I've been training for about a year now (on and off since last march.) And while i do notice that i'm getting better i'm also noticing how i seem to play to much defense and/or not enough offense. It seems like i'm missing one little part of my technique and once i find this it'll all finally 'click.' Anyone else feel this way? I really don't know what to do about my problem other than just keep on keepin on...
i felt this way when i first started. for me that one thing was learning half guard and how to get on top. then i started to stay on top and become extremely aggresive. now i feel that even if im on bottom i have a chance. its a weird confidence i've gained,
Yes, I've been doing BJJ for 5+ years and am still waiting for that light to go on. There is something a bit elusive about the art. Perhaps it's because there is so much focus on the specific techniques and insufficient attention to the theory and mindset involved. I once heard Kron say "Don't spend so much time thinking about the individual moves, but instead focus on feeling comfortable in every position that you find yourself in." I found that to be good advice as I've trained over the last few weeks. Just keep at it, you'll continue to improve. I don't know that you'll have an epiphany, but you will have gradual, incremental revelations that keep you interested. Now go train!
I don't think it is one technique, you have to dare to try You are proably a BJJ guy but it must be true for both arts, often you cannot jsut defned and hope the other maeks a mistake, you gotta take a risk. It may sound cliche but 1: openings come about in movement 2: You gotta take a chance
I feel like I'm missing something all the time. But that's what motivates me to get better. I've been training for almost 2 yrs and I can honestly say it's finally starting to click some. I'm having much more fun than I ever did as a white belt. Keep doing what your doing. Defense is great keep practicing that. Once they can't tap you as easily you can then attack much better. Hang in there, persistence and perseverance will definitely pay off.
I guess i worded it wrong, its not one technique that i feel i'm missing it's just me waiting to click... if it ever happens. I'm waiting for the day i go to class and i roll and all of a sudden everything just makes sense. I think part of it has to do with the way i go about it. I'll start out and if i end up on bottom i'm pretty good at getting on top, in guard atleast. From there i don't really take many risks but i realize i don't go for a lot of submissions.... i dunno... :icon_sad:
BJJ: Although I started from BJJ I now train BJJ and Judo equally...... Strangely things started clicking after I started Judo... What I was missing (at that time) was an "agressive mind set", I was too comfortable and was trying to be Uber technical without exerting much energry..... Starting Judo allowed me to improve enormously, it gave me the balance and aggression needed for guard passing and top control, which I tottaly lacked.... Now, that part of my game is very healthy and it grows constlantly since most BJJ guys like the guard game better (while I don't) so I'm very comfortable on top and while passing.... So now my focus has switched to developing a more active guard, I don't even bother going for submissions.. my whole focus now is on getting the sweeps to work..... so now it's all about getting the mechanincs of the sweeps Judo: Coming from BJJ, Te -guruma, Kata-guruma, Kuchiki-daoshi, Morote-gari are all very strong... The big throws however are all shit, I've started understanding the mechanics behind the hip throws but things are definetly NOT CLICKING, I hope that when our head-coach comes back in September that he'll start fine tuning us like he did before getting a year for his first child's birth...
Any one know of any resources that really focus on theory/mindset over technique? Everything I've found is very technique heavy.
I picked up Rodrigo's "The Path to the Blackbelt" book and it talks some about it. I had always seen the book, but since it looked like alot of the other Gracie books (which i'm not impressed with) I never gave it a second look. For some reason I picked it up and I tell you it's a very good book.
There is no individual right or wrong theory and mindset about bjj. There is the oldschool way of thinking which is do whatever it takes to submit your opponent. In the modern day and age of bjj, my classroom mindset is to walk out of the school better than when I walked in. Whether I learn a new technique, fix a technique, or create a setup, just inch by inch make myself better. My tournament mindset is win. Who cares if I submit my opponent or not, at the end of the day all that matters is who won the match. So I go in with a gameplan to score points and score often, once I get a healthy lead then I will look to submit my opponent.
I think that the key is to find out what you want your bjj to be. Some people love the aggressive, tap, tap, tap style. Some people prefer it more transitional and flow oriented. There are so many ways to play, and your still relatively new. In time you'll find what you like, and develope your own mental approach; and then it will "click."
Its easier to defend and wait for the other guy to make a mistake in grappling than it is to go on the offense. You see this in BJJ, judo, and wrestling, and I'd be amazed if it wasn't true in every other grappling art (sambo, shiao jiao, and the hundreds of national types of wrestling out there). Which is why all grappling sports I've heard of have some variation of stalling or defensive fighting penalties. Really, you have to make a conscious effort to go onto the offense - it means failing a lot at first, being countered, being stuffed, being submitted. But you get better at it after awhile. It's not going to "just happen" one day - anyone who competes at high levels in any kind of grappling is going to tell you you have to consciously make a point of practicing offense. Put it this way. Who cares if you win or lose while rolling in the club? The important part of club rolling (randori, scrimmaging etc) is to practice what you need to improve, not to win. Winning is only important in a competition or on the street. Moreover, it doesn't matter if when you compete (or in self-defense) if you fight defensively or not, but it does matter if you fight defensively out of choice or because you have no other option. Ideally you should be able to switch between fighting defensively and offensively on a second's notice ... not going to happen if you aren't good at both.
Judo players def have a better understanding of baiting and set-ups in general. They just have a good mindset. I do think alot of the bjj practitioners like Rolls knew this as well. Sometimes BJJ guys can fall back on a "bag 'o' tricks" mentality. Plus almost everyone thinks tehy play too much defense for probably the first 3 years of grappling. It's a long road.
