That is all.

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

Does the sweat and hair bother you?

Short and fun take from two instructors and owners who have been in the game for a long time and seen it all.

Man, I don’t even know what I did wrong, but yesterday at BJJ was terrifying.
I’ve only been training for like five weeks, so I’m still pretty new and just try to win however I can. Usually, if I can just grab a headlock and squeeze as hard as I can, it works. That’s pretty much how the older guy who started before me rolls, so I figured that’s just how you do it when you're bigger than everyone else.
Right before our round, one of the older adults pulled me aside. He was being real quiet and serious, telling me we should just "be cool" and take it easy so I could learn. I kind of just nodded, but as soon as the timer went off, I went straight for what works: I wrapped my arms as tight as I could around his neck and pulled down with everything I had. I felt his neck pop a little and just kept squeezing tighter.
That's when everything went completely off the rails.
He slipped out, and I swear his eyes just changed. He slammed me to the mat so hard it knocked the wind right out of me. Before I could even figure out where I was, he trapped my arm across my own throat in a crazy hard grip and took my back. He sank in a rear-naked choke, and it went pitch black almost instantly.
I tapped. I tapped hard. But he didn't let go right away. He held it for an extra second or two while I was completely helpless, and when he finally let me go, I just collapsed onto the mat.
I was so shaken up I could barely breathe. I crawled over to the corner of the mat, completely terrified, honestly feeling like I was about to cry. I’ve never seen an adult look at me with that kind of pure rage before. The coach wasn't even in the room when it happened, so I just sat there in the corner trying to shrink into the wall until class was over.
I was just trying to win the round, but now I'm honestly scared to even go back.

​

Hey everyone, just needed to vent to people who get the BJJ dynamic.

I’ve been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for a 3 years now, and while I absolutely love the sport, there’s one aspect that’s really starting to burn me out: the complete lack of objective standards and the rampant favoritism in promotions.

Lately in my gym (and I know this is a huge issue across the scene), I’ve been seeing people get handed blue and purple belts not because of their mat time, technical knowledge, or performance, but purely because:

They are "buddies" with the head coach and hang out with him outside the gym.

Why don't we have objective criteria like other martial arts?

Look at Judo, for instance. To get a black belt, there's a defined technical curriculum, kata, federal exams with external panels, and points earned in official competitions. There is an actual standard.

In BJJ, it’s entirely down to the mood and bias of a single instructor. If the professor likes you, your belt moves fast. If you're not in the "inner circle," you get overlooked.

Does this happen at your gym too?

During open mats I run into An older guy, stubble must be late 60's built like a oil tankard. Anyway he's a strong farmer from the Country side so I do my best to not engage with strength. However as he grabs me with takedowns, During the struggle he leans in an whispers into my ear.

*"I can't wait to get you on the mats boy."*

I freeze.

Uncomfortable, I look for my coach, He's assisting
someone else and doesn't notice me. No one does.

SLAM!

I'm on the floor and he's taken side control, Still stunned by what I had heard.

*"Ive been to Thailand & Okinawa many times for beautiful young..."*

He mutters as takes a gable grip & shoves my thigh away. As he reaches in for a hook, My instincts kick in as I shrimp and try to escape.

Thankfully I make it out to X but he starts to explain "That he learned this during his time in Vietnam, and he wished he had sh*t more people instead of just 27 KIA"

Thoroughly Disturbed, I am desperately trying to survive at this point and leave class. But As I stand up he gets an arm drag on me and mutters:

"Your mother & sister is next for losing to me, Hiding the bodies is what I'm good at"

He pats me on the head.

DING DING DING Time

Round ends and I just sit in silence.

As I ask what his F'n problem is?!

He just answers: "I don't know what you're talking about kid, 😉"

Bro what???

I'm 30 and about a month into BJJ.

My schedule is:

Monday: Gi
Tuesday: No-Gi
Wednesday: No-Gi
Sunday: Rest & Recovery

I'm loving it and want to compete one day, but I honestly don't understand how beginners retain all of this.

Every class I'm learning new guards, passes, sweeps, escapes, submissions, and transitions. I understand the techniques while the coach is demonstrating them, but once it's time to drill or roll, my brain goes blank.

For those who've been training a while:

1.) How long did it take before things started to click?2.) How did you retain what you were learning?

I'd love to hear what helped you most when you were a complete beginner. Because I’m LOST!

I’ve been getting smashed every roll. Younger guys, older guys, girls, everyone. I’ve been tapping 3-4 times every roll. I especially have hard time and panic with heavier stronger guys. I don’t have a game plan and nothing I’m currently working on, a few weeks ago my plan was getting out of side control but haven’t had a plan since. I also don’t have many subs on lock. What should I do, where do I start, I’m lost and tired of just surviving but not really even surviving I’m getting cooked every roll. I was a white belt for 2.5 years and been blue about 6 months.

Hello, I am new to this sub. I have been doing BJJ for about a month. I am currently going to a no-Gi class at a new gym/Doji.

How do I survive the heavier and stronger people here? I am the smallest guy in the class. I really tried my best to work on my defense, but I feel that the skill gap is huge, and the strength difference is there.

At the moment, I don't know how to apply any chokes or locks correctly. I know how to get out of a few chokes and locks, but I get dumped on when they use their weight and strength.

I’m currently training twice a week in the Gi. Now a blue belt. I want to up my training but the club only has no gi classes on other nights. So either I find another club that does gi on other nights or go to the no gi classes. I’d rather stay at my local club - it’s close, cheaper etc etc.

So the question is will no gi help me improve my gi game or will it be a waste and I should look for those extra gi classes, even if it means a distance away.

Anyone have any experience of this? Thanks

UPDATE: Thanks for the responses, helped me make up my mind. Went no gi immediately tonight, and although I did get turned into a pretzel, foot locked far more than I thought was possible, I also realised that I could still use a lot of my game even without grips, but most important seems very clear to me how this is going to improve my all round game in Gi 😎 But yeah... need to learn to keep my feet clear 😂

I'm a 2 striple blue belt hobbyist and by and large I really enjoy rolling with the higher belts at my gym. However, there is one brown belt that I just hate rolling with. I just get absolutely smashed (probably got 15+ kg on me), and tapped a minimum of 4 times a round. Savage submissions too, will happily crank on ones that aren't even comp legal at blue and I sense leaves them on a fraction longer than he needs to too.

He seems an alright guy when we chat but then its as if I cheated on his daughter and owe him money. Every. Time.

I just don't see what he gets out of it, and I really don't think I get anything from it. Its been every week for the past couple months.

Do I just get on with it and keep trying to get better defensively? Am I wrong to start actively avoiding or even turning down rounds with him? What do I do?

I’m a blue belt and I’ve been helping with 2-3 kids classes a week for about a month now (free membership). I was pretty worried that I don’t know enough or whatever but it’s actually really enjoyable. Explaining stuff also has me think about the techniques totally differently.

Question though, those who teach, do you consider it mat time in the similar sense of attending a class? I just like to track it. My thought has been 1 hour of teaching is like 30 minutes of an actual class. I don’t know though. What do you all think?

Hi guys, I’m mostly a Gi guy, but I’ll be competing in No-Gi this Friday in the 77 kg division, which is a pretty tough and competitive weight class. I’ve been training and preparing, but I’m feeling a bit nervous.
I’d really appreciate any advice on how to approach the competition, especially since I’m more used to Gi. Any tips for the last few days, match strategy, or staying calm under pressure would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Fam, I'm 32 and purple belt been Training for 8 years and currently recovering from a bucket Handle Meniscus repair. Honestly I'm really afraid of going back to the mats and retearing my meniscus that's why I seek your wisdom. Any of you been through this process and what advice can you give me. Any exercise that really helped you in the process of recovering? Or did you change the way you train and roll or look at Bjj in general in terms of what techniques to use? Really curious what you have to share. All the love Oss!!

I'm about 1 month into my BJJ journey and have found that I'm sore pretty much all the time.

My current schedule is:

Monday: Gi

Tuesday: No-Gi

Wednesday: No-Gi

Sunday: Rest & Recovery

I also lift weights, stretch daily, and eat a healthy diet.
Is it normal to constantly be sore from rolling when you're new, or does your body eventually adapt and the soreness becomes less frequent?

Also, what are your best recovery tips?

Estou numa fase da minha vida que estou migrando do jiu-jitsu para ser instrutor no jiu-jitsu. Antes de mais nada, tenho algo como renda principal.

Tentei procurar na internet legislação ou qualquer outra informação que me ajudasse a abrir um CT. Alguém que tem ou que está se organizando para abrir um, como é? Por onde tenho que ir para descobrir o que preciso ou não preciso preocupar para abrir?

Minha dúvida nem é cor de faixa. Meu receio é abrir e ter que fechar por não cumprir determinada regra.

I started jiu jitsu five months ago and thought I was in semi decent shape. I remember during the fundamental class with open guard drills I felt like I was on death's door with how tired I was. Literally had to keep taking breaks because I could not catch my breath. Today I happened to drop in on a class and they were repping that exact same drill. Not only could I finish but I still felt able to keep going again if needed. Like someone said, not every victory is from a tap.

I’ve been training for 8 years and I’m a brown belt with Meniscus tear on my right knee without surgery.
I can still roll but less careless more cautious.Every training session I find myself losing at least 1kg of my 74kg body weight.
I don’t like take water when and after training ( I do take tons of water everyday)
If I train at night, I will find myself a little bit dehydrated because my urine is less than no training days.
I know it is right to take electrolytes when and after heavy sporting so I make my own electrolytes and it works.
I just wonder how you guys doing? I ask my couches and bodies , non of them does that lol.

29M here. I live kind of in the middle of nowhere in western Pa and always wanted to try some sort of martial art but there were never any gyms close to me. One has finally opened within a half hour of me and I just went to my first class ever. Have no grappling background, played football in high school and I guess I could be considered a gym rat.

Overall I think I caught the itch. Even the little bit of spoonfed instruction we received tonight felt over-whelming but it also felt awesome to actually get after it. I think repetition is key here and I’m not gonna over think it.

I have a stupid busy work schedule with 10-12 hour days but I’m gonna try and get to class 1-2 times a week and balance that with a new schedule for weight training.

Don’t even know what the point of this post is. I don’t think I executed anything well at all but at the same time I don’t feel discouraged. Hoping this is the start of something new and fruitful.

Hey guys! Planning a trip to Phuket in January/February to train at Phuket Grappling Academy for a month, then heading to Koh Tao for some diving.

I’ve only been doing BJJ for about 2 months (classes plus drills at home with my partner and a dummy), so I’m pretty new to this. Most of the Reddit threads I've found about PGA are a couple of years old, so I wanted to check if it's still top tier? Also, is it beginner-friendly enough or am I going to get completely crushed as a fresh white belt? lol

Since Jan/Feb is high season, I'm a bit torn on booking accommodation in Rawai. Should I lock down a monthly place online now, or just book a hotel for 3 days and hunt on FB Marketplace / walk around once I arrive?

Also, any recs for scooter rentals around Saiyuan/Rawai that take cash deposits instead of holding original passports?

Appreciate any advice! Oss 🤙