BJJ Half Truths

[Big Nasty Edison]

Just my personal opinion but:

BJJ is for everyone.

When I hurt my back, I couldn't bridge, shrimp, change levels etc. That made me realize that "BJJ is for everyone unless you have X injury or disorder". I was able to do easier, less athletic martial arts until I healed enough to get back to BJJ. But some people never heal from certain injuries so that made me think that BJJ definitely isn't for some people.

Plus we have a dude who 40+ year old dude who is almost 500 lbs. He honestly can't do anything in class. He joined with the goal of losing weight, which I support. But technique wise there's very little he is ever able to really do. He would honestly lose weight faster doing something like wing chun (if we are talking techniques of the art and not warm up exercises before class).

 

[Dirty Holt]

which involves "checking my ego" to a degree. I get the impression from Holt and Co. that they consider this weak-minded, blah, blah, blah, because in going to the weaker facet of my game, I must not be trying hard enough to win. I realize at this point that each side in this argument is just digging in deeper to where no real understanding will be reached.

Working on weaknesses in practice is not what I said. Checking your ego and not caring about winning positions is what I am talking about. Being fine with someone tapping you is checking your ego at the door, and its a great way to be very inefficient.

 

[jack36767]

Trust me, I'm definitely not collecting moves at this point. I know my passing game and I know my guard game, although I also know my guard game is not nearly as developed as I'd like it to be, and there are pieces that need to be added. That's why I've been making it a point lately to pull guard even if it's less advantageous for me to do so. I can wrestle fairly well, so typically if I want to assume top position and go straight to my passing game I can do so, and that's definitely what I'm best at, but I'm at the point where I know it's going to hurt me competitively if I do not hone my guard game, so that's why I'm making myself do so, especially against the guys in the gym I'm most closely matched with, which involves "checking my ego" to a degree. I get the impression from Holt and Co. that they consider this weak-minded, blah, blah, blah, because in going to the weaker facet of my game, I must not be trying hard enough to win. I realize at this point that each side in this argument is just digging in deeper to where no real understanding will be reached.

No, more or less I assumed Holt was an asshat, and you and he assumed I was an excuse-making hobbiest who doesn't take my training seriously. I think a lot of crappy assumptions were made, and it only ruined any chance of rational discussion

No this entire thing came from you assuming that we said never to work on your weaknesses or beat up black belts then tried to pretend you actually have the hardware or experience to say so about how we were talking about training

 

[Ryoto Machida]

No this entire thing came from you assuming that we said never to work on your weaknesses or beat up black belts then tried to pretend you actually have the hardware or experience to say so about how we were talking about training

Keep on digging in...

 

[Uchi Mata]

Trust me, I'm definitely not collecting moves at this point. I know my passing game and I know my guard game, although I also know my guard game is not nearly as developed as I'd like it to be, and there are pieces that need to be added. That's why I've been making it a point lately to pull guard even if it's less advantageous for me to do so. I can wrestle fairly well, so typically if I want to assume top position and go straight to my passing game I can do so, and that's definitely what I'm best at, but I'm at the point where I know it's going to hurt me competitively if I do not hone my guard game, so that's why I'm making myself do so, especially against the guys in the gym I'm most closely matched with, which involves "checking my ego" to a degree. I get the impression from Holt and Co. that they consider this weak-minded, blah, blah, blah, because in going to the weaker facet of my game, I must not be trying hard enough to win. I realize at this point that each side in this argument is just digging in deeper to where no real understanding will be reached.

I think you're still missing their point. Having a healthy ego isn't about never working on new stuff, or playing bad positions, it's about not being content with getting beaten even in rolling at your gym. So you playing guard when it's not what you're best at isn't wrong, it's only wrong if you say to yourself 'I'm not that good at guard so I'm not going to try and use my guard to dominate this roll, and I'm not going to be unsatisfied if my guard gets passed'. The other side of it focusing on continual improvement and not being satisfied with not getting better. That's where a lot of the focus on your A game comes from, you will eventually reach a point where playing a lot of different positions won't help you get better results and you'll have to invest your limited mat time in your main game to keep leveling up. It's not about winning gym rolls, it's about not being satisfied with poor performance because your ego tells you you should be better than that. I don't go cry in the corner when my coach passes my guard, but him passing my guard the same way over and over was a huge driver for making my guard better because I HATE getting my guard passed. If I'd said 'I need to check my ego and accept that my former Pan Am champion coach is going to pass my guard' it would have been much less of a driver for improvement. Positive ego isn't about appearances, it's not about being butt hurt that you got tapped by a blue belt, it's about recognizing that getting tapped by a blue belt means you weren't doing something right and feeling you should be better than that, driving you to improve. And a big part of improvement is just trying to win, having the will to dominate. And that is something you have to practice, and should, even though there's an element of ego to it.

 

[jack36767]

Keep on digging in...

I'm not digging into shit.. I'm stating what started it. It's not my fault you aren't mentally capable of understanding and/or mental stress of taking practice seriously which is the impression you give

 

[jack36767]

I think you're still missing their point. Having a healthy ego isn't about never working on new stuff, or playing bad positions, it's about not being content with getting beaten even in rolling at your gym. So you playing guard when it's not what you're best at isn't wrong, it's only wrong if you say to yourself 'I'm not that good at guard so I'm not going to try and use my guard to dominate this roll, and I'm not going to be unsatisfied if my guard gets passed'. The other side of it focusing on continual improvement and not being satisfied with not getting better. That's where a lot of the focus on your A game comes from, you will eventually reach a point where playing a lot of different positions won't help you get better results and you'll have to invest your limited mat time in your main game to keep leveling up. It's not about winning gym rolls, it's about not being satisfied with poor performance because your ego tells you you should be better than that. I don't go cry in the corner when my coach passes my guard, but him passing my guard the same way over and over was a huge driver for making my guard better because I HATE getting my guard passed. If I'd said 'I need to check my ego and accept that my former Pan Am champion coach is going to pass my guard' it would have been much less of a driver for improvement. Positive ego isn't about appearances, it's not about being butt hurt that you got tapped by a blue belt, it's about recognizing that getting tapped by a blue belt means you weren't doing something right and feeling you should be better than that, driving you to improve. And a big part of improvement is just trying to win, having the will to dominate. And that is something you have to practice, and should, even though there's an element of ego to it.

But but Uchi.. that just means you take it too seriously and only care about winning in practice and are scared to open up.. or so I've been told. Oh and let me tell you about that time I sobbed in the corner crying because I got taken down by a Student

In a seriousness, I think the big issue is the same thing you've talked about when you said you hate the term "hobbyist" because at the end of the day it's controlled violence and people seem to do everything they can not to accept that simple fact or get philosophical about it rather than just train and hate or at the very least not accept being a nail. And it's not just in bjj you see this misunderstanding of the way high level people and the way they train. Most people who only wrestled in middle or high school have no idea how even middling much less elite college wrestlers or international level wrestlers train. Because there's something somewhat scary about how casual they are About violence and what is necessary if you've never seen it before

 

[Ryoto Machida]

I think you're still missing their point. Having a healthy ego isn't about never working on new stuff, or playing bad positions, it's about not being content with getting beaten even in rolling at your gym. So you playing guard when it's not what you're best at isn't wrong, it's only wrong if you say to yourself 'I'm not that good at guard so I'm not going to try and use my guard to dominate this roll, and I'm not going to be unsatisfied if my guard gets passed'. The other side of it focusing on continual improvement and not being satisfied with not getting better. That's where a lot of the focus on your A game comes from, you will eventually reach a point where playing a lot of different positions won't help you get better results and you'll have to invest your limited mat time in your main game to keep leveling up. It's not about winning gym rolls, it's about not being satisfied with poor performance because your ego tells you you should be better than that. I don't go cry in the corner when my coach passes my guard, but him passing my guard the same way over and over was a huge driver for making my guard better because I HATE getting my guard passed. If I'd said 'I need to check my ego and accept that my former Pan Am champion coach is going to pass my guard' it would have been much less of a driver for improvement. Positive ego isn't about appearances, it's not about being butt hurt that you got tapped by a blue belt, it's about recognizing that getting tapped by a blue belt means you weren't doing something right and feeling you should be better than that, driving you to improve. And a big part of improvement is just trying to win, having the will to dominate. And that is something you have to practice, and should, even though there's an element of ego to it.

No, I see where you're saying, but ultimately I find it's my ego driving me when I DON'T pull guard in competitive rolls out of desire of simply winning the gym roll. That's why I feel it requires a bit of "ego checking" on my part to do something I know I don't excel at.

 

[Ryoto Machida]

I'm not digging into shit.. I'm stating what started it. It's not my fault you aren't mentally capable of understanding and/or mental stress of taking practice seriously which is the impression you give

You're really hell bent on keeping this a pissing contest, aren't you?

 

[SummerStriker]

I'm going to put "Ego Checking" on the list of BJJ half-truths.

The closest thing to "Ego Checking" is accepting that there are people further along the path than you, that you must except instruction, and that uncomfortable things will happen to you, including losses, while you are learning.

Everything else called, "Ego Checking," is to protect bitch-ass black belts from having to sweat or lose face in front of their students against strangers or rising students.

 

[jack36767]

You're really hell bent on keeping this a pissing contest, aren't you?

How is me stating a fact a pissing contest?

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Another BJJ half truth that most already know is a half truth. Don't cross your ankles on an armbar. Comes from the fact that crossing your ankles makes it harder to pinch your knees, but if both of your legs are on the same side, you can, or my favorite, crossing the ankles underneath the other shoulder - this actually makes for a pretty tight armbar, makes it harder for them to suck their trapped elbow out.

 

[Balto]

Another BJJ half truth that most already know is a half truth. Don't cross your ankles on an armbar. Comes from the fact that crossing your ankles makes it harder to pinch your knees, but if both of your legs are on the same side, you can, or my favorite, crossing the ankles underneath the other shoulder - this actually makes for a pretty tight armbar, makes it harder for them to suck their trapped elbow out.

Definitely a half truth.

Personally I don't like to cross, but I know a lot of good guys who do it well.

 

[Balto]

Just my personal opinion but:

BJJ is for everyone.

When I hurt my back, I couldn't bridge, shrimp, change levels etc. That made me realize that "BJJ is for everyone unless you have X injury or disorder". I was able to do easier, less athletic martial arts until I healed enough to get back to BJJ. But some people never heal from certain injuries so that made me think that BJJ definitely isn't for some people.

Plus we have a dude who 40+ year old dude who is almost 500 lbs. He honestly can't do anything in class. He joined with the goal of losing weight, which I support. But technique wise there's very little he is ever able to really do. He would honestly lose weight faster doing something like wing chun (if we are talking techniques of the art and not warm up exercises before class).

Yeah BJJ is just going to be too rough for some people.

My stepdad is trying to get in shape after a heart attack. I'd love to get him on the mat to lose some weight. But is it really responsible to start a late 50s guy with a stent in his heart in BJJ? I know his doctors wouldn't agree with that.

I'm sure I could find a way to adapt things, but at some point, it's just an exercise in vanity for me to try to ram a square peg through a round hole. Yeah, you can sand the corners off the square peg and fit it in there. Or just use a round peg like a normal person.

 

[Balto]

People giving up positions to preserve their ego is the worst.

My pet peeve is the guy who tells you immediately before rolling the first time ever that he doesn't really know what he's doing.

If he's a white belt, okay. If he's a blue belt or higher, now I just tell the guy "You know what, you're right. It would probably be better if you just watch and learn a little more first. Sit this one out."

Just sick of putting up with that one anymore.

 

[Balto]

In an odd way it also helps competitive nerves, because now instead a competition being this big scary thing like you're at the end of some martial arts movie, it's just 'this thing that I do', another day at the office so to speak. Because I have a lunch pail mentality about it.

It's funny because over time I've gone the other way actually.

I used to think of competing more as a necessity, I'm getting better, this is logical, etc. But now I just appreciate it for the fun of it.

I mean ever since I was 5 I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. Now I get to match up against former UFC fighters at black belt. How awesome is that? Even Leonardo would probably get his ass kicked by this guy but here I am bringing the heat. That's cool to me now.

I really don't need to still be competing. I don't make any money (and wouldn't really need it if I did). I don't get any fame. It's just for me at this point. And I'm loving it.

So I don't get nervous in the same way anymore. It's not a bad nervous anymore. Now it's a good, fun nervous. I try to embrace it and let the adrenaline be a positive rather than a negative.

I tell my guys this before any tournament coming up:

Bad nervous is worrying about losing, what if I get injured, what if I get armbarred in ten seconds, etc. Bad nervous sucks.

Try to be good nervous. Good nervous is like you're back in high school and your GF tells you she's sleeping over at a friend's house and you should come over about 1 AM. Now you have to sneak over there somehow. It's a little scary, but you know nothing that bad is really going to happen (cops can't really arrest you, you can't be grounded forever) and there's a whole lot of good probably about to go down.

 

[Uchi Mata]

It's funny because over time I've gone the other way actually.

I used to think of competing more as a necessity, I'm getting better, this is logical, etc. But now I just appreciate it for the fun of it.

I mean ever since I was 5 I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. Now I get to match up against former UFC fighters at black belt. How awesome is that? Even Leonardo would probably get his ass kicked by this guy but here I am bringing the heat. That's cool to me now.

I really don't need to still be competing. I don't make any money (and wouldn't really need it if I did). I don't get any fame. It's just for me at this point. And I'm loving it.

So I don't get nervous in the same way anymore. It's not a bad nervous anymore. Now it's a good, fun nervous. I try to embrace it and let the adrenaline be a positive rather than a negative.

I tell my guys this before any tournament coming up:

Bad nervous is worrying about losing, what if I get injured, what if I get armbarred in ten seconds, etc. Bad nervous sucks.

Try to be good nervous. Good nervous is like you're back in high school and your GF tells you she's sleeping over at a friend's house and you should come over about 1 AM. Now you have to sneak over there somehow. It's a little scary, but you know nothing that bad is really going to happen (cops can't really arrest you, you can't be grounded forever) and there's a whole lot of good probably about to go down.

Randy Couture has a great quote about the physical sensations of anxiety and excitement being almost identical, and that much of having a strong competitive mindset the day of a tournament is being able to frame what you're feeling correctly. I have also found that to be true.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

It's funny because over time I've gone the other way actually.

I used to think of competing more as a necessity, I'm getting better, this is logical, etc. But now I just appreciate it for the fun of it.

I mean ever since I was 5 I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. Now I get to match up against former UFC fighters at black belt. How awesome is that? Even Leonardo would probably get his ass kicked by this guy but here I am bringing the heat. That's cool to me now.

I really don't need to still be competing. I don't make any money (and wouldn't really need it if I did). I don't get any fame. It's just for me at this point. And I'm loving it.

So I don't get nervous in the same way anymore. It's not a bad nervous anymore. Now it's a good, fun nervous. I try to embrace it and let the adrenaline be a positive rather than a negative.

I tell my guys this before any tournament coming up:

Bad nervous is worrying about losing, what if I get injured, what if I get armbarred in ten seconds, etc. Bad nervous sucks.

Try to be good nervous. Good nervous is like you're back in high school and your GF tells you she's sleeping over at a friend's house and you should come over about 1 AM. Now you have to sneak over there somehow. It's a little scary, but you know nothing that bad is really going to happen (cops can't really arrest you, you can't be grounded forever) and there's a whole lot of good probably about to go down.

The thing that makes me most nervous is "how will my performance reflect upon my instructor, academy and training partners". Less about my own individual performance. Will I do something during the match that makes our peers think less of us?

I don't know if that is a good nervous or a bad nervous.

 

[jack36767]

It's funny because over time I've gone the other way actually.

I used to think of competing more as a necessity, I'm getting better, this is logical, etc. But now I just appreciate it for the fun of it.

I mean ever since I was 5 I wanted to be a Ninja Turtle. Now I get to match up against former UFC fighters at black belt. How awesome is that? Even Leonardo would probably get his ass kicked by this guy but here I am bringing the heat. That's cool to me now.

I really don't need to still be competing. I don't make any money (and wouldn't really need it if I did). I don't get any fame. It's just for me at this point. And I'm loving it.

So I don't get nervous in the same way anymore. It's not a bad nervous anymore. Now it's a good, fun nervous. I try to embrace it and let the adrenaline be a positive rather than a negative.

I tell my guys this before any tournament coming up:

Bad nervous is worrying about losing, what if I get injured, what if I get armbarred in ten seconds, etc. Bad nervous sucks.

Try to be good nervous. Good nervous is like you're back in high school and your GF tells you she's sleeping over at a friend's house and you should come over about 1 AM. Now you have to sneak over there somehow. It's a little scary, but you know nothing that bad is really going to happen (cops can't really arrest you, you can't be grounded forever) and there's a whole lot of good probably about to go down.

Randy Couture has a great quote about the physical sensations of anxiety and excitement being almost identical, and that much of having a strong competitive mindset the day of a tournament is being able to frame what you're feeling correctly. I have also found that to be true.

I was more referring to how training is approached more than competition, competition mindset is completely different to me

 

[Balto]

The thing that makes me most nervous is "how will my performance reflect upon my instructor, academy and training partners". Less about my own individual performance. Will I do something during the match that makes our peers think less of us?

I don't know if that is a good nervous or a bad nervous.

Seems like a bad nervous -- the fear of disappointing others.

I think most people are more nervous about disappointing others than disappointing themselves. So that's pretty normal.

The way I try to lessen it with guys I coach is I tell them to put it all on me. I am the coach, I helped you prepare, I told you what you needed to do. You did all of that. You kept your end of the bargain. So if it doesn't work, it's on me for faulty preparation, not you.

It seems to help with the anxiety. I stress that during competition preparation too. This is the system we are going to use, we are using it for such and such reasons, just follow it, and if it doesn't work, it's my fault for telling you to do it. That way the competitor can minimize the number of things he has to worry about and just focus intensely on the few things only he can execute. Leave everything else to me.

A lot of people competing, even sometimes at surprisingly high levels, are basically doing it all on their own, so just having an actual coach step in there to take responsibility for some of the stuff seems to give a big mental edge at your typical BJJ comp.