Stick with it!

When I was starting out in my BJJ training I found myself getting very frustrated when rolling, and I have spoken to some other people who say they have felt the same. As I touched on a bit in my previous post about self-defence, I believe this is largely due to the unintuitive nature of BJJ.

When we first code the act of fighting in our bodies at a young age, we mainly throw punches and occasionally kicks or, my favourite as a child, knees to the testicles. Because of this, most people are able to instinctively punch or kick in pressure situations.  Most people starting out in boxing have an idea how to hit already and require only refinement (sometimes significant) in terms of technique and movement.

However, I think it is safe to say that not many people spend their childhood in playgrounds fighting off their backs and, whilst we can all sidestep and move on our feet (even if it is not the pretty footwork of a professional boxer), it can be a very long step to being comfortable moving around smoothly on the floor. One day, I hope to get better at it! Indeed, for people without any judo or wrestling experience, putting on a gi, heading to the mats and lying down to learn to fight takes them right out of their comfort zone, it certainly did for me.

I would hazard that most people that take up BJJ are not thinking about the possibility of one day being really good at stepping round somebody's legs and then getting into side control. Most people are probably looking to get really good at making someone tap, however, one obviously does not come without the other and this can be a real source of frustration, again, it certainly was for me.

This becomes doubly apparent when we start rolling for the first time. I remember at least the first three or four months largely consisting of lying on the floor, stretched out, whilst someone danced around on top of me for a while before mercifully ending it. I had learned some fancy submissions, but the chances of actually using any of them seemed to not even be zero as I had not yet learned the magic codeword that can make someone tap when whispered in their ear. The unintuitive nature of the sport made positional awareness a nightmare. As a result, I grew more and more irritated with the whole situation. I often considered giving it up and going back to boxing or muay thai, something I at least knew I was able to have two-way sparring sessions in.

However, I stuck to it, more because I was enjoying how fit it was making me feel rather than because I had any hope of actually getting better at it and I was fortunate enough to have two training partners in particular that really took a lot of time with me rolling, both forming a sort of yin/yang together, one putting me in bad positions and making me recognise them and try to, at first, escape them, then begin to avoid them, and one who would always take a passive role and allow me to move around and try things, increasing my awareness and ability to move on the ground. (I won't name names for fear of embarrassment but I would also like to stress that each and every person I have worked with at Leverage has done wonders for my game, from the whitest of whitebelts, to the blackest of black and I hope everyone will understand that.)

After a while, slowly but surely, things started coming together. Whereas previously I was wondering if maybe I had missed classes where we were being taught the 'real' basics, I soon came to the realisation that the necessary movements can't really be taught, they have to be learned and the only way to achieve this is through mat time. Anyone at Leverage will be familiar with a certain person's catchphrase, 'there is no magic in jiujitsu,' and again, I have to agree with that. The only magic is in how sweat and fatigue can be transformed into ability, a sort of modern alchemy.

While I would not yet consider myself to be anyway approaching expertise on the ground, I do feel that I am becoming slightly less incompetent, which is a milestone in itself, and this is because of the work I have tried to put in, as well as the support from my coaches and training partners. However, I do take pride in the fact that I hung in there and am seeing results. I hope I am not the 'horizontal heavy bag' that I used to be and can actually give people a bit of a run for their money at times.

Therefore, to anyone just starting out and finding it all tough going, I would say stick with it! The more you do it, the more it will work. There is no quick fix, there is no one lesson that your coaches can give you to magically improve your roll - it's just hard work, mat time and taking your bruises. Every time I roll I hope to learn something new from a training partner, no matter his/her skill level and I hope you will do the same.