll. everything i do is just a step in the path towards the mount (or the back, depending on what they do).

Yep! That's exactly how I think of it, it's a flowchart.

 

[shunyata]

Yep! That's exactly how I think of it, it's a flowchart.

One of my training partners referred to being on the receiving end as "being forced into a decision tree of increasingly bad decisions".

 

[mattemate]

One of my training partners referred to being on the receiving end as "being forced into a decision tree of increasingly bad decisions".

Man, I got into chess in the pandemic, and it really is so similar. You get one move behind, you're toast.

I used to have a training partner that matched me close physically. We're both 6'4", and at the time both weighed anywhere from 205-215. He's a tad stronger (depending on how much I'm training-- sometimes I might be stronger) and about 15 years younger. I'm a little better at jiu-jitsu, he's a little better at wrestling. Overall, great matchup, and great guy to train with.

Anyway, I remember one roll in particular he just got a bit ahead of me. I KNEW exactly what was coming next, the entire time, but just couldn't catch up. He just got a bit ahead in position, and he was anticipating my counters, and countering them before I could get there.

It's a bit of an aside, but he was spending more time wrestling at a different club, and he was just smashing me for about a month. I realized I was spending too much energy trying to wrestle him, and losing 90% of the wrestling exchanges. I just made the mental flip, "Stop wrestling him, beat him with better jiu-jitsu," and just like that, I started getting the better of him.

It's great to have someone that can really push you in the gym, that is a good matchup physically and skill wise. I grew a LOT then.

He moved to NYC at the end of 2020. I really miss that kid, he was a fucking animal and a great guy.

But I digress. Point is, chess is the same. You can get one move behind, and see exactly what your opponent is doing, but it won't matter. You're still toast.

 

[Kforcer]

Most of us have been grappling a long time. What activity do you believe actually improves your BJJ the most?

Here is a list of what we do:

1. Drill
2. Flow roll
3. Videos
4. Mat time
5. All of the above

The toughest part of improving in grappling is getting the moves you see or drill to actually show up as real techniques in your sparring. I have seen and drilled soooo many techniques that I feel I understand. Yet, they do not show up in my grappling. I am just scratching my head on "why?"

One thing I have noticed, if I successfully land a technique a few times during sparring, it will tend to make the technique "mine" and more likely to happen in the future. It is just getting to that point that is the mystery.

FYI - I watch videos all the time. But, I am not sure it is worth the effort. Very little of what I see ends up on the mat. For that matter, the same could be said for the technique of the day that we drill before rolling.

Any insights?

One thing you might try is focusing like a laser on the techniques that seem to suit you most, that you are hitting in training and then using instructional material to supplement that or figuring out ways to set up chains off of the move, pathways to the move, etc.

 

[yetanother]

The toughest part of improving in grappling is getting the moves you see or drill to actually show up as real techniques in your sparring. I have seen and drilled soooo many techniques that I feel I understand. Yet, they do not show up in my grappling. I am just scratching my head on "why?"

If I am good at the position the moves are from it's way easier to pull them off so might make sense to work on spots you are familiar with to a degree.
The big thing for learning new spots in positional sparring.