Do we OVER THINK Jiu-Jitsu?

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the_Dark Knight

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I got to thinking today about how we seem to want to rely on instructional dvds and books, and seminars, and then I thought to myself..are they really necessary? I mean yeah they're fine and dandy and alot of them show really good stuff..but, c'mon, for the most part I dont think you'll get to hit 1/2 of what you see in those things. From the time I have been training, I've been seeing it as just feeling the movements. I know alot of guys they want this dvd, and that dvd, and are reading this book and that book, and I too have bought into them, and Ive felt like, "Man, I gotta go to this seminar because they're covering some awesome position!" But in the end, its like man, Ive seen all these things and I've use not even a hand full of whats been shown. Am I the only one who thinks like this, or do you agree, we tend to over think the game, and we don't just flow?
 
I think it's fun to discover more and more moves. They might not all be useful in most situations, but the more you see, the more possibilities you understand exist. You can also help to avoid being put in certain situations or prevent the opponent from performing those moves on you by understanding that they exist.
 
SteelHammer said:
I think it's fun to discover more and more moves. They might not all be useful in most situations, but the more you see, the more possibilities you understand exist. You can also help to avoid being put in certain situations or prevent the opponent from performing those moves on you by understanding that they exist.
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Yeah I see what your saying, but at the same time, wouldnt you agree that if you have a pretty good understanding of jiu jitsu, and you know how your body moves, you could create just as well?
 
We are over complicating JJ due the race of new techniques to win in BJJ competitions.

We are creating JJ techniques to defeat JJ and no longer to fight on the streetz!
 
I had this same discussion with some higher belts at my gym a few months ago. One purple belt, in particular, was obsessed with training DVD's (more specifically, stealing them online.) However, we are also blessed to be training under a 7th degree black belt. After class one day, My buddy basically swore off training tapes for a while and felt he would absorb more in class if he just paid attention to what we learned in class every day. I am inclined to agree with him. I still watch some videos, but not with the same lean towards studying them to bring new techniques to class the next day. It seems to be working out pretty well.
 
I think there is a tendency to overthink Bjj in the sense that a lot of people focus so much on learning new positions/techniques that they neglect actually getting good at the ones they already know.
 
Sloth said:
I think there is a tendency to overthink Bjj in the sense that a lot of people focus so much on learning new positions/techniques that they neglect actually getting good at the ones they already know.
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this... my biggest error in jiujistu has been to learn new techniques instead of master the current ones
 
You can over do anything.

I don't use videos, books or even this forum as an alternate instructor. All are just other means to keep my mind interested in BJJ.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again here:

My guitar teacher said that if you want to play guitar, you have to do more than just practice guitar. You have to go to concerts, read books, watch videos, make friends that play the guitar, jam with people, etc. Why? Not because those things will necessarily make you better at guitar (playing with other people will....but still), but rather, because they keep you connected. Your life would intersect with guitar in too many places for it to be easily lost.

Same with anything that you are serious about. It becomes a lifestyle and not just a hobby (and we hear about the BJJ lifestyle a lot).

Obviously, BJJ is like that. You train because that is what makes you better, but you also read books, watch videos, watch MMA fights that may feature grappling (with the gang), make friends with grapplers, compete, attend seminars, journal, ALL to keep you excited and to keep your life intersecting with it as much as possible.

That way, if you are injured and miss a few classes, you are not entirely out of the loop. BJJ will touch on some part of your life that week and by the time you can get back, you are SO ready for some mat time.
 
Yes. I watch alot of instructionals on yt and otherwise, and most of the time I say, "Oh man I'm going to try that out, or work that into my game." I go to class the next day and it never even crosses my mind to try those things out until after class when I am back at the computer...lol.

Very few things have I taken from an instructional and actually included in my game I am realizing.. I can probably even name them all...

Shaolin/Ninja choke (Andre)

Triangle Stomp and Curl (Ryan Hall)

Sidemount/Mount Escapes (Roy Dean)

Long Distance Half Guard (Aesopian)

I cannot honestly recall anything else that I have taken from an instructional and use regularly. I rely on my instructor/rolling partners to round me out.
 
There's a guy I know that watches all kinds of videos online because he wants to know all the submissions and escapes etc possible. He's the same guy that won't get to use them because every time he rolls with me, he doesn't know how to break guard, he just tries to submit me from my guard. He gets swept a lot.
 
bnosam said:
There's a guy I know that watches all kinds of videos online because he wants to know all the submissions and escapes etc possible. He's the same guy that won't get to use them because every time he rolls with me, he doesn't know how to break guard, he just tries to submit me from my guard. He gets swept a lot.
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QFT.

I had a blue belt doing the old Gracie gift guard pass. He forgot to block the triangle by planting his elbow against the tight.

I was like: "WTF, one arm in and one arm out, what were you thinking?"

Too much youtube for some people!
 
I agree with TS 100%, one of my better training partners who really seems to have a complete game, never buys books/dvds/seminars/youtube stuff. He just trains 2-3 times a week with a good attitude and an open mind.
 
I do believe there is an over-emphasis on instructionals but i do think instructionals are used in the wrong way most of the time. Too many ppl try to do exactly what they see in an instructional but don't understand actually why it works. I think the theory of why things work should be studied more with instructionals and try to use that theory in your own game for whatever situation your in instead of trying to exactly replicate what the pro did on an instructional under optimum conditions.
 
i agree completely.

it's really hard for me to pick up something and use it without someone showing me the little details..
 
Jagcorps_esq said:
You can over do anything.



Obviously, BJJ is like that. You train because that is what makes you better, but you also read books, watch videos, watch MMA fights that may feature grappling (with the gang), make friends with grapplers, compete, attend seminars, journal, ALL to keep you excited and to keep your life intersecting with it as much as possible.

That way, if you are injured and miss a few classes, you are not entirely out of the loop. BJJ will touch on some part of your life that week and by the time you can get back, you are SO ready for some mat time.
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Right on the money in my opinion. It's not so much about the moves that you get out of it, its about making BJJ part of who you are and using all of these materials to stay motivated.
I think there is a valid educational benefit of all of the extracurricular materials available if they are used properly. Its not about becoming an encyclopedia of sweeps and submissions though. The benefit that you can get is by reverse engineering the over-arching concepts and rules of BJJ through recognizing patterns and commonalities in all of the moves that are in the instructionals.
 
I'm going to disagree. I do agree that mat time can't be substituted by anything period as well as a quality instructor. That being said I like instructionals for the fact that I'd like to hear multiple views on the same move. Someone might do something just a tad bit different that I might be able to pick up on and use to my advantage. I can't count how many different people I've seen teach the same armbar from guard and even in the exact same step by step way. However I like watching instructionals for that one time that someone makes some little detail stand out a bit more that I don't realize. To me it's just homework. And yeah, maybe I think tornado guard is pretty cool too :D .
 
I think another thing that helps out is just watching people roll.. Mainly my coach. Ill see him in a certain position and see some little movement he does and its like ok ill use that. I don't need all the tapes to teach me. Just seeing what people do in certain positions helps a lot.
 
lechien said:
QFT.

I had a blue belt doing the old Gracie gift guard pass. He forgot to block the triangle by planting his elbow against the tight.

I was like: "WTF, one arm in and one arm out, what were you thinking?"

Too much youtube for some people!
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I hate it when they get too stubborn to listen and continue to try to sub you in your guard
 
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