Learning Outside the BJJ Academy
The bottom line:
You must study outside the academy if you want to progress as fast as possible.
Many people believe you’ll learn everything you need to know by just showing up to BJJ class regularly. They believe that regular class attendance is the key to progression. This line of thinking is not 100% correct. Regular attendance is important, but it’s not the only thing you need to do. I’ve seen many people attend class regularly for years and make literally no progress during that time. The reason why is twofold. First, they have the wrong mentality about Jiu Jitsu. And second, they don’t study or learn about Jiu Jitsu off the mats. Let’s explore these points further.
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The Wrong Mentality
One reason that athletes fail to progress as fast as they can is because they have the wrong mentality about training. Their thought process can be flawed in several ways. One common mistake is that they believe they know everything they need to know, and they simply need to put more time in on the mats. Essentially, they do the same thing repeatedly and they expect to perform better the next time.
Another way that athletes have the wrong mentality can be observed in how they deal with adversity. Some athletes attribute every failure in their technique to some sort of external cause. For example, they get swept the same way repeatedly, and they make up an excuse in their head for it. They may say to themselves, “that only happened because I’m tired”, “That other guy is so strong”, or “If only I reacted a little faster”.
Both of those mentalities are distractions from the correct way to deal with adversity on the mats. The truth is that athletes must look inward and figure out what they’re doing wrong and how they can improve every time they roll. Jiu Jitsu is a thinking man’s sport and you won’t get good at it until you’re humble enough to learn every day and accept the fact that you don’t know everything. When failure happens, it’s usually due to a lack of knowledge in a situation. Be humble. Learn from your mistakes. Study.
Learning Outside the Academy
That brings us to the second point. Once an athlete adopts the correct mindset, they need to seek out the knowledge they’re lacking. The best way to find that knowledge in a timely fashion is to get it outside the academy.
Why is that?
That’s simple. Academies are set up to teach a curriculum to a large group of people. That means the class session is tailored to the group and not to the individual. For example, the professor may spend a week going over arm bars from guard, but you’re struggling with 20 other things every time you roll. You can’t interrupt the class with your technique issues that are unrelated to arm bars from guard. Your professor and your teammates won’t be happy with you.
This isn’t an indictment against BJJ academies – far from it. Academies are the best at training large groups of people. We need academies and you should belong to an academy. Where the academy environment falters is with the individual. Instructors only have so much time to instruct and most of that time is spent teaching groups. They do not have the time to work with every member of the academy on their individual problems that are unrelated to the technique being taught that day in class.
Since the academy environment is focused on the group, YOU need to tend to your own personal development. There are several ways you can do that. If you have unlimited resources, you can pay for frequent private lessons. This may work for some. Just make sure you have a very skilled professor that can teach you in a way that resonates with you. It’s one thing to be an incredible grappler, it’s another thing to be an incredible instructor. Keep in mind that grappling ability does not equal instructing ability. It’s rare that a person is both a world-class grappler and a world-class instructor.
There are other options besides for paying for private lessons. My preference is to look for the specific knowledge I’m lacking in books, videos, and in online sources. It’s important to just find credible sources and learn. For the newbie, they have a lot to learn. Newbies should focus on establishing a base level of grappling knowledge. They need to learn about strategy, balance, pressure, and leverage. Then they need to start filling their toolbox with techniques suited to them and their specific strengths.
More advanced grapplers need to assess their knowledge and fill in the gaps. There’s a good chance that even grapplers with years of experience are lacking in their Jiu Jitsu fundamentals. So, it may be wise to start from square one and learn the fundamentals the correct way.
It’s important to note that I’m not just recommending watching technique video after technique video on YouTube. Memorizing techniques without understanding how they work, when to use them, and how you set them up is pointless. You need to have a solid understanding of grappling concepts before you can expect to rapidly add new techniques to your arsenal.
Conclusion
It really isn’t that difficult to progress faster than the average man in BJJ. Beyond regular attendance at a BJJ academy, you only need to do two other things. First, have the right attitude when you’re training. If things don’t go the way that you planned, then assume you have something to learn there. Always be humble. Always seek to improve your knowledge.
After you adopt the right attitude, you need to seek out the knowledge you’ve yet to learn. The knowledge you need to grow as a martial artist can come from your instructor, your training partners, and from sources outside the academy. Your instructor and your teammates don’t have unlimited time to work with you on your game, so you will need to do substantial learning outside the academy. Learning BJJ at the academy is like learning in a university classroom – the professor isn’t there just for you. You’ll need to do the bulk of the learning and preparation outside of the classroom.
When you learn about fundamental Jiu Jitsu concepts on a theoretical level outside the academy, you better understand what's going on while you're at the academy. This will help you get better faster. So, keep learning!