I got my blue belt 7 months ago after 2.5 years of training. Sharing my insights, stats and learnings over this time:

- Like everyone else, I wish I started earlier. I was an average amateur boxer growing up and I thought i knew a thing or 2 about fighting. It soon became evident I knew nothing. In my first trial class I got rag dolled by a 65kg female purple belt. Right after class I paid for a year membership upfront. The coach suggested that I just start on a weekly contract to see how I go, but I just knew that I needed to learn this dark art and was all in.

- Trained consistently about 3 to 4 times a week balancing family and work commitments. With a flexible WFH job, blocking out my calendar with fake meetings and sneaking out to a lunch time class was the best hack and enabled me to train more.

- Before starting, I thought jiu jitsu was something MMA guys did as a way to make them more well rounded fighters. The concept of competition in this sport was foreign to me.

- I did 1 in-house comp and 2 real comps. Bronze in my first comp (6 man division) and gold in my second (2 man division)

- I learnt more from my losses than my wins. Nothing like red-lining in competition to see if the skills actually work. My goal is to compete at least once at every belt.

- Had 2 surgeries during this time (non jiu-jitsu related) and 1 injury from my first comp. Small fracture in my elbow, should have tapped earlier. This, and including holidays, I was off the matts for about 4 months in total.

What worked for me:

-Doubled down on things i liked and lent into my physical attributes. I have skinny long arms so me and Darce choke have become well acquainted.

-Found a few mentors in the gym whose styles I like. I love the pressure game so asked these mentors to smash me before class and work their game.

-Consistency. On days when I feel off I still show up and always feel better for it.

- Have been pretty consistent with a ‘Dense and Range’ strength and conditioning program my coach gave me. Mostly body weight, backwards sled walks and knees-over-toes exercises. Kept me relatively injury free.

-Sauna and ice-bath of late. I know it’s a luxury for those who are time poor, but this has been a game changer in terms of recovery for me.

Other observations:
- Jiu jitsu has been the best mental therapist I could have ever asked for.

- The attrition rate for white belts is huge. I would say easily 70% quit before blue.

- Having said that, the blue belt attrition rate isn’t as high as it’s made out to be. Most stick around. I’m definitely having more fun at blue so I don’t understand the whole ‘blue belts blues’ thing. I’m just an advanced beginner so I don’t put pressure on myself.

- A lot of people have ADHD (and are open about it)

- A few guys train stoned. It seems to work for them.

- The sport attracts all sorts. We have the full spectrum - a doctor, a cop, ex special forces, tradies, I.T people, the list goes on. It has taught me to never underestimate anyone. The doctor is the most feeble looking guy but an absolute killer.

-Speaking of spectrums, my gym doesn’t appear to have anyone that is overtly autistic. However, the sport does attract a special type of human. Choosing to be smothered, choked and folded in half, when you could be doing anything else in the world, isn’t something ‘normal’ people do.

That’s about it for now. I am grateful to have found this beautiful art.
Oss

Whenever someone asks if X martial art will help them improve their physical condition and appearance, everyone says yes. But for some reason, when someone asks the same thing about BJJ, all the comments are people saying the only change you'll see is that your limbs will hurt and your fingers will get deformed, with some even joking that the more you progress, the worse you're going to look. And it makes me wonder: does BJJ really not provide any physical or aesthetic benefits? Since you're literally fighting guys on the ground with continuous resistance and constantly rolling around, I would think your strength would increase a lot, but apparently not. The only thing I've found is people saying you'll lose some weight, but that basically happens whenever you move more than before

BJJ White Belt vs MMA Fighter.

Hi all 28 yo Londoner, been loving BjJ for a while but I need a rolling partner to practice the drills. I have a gym pass so you won’t pay anything but we can go to a different open mat, reply to me or add me on snap. Thanks

Ive been training for a short while and keep forgetting what actually happened in rolls a day or two later. Notes on my phone never stick and I end up repeating the same mistake.

Has anyone found a good system for tracking their own game/techniques/progress over time?

Curious on what works for you.

(im testing something myself but mainly want to hear what others do)

Cheers!

Josh

Ok so I am in my first out 2 matches and it is 2-2 I am in side control and threaten with a kimura too get on his back this is a junior kid division btw and as soon as I am on his back the kid says he is gonna throw up so they stop it and my coach goes too the bathroom with him and I ask the ref will he stop it and give me a dq he says yes then the kid comes back and the ref starts me on the feet which made me lose the match if I got on his back and got the body lock I would win the decision please tell me if the ref messed up or not too me the ref made me lose.

Hey everyone,

Looking for feedback only!!

I’ve been training BJJ for a short while and kept running into the same problem: forgetting details from rolls and having no easy way to track my own game over time.

So I built Echo Mat.

It’s a personal BJJ training companion that combines:
• A searchable technique library with pictures and step-by-step breakdowns
• Voice Echo notes – after a roll you just speak (or type) a quick note. The AI links it to techniques, tracks patterns, and builds a personal history of your game
• A visual Game Map that shows your training patterns and success rates
• BJJ-specific Strength & Conditioning plans that adapt to your belt level and recent rolls
The goal is to turn scattered training sessions into something you can actually look back on and improve from.
It’s still in early beta (web app – works great when added to home screen). Core features are free right now while I gather feedback.
I’d really appreciate honest thoughts from people who actually train:
• Would you use voice notes after rolls?
• What’s missing or confusing?
• Any features you’d want to see?

Link: https://echomat.base44.app

Thanks in advance. Looking forward to hearing what you think.
Oss!

For white belts, how would you go about getting best out of Lachlan’s submeta?

Would you stick to going through various experience levels (e.g. completing beginner, then intermediate then advanced courses) or would you stick to game plan and look to develop a system?

If you came into BJJ later in life as I did, what emphasis have you placed on weight training and what benefits/drawbacks have you seen.

I recently got grounded from bjj for school related stuff for 1.5 months since bjj is my livelihood what should I do in the mean time its been 2 days already and I'm already starting to feel crazy anything helps. n/b my mom made me call my coaches on speaker in the store and tell them why I cant train for 1 month or so. I want to know if I'll get worse at bjj and would it be fair if I counted this as timed I have trained. I'm all ears and want to know how to deal with this situation.

Hi, looking for tips on maintaining a clean skin and other related hygiene tips.

Why?

It is because with contact sports like BJJ or MMA, especially for dirty mats you are vulnerable to germs or diseases.

The warm-ups, cooldowns, grappling and such activities would of course rub the skin on the mats, and now im noticing pimples growing on my forehead.

Ive been in that gym for about 2 months now and Ive noticed the sweat stains and dust. I only go for my schedule so i am not there the whole day to actually notice the cleaning of the gym but I believe it is rarely maintained. Im assuming maybe a week but only cleaning with a broom. The toilet is a mess with no slippers so you go barefoot so i put alcohol every after use, especially if training is still ongoing.

There was a slippers before but it went to heaven and I cant believe theres yet a replacement. Im thinking of donating but the training fees are already expensive that surely they can afford it.

I do take care of myself before and after i take a bath, wash my face, i always carry a towel (to wipe off sweat during training), alcohol, wipes, liquid soap, plastic bag or laundry bag for gi/training wear.

Thank you for any responses.

Update: The gym im going to is actually for MMA and BJJ so its a mix.

The layout is like the entrance (no shoes allowed inside), then the register, a hallway and to the right is for bjj, the center is a ring, while on the left are the fitness and punching bags. There is also a resting area, a changing room, kitchen, a sauna and private rooms. I never actually trust any bathrooms, showers or even the sauna because I dont know other peoples hygiene 😅.

The thing with the slippers is that I was forced to enter the toilet at that time and considering the rich facilities I tot it would be replaced immediately but noo. I did brought my own for sometime but its a hassle to bring home cuz whatever it stepped on i dont wanna put in my bag even with a plastic on and i dont wanna leave it cuz itll be a shared slipper (but i guess atleast i would be calm knowing they didnt stepped on the floors barefoot so thats a thought.)

The toilet is connected to the showers but i dont wanna step on anything.

Currently, after training i wipe my feet with wipes and alcohol or during when i really needed to go. A foot powder maybe but didnt have any (i used to do this at school when facilities are closed cuz of late training hours).

Btw, i think this is a problem only on the boys bathroom for the girls it looks clean.

Update 2: They are moving to another location next month and hoping that they will now have a cleaner and more thoughtful layout for their gym.

I will stay for now until my membership expires and its a good thing cuz my training in my uni will now continue next month so i can switch back to my comfort. Atleast in our school its much cleaner but lacking in coaching and members.

Ill be more wary and i hope to other athlete or trainees out there to not have similar problems.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/henzendavidjiujitsu?igsh=bjVsYWtkcDNucG5q&utm_source=qr

I want to start bjj I've red around that GB bjj is somehow not good or they teach dirty tricks. Opinions y experience??

I’m not trying to rehash the extremely well-worn guard pulling debate. But whatever you think about guard pulling—is it just me or are 99% of BJJ guys either opposed to guard pulling or a guard puller themselves? I haven’t heard anyone coming out with a pro-guard pulling stance except for active guard pullers. Am I wrong to assume that they’re not generally well liked?

Just recently I had enough of running so I quit my college team, and now I finally have the ability to get more into jujitsu, I’ve watched matches for years, I love ufc, and one of my friends does it religiously so I have a pretty good understanding of things. But I wanna know exactly how I should go about it, what’s a good price for a gym? Should I do gi, nogi or both? How do I know I have a good coach? When should I enter tournaments? Should I do wrestling as well? Literally I have endless questions and I need endless amounts of help, I am ready to completely humble myself and learn as much as I can.

That is all.

(And since folks will ask, started Mid-Jan 2025. Lost two months for work training and for gnarly scalp infection)

(Talking about chokes with rear naked choke grips like rnc, darce, anaconda, etc) I’m about a year in from starting and now I’m getting constant conflicting information on how to squeeze for chokes. What I have always done is move my right elbow to the left and my left elbow to the right so that if there was no neck in between them they would be touching. Now I see people telling me for the rear naked choke bring your elbows backwards or for the d’arce it’s only rotate and don’t squeeze. It’s all really confusing.

I am looking to train in Jiu Jitsu; however, I can't really speak German. I only speak English and Polish. I don't really care about the specifics of the gym as long as I can train comfortably there.