Anyone training BJJ without sparring?

[yetanother]

I'm telling you guys, the first person that opens a low intensity, noncompetitive, "pussy - BJJ gym" is gonna have a major success.

"self-defence" pussy BJJ already exists and it seems that it's chief evangelists Ryron & Rener are successful.

 

[Spaghetta]

Rolling is good (and a ton of fun) but I really only roll when I have something to focus on that I'm trying to nail down, which is almost always. Injuries is a bit of a problem, really bad ones can stop you from training or competing. I really try and stick with my favorite rolling partners for that reason.

 

[Ice 9 Cobra]

Rolling is good (and a ton of fun) but I really only roll when I have something to focus on that I'm trying to nail down, which is almost always. Injuries is a bit of a problem, really bad ones can stop you from training or competing. I really try and stick with my favorite rolling partners for that reason.

Picking and choosing training partners will hold you back so much.

 

[Spaghetta]

Picking and choosing training partners will hold you back so much.

I might have sounded a little too specific there by saying favorites, it's really just a few people I avoid who either can't give me any advice or have horrible hygiene lol

 

[judoka loca]

Anyone train Judo without throws?

 

[OldTimey]

I've been doing bjj for 6 years. Recently I've had 2 concussions from bjj that have really made my life hell. They were both accidents during rolling.

I don't want to quit at this point, but rolling is out of the question for the foreseeable future. I might be one of those technique and drill only guys for a while.

 

[Evenflow80]

I'm honestly the opposite.

More and more our academy classes have shifted towards more technique drilling and less and less time to actually spar. I personally hate it. When I first started there (and membership was much less), class was like half technique and rest just hard rolling. Felt like death after but man, really made you feel like you got a good workout afterwards.

Now its 3-4 techniques a class. Often goes past the hour and people have to leave, leaving only 2 or 3 people left to quickly squeeze in a few rolls. Its frustrtating to me to the point where I am actively thinking of other gyms now. Besides the lack of rolling time to make me even remotely compettive with other gyms that spar more, if you cram in 3-4 techniques in one class theres no way I can retain even one of those, at best. Less is more in these cases. IMO, one technique in class is more than enough. Whats the rush anyways??

It is what it is. But to directly answer TC, no you wont learn BJJ unless against a live, resisting partner in sparring.

But at the end of the day.... do what makes you happy. Thats what life is about isn't it?

 

[Seefoo]

Outside of medical issues, you really shouldn't avoid sparring. Not sparring will set your game back by leaps and bounds.

 

[mataleaos]

Sounds miserable. Not to be cradd but it would be like doing a lot of foreplay and then stopping entirely.

The only way I'd only do jiu-jitsu drilling, technique, and shop-talk with no rolling is the day where I am too physically broken down to roll. Rolling is most of the fun I think.

 

[asian-glow]

If I couldn't roll anymore I think I'd cut all ties with it. Sell my gis, stop posting here, etc. It'd be like a bad breakup where I want to erase any and all memory of it.

 

[Your Noodly Master]

i.e. doing just the technique/drilling part of the class and skipping the rolling part?

For us, white belts need two stripes (60 classes) to roll at the end of class with colored belts. Before that they just roll with each other. Several of them leave because they don't want to "get beat up". Our instructor tells them that they are more likely to get injured by a white belt than a higher belt who knows how to control himself, but they don't understand.

I've been training 6 years and I am so bored with the technique portion of class now that I mostly just go to open mat. I loathe drilling. If I couldn't spar I'd just stop all together and play golf like an old man should.

 

[asian-glow]

For us, white belts need two stripes (60 classes) to roll at the end of class with colored belts. Before that they just roll with each other. Several of them leave because they don't want to "get beat up". Our instructor tells them that they are more likely to get injured by a white belt than a higher belt who knows how to control himself, but they don't understand.

I've been training 6 years and I am so bored with the technique portion of class now that I mostly just go to open mat. I loathe drilling. If I couldn't spar I'd just stop all together and play golf like an old man should.

Advanced or competition classes allow for more drilling and rolling as opposed to pure instruction but there still seems to be a huge lack of "self-directed" classes. I'd like to structure a class where there were only loose guidelines to what you could do. For example, drill whatever pass you want for 10 minutes, then whatever sweep for another 10, etc, then positional sparring or free rolling at the end to try your stuff out.

mataleaos originally told me how this is how he runs classes and I really dig it. Another poster said that he basically gave everyone a shared account on a bjj subscription site and they just look stuff up and practice it in class.

I thought they were brilliant ideas- create a place for people to find a partner and drill what they want before testing it during rolling. The instructor would focus most of his attention on the beginners using a set curriculum while the more advanced would learn things themselves, which they would do anyway. Of course there'd be a timer so advanced guys don't just end up using all their time to help beginners. That way at best you'd only waste 50% of your time instead of 100% before getting to roll.

I used to teach once a week and I ran it based on the template suggested by mataleaos above, basically running the type of class I would want to run. What was weird is that even though most people were blues, they still wanted me to tell them what to do. In a perfect world I'd run it like a practice but this just isn't feasible when people aren't required to show up at certain times.

 

[Your Noodly Master]

I'm honestly the opposite.

More and more our academy classes have shifted towards more technique drilling and less and less time to actually spar. I personally hate it. When I first started there (and membership was much less), class was like half technique and rest just hard rolling. Felt like death after but man, really made you feel like you got a good workout afterwards.

Now its 3-4 techniques a class. Often goes past the hour and people have to leave, leaving only 2 or 3 people left to quickly squeeze in a few rolls. Its frustrtating to me to the point where I am actively thinking of other gyms now. Besides the lack of rolling time to make me even remotely compettive with other gyms that spar more, if you cram in 3-4 techniques in one class theres no way I can retain even one of those, at best. Less is more in these cases. IMO, one technique in class is more than enough. Whats the rush anyways??

It is what it is. But to directly answer TC, no you wont learn BJJ unless against a live, resisting partner in sparring.

But at the end of the day.... do what makes you happy. Thats what life is about isn't it?

You nailed it. 3-4 techniques at 8-10 minutes each is too much and eats into valuable training time. By the time the technique portion is done the collective energy in the room is minimized.

If possible, find another location where you can just go to open mat. Some places offer it for free or a low mat fee. I help teach grappling 2-3 times per month at a local police department. It's a nice change of pace.

 

[Your Noodly Master]

.... there still seems to be a huge lack of "self-directed" classes. I'd like to structure a class where there were only loose guidelines to what you could do.

I wrote a longer reply, but it was wrecked by these annoying Costco spams. Basically the self led class is open mat. At ours the whites and blues usually ask a lot of questions on technique details that they don't have a chance to ask in class. Few in our academy like drilling, so open mat usually turns into an exchange of ideas with a lot of rolling in between.

 

[method115]

Pretty much me. I tend to have to leave early.

It ain't ideal but it is what it is. Rather be able to show up and do something than to go home and eat junk food.

I don't do this exactly but I only get about 3 rolls in right now. Next year I can move back to my old office and stay for the whole class every other week. Right now though I have to leave 20 mins early and it's killing my sparring time.

We had some blackbelts come in during our openmat on Fridays. It was great because they showed me a really awesome halfguard back take and then the other blackbelt showed us something as well. By the time we got to roll, I rolled one time and had to leave. Even then I was late to work that day and just said fuck it my boss can fuck off.

 

[Foppa21]

I don't do this exactly but I only get about 3 rolls in right now. Next year I can move back to my old office and stay for the whole class every other week. Right now though I have to leave 20 mins early and it's killing my sparring time.

We had some blackbelts come in during our openmat on Fridays. It was great because they showed me a really awesome halfguard back take and then the other blackbelt showed us something as well. By the time we got to roll, I rolled one time and had to leave. Even then I was late to work that day and just said fuck it my boss can fuck off.

Some is better than none. It does suck that everyone else improves in leaps and bounds while I only improve incrementally (if at all). But I've been doing this long enough, and am older enough now to not really care too much

 

[Foppa21]

I've been doing bjj for 6 years. Recently I've had 2 concussions from bjj that have really made my life hell. They were both accidents during rolling.

I don't want to quit at this point, but rolling is out of the question for the foreseeable future. I might be one of those technique and drill only guys for a while.

How did you get your concussions?

 

[beat...people...up?]

Sounds miserable. Not to be cradd but it would be like doing a lot of foreplay and then stopping entirely.

The only way I'd only do jiu-jitsu drilling, technique, and shop-talk with no rolling is the day where I am too physically broken down to roll. Rolling is most of the fun I think.

Lol yeah. Heck even rolling without submitting anyone feels like foreplay with no orgasm.

 

[Evenflow80]

You nailed it. 3-4 techniques at 8-10 minutes each is too much and eats into valuable training time. By the time the technique portion is done the collective energy in the room is minimized.

If possible, find another location where you can just go to open mat. Some funds offer it for free or a low mat fee. I help teach grappling 2-3 times per month at a local police department. It's a nice change of pace.

Yeah, I've been thinking more and more about going to open mats at other academies. Thing I dont like about Gracie Barra is that they dont allow anyone not from GB to come in to open mat. Only othre GB students, so not sure how I would be welcomed to other academy Open mats with GB plastered all over my Gi.

 

[Evenflow80]

Some is better than none. It does suck that everyone else improves in leaps and bounds while I only improve incrementally (if at all). But I've been doing this long enough, and am older enough now to not really care too much

At the end of the day, are you happy? Honestly the older I get, the more I realize this is what it all boils down to: personal happiness. Simple, but so so true.