I was recently thinking on what you guys think the first technique a brand new white belt with little to no martial arts experience should learn? Let's say the student understands positions like guard, side control, mount , halfguard and the back My school taught me spider guard and de la Riva guard on my first 2 days and generally speaking when there is someone really new we usually do the details la Riva guard. So what do you think is the first thing a new white belt learn in terms of concepts/technique/positions/escape/sweep/submission/pass/etc Let me know your reasoning why. I haven't developed a full opinion yet so I will post after some others.
For me it would have to be mount escapes like the upa. I remember Rorion used the upa to demonstrate how effective BJJ is. It's useful from white to black and is easily street applicable.
As strange as this sounds, I didn't learn my first sub until a month in. It might've been bad timing and maybe subs were worked on days I wasn't able to make it in. I pretty much youtubed subs for rolling until I got my first one (armbar from closed guard) My first 2 techs. was shrimping out of side control, and the 100% sweep from a bs guillotine (closed guard) New guys (I've been on and off, but still consider myself fairly new), should focus on positioning and escapes/sweeps while staying calm and not spazzing. My first time I did get paired up with a known dick bag, and he KOB me pretty hard that I had to tap from it, it happened alot. I wasn't used to breathing properly in BJJ/no-gi + spazzing = bad news One of the reasons I've been on and off was injuries from guys like him. When I was fresh, I was "grappling retarded", basically someone gets a sub/sweep ready to go, and I'd have no clue what it was and if it was a rolling one, I'd have no idea where to turn or flow with, and I'd get injured. Sometimes I'd roll the opposite direction by accident. My shoulder almost got dislocated from a failed-single-leg-to-rolling-kimura, my neck got a close call with guillotine to jumping guard. Basically guys trying fancy shit from youtube, but have no real idea how to do it properly and safely, and I got fucked because of it. So I think being taught or just getting enough mat time with certain techniques just for injury prevention should be up there as well. tldr; position, escapes, staying calm so little to no spazzing, having a feel how to flow/roll with a technique so injuries won't happen
I'd teach them wrestling stance (base), not to shuffle their feet when moving around the mat (more base), keeping their elbows in and their back straight (posture and structure) and then briefly explain that all of grappling is about base posture and structure, and when all of that combines you have alignment. Then have them do a light moving around in good stance for 10 or 15 minutes. Then I'd show a method the pressure you should use during a collar tie while still keeping alignment. Drill the collar tie pressure while moving around with a lightly resisting opponent for 5-10 minutes. Then a snap down, explaining that it can be used to break your partners alignment by compromising his base and his posture. I'd also mention that it doesn't work without commitment and/or perfect timing. Probably 15 minutes of this. Finally I'd shown a double leg if they over react defending the snapdown, reemphasizing that during the movement their back should be straight and upwards, their elbows should be in, and their legs shouldn't be narrow so they have base. Probably 15 to 20 minutes. Maybe longer since lots of new people struggle not to just bend forward and tackle the guy during a double. Boom, the main principle of jiu jitsu (alignment) taught to a complete newbie by showing them "wrestling".
I know people learn Upa pretty early on, and I think it's kind of weird. I use a knee elbow escape almost always from mount. I think it's a good opener. It teaches some good fundamental concepts and movements like shrimping, framing, creating space, recovering guard.
Imo it doesnt matter if you learn a mount escape first and a week later a closed guard sweep or the other way around, as long as its all basics and there probably is no perfect sequence of the techniques in order of best to learn first. It could also be argued that spider guard is part of the basics, it is one of the first layers of a good guard. That said id go with basic movements and concepts in the first lessons like shrimping, keeping elbows close, framing, underhooks, kneeshield etc. but "the basics" are such a variety of techniques and also interpetable. So i think its more important what youd consider basics and importantly what a lot of people do not consider basics that should be considered basics, than the sequence you teach it in.
If the person has a general understanding of positions as stated in the op, Id teach them one of the first two moves I learned, the americana or the basic scissor sweep. Theyre both simple moves and have more advanced variants and chains that can be expanded on as you get better.
My school has a 13 week core SD class very similar to Gracie Combatives. Three techniques are taught in each class and beginners are expected to take at least two classes per week. It doesn't matter where somebody starts. I started with side kick defense, front kick defense, and defending a standing attacker while on the back (this included technical stand up). If I had to pick just one technique, I'd choose the Upa. In reality, it may not be as useful as the elbow escape, but it's damn cool and would be the one technique most likely to get a beginner hooked in my opinion.
I like closed guard pummeling first. The top guy fights to free himself while the bottom guy fights to prevent the plum so he can't get can-openner'd, not that the top guy is allowed to do it. Touching the ears is enough if he isn't experienced. I think it is a good start because it provides context for positional sparring, so you can keep teaching the beginner closed guard retention and sweeps, and he can do his rolling from there. IMO After that, you do Side Mount Pummeling, Side Mount Escape, Mount Escape, Half Guard Pummeling and Half Guard to Closed Guard. Then submissions from bottom, then top game. All that if you have the luxury of sticking beginners with experienced people. If not, then the mirroring top game comes at the same time, dragging it all out. The reason why I think doing this way is good is because it provides a compeditive activity early - closed guard positional sparring - context for performing bottom escapes and getting to closed guard, and finally a fearlessness so the student can attempt submissions, knowing if he misses, he can practice an escape. I think people who learn this way at the beginning get more bang for the buck because if they were to learn random basics and get put in the shark tank, they won't go for moves, because they won't know where to go, and won't go for submissions, because they don't know how to escape when they fail. Learning this way makes people seem brave because it builds in goals and even the beginner knows what he should be doing, and is less scared to try. Boring though, because you aren't doing sweet submissions from on top.
I wish I learned in this order: Closed Guard Pummeling Closed Guard Retention Closed Guard Sweep Closed Guard Passing Side Mount Submission Side Mount Pummeling Side Mount Escape Half Guard Pummeling Half Guard Standup / Back Take Half Guard > Closed Guard Maintain Top Full Mount Prevent High Mount Full Mount Submission Mount Escape to Top Guard Mount Escape to Bottom Half Technical Full Mount Escape Bottom Closed Guard Submission Back Take From Mount Back Mount Submission Back Take from Side Mount Back Mount Escape Knee on Belly Submission Knee on Belly Escape Other Techniques
master the bridge and the hip escape. when you put the two together, it is called a shrimp. these two movements are the integral components to all other techniques you will ever learn in BJJ.
Stance, Breakfalls, Basic Takedowns. No one at my club, myself included, came to try a class because they wanted to lay on their back and wrap their legs around someone; they wanted to learn how to throw people like Rampage or Ronda Rousey and then choke/armbar them like Royce, Maia, Ronda, etc. The average Joe that I've seen over the years has ZERO concept of "guard" or "side control", but EVERYONE and anyone understands when they see a big throw or takedown and a choke- even if they don't understand the mechanics of HOW it works, they understand that it DOES work and is cool. When you say, "ok, lay on your back and put your legs around me", 99% of people I've come across have zero frame of reference and it doesn't strike a chord with them; usually they end up thinking, "um, I thought I was coming here to learn how to fight?" PLUS, by starting with basic wrestling, I've totally avoided ending up with guys who are afraid of wrestling/standing up, because to them, that IS Jiu Jitsu as much as chokes or armlocks.
For me, it is position first then action after. No point teaching guard pass before you teach mount, back, side control. Knee on the belly and north south. The result of the guard pass is the above positions. No point teaching guard pass if they do not understand the positions they need to achieve. Another way to look at it is the point system Mount and back : 4 points, Side control and north south is 3 points as the result of a guard pass. Then knee on the belly 2 points or 5 if it a guard pass as well. I teach guard subs before guard passes because it is end of a match instead of just 3 points. Etc...
Im probably the newest, shittiest snowcone belt on earth. For me its defense. Defense, defense, defense. Get to the point where no matter what you arent being tapped by simple things. If youre getting rolled up by some black, brown, purple belt, you got no choice, thats just what they do, tapping is what we do. If however, like me until very recently, you are getting triangled left and right, or top mount arm triangled left and right, then figure out how to get out of those positions. For me its gone from these two things to now figuring out staving off the mount at all costs. Its pretty easy to mount me at this point. Maybe all them days in sorority houses. WAH WAH! IM OUT!
