Am I not cut out for bjj?

[Codger]

Does everyone get those periods where they get pretty demoralised though? Going through a period right now where I'm seeing everyone else who started training after I did pass me by, skillwise, and I seem to be going completely backwards from where I ever even got to. At present I can't even hold my own against somebody who has been training for maybe a month or so, also I've noticed everyone else has changed physically since they started training; looking leaner and more in shape. I weigh the exact same amount as I did 2 years ago when I started training. Not making any progress in any direction at all, and in the back of my mind I'm always wondering if people are just looking at me like a big joke; "what's this dumbass still even doing here?" kind of a thing.

Fuckin sucks, can't wait till something happens and some change breaks through.

You should try to figure out exactly what is holding you back. Whilst the "just keep training" advice is correct, you can probably do better than that. For instance, if everyone else is looking physically better then maybe work on your body a bit more - sort out your diet, do weights, run in the mornings until you too are looking the part. If others are physically superior to you then you're gonna have trouble with them until your skill is quite a bit better than theirs. That could be a long time or even never for people who are accelerating past you.

Look at your approach to training and sparring. You have to balance trying out new stuff and winning rolls. If you focus too much on just one then your development can suffer. Are you trying out new moves each session? If so then maybe focus on just a few linked moves for a month at a time. I'm sure if you put your mind to it and ask your instructors, you'll be able to work out what your weaknesses are in terms of how you approach the game. If you can then you'll get better quicker than merely plodding on (although that will work too over time).

Maybe you're mentally hanging on to a bit of advice you got early on like "relax and don't use too much strength" and taking it too far. Or maybe despite feeling humble, you're not acting it and not listening and following advice in some areas. Maybe you focus too hard on forcing something to happen according to "the book" and therefore don't react to the situation as actually us. Only you can figure that out.

 

[These Two Hands]

That's some good advice; thanks man. I kind of knew I had to in a sense "break everything down" somehow in my mind, and build it back up better and more conducive to progression; but I had no idea where to begin. Now I have some direction, which is grand.

 

[Codger]

Here's an idea. Splash out on this: http://www.budovideos.com/products/science-of-the-closed-guard-cross-grip-attacks-with-dan-lukehart - also available as an app for IOS or android.

Work on it methodically for a month and come back. I find it hard to believe that if you do that, you won't start pulling it off against some of your peers.

The reasons I recommending that particular thing are that it's closed guard based and so as long as you can get to closed guard you can work it as taught for sure (rather than some open-guard thing where you might get stymied before you even get it going); it's a mini-game covering all their most common reactions; it focuses on getting to the core position required to pull it off and doesn't duck the problems you'll encounter in real-life.

I'd be very interested to hear what happens.

 

[thaifighter541]

Input/output..training 2 days a week will give you medicore results. I know the advice is tough to handle with work and other responsibilities, but it is an unfortunate truth. I have not seen in 9 years of bjj training a guy who did not get 'good' after training consistently several times a week.

 

[DoMn8]

Chin up, just keep training. There may come a time when it all clicks, if you can enjoy youself until then don't worry.

 

[jcandoitbig]

Don't expect "move of the day" classes to improve your jj. You don't need a 12th sweep from half guard. Outside of class working positional drills / playing around with positions while TALKING- "ok how do I stop this underhook here" is where you will actually learn things you need to fill the holes in your game

i'll echo this statement. I made a huge jump when I started going to our competition classes friday nights (instead of starting drinking at 5pm haha), and then coming in on sat morning to work with a training partner. I started rolling more than I ever had before, and I really started to understand and fix the holes in my game.

 

[dundee1]

Get a bjj dummy and drill at home after work.