I only want to roll because classes are too boring

[shunyata]

TS, serious question over here.

Have you tried going to an Eastern European grappling gym?

Russian / Armenian / Dagestani in particular.

If one is within a commutable distance for you, it might be more what you're looking for.

 

[Nnedd]

I have gone the other way. I started our fundamentals class, and now our head instructor is often teaching it, and I get up to go early on Saturday morning.

I still pick things up, and I really like the extra reps.

The things I do sparring change as my game changes, and sometimes, things I never used to use, I find a place for. Having drilled them a bunch makes it easier to implement them when the time comes.

I've drilled countless triangles, against people my own skill and size level, triangles aren't my jam and they are hard to come by. So, more triangle drilling.

To each his own I guess.

 

[Your Noodly Master]

I have gone the other way. ......
To each his own I guess.

Yes, to each his own. We should all be doing this sport because we enjoy it. We won't all have the same approach.

 

[sb413197]

Two hours is a loooooong class. Can't blame you. I personally think 1-1.5 hours is about right, a lot of which should be rolling.

Depends on what your goals are of course. If you want to be the next Marcelo Garcia you'll train 6 hours a day and do tons of drilling. If you are a casual trainee you'll probably just want to do a minimal amount of technique and then roll because that's more time efficient for your limited training time.

 

[Uchi Mata]

45, brown belt, 6 years training 3-4x/week avg.

I've reached the point where I can't sit through a two hour class any longer. The first half is a 15 minute warm up followed by a 45 minute technique portion. The second hour is rolling. I often purposely get there late to miss the technique so I can warm up a little and then roll. Our instructor doesn't care about lateness.

I haven't lost my desire to train. I love rolling and always go to open mat, but I don't do regular classes as much now because of the boredom. I absolutely despise drilling. I don't claim to know every technique but we rarely cover anything I haven't seen multiple times.

I was looking for some input from others that have gone through this stage to help find a reason to get interested again. I don't want to set a bad example for new people at the academy.

As I've ranted about many times on various forums, the typical BJJ class structure is almost useless for helping upper belts progress. By the time you're a purple belt, certainly by brown, you've been through the curriculum multiple times. You don't need more no-resistance practice of moves that might have nothing to do with your game. You need to be doing a lot of positional sparring at various intensities against decent people where you're working on adding specific techniques that are pertinent to your game. Almost no schools are set up to facilitate that sort of thing, so you generally have to find it yourself. Basically all the progress I made from purple to black was based on small group work that I did outside of class. I don't think I went to actual class more than 2 dozen times as a brown belt, and that's probably an overestimation. If you've got a key to the gym or your own mat area and some motivated buddies, just start working on your own. You know enough by now to figure out what you need to work on. Study a lot, work things out with your friends, do lots of positional sparring, and use your coach as a reference to make sure you're not doing anything stupid in how you're approaching building your game. But class is mostly a waste of time.

 

[Uchi Mata]

im a brown belt, I have done all those things too, if you don't enjoy drilling then you don't enjoy BJJ, deal with it

part of the process is helping other people and accepting the responsibility of being an upper belt

There is a big difference between the sort of drilling that upper belts actually need (high rep, little time spent on instruction, focused on moves that pertain to their games) and the drilling you actually get in a typical class (low rep, lots of starting and stopping for instruction, move choice based on where you're at in the curriculum whether it has anything to do with your game or not). It's not selfish to want training that keeps moving your game forward, and at most schools regular class isn't going to do that for upper belts. At least, not at a reasonable pace compared to more effective training methods.

 

[Uchi Mata]

When I was still a brown belt, much less a purple belt, did I know what I needed to do to get better? I thought I did but my instructor put me in my place quickly and hammered down new concepts and made me drill that stuff till it sucked. He's shown me many things that I thought would never translate to my game and made them into strong A game material for me making me drill a lot and didn't let me just show up and roll all the time. Just like when you attend college, you don't tell the professor what you think needs to be covered so you can learn and improve, you shut the f**k up and listen and practice what they present you. You don't show up to BJJ class and tell the instructor what you need to do to improve.

I think this is only partially true. If you have an instructor who is very invested in your individual game and making it better and is thinking about specific things you personally need to work on and coaching you on them it's absolutely the best situation, but that's pretty rare. Most people have the option of just coming to class and doing whatever happens to be the move that day, or just rolling. They're not getting personalized game planning or the space to work on what they need to.

I'd say too that the college metaphor is strained, because there's actually a huge range of how you interact with professors depending on where you're at. Yeah, if you're an undergrad, you come to class and keep your head down, learn what the prof teaches, and that's enough to further your education. But at the masters or PhD level you're much more self guided and your instructor becomes more of an advisor and someone to bounce ideas off of than someone who's going to direct your day to day learning. I think BJJ would be better served operating in much the same fashion. For upper belts, they mostly need a coach as a resource and to direct their training at a high level, not to plan what they're going to be working on every day. Given that classes aren't structured that way hardly anywhere, what you're asking is for PhD level students (brown belts) to spend all their time attending seminars designed for undergrads (white and blue belts). Of course there's going to be frustration there, it's not what the advanced people need to keep getting better.

 

[asian-glow]

Yes this is a huge problem. I originally started my own class where I ran a "self directed" class but I had to focus more on other people's growth than my own.

It is very hard to bring this type of thing up with the instructor as well. I am basically asking to never attend his classes and never roll with him, which tbh I would be fine with. When I did come in outside of class my coach would want me more in the regular class, where lower belts and he would benefit from my presence.

What's worse is I am paying money to be left alone. All I want is to drill my own stuff and go to open mat. At a certain point, depending on the level of your coach, their ability to even advise is likely to be limited. your problems are so specific that they won't have an answer but of course they would never tell you this - still nice to bounce ideas off sometimes though.

I don't know of any good solutions to this dilemma. I would imagine they'd require more money or time. If anyone has any I'm all ears.

 

[asian-glow]

I recently switched to a school with 1 to 1.5hr long classes instead of 2. I don't know how I did 2 hrs before. It's all you need if the time is used well.

Also my approach to learning lately has been to work specific skillsets with specific people. For example, I am always working on sweeping two guys but passing 2 other guys, one from open and one from half guard. This is as opposed to just learning how to pass everyone that day/week/month.

I am, however, also a big proponent of working on things in chunks. It takes a long time to connect two chunks together but when it happens it's beautiful.

 

[Smelly_feet]

I think positional rolling is where to way to go after a while of training. Think this is missing from a lot of group classes.

 

[SUPERGRAPPLER]

I started at a club nearly 6 months ago after a long layoff. The instructor explained that we wouldn’t be doing any rolling because he didn’t think there was anything to be learned from it. I was skeptical but went along with it.

The first couple of months I was okay with 2 hours of instruction/drilling and no rolling. I saw it as a good way to get my body back into shape. Now, though, I’m really itching to roll, and I don’t think 30 minutes of a 2 hour class is too much to ask.

I enjoy the drilling part of the class and think it’s important, even if you’re doing stuff you’re unlikely to use, but if you never roll it becomes pointless. BJJ can also be a real grind when you don’t get to roll, rather than the joyful experience it should be.

This is weird. What affiliation is this? I've never heard nor ever been to a jiujitsu school that doesn't roll because the instructor doesn't think it is helpful.
Then again I am in California so we have so many world champions that emphasize drilling, fundamentals and a lot of grappling.

 

[Steve3730]

Feel like this is more common at brownbelt then we think. I've seen brown belts before me go through this phase and I've gone through it myself. I don't believe changing schools is the answer. You are going to find a lot of schools repeat the same styles, so what maybe new to you at a new place maybe short lived.

When you go over the boring technique if you are working with a colored belt discuss the move, pick out variations and little tips, details and entries between the two of you to advance it beyond the basic way the instructor showed it for everyone. If you are working with a white belt, take the time to teach it and explain it to him/her. Act like you are teaching a private this can sharpen your teaching skills to the point that white belts seek you out for actual privates. But also explaining a move will teach yourself details that you do without realizing why your doing it.

 

[NAKMUAY18]

My gym did rep and roll classes. You get a 3min round to rep what you want, then your partner gets 3min to rep, do that 10 times then roll.
Not many white belts attended but it was awesome for thinking about and developing your game

 

[Your Noodly Master]

.. . if you are working with a colored belt discuss the move, pick out variations and little tips, details and entries between the two of you to advance it beyond the basic way .. .

This is we had I've been doing it. Generally we do the move and discuss counters and/or the next logical sequence. Seems that everything has been ending with a knee bar lately.

 

[Steve3730]

This is we had I've been doing it. Generally we do the move and discuss counters and/or the next logical sequence. Seems that everything has been ending with a knee bar lately.

Can you request technique you see elsewhere to go over in class? rather you teach it or your coach teaches it? Our class is very repetitive too but some of us upper belts often time will bring up something we've seen online or at a seminar or another school.

 

[ccm22]

This is weird. What affiliation is this? I've never heard nor ever been to a jiujitsu school that doesn't roll because the instructor doesn't think it is helpful.
Then again I am in California so we have so many world champions that emphasize drilling, fundamentals and a lot of grappling.

It was all new to me, too, and very weird. Anyway, I cancelled the membership and am now at a school that is a bit more orthodox. So lots of drilling and rolling. Jiu jitsu is fun again!

 

[The Thrill]

i personally hate drilling, i almost never go to instructional class, like a handful of times in the last couple years


i like to roll, and usually i just recognize where im having problems, find solutions and run through them a couple times, then get right to making it work in rolling...then move on to the next problem area

im older now, have a family and other stuff to do, im there to get a workout in and because i like to roll, not to rep out DLR sweeps

 

[Jack Handy jr]

45, brown belt, 6 years training 3-4x/week avg.

I've reached the point where I can't sit through a two hour class any longer. The first half is a 15 minute warm up followed by a 45 minute technique portion. The second hour is rolling. I often purposely get there late to miss the technique so I can warm up a little and then roll. Our instructor doesn't care about lateness.

I haven't lost my desire to train. I love rolling and always go to open mat, but I don't do regular classes as much now because of the boredom. I absolutely despise drilling. I don't claim to know every technique but we rarely cover anything I haven't seen multiple times.

I was looking for some input from others that have gone through this stage to help find a reason to get interested again. I don't want to set a bad example for new people at the academy.

pretty much exactly what i do now lol.

I'm your age and have been wrestling, and doing Bjj for so long that my game is set and now i just want to roll.

berimbolos, inverted guards, and reverse de la rivas aren't my cup of tea.

they're legit as fuck don't get me wrong. just not something my body can do effectively at this point purely from a physical stand point

 

[nefti]

im a brown belt, I have done all those things too, if you don't enjoy drilling then you don't enjoy BJJ, deal with it

part of the process is helping other people and accepting the responsibility of being an upper belt

You have horrible logic, not liking drilling does not equate to not enjoying bjj.
That being said, my old school would rather do position sparring than straight drilling, which imho makes it more fun.

Thw senior b3wlts would sometimes play a game like "how many x techniques can we pull off during position sparring " . For example if we did side control we were only alllwed to do gi chokes. Little games like that make training more fun.

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

You have horrible logic, not liking drilling does not equate to not enjoying bjj.
That being said, my old school would rather do position sparring than straight drilling, which imho makes it more fun.

Thw senior b3wlts would sometimes play a game like "how many x techniques can we pull off during position sparring " . For example if we did side control we were only alllwed to do gi chokes. Little games like that make training more fun.

it equates to not enjoying a fundamental and major aspect of bjj, so I suppose it's an exaggeration for effect

positional sparring is completely different than drilling and not a substitute, of course sparring is more fun than drilling, eating ice cream is more fun than eating vegetables isn't it? But you can't just eat ice cream just like you can't just spar and never drill and expect to have the healthiest BJJ game possible

You can make drilling fun but most it takes some creativity