Im a sand bagging white belt hobbyist.

[dmwalking]

I’m having a moment. And I enjoy venting on public forums.

This may be controversial.

I’m old. I know enough jiu jitsu to have fun on the mats. Win some, lose some. That’s the nature of the mats. But I’ve never stayed at a place long enough to get ranked. I’ve done jiu jitsu intermittently for maybe a total of 2 years. Learned a good amount. Enough to enjoy open mat. I’m not some Bjj savant. But I still follow the sport close enough where I still do ok at open mats.

I just don’t have the time or energy to show up to classes. I just wanna roll. I don’t care about rank. I just wanna roll. Win some, lose some. Forget a rank. I just want to have a quick hour to myself to play jiu jitsu. Even if I get beat up for the full hour.

I know Bjj is uptight. And I don’t want to be disrespectful.

Is anyone aware of some rule that prevents weekend warriors? I just wanna pay the mat fee and have some fun. Is that so wrong?

 

[nonoob]

Is anyone aware of some rule that prevents weekend warriors? I just wanna pay the mat fee and have some fun. Is that so wrong?

Not at all. Best of luck and let us know the results - good or bad.​

 

[ChickenBrother]

As a guy who did what you're talking about for almost 20 years (due to work schedule and job moves), I can tell you that it might be fun in the moment, but you won't make material progress doing it this way. Like in 20 years you'll be older and slower but still doing the same old shit the same way. You'll top out at "good" white belt/low blue equivalent but if you're like me, you'll keep resorting to your limited technique repertoire at open mats because you're keeping score and you just want to "win" as many rolls as possible. So you likely have gaping holes in your game but you'll never fix them without proper instruction, going outside your comfort zone and drilling moves from bad positions.

IMHO most folks need at least 2 proper classes/week to improve their game. Everyone loves rolling but drilling is where you make improvements and fix the shit you're doing wrong.

It took me until age 43 to accept this and 7 years later I'm purple knocking on brown with the skills to back up the belt.

 

[seatea]

I don't see where the sandbagging is in this situation. It sounds like you are graded correctly and didn't express interest in competition.

As for rules against "weekend warriors", that would depend on the gym.

 

[Einheri]

It doesn't sound like you're sandbagging. Time in grade isn't (or rather, shouldn't be) the reason you're promoted. Just turning up occasionally and switching instructors regularly is not going to get you a blue belt. You need to be training consistently, going to class, and spending enough time with an instructor that they can get a feeling for your Jiu-Jitsu and see your progression. Besides which, two years is a completely normal amount of time to be a white belt.

 

[shunyata]

Sandbagging would mean you're racking up 1st place tourney wins at white belt and have a coach who refuses to promote you to blue because he wants more of those sweet sweet white belt gold medals.

Even if that were occurring, it would be on your head coach not on you.

It's perfectly fine to just want to roll, but make sure you get plenty of positional sparring too so you know what to do in major positions.

 

[haysus31]

I trained with a guy who was an absolute beast. Background as a wrestler did mostly no gi. He rarely showed up because of his work schedule. He would flatten anyone during rolling. It got to the point that he mostly rolled with higher belts. I think it depends on how much of a grappling Background you have or what kind of athlete you are.

 

[haysus31]

Same with another guy who was a black belt in judo from overseas. Dude was old but in Gi he was a Damm gorilla . He had grup strength that would destroy anything you deployed on him. He never came to class but his experience made up for not knowing the latest cool inverted sideways backwards I can't pronounce moves. Pure fundamentals. Almost no one ever got his Damm meat hooks off. The only thing that stopped him was his bad knees.

 

[dmwalking]

As a guy who did what you're talking about for almost 20 years (due to work schedule and job moves), I can tell you that it might be fun in the moment, but you won't make material progress doing it this way. Like in 20 years you'll be older and slower but still doing the same old shit the same way. You'll top out at "good" white belt/low blue equivalent but if you're like me, you'll keep resorting to your limited technique repertoire at open mats because you're keeping score and you just want to "win" as many rolls as possible. So you likely have gaping holes in your game but you'll never fix them without proper instruction, going outside your comfort zone and drilling moves from bad positions.

IMHO most folks need at least 2 proper classes/week to improve their game. Everyone loves rolling but drilling is where you make improvements and fix the shit you're doing wrong.

It took me until age 43 to accept this and 7 years later I'm purple knocking on brown with the skills to back up the belt.

Thanks for the feedback Sherbro. It’s definitely insightful.



My respectful counterpoints:

1. I’m not worried about being “good” or “great.” I don’t need to be a gym hero. I just want to have fun and confirm that my Bjj philosophies are legit.
2. I’m a Bjj nerd so I keep up with the top trends and techniques of the top players and mix it into my game. So far, I’m able to keep up with purples and browns. Side note: these upper belt guys at the gym I go to are so damn cool that they’ll stop and give feedback between rolls to make me better. They damn near give me micro private lessons. So I benefit from that as well. So I’m actually not at a huge learning disadvantage.
3. I approach my Bjj game with a philosophical mind based on experience and practicality. I know damn well that the average person who I may have an altercation with has zero understanding of the ground game. Unfortunately, I’ve had more than one “street” altercation. And my basic ass Bjj has taken care of me just fine. I’ve toyed with grown men as if they were children with basic modern Bjj. But also, the first time I used Bjj in a street altercation, I used an arm bar from guard and got slammed on a hardwood floor. That changed my entire paradigm. And since then, my game has only improved.
4. My philosophy of Bjj has taken care of me well. My guard game consists of positions that avoid strikes, and numerous sweeps because I don’t believe in guard submissions unless they are safe (can’t get slammed) or if they can lead to a sweep (top position is king). I understand that this can limit me, but I have zero intentions of using a berimbolo or leg lock on concrete or tile. If I were forced to use those positions, it would be to sweep. Also, while I may not learn to be good at those positions, I don’t want to. I’d rather learn to defend against it. And so far, so good.
5. I have been training from bad positions off and on for over a decade. Yes, cumulatively, I probably have 2-3 years of mat time. But I’ve never had a gym hero approach. I’m very comfortable in bad positions. And this goes back to my philosophy of self defense. Gordon has a similar thought process. If you’re comfortable in bad positions, you can grapple with less fear and impose your will without worrying. And yeah, I study Gordon material. Along with other greats. It makes open mat more enjoyable. And my defense and counter game still surprises the upper belts.

So yeah, im not trying to be a Bjj gym hero or a competitive player. I just want to roll and test my philosophies. And honestly, so far so good.



Huge, gigantic, enormous credit goes to the schools who have taught me my basics and given me a foundation. But I believe that I’ve you have a foundation, and have a feel for rolling, and a practical philosophy for your Bjj purpose, the rank becomes irrelevant. All that matters is whether or not it works. And hey, if it works on purple and below, I’m already at a huge advantage over 90% of humanity. So at this point, I just want to have fun. Rankings are irrelevant to me. I’m not trying to catch up to the browns or the blacks. I just wanna have fun. And again, I know damn well; my basic Bjj is proven to manhandle the average hostile adult male.





Multiple attackers catch the consequences of my weapons though. Lmao. I respect a fair fight. If you can’t respect a fair fight, then I’m not fighting fair. Hahahaha.

 

[category_theory]

Same with another guy who was a black belt in judo from overseas. Dude was old but in Gi he was a Damm gorilla . He had grup strength that would destroy anything you deployed on him. He never came to class but his experience made up for not knowing the latest cool inverted sideways backwards I can't pronounce moves. Pure fundamentals. Almost no one ever got his Damm meat hooks off. The only thing that stopped him was his bad knees.

This sounds like me…. Except I’m not from the EU

 

[haysus31]

I used to avoid the dude. His hands were iron. I used to watch him warm up since he was always early. I never seen a guy use so much tape. Then he would wrap both his knees. I made it a mental note to watch out for a guy like that in the future. Absolute beast. Judo in Euroope seems to be more organized. They produce guys who are no joke and super experienced.

This sounds like me…. Except I’m not from the EU

 

[ChickenBrother]

Thanks for the feedback Sherbro. It’s definitely insightful.



My respectful counterpoints:

1. I’m not worried about being “good” or “great.” I don’t need to be a gym hero. I just want to have fun and confirm that my Bjj philosophies are legit.
2. I’m a Bjj nerd so I keep up with the top trends and techniques of the top players and mix it into my game. So far, I’m able to keep up with purples and browns. Side note: these upper belt guys at the gym I go to are so damn cool that they’ll stop and give feedback between rolls to make me better. They damn near give me micro private lessons. So I benefit from that as well. So I’m actually not at a huge learning disadvantage.
3. I approach my Bjj game with a philosophical mind based on experience and practicality. I know damn well that the average person who I may have an altercation with has zero understanding of the ground game. Unfortunately, I’ve had more than one “street” altercation. And my basic ass Bjj has taken care of me just fine. I’ve toyed with grown men as if they were children with basic modern Bjj. But also, the first time I used Bjj in a street altercation, I used an arm bar from guard and got slammed on a hardwood floor. That changed my entire paradigm. And since then, my game has only improved.
4. My philosophy of Bjj has taken care of me well. My guard game consists of positions that avoid strikes, and numerous sweeps because I don’t believe in guard submissions unless they are safe (can’t get slammed) or if they can lead to a sweep (top position is king). I understand that this can limit me, but I have zero intentions of using a berimbolo or leg lock on concrete or tile. If I were forced to use those positions, it would be to sweep. Also, while I may not learn to be good at those positions, I don’t want to. I’d rather learn to defend against it. And so far, so good.
5. I have been training from bad positions off and on for over a decade. Yes, cumulatively, I probably have 2-3 years of mat time. But I’ve never had a gym hero approach. I’m very comfortable in bad positions. And this goes back to my philosophy of self defense. Gordon has a similar thought process. If you’re comfortable in bad positions, you can grapple with less fear and impose your will without worrying. And yeah, I study Gordon material. Along with other greats. It makes open mat more enjoyable. And my defense and counter game still surprises the upper belts.

So yeah, im not trying to be a Bjj gym hero or a competitive player. I just want to roll and test my philosophies. And honestly, so far so good.



Huge, gigantic, enormous credit goes to the schools who have taught me my basics and given me a foundation. But I believe that I’ve you have a foundation, and have a feel for rolling, and a practical philosophy for your Bjj purpose, the rank becomes irrelevant. All that matters is whether or not it works. And hey, if it works on purple and below, I’m already at a huge advantage over 90% of humanity. So at this point, I just want to have fun. Rankings are irrelevant to me. I’m not trying to catch up to the browns or the blacks. I just wanna have fun. And again, I know damn well; my basic Bjj is proven to manhandle the average hostile adult male.





Multiple attackers catch the consequences of my weapons though. Lmao. I respect a fair fight. If you can’t respect a fair fight, then I’m not fighting fair. Hahahaha.

I have to ask, how old are you, what is your weight and how often are you going to open mats? I was thinking you're an average size guy going maybe 1 or 2 times/month (what I was doing). Regardless, if you only have 2-3 years total mat time spread over 10+ years but you're tapping purples and hanging with browns, that is definitely not normal and you must be a legit grappling talent. It also sounds like you have some pretty great rolling partners at open mat.

But I agree with most of what you're saying. I came from a wrestling and Judo base but have since transitioned to "BJJ for MMA." So I always want to be on top and I never want to be in a position where other guy can slam me or pound my face in. Also fully agree that belts don't really matter, although IME they're at least indicative barring some exceptions, and of course excluding top competitors.

 

[Thrawn33]

Don't sweat it man.

(Active duty military who has bounced between multiple judo and BJJ clubs in the past 22 years)

 

[TheFlamingFist]

As a guy who did what you're talking about for almost 20 years (due to work schedule and job moves), I can tell you that it might be fun in the moment, but you won't make material progress doing it this way. Like in 20 years you'll be older and slower but still doing the same old shit the same way. You'll top out at "good" white belt/low blue equivalent but if you're like me, you'll keep resorting to your limited technique repertoire at open mats because you're keeping score and you just want to "win" as many rolls as possible. So you likely have gaping holes in your game but you'll never fix them without proper instruction, going outside your comfort zone and drilling moves from bad positions.

IMHO most folks need at least 2 proper classes/week to improve their game. Everyone loves rolling but drilling is where you make improvements and fix the shit you're doing wrong.

It took me until age 43 to accept this and 7 years later I'm purple knocking on brown with the skills to back up the belt.

Couldn’t have said it better. Drilling is more important then just rolling in my opinion you need both not just one. Also people worry to much about winning so they don’t want to put themselves in bad positions which is what ultimately improves someone’s game.

 

[Thrawn33]

Also people worry to much about winning so they don’t want to put themselves in bad positions which is what ultimately improves someone’s game.

100%

It's that whole ego thing. Working from bottom is my worst aspect of the BJJ game, therefore only way to get better is to work bottom...maybe get frustrated for the whole roll, maybe get subbed a few times, even from a junior belt or someone smaller.

Only way to improve.