How the hell do you absorb it all?

[Scut]

I just did an introduction to BJJ last night at a local gym. It was an hour long where an instructor and one of her students worked with me on the basics I would need to know to get going in their regular classes.

First off; I've never done anything like this before, no highschool wrestling, no martial arts, I'm a complete newb. But it was awesome, I really loved it. My question is how the hell do you absorb everything you're taught? I find myself sitting here this morning thinking about everything I learned last night trying my hardest to remember each step I was shown. I was shown a buck and roll, scissor sweep, a pass from guard to side control, side control to mount and the basic mechanics of a choke / armbar.

Again it was so much fun, but how do you deal with such a large amount of knowledge that is out of your realm of understanding when you first started out? Also, does everyone look like a real dumbass when they attempt to learn how to forward shrimp? Or just me? I could not for the life of me grasp wtf that was about.

Anyway, I had a great time and can't wait to go back.

 

[Wandgun]

You don't remember everything. You will take things that work with your game/body type etc and those will click fastest. The rest you'll pick up with enough repetition.

 

[chino3]

how do you absorb/learn anything? repitition

 

[ItsArun]

take notes, keep a training log, drill hundreds of reps

 

[jrock89]

Learn what you can and right after try to use it during your rolls.

Don't worry, your instructor will probably show you those techniques 10 more times as long as you keep going to your class. You don't learn everything at once, but more over time

 

[CajunJudoka]

Keep coming back.

 

[jrozen]

I started in September without any prior wrestling or martial arts experience. The first few weeks got a little bit frustrating because it seemed like a TON of information and I wasn't retaining any of it, but in the last week or so it's just started to click. Not everything, but like they said, I'm finding certain moves that work well for me and are beginning to come more naturally after drilling and repetition. The basics are beginning to make sense. I do train 3-4 days a week and I make sure to roll until I can't move anymore. And I try to work on the moves for that day in practice. Once you get going you'll likely roll with higher belts who should be good about helping you work on what you've been drilling.

 

[redaxe]

Reading and writing about the techniques on Sherdog helps me to remember them. When people ask questions and I give them technique advice it's partly for selfish reasons. I have to work through the technique in my head in order to explain it to someone else. Helps me remember it when the time comes for me to use it.

 

[DeathAndHealing]

For me I basically just threw out the instructions I received everyday and focused on my own game.

-Learn to control your opponent before going for a submission.
-Learn ONE escape from every position, drill it for a month or so and then add a second, and so forth.
- Focus on two submissions, armbar and kimura/americana. Applying and escaping from all positions.

Agree or disagree thats how I learned the quickest after being taught seemingly random techniques everyday which wasnt really helping my game.

 

[akdms]

There are basics, like you just described, that you'll probably know pretty well in the next month or so (at least, you'll be able to do them on someone not giving you much resistance). There's always new techniques and variations though, and honestly, you'll never remember them all. Eventually you will start to realize common concepts and themes, and you won't be learning the move step-by-step, but rather you'll be fine tuning the concepts to fit your style and body type. A lot of the steps will just be automatic and you'll do them without thinking about it.

Keeping a log definitely helps. It's time consuming, but it helps. Be sure to use consistant language that you will understand later (inside arm referring to the arm closest to the center of your bodies, outside arm referring to the arm farthest from the center of your bodies, tori referring to the one initiating the move, uke referring to the one the move is being done to, etc.). Otherwise you'll look back later and wonder wtf you were talking about.

 

[Jagcorps_esq]

Time.

I remember two years ago trying to watch Damien Maia videos. I couldn't retain anything, because I hadn't had sufficient time to even understand the basics (like I even do now...pfft).

Now, I can watch them and get so much more from them.

You have to work your way into these things. It's why we don't start people off with calculus.

Add to that the fact that different people are going to have different abilities in retention or the ability to retain different things and you'll see that there is simply no way to get everything.

Just keep at it and try to absorb (really absorb) one thing a week and you'd be incredibly improved in one year.

 

[gannas]

just takes time, thats also why it takes so long to become a true master of this art. You dont see 13 year old black belts running around like you do in karate.

 

[mrpopenfresh]

take notes, keep a training log, drill hundreds of reps

Writing stuff down and going through it in your head is the best way to get it ingrained. You can also look up the moves you've down on the net.

 

[Hellboy31]

Yeah, it's impossible to retain everything. I like my coaches style because we learn and drill the same 4 to 5 techniques for 1 week straight before we move on to the next group of techniques... That usually helps my retention more than just learning something different every class.

Like the other guys say... Drill, come to class often, and try to look for the techniques you learned in class while you're rolling. The more you can make movements "muscle memory" the better you'll be.

 

[Sloth]

I think you learn grappling the same way you learn anything else. You find an entry point, and develop a rough outline of a few simple things. Then you expand that knowledge a bit and explore related information. Check out "information chunking" on google and you will get a good idea of how it works for a lot of folks.

 

[cenix]

true for most all replies. i find that just thinking about the techniques and their possible applications after class helps a lot. preparing mentally is just as effective as actually drilling them physically, in my opinion.

 

[Brian2]

IMO once you get the basic ideas of jiu jitsu, it makes it alot easier to remember. Right now you really have to look into every single step because you simply don't know. Once you learn the basic lay out of each position and type of submission, it becomes easier to just learn the different styles of each position and submission.

 

[Sloth]

true for most all replies. i find that just thinking about the techniques and their possible applications after class helps a lot. preparing mentally is just as effective as actually drilling them physically, in my opinion.

Agreed, mentally deconstructing and exploring techniques and positions help a lot

 

[Aesopian]

It takes seeing and drilling the same material many times over years to "get" it. Try keeping a written training log if you need help remembering what you were taught.

 

[killakoy]

I think I've forgotten more than I know. Sad really...