Jiu Jitsu's unwritten rule of not using strength must change.

Jack Handy jr

Jack Handy jr

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This philosophy is at the heart of GI Jiu Jitsu which I have recently started because there aren't any NOGI/MMA schools within a reasonable driving distance from my home. Now don't get me wrong I have had some hellacious rolls at the new place esp with the instructor.

But the old complaint I have always heard is starting to rear its head "try not to use so much strength" "use technique". I've had the pleasure of meeting several world level BJJ competitors. And many of them strike me as being arguably yoked or on PED's. And at the competition level to even attempt to apply even basic techniques imo high level blackbelts have to use a lot of strength, along with technique to get to the position before the submission attempt.

I would ideally like to see more beastly wrestler types like Chris Weidman, and high level Judoka like Travis Stephens, Continue to cross over to BJJ. Because imo this will eventually force a gradual evolution of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu's philosophy of NO STRENGTH!! And imo will eventually lead one day to a guy Like a Khabib Nurmagemedov type freestyle/Judo grappler that would have blackbelt level BJJ that would arguably be essentially unstoppable imho. Remember even lord Rickson was renown for not just his BJJ, but his strength and conditioning regime.

thoughts.
 
Jack Handy jr said:
This philosophy is at the heart of GI Jiu Jitsu which I have recently started because there aren't any NOGI/MMA schools within a reasonable driving distance from my home. Now don't get me wrong I have had some hellacious rolls at the new place esp with the instructor.

But the old complaint I have always heard is starting to rear its head "try not to use so much strength" "use technique". I've had the pleasure of meeting several world level BJJ competitors. And many of them strike me as being arguably yoked or on PED's. And at the competition level to even attempt to apply even basic techniques imo high level blackbelts have to use a lot of strength, along with technique to get to the position before the submission attempt.

I would ideally like to see more beastly wrestler types like Chris Weidman, and high level Judoka like Travis Stephens, Continue to cross over to BJJ. Because imo this will eventually force a gradual evolution of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu's philosophy of NO STRENGTH!! And imo will eventually lead one day to a guy Like a Khabib Nurmagemedov type freestyle/Judo grappler that would have blackbelt level BJJ that would arguably be essentially unstoppable imho. Remember even lord Rickson was renown for not just his BJJ, but his strength and conditioning regime.

thoughts.
Click to expand...

Light rolling or technical rolling have their place in bjj, but a place which enforces their students to only light roll its a sucky place. You will hardly ever hear a black belt tell purples and above (who are rolling with each other) to DO NOT USE STRENGTH... you will hear the instructor call up a higher belt whos crushing a white belt to take it easy, and specially you will hear the instructor call up 2 white belts going at it as it was the final of the mundials, because well, they have shittiy technique and all they do is push each other spazz and force stuff that arent there, so is basically whos stronger, at that belt you have to build your technique, not play a midget wrestling contest.

Spazz also should not be confuse with strenght.
 
Someone should post the Josh Barnett video where he says every high level BJJ competitor uses strength and is strong as shit.
 
'don't use strength' is outmoded and, I think, already on the way out. Though it's important to understand the context of why coaches say that: they're usually talking to white belts, and they're trying to get them to focus on technique rather than just beasting people (if they have that ability). In that context, it is good advice. You don't want an athletic white belt to not try to use good jiu jitsu in rolling just because he can beat other white belts on physicality alone. That said, any coach who is telling purple or brown belts not to use strength is full of shit. By that point your technique should be more than good enough to utilize strength effectively, which is the whole point of BJJ anyway.
 
Uchi Mata said:
'don't use strength' is outmoded and, I think, already on the way out. Though it's important to understand the context of why coaches say that: they're usually talking to white belts, and they're trying to get them to focus on technique rather than just beasting people (if they have that ability). In that context, it is good advice. You don't want an athletic white belt to not try to use good jiu jitsu in rolling just because he can beat other white belts on physicality alone. That said, any coach who is telling purple or brown belts not to use strength is full of shit. By that point your technique should be more than good enough to utilize strength effectively, which is the whole point of BJJ anyway.
Click to expand...

why didnt you like my post lol...
 
Sometimes I wonder if the no-strength edict is a marketing ploy to attract older students. Older students are important to BJJ schools since they are more able to afford the exorbitant tuitions.
 
kjg1672 said:
Sometimes I wonder if the no-strength edict is a marketing ploy to attract older students. Older students are important to BJJ schools since they are more able to afford the exorbitant tuitions.
Click to expand...

no is not. Read above, uchi has explained it quite well, at least it shouldnt be.

edit: my bad, I just saw you liked my post :D
 
Jiu-Jitsu should change because some lame troll on Sherdog says so?

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IMO it's not about using or not using strength, it's all about being "highly efficient".
 
I think people misunderstand this, but to be honest, most people going to light is not a problem. Strength in support of good technique is of course legit, but when I think of "don't use strength" I think of the white and blue belt forcing something that is not there, and won't be there no matter how hard you are pushing, pulling, or squeezing. And I firmly believe that most technique will work without a lot of umph behind it. It is a common problem that a lot of beginner and intermediate players have in trying to force something that isn't there and If someone can honestly scale the attributes back a little in some of the rolls I think the that can be improved upon. I've seen people that do have the opposite problem, but the former is far greater than the later.
 
Ignore Kirk Lazarus and surprise them with full retard strength.
 
I too think it applies to a lot of beginners if not mostly beginners.. I have been training a long time and it depends on what rank I roll with on how much "strength" I use. Face it.. if you roll with brown and blacks its all hands on deck and then some.. strength, stamina, trickeration whatever... watch the top dogs roll or in competition like Andre Galvao, Roger Gracie, Xande etc.. even the great Marcelo.. they all use strength when they "turn it on"
 
Unless you are keeping it playful then you just go full on limp mode
 
That's just the coach cueing his favorite student into pulling opossum guard.
 
Going to light is imo a problem, for the individual and for the school.
A light rolling school will not be present in the competition scene, I promise you that.

As an individual, I go to light too often. My conditioning is not where it needs to be as a result, and I give up passes and positions that I could probably fight harder to defend, or fail techniques because I just don't have the gas tank to go through the required series of transitions.
 
Good luck scoring on anyone good who knows what they're doing if you don't use strength lol
 
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