Did anyone feel discouraged their first few days of BJJ?

[PimpDawg]

Think about what you just experienced - BJJ is so powerful that even the smallest guys are tapping you out using technique alone. If you walked in the first day and completely destroyed everyone, is that a gym you would want to join? Losing a lot in the beginning a very good news - it means that you joined the right gym.

To be fair, after my 3rd class I was already walking through the streets choking out random people I came across.

 

[D Train]

It took me about 3 months to get pretty comfortable on the ground. After that, things started to come to together with greater ease.
Right now, you should be getting schooled. If you weren't, I'd encourage you to leave the gym immediately. You'll be fine if you stick it out. Don't be that guy who shows up for a month and is never seen again.

 

[Cash Bill 52]

Thanks for the responses guys. I am so motivated to get in shape and learn the techniques. I know it will come in time. I just quit smoking about a week ago so I'm sure as time goes on, i'll get a little more endurance. Thanks again

Pay attention to bjjmuaythaiguy. He is giving you good tips for a big guy.

The challenges, however, will never stop. You will be frustrated many times in your jiu jitsu journey.

Getting in shape should only be the beginning.

 

[pittfrog]

No, no one ever got discouraged in their first few BJJ classes. Why, when I started rolling, I was beating black belts, getting women, and lightning was shooting out of my ass when I got off the mat.

I kid. What you're feeling is normal. What separates the average schmoe from the rest of us gi-tards is that we all came back and worked through that feeling. I hope you do too. Best of luck.

 

[ozyabbas]

I just started training last week and came home from my 2nd class tonite. I am a bigger guy about 6'1 265 and pretty out of shape. Towards the end of class we roll with each other and I feel like I'm getting schooled big timed.

I understand that I just started and that I will get better with time and practice. I just feel I should be stronger for my size. I will be starting the 5x5 training this week after doing some research about it. Even though I know that I will improve, I can't help but to feel a little bit discouraged at this point. I love class and my goal is to get into shape and learn this sport.

How long did it take everyone to start getting comfortable rolling to where you understood what to do in a certain situation? I have zero wrestling/martial art experience.


Thanks.

To be honest im a little surprised that you are getting discouraged already. You can't become an expert after your second lesson and expect to be hanging or tapping everyone straight away. I can understand being discouraged if after a long time you felt you weren't making any progress but you shouldn't be discouraged after the second lesson.

If you are being tapped by much smaller people then it means that you have found a martial art that actually works.

 

[Tony Manifold]

Man, I had my first BJJ class tonight. I am a reasonably skilled grappler with years of experience. But I haven't rolled seriously in 3 years and I am new to formal bjj study. I tell you I was fucking tired. I had to sit the last 10 minutes because I was completely and utterly gassed. But that will pass in time.

There have been some great replies. All I can add is that work the basics, over and over and over. Those never change. If you feel you aren't getting any training value roll with the highest belt you can. In general they are so good, that they can teach you as they school you. Also the more experienced a person is, I have found that they are willing to let you pass their guard (for example) if you are doing it right. They will let you have some success before they kill you.

As for the strength thing. Look into Olympic lifting. I started that about 3 months back or so and I haven't been this strong and explosive since I was 18.

 

[andrewbc]

i seperated my shoulder my first time rolling, very discouraging. what you put into your training is what you'll get out of it. practise at home and with friends, watch instructionals, go over situations you may find yourself in while rolling in your head etc

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I have been training about 2 months now, after coming in from 12 years of wrestling, so I have a pretty solid base of knowledge when it comes to grappling. I started about 5'9 255 and am down to 240 or a little less as of now. I earned my first stripe, and can hang with everyone but our instructor. He's the only one who can tap me, and he usually does it a ton of times in 5 minutes. There is one 4 striper there who tapped me after having my back for about 4 minutes ( I ended up tapping with like 10 seconds left). Stick with it, it will come. It is ALL about patience. I am starting to get frustrated because now I have seen improvements, and am now basing my ability off how I do against our instructor. SO I get pissed now because I still cant do a damn thing against him. But it just fuels me even more.

Wow.

I'm 5'9 and I was 135 this past weekend...

 

[ozyabbas]

I don't really believe bjj students should use anything close to their A game on new students unless they have a strong history of grappling or acting like a dick. It sometimes scares away some types of students if you just mess them up the first few times they train. Once they have trained for a few months, then give them a bit more of a challenge.

If you are a higher belt, then just let them pass your guard and try some of the stuff they have learnt in that lesson. Give them a little advice and encouragement as you are sparring with the new guys.

I progressed very slowly for the first 6 months due to being partnered up with a huge Romanian wrestler. I would learn techniques but could never put them into practice because of being totally dominated. The only thing I really got better at was stalling in positions like half guard or clamming up so tight when he had side control so to not be choked or armbared. Every sparring session was just to see if I could last the 6 minutes without being submitted, not being submitted isn't really a sign of significant progress.

Once I got to spar with new guys and higher belts who didn't try to kill me in each spar, then I made some progress.

 

[$huttgun]

as a beginner, i focus on trying to escape for 5mins, rather than go looking for subs. once i know i'm "safe" and comfortable with my defence then i can look to attack. cos when you attack you are at ur weakest and early on you get exposed.

 

[JDaveG]

On the one hand, I am tempted to join those who ask "what did you expect after 1 week?"

On the other hand, I remember how bad it felt constantly getting mauled. After 8 months, I still couldn't really tap anyone, and a "good roll" was when I didn't get tapped and maybe improved my position a bit. That's changed a lot since (2.5 years in), but I still don't tap most people most of the time. More on that below.

I agree with whoever said you shouldn't bring your "A" game to new guys. Usually, if a sub presents itself, I take it and 1) tell the guy why he got subbed, and 2) show the guy the submission I used. I rolled with 2 newer guys last night, and I spent most of the time letting them work things they needed work on while I played defense. I also tend to show them submissions if I make a mistake -- I did that last night as well, and showed the guy how to use my mistake to get a submission (arm triangle, in this case). If you have too much ego to "let them tap you," you're probably in the wrong game. NOT that you let them come in full of testosterone and just walk over you because you are rolling "nice," but if they want to learn, let them. If they want to fight, well, we can do that too, but my experience is most folks want to learn.

My advice is this: hang in there. Getting tapped is part of the process. When I stopped worrying about whether I would get tapped and started trying new things, I improved by leaps and bounds. Still not the gym badass by any stretch, but I am getting better because I don't care if a 6 month white belt catches me in a sub while I'm trying something new. Ego is the enemy in jiu jitsu. Humility goes a long, long way.

 

[JDaveG]

as a beginner, i focus on trying to escape for 5mins, rather than go looking for subs. once i know i'm "safe" and comfortable with my defence then i can look to attack. cos when you attack you are at ur weakest and early on you get exposed.

It's good to work defense, but remember that getting complacent and not attacking sometimes makes the opponent's work easier.

IOW, feel free to go for subs and get tapped. Yes, you'll lose every time starting out. But you eventually get to where you can get the sub frequently even if they know what is coming. And when you get to that point, you start to work on transitions.

It's not a "safe" game. Getting exposed is a good thing if you are learning how to use your attacks to expose your opponent.

 

[JamesBJJ.**]

yeah man, keep at it. Eeveryone gets there ass kicked at the start. I am just starting to get a feeel for it after about 5 months.

 

[cheath]

I'll chime in here too....I've been doing this about 5 weeks or so now. I get pretty frustrated myself. The instruction is great at my school, small classes, and plenty of blue belts to help out, so I feel like I should be progressing a lot quicker.

I was telling my instructor this is the first sport I've done in a long time that I couldn't just excel at, so it was frustrating. I kinda wondered if it was like any other sport, in that you can train and train, but still definitely suck if you just don't have a natural inclination for it.

He says I'm coming along fine, and shouldn't even be considering those thoughts at 5 weeks in. For me, it's not about tapping or being tapped, it's about wanting to see a solid progression in abilities. But I guess I just want to see it faster than most people being a former college athlete.

So in short...yeah man, I think everybody gets frustrated at multiple points. The only ones who do well seem to be those who stick around and work through it.

 

[djsoma]

don't worry man it will get better. It can be tough in the beginning but as your conditioning and skillset improves you will have a better time.

 

[bgro]

I completely understand that after 1 week in I will not be tapping people out or be proficient in any technique that I learned. I expected to get schooled on a regular basis, especially in the beginning.

I think my discouragement comes because I'm so out of shape and I feel that for my size, I should be stronger. I have been rolling with guys who are around my size but much stronger (for the most part). I will be weight training 3x per week to get stronger to compensate for this.

I'll tell you one thing though. Getting my ass kicked in class is pure motivation to get back in the gym and get stronger and to keep going to BJJ class and practicing over and over again. Luckily, everyone in my class has been very helpful so far.

 

[daninnashville]

This thread is actually quite helpful for me. Good to see others have had some of the same feelings. Ego is really harmful for my BJJ practice. I'll tell you one thing that has helped out too...checking out other places and rolling with new people. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the same routine over and over again. I find I can test my "skills" (like many I feel like I'm just getting started after a few months) with other people at other clubs.

I like to do that simply because it adds variety to my training. I still have my main instructor and he is great...as is my school. But I believe in doing whatever can help your training. The other thing is that if you get TOO frustrated...just take a day or two and relax. Clear your head and then get back on the mat.

I always have a zillion progress-related questions for my instructor(s)...and the answer is always "keep training". A good measure of your progress may be when the new guy comes in and you are the one picked to work with him for the day. That happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Normally I get tapped all the time. But this new guy came into class and we were partnered up. He had that fearful look in his eyes because BJJ was brand new to him. (Sounds familiar!) We worked on techniques and then rolled *very* lightly. I actually found myself holding back and just focusing on my technique. He had the typical first-day habits...but it was fun for me because I saw that I really had progressed more than I give myself credit for. And believe me I am not the "natural grappler". You'll get there my friend.

Have fun and train hard.

Dan

 

[Will_N.O.]

I think my discouragement comes because I'm so out of shape and I feel that for my size, I should be stronger. I have been rolling with guys who are around my size but much stronger (for the most part). I will be weight training 3x per week to get stronger to compensate for this.

Don't let that discourage you at all, and try not to focus so much on strength. Strength is not the name of the game in BJJ - technique is. One of the great things about BJJ is that it is possible to beat guys who are much stronger / bigger through the use of superior technique.

In fact, for many techniques if you are relying on strength to execute then you are probably not executing the technique correctly. Focusing on strength can actually slow your progress. I am a complete newb too, but I have discovered that when I roll with some of the smaller guys in our class, I can overpower them...and learn nothing. I actually make more progress by focusing on technique and giving up taps than by throwing them around.

Plus, if you're relying on strength for everything, you are going to gas. Try to relax, remember what techniques you know that apply to your position, and execute them as well as you can. As soon as you can relax and think while rolling, you'll find that your cardio becomes much less of an issue.

I'm not saying that strength and conditioning don't matter - when two people of roughly equal technical skill are matched, it's usually the better conditioned competitor who wins. But if my experience is any guide, I think you'll make MUCH more progress for time put in on the mat improving techniqve vs. in the weight room improving strength.

 

[Tiger Uppercut]

judging by your description of yourself u probably are the bigger, stronger guy, but right now the other guys have more experience and technique than u. stick with it, everyone gets their ass kicked in the beginning. its definitly a sense of accomplishment once u get past that initial stage, which u will with a little work and dedication.

just continue to learn, ask questions during/after class

 

[Easto]

I watch MMA on TV all the time and I was amazed by the BJJ of Royce Gracie and the other submission guys.

I went out to BJJ class with the mindset that I could do that. All I need to do is pull guard throw my legs around the arm and I voila I have an arm bar. Trap the head and I have the triangle, easy as pie.

My first roll I got owned, my second, third, and fourth I got destroyed. I am a big musclar guy and I was getting tooled by guys 150lbs.

I have now been going out for about 6 weeks and everyone has told me they can see huge improvements in my game. I have better positional control, I use my weight better, I am more aware of where my body is (arms are not hanging out to be arm bared, or Americana`d)

From one newbie to another:

(1)When you get submitted, ask your partner what you did wrong. If you are at a good gym the guys will be more than happy to offer some constructive criticism.

(2)Do cardio training. It`s hard to learn when you can`t breathe and you don`t want to roll being gassed the whole time.

(3) Watch some of the vets roll and notice the little things they do. Arm position, how relaxed they are, how they get out of certain situation.

(4) Have fun!