ever feel like you'd be a better instructor?

[nothinbutMHS]

i always feel that i completely grasp aspects of jiu jitsu and am able to explain them very well when asked for pointers or when i explain where somebody went wrong. however, i'm not a prodigious competitor. i've won six and lost one in tournaments, but i don't necessarily think i have found my competitive spirit, or whatever you choose to call it. however, i love to corner people at tournaments and have been told that i give very good advice if i corner someone either in training or competitions.

i don't know what to think of it. everybody would love to win belts, trophies, and medals but i am not interested in those as much as i am in understanding combat sports as a system. anybody else know how i feel?

 

[lechien]

All the time.

I guess great players do not necessarily turn into great coach and vice versa.

 

[bnosam]

I don't think I'd be the greatest instructor, however, it's a skill you can practise to get better at

 

[Jagcorps_esq]

My skill, as a lawyer and professor, lends itself very well to teaching. I just learn base don how you've describing something. I have a photographic memory for techniques that can be reduced to words.

So, yes, I often feel like I could describe something better than I've had it described to me....but I carry no illusions that I know more.

 

[nothinbutMHS]

oh, i don't think i'm some savant. i'm simply saying that when i see something, such as carwin defending well but not using his hips to escape, i can picture and almost feel myself in a hold and how to shift my body in order to get out. but if i were in the hold myself, i might not be able to do it.

 

[mtruitt76]

oh, i don't think i'm some savant. i'm simply saying that when i see something, such as carwin defending well but not using his hips to escape, i can picture and almost feel myself in a hold and how to shift my body in order to get out. but if i were in the hold myself, i might not be able to do it.

Yeah.....this doesn't make much sense at all. I have a feeling that you don't know how to get out and also could not get out.

 

[knoxpk]

There is some validity to what you are saying. Top grapplers and fighters are top level not just through technique but great attributes and traits like long legs, powerful builds, tremendous cardio, speed, agility etc...

Also those of us that have gotten our asses handed to us more often than not have things to reflect on moreso than the guy who seems to be able to hit everything he tries.

 

[Hillary]

Very rarely are great competitors also good instructors. The most obvious exceptions that I've trained with are Cobrinha, Cyborg, and Cavaca.

I get a lot of compliments on my teaching--and it leads to an increase in seminars despite a not-too-seasoned resume. One of the most important things is to explain the WHY. Also don't use "here."

Ex. many instructors: "Okay I'm going to grab his lapel here, escape my hips like in the scissor sweep, and come back for the choke."

Ex. Roli, in turn my style: "I want to grab the end of the lapel behind his back, so that every time he postures, he creates pressure on his neck down, so he's fighting his own posture. Now here he's going to know the choke is coming so I want to escape my hips for the scissor sweep. There, he's going to focus on keeping his butt back and they often forget about the neck. If I see the neck open, I grab just above my other hand same side, sit up...blah blah"

Teaching to understand is the key. And you DON'T have to be a great competitor to do that. Most, actually, never were.

 

[nothinbutMHS]

Yeah.....this doesn't make much sense at all. I have a feeling that you don't know how to get out and also could not get out.

i guess this could be true and i might just be terrible all around. the fact remains that i've already gotten a lot of praise for cornering abilities and technical advice, though. my overall point is that i feel that i understand HOW to get out, but in competition and for whatever reason (cardio, drive, will) i may not be able to actually do it myself.

 

[kinkykid]

Even the couch potato with no knowledge feels like he knows how to escape that choke. There are people that are better suited to coaching than competing. Typically they just lack the athleticism needed to compete at the higher levels.

 

[nothinbutMHS]

yeah. this is definitely something i want to explore more. i'm not saying i won't try my best next time i'm competing, i just think i haven't found what it takes to be a higher level competitor yet.

 

[Cash Bill 52]

I get on Caio (Terra) all the time about this. He's a jiu jitsu "savant". He sees something once and can reproduce it flawlessly. He's one of the best competitors on the planet.

It's not always easy to learn from a genius, artist, savant, or extraordinary athlete.

I am a teacher by profession. I explain complex subject matters to little kids. However, I am more of a student and competitor with jiu jitsu. Caio and I are mapping out a plan for me to take on more of an instructor's role. Most people need the cliff note version of his techniques. That's where I think I can help out.

 

[crocoppertones]

I've had some great instructors

I don't think I'd be very good at breaking down techniques and explaining the little stuff

I've always been better at doing than explaining.

teaching would really improve your game I'm sure.. because you'd HAVE TO pay attention to small detail and point it out etc.

 

[nothinbutMHS]

i know it's always a thing to invoke the name of eddie bravo, but isn't his path in bjj similar to this? not a prolific competitor, though accomplished, but he has been cited as an incredible instructor and a sort of grappling professor.

 

[L1l3v1l]

i know it's always a thing to invoke the name of eddie bravo, but isn't his path in bjj similar to this? not a prolific competitor, though accomplished, but he has been cited as an incredible instructor and a sort of grappling professor.

I've never heard that. I think a better comparison is John Danaher. I don't believe I've ever heard of him competing but everyone says he is the best teacher in the world.

 

[Breadcutter]

What belt level are you OP? How long have you been doing bjj?

 

[nothinbutMHS]

blue belt, two stripes. trained for two and a half years, took three off to go to college. getting back into it this summer. i have decided to give up the gi and stick to primarily no-gi/mma training, though.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

i cant explain anything or teach to save my life.

i just do.

 

[redaxe]

Sometimes I think I could explain something better than my instructors, but that's ONLY because of a language barrier.

Brazilian instructors' explanations of techniques are usually like "OK guys, what I gonna do?" "Remember, I gotta puuush here, bridge, and then I gonna eep scape, and replace the gward... OK guys? Remember..."

I'm sure if they spoke perfect English their technique explanations would also be much better than however I would explain them.

 

[Sloth]

i always feel that i completely grasp aspects of jiu jitsu and am able to explain them very well when asked for pointers or when i explain where somebody went wrong. however, i'm not a prodigious competitor. i've won six and lost one in tournaments, but i don't necessarily think i have found my competitive spirit, or whatever you choose to call it. however, i love to corner people at tournaments and have been told that i give very good advice if i corner someone either in training or competitions.

i don't know what to think of it. everybody would love to win belts, trophies, and medals but i am not interested in those as much as i am in understanding combat sports as a system. anybody else know how i feel?

Imo, being an instructor, being a coach, being a student/practitioner and being an athelete are all different roles that can overlap to varying degrees in some people or may not overlap or exist at all in other people.

You can be a great practitioner, but a terrible competitor. You can be a terrific instructor, but a terrible coach. You can be a terrific competitor, but terrible in practice and have nonexistent teaching skills. That's one of the most fascinating thing to me about sports in general and Martial art/sports in particular. So may different roles to play and so many places for people to excel.

In some ways, I feel the same way that you do. I love the study of all aspects of the Grappling arts, sometimes I love actual competition, sometimes I hate it; but I'm always interested in the study of the actual art and systems for how to improve.