1.5 months into BJJ and i feel useless

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everzzz

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So yeah, started with bjj 1.5 months ago and ever since i started i've gotten basically crushed every time i roll with someone. Physically i'm about 62.5-63 kg with the gi and 173 cm. I'm not exactly gifted when it comes to my body but I feel like I should be able to last at least 1.5-3 mins but that's not the case.

People at my gym seem to weigh over 72kg+ and upwards, there's no one in my weight class except a purple belt but he crushes me although I feel like I have the most flow and fun when rolling with him. When I roll with 75+ kg guys they dont even need technique, even the most non-technical sweep works on me right now.

So basically I'd like some tips on the fundamentals I need to work on, what is it that I should work on as a little guy? Right now I don't really care about submissions, I just want to be able to last long.

I even got a stability ball at home which I don't use, i've heard that they're great for bjj, is this true? So yeah, i'm motivated to become good at this I just need a bit of direction on what drills to focus on when i'm not in class.

I'm hoping you guys can help out, i'm not looking to become the best of the best but I wanna at least become decent so I can enter a few comps and do somewhat well.
I know this post might seem whiny but please have patience, i'm getting a bit frustrated so i'm venting a bit as well.

Thank you.
 
Keep training and try to realize that a month and a half is almost the equivalent of zero in the grand scheme. It takes a lot of time to get good.
 
look stability ball drills up on youtube there are all kinds aimed towards bjj. 1.5 months is nothing, this is a sport that just takes time, train hard, stick with it, there is nothing that can replace mat time, so any free time you have to spend on the mat do so, things will slowly come together ... you will notice small "well shit i can turn this into this etc ..." moments :).
 
I'm pretty much in the same boat as you, just a few months down the line (4 months training twice a week).

You'll basically get one bit of advice over and over: stay with it, keep training, keep working hard.

If you're worried about your physicality you could work on it outside of BJJ with resistance training (free weights, kettlebells) and eat like crazy to put some weight on. That's why I did and I'm now at 72kg (74 in the gi).

Stability balls are awesome but they're the cream on the cake ultimately... I use mine just for fun/casually on the basis that it isn't going to hurt.
 
It takes a long time and 1.5 months is nothing. Just keep training and have a good attitude.
 
Eat right, get plenty of sleep, get as much mat time as you can. Develop a good relationship with your instructor, these are questions you should be asking him. If someone in your gym is just overpowering you instead of using technique, call them on it, it's just as detrimental to their progress as it is yours. And don't sweat losing, it's part of any martial art that is actually effective.
 
Keep at it and never give up, make short term goals for yourself.
 
Don't get too down, man. We've all been there before. Hell, I still feel useless sometimes. I'm smaller than you, and it's harder for us, because our technique has to be damn near perfect. I know it's discouraging, but just keep at it. It'll get better further on down the road if you stick with it (believe me). Also, ask a higher belt to help you after class on some basic techniques or questions you may have. I always do this and it really helps.
 
<---- 4-5 months and still feel pretty useless. Slightly less useless, but still useless.
 
Hey man, 1.5 months is just a warm up pretty much to get ur body used to the movements and how things work. I've been at it for about 7-8 ish months now and I'm starting to get comfortable in most positions but I still get smashed by people, thats just jiu jitsu..

Use the basics and get really good at them and get good at your frames in side control and half guard because I find those were the thoughest positions for me. Work your hips/shrimps alot and try to rep sweeps and submissions as much as you can so you get quick natural reflexes for them. Think about what makes a move work and try eliminating them in your opponent, so if they need a leg for a triangle when your in their guard use your elbow/hip pressure to eliminate that sides hip movement.

I think the fact that I've played guitar for 8 years has helped me as well.. knowing that you need the fundimentals to branch out into the more complicated things, which in turn are only the basics+ and you gotta do things over and over x1000000 to start to get it as a natural reaction rather then a thought. Also I'm used to looking at fine detials to polish my playing to make it cleaner so I analyse alot of stuff in jiu jitsu as well to polish my move down. try to find a solution to a problem your having every class so that you are always growing/improving, it will help hinder the feeling of a lack of progress. so if you get smushed in side control, learn something to help with that like an escape or positioning to relieve pressure.. ect ect

just a little insight thats helped me out, hope some helps u too!
 
I am sure everyone training BJJ has felt like this one time or another. Just stick with it and you'll get better. Just work on your escapes and guard to begin with, before you know it you'll be ending up on top more often and starting to get submissions :)
 
It'll be 2 years this June for me, and I still feel that way a lot of times.

Suck it up and train through it.
 
if it were easy to be good then it wouldn't be worth it. All those higher belts you see have put hours of blood, sweat and tears into it and often times they still feel like they haven't progressed. Nothing unusually about it just work harder to get past your mental block and don't put unrealistic expectations on yourself.
 
there is nothing that is going to replace hours on the mat, plain and simple. the best way to improve your stamina is to relax while you are rolling. it probably sounds impossible now, but you will learn when you need to chill out and when you need to explode.

one of the things that has helped me a lot is to find a friend in the gym who will drill with you non stop. don't overload yourself by practicing a ton of techniques, pick one thing to work on and drill it to death. practice it slowly and pay attention to every detail, it's the smallest things that makes a technique work. make sure you ask your instructor for tips and things to correct on the technique you picked to help catch the flaws. own the technique completely and success will start happening during rolling. it's not as fun and exciting as rolling but it will help you more than you think.
 
1. Buy Saulo Ribeiro's Jiu Jitsu University
2. Become an expert in chapter 1. Use things from chapter 1 any and everytime you can. You will see huge improvements in a short period of time.
 
Snitz said:
When you get beaten, ask your partners about what you did wrong or could have done better. Pick everyone's brains and pretty soon you'll start figuring things out.

For months I couldn't maintain side control on one guy in our gym; he would sweep me every time. I was frustrated and thought I was stuck, so I just asked him one time "What am I doing wrong? How are you sweeping me every time?" And he told me I was leaning forward way too much on his left side and he could just tell how off-balance I was. It was easy to sweep me when I did that, he said.

Be open to criticism and actively SEEK criticism, and your game WILL improve.
Click to expand...

I just learned recently that when grappling with a buddy of mine, I'll inhale sharply before being explosive. lol. He always knows to brace for it. He just realized recently, and used it for ~2-3 weeks before telling me lol :/

Not sure if anyone else has noticed...and it isn't necessarily the sort of thing a tournament opponent would pick up on for sure, but it's good to fix regardless.
 
<--- 10 months (6-9 classes a week last few months) and still feel helpless with many of my training partners.

Jiu Jitsu is very progressive. Set small goals (like... "I'm not going to let anyone break my posture in guard today..." once you can reasonably keep your posture you can move on to a new goal like practicing a guard break... etc...

You may get swept/submitted 30 times trying to get a decent posture... but you will have to learn that before you can start your guard break...

It is like this with everything in BJJ. There are many many layers and you have to gain some sort of proficiency in each one before you can move on to the next goal.
 
everyone pretty much hit the nail on the head. how often a week are you attending class? cause 1.5 months is nothing. focus on basics obviously (hip escape, good posture, etc.) and try not to measure yourself against other guys/gals in class who have more mat time than you. bjj is progressive and its hard to judge how much you have learned unless you roll with someone who has zero bjj experience. roll against someone thats brand spanking new, then roll against another new person 6 months down the line and you'll see a huge difference in your overall ability, technique, stamina and confidence.
 
everzzz said:
So yeah, started with bjj 1.5 months ago and ever since i started i've gotten basically crushed every time i roll with someone. Physically i'm about 62.5-63 kg with the gi and 173 cm. I'm not exactly gifted when it comes to my body but I feel like I should be able to last at least 1.5-3 mins but that's not the case.

People at my gym seem to weigh over 72kg+ and upwards, there's no one in my weight class except a purple belt but he crushes me although I feel like I have the most flow and fun when rolling with him. When I roll with 75+ kg guys they dont even need technique, even the most non-technical sweep works on me right now.

So basically I'd like some tips on the fundamentals I need to work on, what is it that I should work on as a little guy? Right now I don't really care about submissions, I just want to be able to last long.

I even got a stability ball at home which I don't use, i've heard that they're great for bjj, is this true? So yeah, i'm motivated to become good at this I just need a bit of direction on what drills to focus on when i'm not in class.

I'm hoping you guys can help out, i'm not looking to become the best of the best but I wanna at least become decent so I can enter a few comps and do somewhat well.
I know this post might seem whiny but please have patience, i'm getting a bit frustrated so i'm venting a bit as well.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

the only thing that will improve your bjj is time on the mat
stability ball is good for core strength but if core strength is all you need then Lebron James would triangle choke everyone on sherdog.

Time on the mat my friend. Drill drill drill and roll roll roll
 
bjj isnt for everyone you should probably try frisbee golf, I bet you can get pretty good in 1.5 months
 
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