Hit a Grappling Wall

This happens to everyone if you train and compete enough. When this happens to me or one of my teammates, we usually just train at a different gym a few times and it always seems to help. Luckily where I have trained in the past and train now, there are a hundred places in a 15 mile radius. If that isnt an option, take a week off.
 
Just keep training maybe make small adjustment. One advice that I still use from my baseball playing day is make small adjustments. Sometimes you get under a slump and things just dont work right. Dont completely change what you are doing. But make small changes and keep making them until you find your zone.
 
train train train. don't give up. maybe try slowing down and focusing on the individual steps to techniques.

i have actually made more progress when coming back from an injury than any other times. losing cardio after laying out for 2mo with a knee injury had it's upside - i am forced to be more methodical.
 
This is how jiu-jitsu happens for me. I make some technical progress, then I feel like a moron for a couple of weeks, and then I make more technical progress.
 
One thing to consider is that it is much easier to go from 1-5 than it is to go from 5-10, if that makes sense. So as you improve from this point, the types of improvements will typically come in the form of filling gaps in your game, then refining technique, and so on. Guys catching up to you who you once easily handled is pretty common in my experience, as their game was likely very weak and they have now developed ways to deal with the techniques you once imposed on them (which also explains why they no longer seemingly work). Their development was reactive to a specific stimuli (techniques that were giving them trouble), but now you are at a point where identifying the things giving you trouble is more difficult since they are technique chains rather than a single technique most likely.

When I started hitting this point, I found that learning how to view your game as a system really helped (almost like Boolean logic, for the nerds out there). When you start getting to levels where guys can defend the techniques you use, you need at least one or several options to quickly transition to in order to maintain pressure.

As you employ a multi-pronged attack, you buy yourself more time to refine the specifics of each technique, which is why those types of improvements are generally seen at higher belt levels. You can try troubleshooting with the people who are clearly a higher level, filming some of your rolls to see what techniques are giving you trouble, and once you've identified specific techniques to look for, consulting instructional material or private lessons if that's available or more your thing.
 
jtmb said:
One thing to consider is that it is much easier to go from 1-5 than it is to go from 5-10, if that makes sense. So as you improve from this point, the types of improvements will typically come in the form of filling gaps in your game, then refining technique, and so on. Guys catching up to you who you once easily handled is pretty common in my experience, as their game was likely very weak and they have now developed ways to deal with the techniques you once imposed on them (which also explains why they no longer seemingly work). Their development was reactive to a specific stimuli (techniques that were giving them trouble), but now you are at a point where identifying the things giving you trouble is more difficult since they are technique chains rather than a single technique most likely.

When I started hitting this point, I found that learning how to view your game as a system really helped (almost like Boolean logic, for the nerds out there). When you start getting to levels where guys can defend the techniques you use, you need at least one or several options to quickly transition to in order to maintain pressure.

As you employ a multi-pronged attack, you buy yourself more time to refine the specifics of each technique, which is why those types of improvements are generally seen at higher belt levels. You can try troubleshooting with the people who are clearly a higher level, filming some of your rolls to see what techniques are giving you trouble, and once you've identified specific techniques to look for, consulting instructional material or private lessons if that's available or more your thing.
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You hit right on the nail. The techniques that used to work against the partners I had an easy time rolling with no longer work now thatbthey caught up and know what to expect. From what everyone has said so far, it sounds like my game really hasn't progressed and I've probably been in a comfort zone for too long by not trying different things.

I'd love to go to another gym to train just to get a different look,, but my head instructor probably wouldn't care for that idea so much, so instructional videos and taking things a bit slower sound like the best option.
 
indulf said:
train train train. don't give up. maybe try slowing down and focusing on the individual steps to techniques.

i have actually made more progress when coming back from an injury than any other times. losing cardio after laying out for 2mo with a knee injury had it's upside - i am forced to be more methodical.
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I've actually noticed this as well. I'll take a week or so off and come back better than I was before. Unfortunately it hasn't happened recently, but it's weird how that happens. I would think the opposite after taking time off.
 
I've been training about 3 and a half years (been a blue for 2 years) and this has happened to me a couple times while I've been blue.

I just focus on a couple of things and just work them as much as possible rolling. Usually the improvement on those couple of techniques opens up my game and i'm back on track.
 
Originally Posted by Alphamale1906 View Post
I've actually considered going back to the beginner class just to get a refresher on the basics.
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This is actually a good idea. Sometimes blues think well I've got the fundamentals down, now I can go on to other things. In reality, you know the fundamentals, but do you REALLY KNOW the fundamentals? I'm a 2 stripe blue and if I miss every other class I'll always make the fundamentals class. There are details there every time that I missed the first time around. I went to a fundamentals class last week and caught a detail that made my triangle choke way better.
 
pheonix5 said:
This is actually a good idea. Sometimes blues think well I've got the fundamentals down, now I can go on to other things. In reality, you know the fundamentals, but do you REALLY KNOW the fundamentals? I'm a 2 stripe blue and if I miss every other class I'll always make the fundamentals class. There are details there every time that I missed the first time around. I went to a fundamentals class last week and caught a detail that made my triangle choke way better.
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I actually went to the beginner class tonight for the first time in over year and a half and it was great. I got a refresher on little things and details that I forgot, while also helping out the lower ranks which ultimately will improve my game as well. I should have done this weeks ago!
 
Alphamale1906 said:
I actually went to the beginner class tonight for the first time in over year and a half and it was great. I got a refresher on little things and details that I forgot, while also helping out the lower ranks which ultimately will improve my game as well. I should have done this weeks ago!
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Fantastic. I was hoping it would have this result.

Sometimes, getting to work with newer people too really helps you see how far you are along and it's easy to forget that sometimes.

Helping others is also a really great way to fully understand a technique.
 
Alphamale1906 said:
I actually went to the beginner class tonight for the first time in over year and a half and it was great. I got a refresher on little things and details that I forgot, while also helping out the lower ranks which ultimately will improve my game as well. I should have done this weeks ago!
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Awesome. You sound more upbeat as well. I'd say make it a point to do this a little more often, especially if you feel you're in a slump. Changing gears every once in awhile can really help. I also find helping the newbies helps me forget about me and my game for awhile. And seeing the light bulb go off when they try something and get it makes me smile a bit. Then it's back to beast mode,where destroying my teammates and making them grovel in pain is all that matters.:D Just kidding.
 
We have all been there my friend, your post brings me back a few years (and I'm still a blue belt!).

We all hit peaks and valleys in our training, you need to remember that your training partners are getting better at different rates and if you employ the same game they will learn to counter it.

Just keep training, keep learning, and you will soon break through that wall.
 
Happens to everybody.

I was feeling the same about 2 months back and decided to just focus on a single aspect of my game (grip fighting:D) and ignore about everything else (as in I didn't add any new techniques). I was still having a bit of trouble while rolling, but it was easier to see progress in one area rather than my entire game. Keep rolling and you'll be just fine.
 
I noticed last night when I went to the beginner class that there were alot of little details that I had somehow forgotten about and were not implementing in my game. Small detail such as to where to place the knee when going for an armbar from S mount and hand placement for collar chokes. I also felt more confident in the advanced class right after and wasn't actually so nervous to roll this time.
 
Glad this worked out for you. Sometimes getting back to basics helps a lot. So does rolling with different partners that aren't familiar with your game....especially white belts. :)

The alternative I was going to suggest comes from one of the black belts at my dojo. Last summer, he was in the same kind of slump as you and his confidence was down. His solution when that happens is to take a defined break. In his case, ten days without any kind of jiu-jitsu. No books, no videos, no matches, no teaching, no sparring, no training. He said he has to do it every couple of years.

He said the first 2-3 days are nice, because you can spend time with your family or with other hobbies. By the 5th day, he finds himself thinking "it'd be nice to go roll right now". By the 8th day, he said it's very hard not to just blow off his commitment and go train. On day 11 this last time, he trained even we didn't even have class. He made it a point to come train situationals with a small group of us, just because he was that eager to get back to it.

It recharged his batteries, gave him a chance to let some nagging minor injuries heal, and it got him out of that mental place where he was so frustrated and lacking confidence. He came back and his game felt much better even though he had just been off the mats for 10 days.

Not saying that skipping class is always or even often the right answer. But if you've been training hard for a long time without a break, sometimes it's exactly what you need to make a breakthrough. It reminds me of being super focused on a puzzle and frustrated you can't solve it, you give up for the night, and then the next day the answer hits you when you're in the shower.

Just something to consider in the future.
 
well, IMO this happens to everyone, I dont know if that pronouced in higher belts as in blue becuase, well im just a blue, but here is my take on the subject...

while its true that we all plateau once every x amount of time, and nothing seems to be going right, and nothing seems to work, its depressing, after a while, one day, everything clips and you make a big jump in progression, is like, o shit im kicking ass again! well, what happened is that you have been working a lot on different things, because things that used to work well, are not doing it anymore, then you started to look for solutions, and after a while, you are able to implement those solutions. For example, I used to triangle people left and right (white and new blues) in the gym after a while, I wasnt hitting as much triangles as I used to, later on I wouldnt hit 1 in class, that wouldve been unacceptable for me back in my triangles day, what happened? I stopped paying that much attention to the triangles, was working on arm drags and back attacks, when one day I said, ok time to go for triangles again, I was getting a freaking hard time getting them on people I used to triangle at will.. what happend? did my technique went to hell? nop, my class mates evolved, they learned how to counter it (the old set ups), so I had to start working on new set ups, I did find some more success, but not the same I was having before? why? well, white belts that used to be total noobs were not that noobs anymore, and the rest just kept progressing, learned what not to do, where NOT to place their arms and where NOT let me place my legs... White belts evolve pretty fast up to one point, blue belts get stuck a lot to turn to purple, that means that your progress will be slower as you get more training time, unless you are constantly working on new things and constantly drilling all those new things. With some strong basics, seasoned white belt should be able to defend pretty well (this means not get tap 5 times in 5 minutes) by a good blue, still he would get owned by most blues (im talking in general, of course there are white killers and the skill level differs a lot from school to school)... so you would think that its solely your fault that you are not tapping left and right guys who you used to tap a while ago, when in reality, its a mix of the 2, him getting better and you not getting better as fast as he is... remember this, you are not the only one training, and you are not the only one who will progress with training...

dont worry, it will pass, what I do when I get in times like this? work on some new stuff and always, always try to have fun...
 
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Alphamale1906 said:
Apologies if this has already been posted a lot before, but I didn't find much using the search function for previous posts. I'm a 3 stripe blue-belt and over the past two months or so I've hit a wall where I feel like I can't do anything right. Techniques that once worked for me now no longer work and training partners that I usually would have an easy time rolling with, are now giving me fits. Even white- belts are giving me hell. It's really frustrating as I feel like I'm regressing and it's even gotten to the point where I don't even want to roll anymore.

My question is how normal is it to feel like this with bjj training and how do you overcome it?
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u must let yourself go

have fun with it

u learn more that way

our plateaus are of our own making.
 
I hit a plateau at blue belt and then needed to take time off. I'm having an easy time with white belts but soem of the blue belts I used to manhandle have gotten alot better. Dont give up.
 
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