Do new people actually exist in BJJ?

[BobY777]

I don't know that there's ever been an actual new person in my BJJ class. Starting with me, and then most of the ones I remember:

• Me, black belt in Hapkido (and 3 years in wrestling as a kid) before I started BJJ.
• Some guy who "took a few open mats" but moves like he's got a few stripes
• A guy with a year in Judo
• A superheavyweight teenager who just got done with high school wrestling
• Someone new to the gym...but he's a black belt and MMA fighter
• Someone new to the gym...but she's a purple belt
• A soldier who's trained in Combatives and actively working on PT

Do actual new people exist in BJJ?

I guess bjj can Be a bit intimidating for a totally new Guy. Other arts like taekwondo are way more easily approachable . This is just because of the reputation of bjj . Even I'm intimidated by it and I have several years experience in other styles and was a MP as a conscript in the Finnish army

 

[Hot Lunch]

Just did my first class today. Awesome stuff, but I walked out feeling sick. The kind sick you felt as a kid from playing on the merry-go-round too long. Hopefully, that goes away after awhile. But definitely some awesome stuff that I'm looking forward to getting better at.

 

[Hot Lunch]

Did my first randori last night.

Gotta say, I learned a lot. Not necessarily techniques, but how powerful jiu jitsu really is.

With the black belts, I'm not sure if I was being toyed with, or just being given a chance to do some things - or both. But their ability to remain calm without expending much energy was really impressive.

But that wasn't the most impressive part. The most impressive part was, during a two-minute roll with a boy who appeared to middle-school aged - and was maybe 5 feet tall - submitted me three times (and I'm a grown man, 6'1").

What I liked about the randori is that, as long as we do it more often, it will help me to better retain what's taught during the class. Looking forward to more.

 

[Hot Lunch]

.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

But that wasn't the most impressive part. The most impressive part was, during a two-minute roll with a boy who appeared to middle-school aged - and was maybe 5 feet tall - submitted me three times (and I'm a grown man, 6'1").

This might be my favorite part of BJJ. Watching new people come in and roll with small women or small skinny dudes, and when the realization hits that they can't just steamroll them.

Also helped train a 10 year old in judo who I swear was a prodigy. She would do randori with white belt adults sometimes, and that was always fun to watch.

 

[drop bear]

We had a new guy in jits who is 50. I think there is a certain age where it is hard to make friends and have positive activities. And jujitsu fills that need.

 

[Hot Lunch]

About to change schools.

Nothing wrong with the one I'm at. However, I went there specifically for judo, and accepted a good deal that would allow me to do BJJ on top of that. However, three issues. First, I ended up enjoying BJJ more than judo. Secondly, judo is only two days per week at this school. And since USJA tracks hours, I don't want to be in a position where I'm strictly following the schedule at the expense of other things in my personal and family life that might come up on those days (this was a major factor in what made me switch karate dojos). And third, this school is farther away from me than other BJJ schools, and the only way to get there is via a section of the highway that's known in the area for the severe traffic jams, which has caused me to miss a few classes that I was on the way to. I simply chose this school because it had judo.

Since I've decided that I'm only going to do BJJ for grappling, that frees me up to choose a school that's closer to me and easier to get to, and I already know which one I have in mind.

IF I train judo again, it would have to be at a dojo specifically for judo (i.e., where there's classes everyday).

 

[dunc]

About to change schools.

Nothing wrong with the one I'm at. However, I went there specifically for judo, and accepted a good deal that would allow me to do BJJ on top of that. However, three issues. First, I ended up enjoying BJJ more than judo. Secondly, judo is only two days per week at this school. And since USJA tracks hours, I don't want to be in a position where I'm strictly following the schedule at the expense of other things in my personal and family life that might come up on those days (this was a major factor in what made me switch karate dojos). And third, this school is farther away from me than other BJJ schools, and the only way to get there is via a section of the highway that's known in the area for the severe traffic jams, which has caused me to miss a few classes that I was on the way to. I simply chose this school because it had judo.

Since I've decided that I'm only going to do BJJ for grappling, that frees me up to choose a school that's closer to me and easier to get to, and I already know which one I have in mind.

IF I train judo again, it would have to be at a dojo specifically for judo (i.e., where there's classes everyday).

I’d advise checking out all the BJJ academies in your area
They can vary quite a bit in quality and culture and it’s best to find one you gel with

 

[Hot Lunch]

I’d advise checking out all the BJJ academies in your area
They can vary quite a bit in quality and culture and it’s best to find one you gel with

With my experience at the new academy, I thought I'd revisit this.

While I had no complaints about the previous one, it's because it's the only one I had ever known.

So, my frustrations with not being able to memorize things actually isn't a problem at this new place. They don't feed us too many things at once, making what they do feed us much easier to retain.

Based on my understanding of what was going on at the previous academy, they do test for belts there, and I believe the feeding of all the techniques may have been because they were prepping the white belts going up for blue (though I can't say for sure).

My current professor is also more involved. He actually watches us roll and gives live feedback, and at the end of class, he pointed out mistakes I was making, so that I'd be better at the next class. That was a huge deal to me, and it wasn't a thing at my last academy.