What is better for long-term development: Training 3x a week with a 10/10 instructor or 5x a week with a 6-7/10 instructor? By these ratings I’m talking how well they’re able to teach the sport of jiu jitsu

Hi everyone,

I started practicing Jiu-Jitsu about 2 months ago. I want to apply the chess principle of "pick an opening and stick with it," but for guard systems.

I've heard that guys with longer legs have advantages in certain positions (like triangles and spider guard). But I have short legs! (specially short femurs) I tried to search for content about this online, but I couldn't get much useful information out of my research. Currently, I'm doing a lot of laço guard and spider guard, because these are the only ones I had practical experience with! :P

For those with shorter legs, what guard system would you recommend focusing on as a primary "opening" strategy?

Thank you for your time and help!

Best regards,

I signed my daughter up for bjj classes for toddlers last month and so far all she’s done is sit in the corner and stare. She won’t participate or do anything. Feels like I’m just wasting money and time. Anyone else have a similar experience? She’s generally shy and timid in nature which is why I wanted to sign her up, but this is getting really frustrating. Any similar experiences?

I try to force half guard or split squat even from a torreando attempt. And I always keep the same level of head position. But for some reason I really struggle to put them supine so I can go to my passes and I get wrestled up a lot. Like ankle picks single legs. Any help?

I’m a big believer in improving the manner in which instruction is delivered. I constantly look for ways to improve or be exposed to new ideas.
One thing that has always bothered me is that no traditional sport such as soccer, football, basketball, baseball is coached in the way that jiu jitsu is. A coach that sees a mistake in a scrimmage would often jump in and stop play to physically get the players to perform correctly. No serious coach would do the drills and conditioning and then simply run a full game after every single practice year after year with little to no input. That seems to be the default in most gyms. Yes there maybe some live coaching while the roll continues telling someone how to escape mount or telling them to keep shrimping and pushing but rarely would a coach jump in and say hold up you see how you put your foot here? It should be on the hip and then frame and then get an underhook. Please run that back 2-3 times. When I coach I don’t do that and it bothers me a bit. Rolling is sacred and no one wants to mess with it. Which I understand. However tweaks and feedback on issues you are having would be the most relevant and beneficial coaching you could actually do to directly improve a student’s performance.

Does anyone have experiences and feedback on coaches legitimately coaching during rolling? I would love to see how I could be better. Students that have had positive experiences would love to hear things you’ve appreciated.

I have been training now for 2-3 months 3x a week. I get absolutely destroyed every class and I know its normal to get tapped by almost everyone since I'm at the bottom of the totem pole but I feel like when I am getting tapped, my coaches and training partners are looking at me like wtf are you doing dude. It usually takes like 30 seconds for me to get subbed and prior to getting subbed I am just being man handled. Also during the technique portion I have to have like 2 people help me every time because my brain just turns off the moment we clap hands apparently and I forget everything i just witnessed and it looks like I'm learning to use my limbs for the first time ever. I know I am not that athletic but this is pretty discouraging ngl

PGF qualifiers coming to a close not a ton of big names in them, but I think it’s a step forward for the sport to have what resembles a professional league with a clear pathway to compete in.

False reap and k guard entries don’t seem to be there. Anybody found a way to the legs while opponent is attempting to knee cut?

Based on 2000 answers so far.

I'm going to visit Punta Cana and would love to drop in for at least one BJJ class while I'm there. I tried searching for academies online but couldn't find any. Does anyone have recommendations?

What are your tactics and methods to draw your standing partner into your HG?

I've seen people have "30-something time IBJJF Champion" in their social media bios, referring to IOs. Can you really call yourself a champion if you haven't won Worlds, Pans, or something similar?

I've been visiting grappling gyms and watching how mats get cleaned after class. Online advice is all over the place, so I'm curious what rooms that take hygiene seriously actually do.

Whether you own a gym, coach, clean the mats, or just train there — what have you seen?

• How soon after the last class do mats get cleaned?
• Real steps in order (sweep, wipe, disinfectant, how long before people walk back on)?
• Who does it — coach, students, or hired cleaner?
• Any disinfectant you trust on vinyl or tatami, and why?
• Anything different for kids classes?
• If you're a student: ever avoided or left a gym because the mats felt dirty?

Not selling anything. Just trying to understand what "clean enough" looks like in practice. Thanks.

I ended up winning gold and had a better performance overall the next match, but with the nerves I was feeling for the first ever time competing and the terrible stumble and pulling the guy onto mount I didn’t do to bad haha!

I’ll be moving to ID soon and am looking for a new gym - preferably in East/SE Boise, but I’m willing to drive 20–25 minutes for the right place.

I’m a 50-something, non-competing, very average hobbyist new bb. I'm pretty banged up and constantly nursing chronic injuries, so my rolling volume is low and pretty inconsistent. Let’s just say I was promoted more for my willingness to mentor newcomers than for my rolling prowess.

All that to say, I’m not looking for a full-on competition-oriented school, or a room full of people with something to prove. I only train in the gi.

After some research, I’ve narrowed the list down to

• Alliance East Boise
• Self-Reliant
• The Base
• Spectre
• Driven
• The Prodigals

Gracie Barra and its goofy gear policy isn't at the top of my list, but I’m not completely opposed if one of its Boise locations (I believe there are two?) turns out to be a good fit otherwise.

I’ll check these places out in person of course, but does anyone from the area have any preliminary input on these places, in terms of culture, coaching, and so on?

Cheers.

This guy trained a lot of the top BJJ guys in wrestling in the 2010s.

Is it true that you burn upwards of 200 calories during every roll? Correct me if I’m wrong but, I’m curious since I notice I am usually hungrier since I started bjj.

I (guy in the red) feel like I did decent and I did win (this was my first ever comp and I was bumped up a skill) but ik I had some holes in my game so if theres any advice yall got js based on this video lmk and im js looking for more advice than what my coach gave me and Im not saying yall will give better advice im js wanting more opinions

I don't train BJJ exclusively, I mainly do MMA and we spend a big portion of our classes on BJJ techniques.

I also occasionally visit No-Gi BJJ classes (like once a month) - I think rolling in Gi makes less sense for me since I primarily focus on MMA.

In MMA sparring, I usually come out on top when it comes to grappling. Last week I sparred with a guy who rolls in Gi regularly and recently got promoted to purple belt. After the session he asked me what belt I am, so I told him I consider myself a white belt.

He then asked if I am sandbagging (not sure if I used the term correctly, I don't know how to translate the term from my native language) and if I'm lying. I obviously panicked and apologized if it seemed like so, and asked him what belt he thinks I should consider myself.

He didn't give me a specific answer, he replied with something like "Well you're not a white belt that's for sure".

It made me feel bad and uncomfortable that I might be underestimating my level when asking for a beginner sparring partner, thus making me look like I want to flatline beginners (I still am a beginner myself).

So I guess my question is should I tell others that I might be closer to a blue belt when asked, even if I basically never got a white belt, to prevent these kind of situations from happening?

I also understand that MMA grappling is different than pure BJJ, making it a new kind of game even for little more experienced BJJ guys.

Ps: I don't want to come of as bragging, sorry if I do. Not my intention.

I want to focus on a training block around common issues you see in sparring and local competition. What would you put at the top of the list?

40 year old, blue belt here from NY. I’m going to be in Atlanta for a conference in the near future at the Downtown Hilton.

I’m looking for some recommendations of gyms that are visitor friendly (and not too far away because I won’t have a vehicle). Thank you!

I dropped in at a judo gym yesterday to observe and get information. I was invited to do a trial class. However, since they have limited schedule I can't make the fundamentals class (which is x1 per week). The next opti9n is purely sparring class. I dont know anything and this would be my first time ever. They said that was okay, I could join the regular class and I would be paired with someone appropriate and have the sensei watching. That got me wondering - foe bjj when is it okay to start sparring or doing open mat?