How to Get Good at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
After Training martial arts for over 13 years and over 10 years in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, I have realized that there are several factors involved in getting good at Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling including who you train with, and how long you have been training. The first part of this is the easy part. The only way to get smarter is to expose yourself to a smarter opponent. If you want to excel in anything, you have to surround yourself with experts in that field. So if you want to become an excellent Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner, you have to train with the best Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners around. The second part of the equation, time, is the hard part. In order to get good at jiu-jitsu you need to put your time in on the mat.
At Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, mat time consists of three things: Instruction, Drilling, and Sparring.
Instruction means having a qualified instructor explain and demonstrate the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. A good coach should be able to articulate the techniques he or she is performing, while exlpaining how the perticular technique is placed into an overall strategy to be used when sparring. They should also be able to tell you why the technique works.
The next aspect of mat time is drilling. Drilling means repeating the same technique with increasing levels of resistance, until you feel comfortable enough to add it into your sparring and use it against a partner who is giving you 100 percent resistance. At Crossroads Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, the end of each instructional class is spent drilling the techniques we have been covering over the last class or several classes.
The third part of mat time is sparring. Sparring makes up about 50% of what you learn in Brazilian JIu-jitsu. It allows you to see the holes in your techniques, and where you need to tighten things up. Sparring is where you improve your balance, timing, and where you learn to remain calm under pressure. Constant sparring is what makes Brazilian Jiu-jitsu the most effective martial art on the planet. It is also what will get you into incredible shape. If you’re thinking about learning Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and you live in the Southern Connecticut area, come down to Crossroads BJJ and put some mat time in!