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How To Get Started
 Being the new guy in the
club can be intimidating. You're stepping into a world where
everyone knows each other and where everyone is probably more
experienced than you. While this is difficult in any setting, being
the new guy on the mat presents a unique set of challenges. After
all, most guys will dominate you. Losing matches repeatedly can be
disheartening, but don't get discouraged. This is perfectly normal.
Grappling and MMA are difficult sports. So whether you're a new
student putting on a stiff white gi for the first time or a veteran
fighter returning to the mat here are some tips that can make your
time at the gym more enjoyable and more productive.
1. Respect your Training Partners
While a challenging training partner is important, a safe training
partner is even more important. The best person to train with is
someone who cares about your well being as well as your development.
Since combat sports are highly competitive, establish mutual,
friendly respect for your training partners. So, shake hands with
everyone in the room, at least twice.
Showing respect will earn you respect, regardless of your skill
level. When you spar or roll with someone, shake their hand before,
and shake their hand after. Thank them for them for the sparring
session. You don't need to be creepy about it, a simple "Hey man,
thanks for the roll" will do. When class is over, shake hands
goodbye. Thank your partners for working with you, and thank your
instructor for the class. Being kind and respectful will make your
life at the gym much more pleasant. People will return the favour,
and eventually, you'll have friends as sparring partners.
2. Learn to Lose
Being a good sport is just as vital as being friendly. Very rarely
will you be the best person one the mat, especially if you're just
starting out. You will lose, and you will lose a lot. Tapping out
and eating a few punches is an important part of learning. Each
mistake is an opportunity to learn. If the same submission or same
combination keeps catching you, ask your partner what you're doing
wrong, either right then or after training. If you've been friendly
and respectful, chances are that they'll be more than happy to give
you a few pointers.
Losing is actually a good thing. Now, when you're getting submitted
20 times a night, that statement will seem like a load of hogwash,
and that's fine. A losing streak can be frustrating, and frustration
is the enemy of progress. Try rolling with someone less experienced
than you. Even if you have only been training for a few weeks, you
will likely be able to find someone even greener than you. I'm not
suggesting demolish them; I mean to take it slow and control them.
Against a less experienced opponent, you will find it easier to
secure positions and find submissions. This is good for both your
development and your confidence.
Having the time to think about attacking instead of constantly
defending advances your mental game, letting you see openings and
opportunities that you may have missed while running from the
triangle choke for 5 rounds straight. Finishing an opponent lets you
know that even though you're losing against stiff competition, you
are still progressing and can actually do the things you have been
learning.
Try rolling with someone way above your experience level. While this
advice may seem counter-productive, entering a match where you're
"supposed" to lose gives you the freedom to experiment. Of course a
purple belt is going to trounce a white belt, but when the white
belt taps, it's no big deal because it was expected. A quality
upper-level training partner won't just spank you up down the mat.
He should be relaxed and methodical, letting you work your game
while he himself experiments. Instructors are best for this, and it
might be a good idea to get to know the people you train with before
approaching a high level grappler (some people are still mean).
3. Do Your Homework
With many grappling classes teaching a range of skill levels
simultaneously, an instructor may not be able to cover core
fundamentals with every new student. Also, class sizes may prevent
an instructor from addressing the particular position that's giving
you the most trouble. These are not signs of a bad instructor; these
are the realities of grappling instruction.
Reading books and watching videos outside of class is a great way to
patch up your game. If you're looking for a video of grappling
fundamentals, you may want to first ask your instructor what
material he recommends. For the more advanced student that finds
himself in a rut, do some research on the position that you have
trouble escape or the submission that you have trouble finishing. If
you can't think of a specific area that you would like to improve,
read about grappling for the sake of reading. With the amount of
material available in books, videos, and online, you are bound to
find something relevant and interesting.
Time spent studying off the mat will enhance your time on the mat.
Fighting is a thinking man's game, and doing your homework will make
you more critical and more aware of what's going on during training.
4. Change Things up
A skilled painter will often-times stop adding paint to his canvas
and step back to view his work at a distance. This allows him to
view his art work in its entirety. When he is within brushing
distance, he cannot see the big picture and may find it difficult to
make progress because he cannot properly assess the interaction of
each element in the piece.Fighting is no different.
If you have been training hard for months and feel as though you've
hit a wall, or plateaued as some fighters call it, it may be time to
change things up. Taking a day off lets you rest and escape the day
to day frustration that may be hindering your progress. Taking some
private classes or changing your strategy when you spar will help
you tovercome the plateau and help you get moving again. The key is
to step outside of the box long enough to clear your mind and return
revitalized.
Conclusion
Improving yourself is no easy task, but if you approach the
challenges with a positive attitude and a constructive mind, you can
overcome the road blocks that may slow your journey through the
fighting world. Be friendly, be respectful, be a good sport, be a
good student, and learn to change things up once in a while. If
you're proactive about the obstacles you are likely to encounter,
your training will be more productive and more pleasant.
Based on an article by
Marshal Carper
OUR BRAZILIAN
JIU-JITSU & MIXED MARTIAL ARTS GYM RULES
1. Always control your
submissions.
2. Always take all your injuries seriously.
3. Always follow all instructions carefully.
4. Always tap if you feel any pain or discomfort.
5. Always ask questions if you don't understand something.
6. Always come to class clean with clean gear and short nails.
7. Always watch your language and avoid making disrespectful
comments.
And most importantly:
8. Always relax and leave your ego off the mat.
History
In 1907, Kanō Jigorō, the founder of Judo and
the individual who would later dispatch Mitsuyo Maeda on the trip to
Brazil that resulted in the development of BJJ, introduced the first
use of belts (obi) and gi (judogi) within the art of Judo, replacing
the practice of training in formal kimonos.
At the time however, Kanō implemented only the
use of white and black belts, with white representing the beginner,
as a color of purity and simplicity, and black being the opposite,
representing one who is filled up with knowledge. Mikonosuke
Kawaishi is believed by many to have been the first to introduce
additional colored belts. He originated this practice in 1935 when
he began teaching Judo in Paris, France. Kawaishi felt that
structured system of colored belts would provide the western student
with visible rewards to show progress, increasing motivation and
retention.
Kawaishi's adoption of colored belts came only
10 years after Carlos Gracie opened
The most commonly used belt system is the
graduation system as designated by the International Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and used in all international
tournaments. It largely resembles the ranking system currently used
by most officiating bodies of Judo, but with some major differences.
One prominent difference being that Brazilian
Jiu-Jitsu (with the notable exception of the white belt, which is
used by beginners of all ages) generally awards the first few belts
(yellow, orange, and green) exclusively as youth belts. That is, for
those 15 and under.
The remaining belts (blue, purple, brown,
black, and above) are awarded only to adults, with various age and
time-in-grade restrictions for each. While this is certainly the
most prevalent system it is not exclusive, a prominent exception is
the system used by American Top Team, which awards green belts to
adults as a rank between the IBJJF white and blue belts.
Individual adult belt ranks
The following sections are provided as brief
synopsis regarding the general themes surrounding each individual
belt rank.
White belt
White belt is the beginning rank for all
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu students. White belt is the lowest ranking belt
within Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It is the rank held by any practitioner
new to the art and does not require any special prerequisites to
obtain. It is the rank immediately preceding the blue belt. Some
instructors and other high-level practitioners feel that white belt
is the rank where most of the student’s training emphasis should be
placed on escaping and defensive positioning, as it can be argued
that a white belt will do much of his or her fighting from inferior
positions (especially when training with higher belts). While this
may be largely true, and forms a solid training base for belts to
come, most academies will require a prospective blue belt to show a
well-rounded skill-set, with a knowledge of not only survival
techniques, but basic offensive moves, such as common submissions
and guard passes.
Blue belt
A general estimate of the time required to
obtain a blue belt in most academies is 1 to 2 years. Blue belt is
the second lowest adult rank within the most commonly accepted
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grading system, bridging the way between the
beginner rank of white belt and the intermediate rank of purple
belt.
To progress to a purple belt, a blue belt level
student must acquire a vast technical knowledge regarding all
aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and hundreds of hours of mat-time to
know how to implement these moves efficiently. Perhaps because of
this, blue belt is often known as a rank where a student collects a
large number of techniques. The IBJJF requires that a practitioner
be at least 16 years old to receive a blue belt (thereby officially
entering into the adult belt system).
Purple belt
A general estimate of the time required to
progress from blue belt to purple belt in most academies is 3 to 4
years. Purple belt is the intermediate adult ranking within the art
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, coming after the rank of blue belt and
before brown belt. It is often considered one of the longer held
ranks, and typically takes at least 4-5 years of dedicated training
to achieve. Even as an “intermediate” rank, the purple belt level
practitioner holds a formidable amount of knowledge, and purple
belts are generally considered qualified to instruct lower belts in
other arts students with a similar amount of time and effort
invested would often be ranked as a black (instructor) level belt.
The IBJJF requires that a student be at least 16 years old and have
spent a minimum of 2 years ranked as a blue belt to be eligible to
receive a purple belt (with slightly different requirements for
those transitioning straight from the youth belts).
Brown belt
A general estimate of the time required to
progress from purple belt to brown belt in most academies is 2 to 3
years. Aside from the exceptional belts awarded at the highest
levels, brown belt is the highest “color” belt rank within the art
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, providing a transition between the
intermediate purple belt rank and the elite black belt. Brown belt
is arguably the beginning of the elite ranks in and of itself,
typically taking at least 5-6 years of dedicated training to
achieve. As a transitional rank, it is often thought of as a time
for refining rather then accumulation, where a practitioner hones
already acquired technical and practical skills until they reach a
black belt level. The IBJJF requires that a student be at least 18
years old and have spent a minimum of 1.5 years ranked as a purple
belt to be eligible to receive a brown belt.
Black belt
A general estimate of the time required to
progress from brown belt to black belt in most academies is 2 to 3
years. As with many other martial arts, the black belt is the
highest common belt within the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, denoting
an expert level of technical and practical skill. Estimates vary on
the time required to achieve the rank, with 10 years total (or more)
an often heard estimate. No matter how many actual years are
required, every Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt will have undoubtedly
invested thousands of hours of mat time (randori) into the art and
hold a skill-set that demonstrably reflects such. The IBJJF requires
that a student be at least 19 years old and have spent a minimum of
1 year ranked as a brown belt to be eligible to receive a black
belt.
Black and red belt
Current IBJJF regulations places the time it
takes to progress from a 6th degree black belt to 7th degree
black-and-red belt at 7 years. When a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt
reaches the 7th and 8th degree, the practitioner is awarded an
alternating red-and-black belt (Similar to the alternating red and
white belt earned at the 6th degree in Judo). Black-and-red belt
holders are very experienced practitioners, most of whom have made a
large impact on the overall art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Red belt
Current IBJJF regulations places the time it
takes to progress from a 8th degree red-and-black belt to 9th degree
red belt at 10 years. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the red belt is
reserved “for those whose influence and fame takes them to the
pinnacle of the art”. It is awarded in lieu of a 9th and 10th degree
black belt (identical to the art of Judo). Assuming that someone
received his or her black belt at 19 years old (the minimum age to
receive a black belt under the IBJJF's graduation system) the
earliest they could expect to receive a 9th degree red belt would be
at the age of 67.
The 10th degree red belt is permanently
reserved to the founders of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Carlos, Oswaldo,
George, Gastão and Hélio Gracie.
Stripes/degrees
A blue belt with three stripes. In addition to
the belt system, many academies award "stripes" as a form of
intra-belt recognition of progress and skill. The cumulative amount
of stripes earned serves as a rough indication of a practitioners
skill level relative to others within the same belt rank (i.e. a
blue-belt level practitioner with four stripes would be more adept
then blue-belt practitioner with one, but not a purple belt with
one.) Stripes can be as formal as small pieces of cloth sown onto
the sleeve of the belt, or as informal as pieces of electrical tape
applied to the same general area. Although the exact application
(such as the amount of stripes allowed for each belt) varies from
school to school, the IBJJF sets out a general system where 4
stripes can be added before the student should be considered for
promotion to the next belt.
Stripes are only used for ranks prior to black
belt, after black belt is achieved, the markings are known as
"degrees" and are only formally awarded (with time-in-grade being as
significant a factor as skill level). Unlike the belt system,
stripes are not used in every academy and, where they are used, they
may not always be applied consistently.
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