I'm 63 years old and started Jiu Jitsu about 7 months ago. This morning is the first time in a timed 5 minute roll I didn't get submitted. I'm still almost always defensive but it seems I get better every session.
Excellent work. Remember the more you roll with higher belts the sharper your defence will be. And when working on offence, roll with your experience level or below to see what works
Summary 1 - Pin scape: learn how to get out of any pin; 2 - Guard retention: learn how to hold someone in your guard (most people benefit more from half-guard first); Generally: 3 - Learn to fight from your back first & learn how to fight from on top second.
Im 11 months in, and i fell in love with half guard about 5 months ago. My game was grown so much ever since. Im glad to see the best in the biz recommends it. Makes me happy that i made a smart move
@@raidthanfli’m an ex opioid addict. The pull of the satisfaction from the physical and mental strain, and the dopamine rush they provide, are stronger than any drug. It’s so rewarding. I’m already feeling the disciple matriculate to other parts of my life
Indeed. Just like a college degree doesn't make me any smarter. I know people who dropped out high school, that are miles ahead of me in terms of intellect.
@@WindHashira Knowledge and intellect are not the same just as skill and athleticism. A belt is a signifier of your education level in jits. And yes, there will be white belt NCAA wrestlers who could smash you.
John is so good at going straight to the core of the matter. Fundamentals. Keeping your mind focused on what really matters and has to be "done". I imagine he would be a great leader to have in any type of battle.
He's the best martial arts pedagogist I have ever heard. I love listening to Danaher break down grappling into fundamental principles and I don't even practice BJJ.
It helps that he was actually a philosopher when he started jujitsu, so his entire approach from the the beginning was about how it all actually works fundamentally, rather than focusing on building to specific techniques or belt levels. Perspective changes everything, and understanding the how and why makes it far easier to physically learn the skill.
Been doing jits for 5 years. I've never been to an advanced class. Only fundamentals. That's all I've needed. I just learn more technical submissions on my own and then practice them during free rolling.
When I started BJJ, I was made to feel like a bitch and wanted to quit a few times (also because the gym I trained at was very unaccomodating to beginners under the management at that time), but I stuck with it. I shifted my mindset from trying to 'win' to trying to 'survive' longer and being difficult and absolutely annoying to submit. Surely enough I enjoyed BJJ more and had a lot more fun with it.
I’m in the same position right now. Started with a decent wrestling background but haven’t been taught any basics from my first gym in 2 months. Thanks for the tip
@@thesaltyd619 once you get the hang of it, you'll absolutely wreck people or at worst be an absolute pain (in a good way) to have to roll against bc of your wrestling background. Just keep an open mind and always be willing to learn. It's like learning to speak a different language. Happy rolling!
@@mikalmikul1 best of luck and keep at it! Also, be mindful who you roll with. Plenty of dudes out there who want to "win" at the expense of your health but they ain't gonna pay your medical bills. It's your responsibility to pick good training partners and refuse bad ones.
His comment about not caring about the belt is valuable advice. My first teacher in Karate in 1965 was a Shodan. The story goes that he never wanted to test for Black Belt. Mr. Ohshima kept telling him to test and he would say that he wanted to be respected for his skill, not his rank. Finally, at the end of a workout, Mr. Ohshima said, “OK, now Black Belt Test!”. That was how he got his Black Belt, he was tricked into it. I was 20 years a Brown Belt, but popped a lot of Black Belts who thought their belt would protect them. Hell, I co-founded a Dojo as a Brown Belt and it was awarded West Coast Dojo of the year once from our national organization.
@@bad3032 Not sure what you are referring to. Our Karate organization is the oldest in the US. Mr. Ohshima trained directly under Master Funakoshi at Waseda University. None of our Dojos are allowed to award Black Belts. Black Belt tests are held at the end of summer Special Training (a multi day practice with 3-4 2 hour practices per day. When a candidate is testing for whatever level of Black Belt, no one from his Dojo has any input. A long table full of senior Black Belts make the determination as to whether the candidate passes or fails. If that makes it a “Mcdojo” so be it.
@@donelmore2540 Such a direct line from Soke must have been amazing. The organization that I was part of used to have direct oversight from Okazaki Sensei (one of Soke's earliest students) back in the day.
i found out that reading people's comments on how their journeys been from their beginnings helps me a lot. So here is mine: I just started jiu jiujitsu 4 months ago, did it for almost 2 months and stopped due to work. Then i got back in another gym last week. Doing just No Gi. Totally different enviroment. The classes im taking are most attended by black belts, purple, brown and blue belts, Im the only white belt there. I weigh around 142 but im decently strong. I'll be honest. Im getting absurdly fucked up every single day. I feel lost for most of the time. Dont really know what to do in certain sircunstances. My biggest wins are when i, in a 5 min round, dont get submitted. Its pretty hard. I frequently think of giving up. But i think its all part of the process. Each class i feel i develop one really little improvement in my "game" but in the middle of a lotttt of pain and suffering. Its hard to describe but its kind of addicting. At the end of the day i feel good to have overcome the fear of getting smashed and to have taken one more step towards not getting fucked up everytime
I scrolled through for this. I was thinking, "this clip moved my give-a-fuck meter". Been passively fascinated for years. This is the type of clip that gets you off the bench.
I'm 57 yr old first class is tonight... Thank you for that advice. I have been thinking about this for awhile. And my mind set is not on the belt system. It is on getting a good work out, skills, and discipline.
@@ybuzz just donn't give up man! Its gonna hurt like shit but just take 5 if you need to breathe and get back on it. And don't expect too much of yourself.
His quote regarding it taking very little to get a blackbelt is both hilarious and meaningful. I heard this almost two years ago and the phrase "don't set your goals so low-- instead ask yourself how good do you want to be?" has stuck with me and had a huge impact on my thinking; beyond just BJJ.
Bro literally same thing happened to me. Heard this a few years back and it stuck. The focus , with any pursuit, should be the process and the lessons/wisdom within it. The accolades come obviously but are not the primary thing
That's the great John Danaher. His skill and understanding of JJ is exceptionally deep. UFC legend Georges St. Pierre credits Danaher with taking GSP's ground game to the next level. That's high praise considering that GSP had a good black belt in BJJ before he started training with Danaher.
Real wisdom from the best. Forget about belts and work on skills. We were so belt oriented when martial arts took off, but we switched to certificates of skills rather than belts...what a difference.
All of this is so true! I wish someone had taken me aside and clarified all this to me when I first started learning BJJ. I could have saved myself a lot of soul searching and disappointment!
I've been doing jiujitsu for three months. I made myself learn closed guard, or the position that I was going to spend a lot of time in. I became really good there, and people stopped letting me get into closed guard, so then I learned to pass people's guards, and submit from up top. Now I am good at both, and I oftwn beat blue belts, and all the white belts. Closed guard is huge to learn, it'll open up your game.
I love that laugh Lex does after "very little." I am sure he was thinking back to his black belt speech and the years of blood, sweat, and effort that it took. He was likely expecting some bigger answer but, naah just "pay your fees and show up"
@Richy G where I'm at it's probably less expensive ($90/month) than other places but it's hard to justify spending the money with a tight budget and a wife. If I was single, I could probably make it work and just eat peanut butter sandwiches. Not that I don't love being married, I will just have to get straightened out financially before I sign up.
John was a great instructor for me. He immediately recognized my strengths and weaknesses from my judo and wrestling background to shape and mold my style which slightly varied from the template he outlined in this video. We didn't spend as much time on pinning (but did do a lot for fundamentals) so much as half guard because of my athletic scrambling skills. He helped me in the technical aspects to secure submissions that opened new doors for me overall. He opened my eyes to the myriad of possibilities there are in jiu-jitsu and I will always hold a special place in my heart for him for that I will never forget him.
I am about a month in, I love it...but it is tough. So much to learn. I have to have humility and just focus on getting better. But I have loved every session and I am finding myself wanting to train and learn more. It is awesome.
im 4 months into bjj and im subbing people with alot of arm triangles and armbars. im athletic and strong so thats my advantage. my bottom game sucks but my goal is to hit an omapalata sweep before my sixth month whilst rolling. watching ufc for years, although it sounds dumb, has definitely helped me understand the basics of top mount passing guard etc. never felt that drowning feeling but ive only rolled up to purple belt
My advice would be not to neglect strength, physicality and athleticism, i started BJJ when I was 159lb 6’3 and BJJ people kept telling me to work on technique meanwhile I just didn’t have the strength to apply said techniques, after I started lifting I got so much better just from not being a walking stick figure lol
How big are you now? You and I have a pretty similar build - I started at 6'3 155 and now up to 175-180. At what point did you start to feel like you had a sufficient foundation of strength?
@@nicholasramirez7322 Yeah man I'm definitely a "hardgainer" too. Seem to put on muscle about 50% as fast as other guys at the gym even with dialed-in training and nutrition. It's a slow road but we'll get there brother.
4 months training I picked up Jiujitsu University by Saulo Ribiero, read the first chapter and learned the “survival” positions in 30mins. Was able to roll with a Masters 1 Asia IBJJJ gold medalist black belt for 10mins and not get submitted. I don’t think it’s because he let me off because he kept doing the same moves in the second round as the first, and didn’t want to continue when we had time for one more 5 min round.
Just finished my first week. It's true I feel so useless not being able to get unpinned. Luckily there's lots of support from my partners so hope I become the best I can be. If anyone else is feeling iffy about starting BJJ, just try it. Don't let it be a regret in life that you never partook in.
Beautiful - old purple belt here - that was good to hear because I’ve been focusing on developing the skills at the next level always rather than seeking recognition…
Man. John asking how good you want to be vs. just having a black belt. I am starting BJJ next week and I'm glad I heard that. Changes the approach dramatically.
I've started jiu-jitsu last week, and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't have the chance to practice with everyone else (me and some kid practiced how to get out of side guard with a different instructor). But it also does make a lot of sense to me (and same goes for your advice of what to focus on as a beginner). Right now it seems to me like when someone has side control I can't do anything other than trying to escape, meanwhile he can do whatever he wants. Jiu-jitsu seems a bit like chess in that regard, there are some positions where only one side can play for a win, and there are some positions which are completely losing by force (forced checkmate in chess, any armbar or choke in jiu jitsu). Anyways, thanks for the fantastic advice! I'd also break up with my girlfriend, but unfortunately I don't have one xD
As someone who does tiaquando where we mainly focus on the idea of reaching the black belt goal, this was extremely eye opening. Soon I will be training no gi grappling one day I hope to train with you John!
0:50 this is not how you train anybody. You don't make the journey so fucking steep that most people will be annoyed of being suck for months. It's like a video game level that took way too long to finish and you either quit or you finish and you're glad it's done and you never want to do it again.
I’m at that part of the training where it feels like I’m going to keep getting choked or arm barred every time. I have to convince myself to keep showing up. =[
Yo man it gets better when you have been training for a few months you will get beat up by a lot of people but it’s when someone brand new comes in and you dominate them that’s where you know your progressing
Curious at what size differences play into it, often all the training leads to be matched against someone of equal size and ability but in training when faced against someone 1.5-2 times your size this stuff is not very helpful
that's exactly why you train with everyone!!! it's extremely helpful if you instead train with oversized OR undersized people and get used to the strength/size/speed difference! I'm a 205lber and i help people as low as the 125lbers prepare for competition! And conversely, being a chubby 205lber it's so beneficial to practice guard retention versus the little guys, since guys my size are also generaally slower and more reliant on strength over speed!
For all those white belts that have had their hearts broken by shitty training partners and asshole instructors. This is the BJJ teacher we by no means deserve but by God we need!
I love his perspective on the color of the belt. point is to understand the bjj core! To understand what the hell are you doing on that mat! Yes its honor to get the black belt but you have to comprehend the point of this martial art to earn it.
I’ve been a white belt for 1 month. I have done exactly what he recommended and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been submitted in that month.
If you're strong and find yourself on top for 80-90% of rolling sessions, holding side control mostly as a white belt, would you suggest just pulling guard and trying to learn from your back? Even though I can keep position on top as a white belt, even with some purple belts (smaller guys). Thanks :)
Some classes for rolls I’ll specifically tell my partners that I’m starting from my back and that I want to be given the worst top pressure and if I’m able to get up from the bottom I’ll go back down and honestly it’s improved my bottom game so much more
I will be 73 1/2 years old this month, am the oldest person of about 100 students and one of the, if NOT the weakest. I am weaker than the teen age boys and probably some of the women. I’m terrified EVERY time I roll NO MATTER WHOM I roll with from beginning white belt and beyond EVEN THOUGH I achieved a NO stripe blue belt and beat three purple belts. So when Jon Danaher said it takes very little to get a black belt and it took Royce Grazie EIGHT years to get his BLUE belt, I want to BE SKILLED !!! How do I remove that fear and ego on the mat?
I’ve wanted to start Jiu jitsu for a long time but have had a lot of problems with my back so I’m very hesitant, any advice from anyone regarding this as I’m guessing there is a lot of stress put on the spine with a lot of the techniques used ? Great podcast by the way John captivated me every time I listen to him talk
@@bgrim2008 I’m not worried about any other part of my body so much just my spine , I think along the same lines as yourself hence me not starting . Luckily I’m in England so we have the NHS so I don’t have medical bills to think about . You take it easy brother
@@bgrim2008 I competed in amateur boxing when I was younger , I’m 46 and have a double end bag , speedball 14kg and 20 kg kettle bells and work out every other evening so I know I’m ok with doing that . I’ve never used a Roman chair or a reverse hyper which I’ve heard are great for strengthening the lower back
What if that’s not my problem, did my first jiujitsu lesson today, I’ve watched a lot of jiujitsu and I’ve wanted to join for a while, but I was a little bit underwhelmed, I was expecting to be rag dolled, but the majority of the people I rolled with where smaller and I don’t want to say it was easy, but I landed a good few submissions of different types that I had only seen and never practiced, (except for on my girlfriend). I’m sure I’ll get humbled in my next session, I hope so at least. But it goes to show that the experience isn’t the same for everyone.
After doing BJJ for 6 months before Danaher's team really exploded on the scene I can't agree more. As a beginner and out of shape, you're always on bottom and the most comfortable position to actually get into and retain is half guard as most pin escapes are not a full escape. Once you have someone in half guard the sweeps to mount or just a top position in someone's guard are actually intuitive and not complex and it's also not to hard to stop people from immediately breaking the guard as you can keep them from posturing and their moves to hand fight you are limited. It's also a great position to stall while you catch your breath as a newbie. I think starting closed guard is a terrible way to learn for two reasons; 1. Everybody's body is different, for some people you may not be able to fully set it and even if you do you might not have any power or squeeze because you just barely have it. I'm a big guy but we had a couple bigger guys in the gym and my legs are short for my height. It was impossible to wrap up these 280 pound dudes but I could half guard them. If you're even smaller no chance so right away you're forcing a newbie to modify the closed guard when the half guard could be done normally. 2. It puts an incredible strain on your lower back and abdomen that just isn't necessary until you've had more time to develop the core muscles needed. This is how I hurt my lower back and had to stop. There were days I couldn't get out of bed and had to call off work because I was carrying my lower body weight plus some 300 pound dude in my guard on muscles and joints that just weren't ready yet.
I really want to learn Jiu jitsu but there are no schools in my city which sucks, though I am moving to a new city in the next 3 months, and I heard there is some good Jiu-jitsu places there so that's awesome!
my simple advice would be wear a mouth guard. My first class a blue belt choked me out with the back of his elbow across my jaw and I tasted sand , he chipped 2 of my teeth.. Until you learn defense and build your strength don't be afraid to be the guy wearing a mouth guard.
A belt is just to hold your pants in place when a more skill person is seeking position to perform a leg lock on you and you realize to late that they will not tickle your foot.
I'm 63 years old and started Jiu Jitsu about 7 months ago. This morning is the first time in a timed 5 minute roll I didn't get submitted. I'm still almost always defensive but it seems I get better every session.
Keep going sir 💪🏽💪🏽
@@bgrim2008 if you're married you get it.
Awesome!
Excellent work. Remember the more you roll with higher belts the sharper your defence will be. And when working on offence, roll with your experience level or below to see what works
@@adm.60 Great advice
Summary
1 - Pin scape: learn how to get out of any pin;
2 - Guard retention: learn how to hold someone in your guard (most people benefit more from half-guard first);
Generally:
3 - Learn to fight from your back first & learn how to fight from on top second.
Im 11 months in, and i fell in love with half guard about 5 months ago. My game was grown so much ever since. Im glad to see the best in the biz recommends it. Makes me happy that i made a smart move
@@raidthanfl Thats great, buddy. I'm back on BJJ for one month now. Gonna focus on this.
@@guilhermesampaio5318 awesome. Its one of the best thing ive ever done for myself. Down 50ish lbs. Gaining muscle. Menta clarity. Its amazing
@@raidthanfl good to know, buddy! Hope you keep on the journey till the black belt.
@@raidthanfli’m an ex opioid addict. The pull of the satisfaction from the physical and mental strain, and the dopamine rush they provide, are stronger than any drug. It’s so rewarding. I’m already feeling the disciple matriculate to other parts of my life
Well said don't worry about the belts. Work on the skills
Naw, just call your coach names for not giving you promotions. Works everytime. Also you can buy hockey tape from the store.
@@johnnycage2746 🤣
Indeed. Just like a college degree doesn't make me any smarter. I know people who dropped out high school, that are miles ahead of me in terms of intellect.
@@WindHashira Knowledge and intellect are not the same just as skill and athleticism. A belt is a signifier of your education level in jits. And yes, there will be white belt NCAA wrestlers who could smash you.
@@WindHashira I once had a professor who said B.S. stands for Bullsh*t. M.S. More Sh*t. PhD Piled high & deeper.
John is so good at going straight to the core of the matter. Fundamentals. Keeping your mind focused on what really matters and has to be "done". I imagine he would be a great leader to have in any type of battle.
Emperor Palpatine will lead us to greatness
He's the best martial arts pedagogist I have ever heard. I love listening to Danaher break down grappling into fundamental principles and I don't even practice BJJ.
It helps that he was actually a philosopher when he started jujitsu, so his entire approach from the the beginning was about how it all actually works fundamentally, rather than focusing on building to specific techniques or belt levels.
Perspective changes everything, and understanding the how and why makes it far easier to physically learn the skill.
As a white belt 2 months in after 10 years off the mat, this was a welcome video. Echoes what I've been experiencing.
I'm trying to get back in after 8 years!
@Richy G no gi tomorrow!!
Getting ready to go again after COVID!
Same boat. Its like riding a bike. A painful ass bike
How was it? I'm also going back into it, as blue after nearly 15 years.
He should be the voice of every audio book. The man is undoubtable.
Just his own thoughts IMO. But his voice is very distinctive.
That's what I thought when I first heard his voice. It makes him scarier.
3:18 love that mentality, focus on gaining the skills and becoming the best version of yourself first! "No one cares if you have a black belt"
The fundamental classes are everything. I do 2 fundamental, 1 open matt, 1 no gi, and 1 judo a week.
Been doing jits for 5 years. I've never been to an advanced class. Only fundamentals. That's all I've needed. I just learn more technical submissions on my own and then practice them during free rolling.
I’m jealous of the judo 🥋……I do 2 gi 2 no gi….ju jitsu on the same day….then 2 boxing….then a day of weight lifting 🏋🏾♀️
@@bipedalhominid6815 for those starting/advancing in jiu jitsu, please do not listen to this comment.
@@jasonsharpe9963 Why? Whats your pov. I want to learn from others
@@jasonsharpe9963 which comment?
When I started BJJ, I was made to feel like a bitch and wanted to quit a few times (also because the gym I trained at was very unaccomodating to beginners under the management at that time), but I stuck with it. I shifted my mindset from trying to 'win' to trying to 'survive' longer and being difficult and absolutely annoying to submit. Surely enough I enjoyed BJJ more and had a lot more fun with it.
I’m in the same position right now. Started with a decent wrestling background but haven’t been taught any basics from my first gym in 2 months. Thanks for the tip
@@thesaltyd619 once you get the hang of it, you'll absolutely wreck people or at worst be an absolute pain (in a good way) to have to roll against bc of your wrestling background. Just keep an open mind and always be willing to learn. It's like learning to speak a different language. Happy rolling!
This is an amazing advice for someone like me whos very keen on starting jiu jitsu. Thankyou for this
@@mikalmikul1 best of luck and keep at it! Also, be mindful who you roll with. Plenty of dudes out there who want to "win" at the expense of your health but they ain't gonna pay your medical bills. It's your responsibility to pick good training partners and refuse bad ones.
What a garbage gym
His comment about not caring about the belt is valuable advice. My first teacher in Karate in 1965 was a Shodan. The story goes that he never wanted to test for Black Belt. Mr. Ohshima kept telling him to test and he would say that he wanted to be respected for his skill, not his rank. Finally, at the end of a workout, Mr. Ohshima said, “OK, now Black Belt Test!”. That was how he got his Black Belt, he was tricked into it. I was 20 years a Brown Belt, but popped a lot of Black Belts who thought their belt would protect them. Hell, I co-founded a Dojo as a Brown Belt and it was awarded West Coast Dojo of the year once from our national organization.
Mcdojo??
@@bad3032 Not sure what you are referring to. Our Karate organization is the oldest in the US. Mr. Ohshima trained directly under Master Funakoshi at Waseda University. None of our Dojos are allowed to award Black Belts. Black Belt tests are held at the end of summer Special Training (a multi day practice with 3-4 2 hour practices per day. When a candidate is testing for whatever level of Black Belt, no one from his Dojo has any input. A long table full of senior Black Belts make the determination as to whether the candidate passes or fails. If that makes it a “Mcdojo” so be it.
I do feel like I should have gone for blue when I did BJJ. It is pretty lame to say you made 4 stripe whites even having been competitive with blues.
@@executivelifehacks6747 4 stripes lmao
@@donelmore2540 Such a direct line from Soke must have been amazing. The organization that I was part of used to have direct oversight from Okazaki Sensei (one of Soke's earliest students) back in the day.
i found out that reading people's comments on how their journeys been from their beginnings helps me a lot. So here is mine:
I just started jiu jiujitsu 4 months ago, did it for almost 2 months and stopped due to work. Then i got back in another gym last week. Doing just No Gi. Totally different enviroment. The classes im taking are most attended by black belts, purple, brown and blue belts, Im the only white belt there. I weigh around 142 but im decently strong. I'll be honest. Im getting absurdly fucked up every single day. I feel lost for most of the time. Dont really know what to do in certain sircunstances. My biggest wins are when i, in a 5 min round, dont get submitted.
Its pretty hard. I frequently think of giving up. But i think its all part of the process. Each class i feel i develop one really little improvement in my "game" but in the middle of a lotttt of pain and suffering. Its hard to describe but its kind of addicting. At the end of the day i feel good to have overcome the fear of getting smashed and to have taken one more step towards not getting fucked up everytime
Hey, give us an update...did you quit or are you a blue belt already?
Probably the best “beginning start” answer for anything I’ve ever heard.
literally the same thing i said after i finished watching the video
I scrolled through for this.
I was thinking, "this clip moved my give-a-fuck meter". Been passively fascinated for years. This is the type of clip that gets you off the bench.
Not really, it's outdated
I'm 57 yr old first class is tonight... Thank you for that advice. I have been thinking about this for awhile. And my mind set is not on the belt system. It is on getting a good work out, skills, and discipline.
Former smoker starting my first class in 3 days !! Pissing myself
Own it my dude!
Have fun!
@@mtbmadman187 loool how?
@@graciescottsdale That's the plan 💪🏿
@@ybuzz just donn't give up man! Its gonna hurt like shit but just take 5 if you need to breathe and get back on it. And don't expect too much of yourself.
His quote regarding it taking very little to get a blackbelt is both hilarious and meaningful. I heard this almost two years ago and the phrase "don't set your goals so low-- instead ask yourself how good do you want to be?" has stuck with me and had a huge impact on my thinking; beyond just BJJ.
Bro literally same thing happened to me. Heard this a few years back and it stuck.
The focus , with any pursuit, should be the process and the lessons/wisdom within it. The accolades come obviously but are not the primary thing
Ultimate BJJ white belt tip:
Cover yourself from head to toe in cooking oil before rolling, to make it harder for your opponent to control you.
i like the way this guy explains J J he sounds like a philosopher.
He is a philosopher. Seriously.
@@untilvalhalla7854 exactly he taught as a philosophy professor full time for a few years before becoming a gym owner
That's the great John Danaher. His skill and understanding of JJ is exceptionally deep. UFC legend Georges St. Pierre credits Danaher with taking GSP's ground game to the next level. That's high praise considering that GSP had a good black belt in BJJ before he started training with Danaher.
^they say once you get your black belt thats when u really understand how much more there is to learn
@@untilvalhalla7854 Naw he's just a dude that talks too much and uses big words.
Real wisdom from the best. Forget about belts and work on skills. We were so belt oriented when martial arts took off, but we switched to certificates of skills rather than belts...what a difference.
Things he talks about can be applied to other areas of your life.
Yup
All of this is so true! I wish someone had taken me aside and clarified all this to me when I first started learning BJJ. I could have saved myself a lot of soul searching and disappointment!
I've been doing jiujitsu for three months. I made myself learn closed guard, or the position that I was going to spend a lot of time in. I became really good there, and people stopped letting me get into closed guard, so then I learned to pass people's guards, and submit from up top. Now I am good at both, and I oftwn beat blue belts, and all the white belts. Closed guard is huge to learn, it'll open up your game.
I love that laugh Lex does after "very little." I am sure he was thinking back to his black belt speech and the years of blood, sweat, and effort that it took. He was likely expecting some bigger answer but, naah just "pay your fees and show up"
So good
Looking forward to starting as soon as I can afford classes
@Richy G where I'm at it's probably less expensive ($90/month) than other places but it's hard to justify spending the money with a tight budget and a wife. If I was single, I could probably make it work and just eat peanut butter sandwiches. Not that I don't love being married, I will just have to get straightened out financially before I sign up.
@Richy G exactly. Everyone can justify 200$ on themselves for the health benefits.
manage ur cash and spending u can have enough sell some shit u honestly dont really need. the wife can deal w it
Do burpies at home until then 😌
Man, I hate those f*&%ng things...lol
@Richy G I’m from the UK too and I cannot find anywhere for £5 a lesson, from London...
I really like that he looks into the camera as he says this like he's looking directly into my soul
Why isn’t he wearing a rash guard
😂 He actually is, the pattern on it just makes it look like a thermal.
So, what I got from this is work on defense, escapes and guard, which doesn't matter cause you're likely gonna end up there anyway. So enjoy it.
John was a great instructor for me. He immediately recognized my strengths and weaknesses from my judo and wrestling background to shape and mold my style which slightly varied from the template he outlined in this video. We didn't spend as much time on pinning (but did do a lot for fundamentals) so much as half guard because of my athletic scrambling skills. He helped me in the technical aspects to secure submissions that opened new doors for me overall. He opened my eyes to the myriad of possibilities there are in jiu-jitsu and I will always hold a special place in my heart for him for that I will never forget him.
Best 4 minutes I've heard in a while. I'll be sure to listen 2 it again!
I am about a month in, I love it...but it is tough. So much to learn. I have to have humility and just focus on getting better. But I have loved every session and I am finding myself wanting to train and learn more. It is awesome.
Pin escapes
Guard retention
Offensive - Bottom position (start with half-guard)
im 4 months into bjj and im subbing people with alot of arm triangles and armbars. im athletic and strong so thats my advantage. my bottom game sucks but my goal is to hit an omapalata sweep before my sixth month whilst rolling. watching ufc for years, although it sounds dumb, has definitely helped me understand the basics of top mount passing guard etc. never felt that drowning feeling but ive only rolled up to purple belt
I agree with Jon, this applies too getting better at anything. Skills can always be refined, and the end goal will always get better then
My advice would be not to neglect strength, physicality and athleticism, i started BJJ when I was 159lb 6’3 and BJJ people kept telling me to work on technique meanwhile I just didn’t have the strength to apply said techniques, after I started lifting I got so much better just from not being a walking stick figure lol
How big are you now? You and I have a pretty similar build - I started at 6'3 155 and now up to 175-180. At what point did you start to feel like you had a sufficient foundation of strength?
@@ConnorH. 6 ft and started at 155lbs, now I'm 170. Been eating a lot more and lifting, since gaining weight is hard for me
@@nicholasramirez7322 Yeah man I'm definitely a "hardgainer" too. Seem to put on muscle about 50% as fast as other guys at the gym even with dialed-in training and nutrition. It's a slow road but we'll get there brother.
Get out of any pin and hold someone in ur guard
Learn to survive on your back then on top
Start with half guard bottom
4 months training I picked up Jiujitsu University by Saulo Ribiero, read the first chapter and learned the “survival” positions in 30mins. Was able to roll with a Masters 1 Asia IBJJJ gold medalist black belt for 10mins and not get submitted. I don’t think it’s because he let me off because he kept doing the same moves in the second round as the first, and didn’t want to continue when we had time for one more 5 min round.
Just finished my first week. It's true I feel so useless not being able to get unpinned. Luckily there's lots of support from my partners so hope I become the best I can be. If anyone else is feeling iffy about starting BJJ, just try it. Don't let it be a regret in life that you never partook in.
Beautiful - old purple belt here - that was good to hear because I’ve been focusing on developing the skills at the next level always rather than seeking recognition…
Man. John asking how good you want to be vs. just having a black belt. I am starting BJJ next week and I'm glad I heard that. Changes the approach dramatically.
Focus on skills above achievements, rings rings true in so many endeavours.
This is the most motivating thing I have heard in general. I don't apply this to Jiu Jitsu but I apply it around life
I've started jiu-jitsu last week, and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't have the chance to practice with everyone else (me and some kid practiced how to get out of side guard with a different instructor).
But it also does make a lot of sense to me (and same goes for your advice of what to focus on as a beginner). Right now it seems to me like when someone has side control I can't do anything other than trying to escape, meanwhile he can do whatever he wants.
Jiu-jitsu seems a bit like chess in that regard, there are some positions where only one side can play for a win, and there are some positions which are completely losing by force (forced checkmate in chess, any armbar or choke in jiu jitsu).
Anyways, thanks for the fantastic advice!
I'd also break up with my girlfriend, but unfortunately I don't have one xD
As someone who does tiaquando where we mainly focus on the idea of reaching the black belt goal, this was extremely eye opening. Soon I will be training no gi grappling one day I hope to train with you John!
Taekwondo
The most unique way to spell Taekwondo
Monumental clip. Last 15 seconds hit different
Once again Danaher confirms why he’s the best.
thank you. very wise and true advices. appreciate it
I just found this guy a few days ago - Thanks Lex! - I love being able to hear what this guy has to say. This guy is one of my peeps!
John is a once in a lifetime rare jewel and should be treated and protected at all costs as such
This guy is so confident it's almost arrogant. And I'm ok with it.
Pin escapes & guard retention GOT IT🙏🏼
I loved this video. The speaker communicates directly and articulately.
0:50 this is not how you train anybody. You don't make the journey so fucking steep that most people will be annoyed of being suck for months. It's like a video game level that took way too long to finish and you either quit or you finish and you're glad it's done and you never want to do it again.
John Danaher just taught me everything I need to know. Now I'm ready to roll. Watch out Gordon Ryan.
I’m starting my first session tomorrow, wish me luck!
Interesting and worthwhile video.
I’m at that part of the training where it feels like I’m going to keep getting choked or arm barred every time. I have to convince myself to keep showing up. =[
Keep going!
Yo man it gets better when you have been training for a few months you will get beat up by a lot of people but it’s when someone brand new comes in and you dominate them that’s where you know your progressing
Update?
Update? =D
Update?
I needed this. Getting tapped so often is very discouraging. Never gonna stop tho. I may lose some battles along the way, but the war is eternal.
Great advice, thank you.
I thought that’s as John Danaher, but this guy doesn’t have a rash guard on.
Lex's Black Belt Speech is a must watch.
Curious at what size differences play into it, often all the training leads to be matched against someone of equal size and ability but in training when faced against someone 1.5-2 times your size this stuff is not very helpful
that's exactly why you train with everyone!!! it's extremely helpful if you instead train with oversized OR undersized people and get used to the strength/size/speed difference! I'm a 205lber and i help people as low as the 125lbers prepare for competition! And conversely, being a chubby 205lber it's so beneficial to practice guard retention versus the little guys, since guys my size are also generaally slower and more reliant on strength over speed!
For all those white belts that have had their hearts broken by shitty training partners and asshole instructors. This is the BJJ teacher we by no means deserve but by God we need!
pin escapes , guard retention , half guard bottom
I love his perspective on the color of the belt. point is to understand the bjj core! To understand what the hell are you doing on that mat! Yes its honor to get the black belt but you have to comprehend the point of this martial art to earn it.
3:19 Great answer
I’ve been a white belt for 1 month. I have done exactly what he recommended and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve been submitted in that month.
Your gym sucks.
for beginners: always try to be/get on your SIDE if you are pinned, not your back. This makes it way easier to slip out.
If you're strong and find yourself on top for 80-90% of rolling sessions, holding side control mostly as a white belt, would you suggest just pulling guard and trying to learn from your back? Even though I can keep position on top as a white belt, even with some purple belts (smaller guys). Thanks :)
Yeah I think going on ur back on purpose is goof
He's a scary dude....just imagine saying to him, "give me your wallet"? He response "I don't think you understand what you are getting yourself into"
''God created men, Col. Colt made them equal.''
Haha " I don't think so "
@@lukeenglish8249 You might want to look up Samuel Colt.
This is gold.
Pin escapes and guard retention are your first two skills to work on.
Excellent , I am Grand father of 14 year Brasilian Judo Champion , the advices of defense strategy are extremely valuable in future planning training
Thank you again, John Danaher!!
Love love LOVE John !! He is such an inspiring and motivating guy 😎
Thank you john
Some classes for rolls I’ll specifically tell my partners that I’m starting from my back and that I want to be given the worst top pressure and if I’m able to get up from the bottom I’ll go back down and honestly it’s improved my bottom game so much more
Can I start from “ not getting pined in the first place” ? I tried but didn’t work
Danaher is a genius
not really
I will be 73 1/2 years old this month, am the oldest person of about 100 students and one of the, if NOT the weakest. I am weaker than the teen age boys and probably some of the women. I’m terrified EVERY time I roll NO MATTER WHOM I roll with from beginning white belt and beyond EVEN THOUGH I achieved a NO stripe blue belt and beat three purple belts. So when Jon Danaher said it takes very little to get a black belt and it took Royce Grazie EIGHT years to get his BLUE belt, I want to BE SKILLED !!! How do I remove that fear and ego on the mat?
I follow your command
I’ve wanted to start Jiu jitsu for a long time but have had a lot of problems with my back so I’m very hesitant, any advice from anyone regarding this as I’m guessing there is a lot of stress put on the spine with a lot of the techniques used ? Great podcast by the way John captivated me every time I listen to him talk
@@bgrim2008 I’m not worried about any other part of my body so much just my spine , I think along the same lines as yourself hence me not starting . Luckily I’m in England so we have the NHS so I don’t have medical bills to think about . You take it easy brother
@@bgrim2008 I competed in amateur boxing when I was younger , I’m 46 and have a double end bag , speedball 14kg and 20 kg kettle bells and work out every other evening so I know I’m ok with doing that . I’ve never used a Roman chair or a reverse hyper which I’ve heard are great for strengthening the lower back
Have to find the right school.
Yeah I can second the idea of strengthening your posterior core, often overlooked. Superman, Bridges, they can change your life
thanks
Fantastic advice 👍👍👍
You cannot be more logical than John Danaher, i bet if he continue on science he would be a noble price. What a beautiful mind.
What if that’s not my problem, did my first jiujitsu lesson today, I’ve watched a lot of jiujitsu and I’ve wanted to join for a while, but I was a little bit underwhelmed, I was expecting to be rag dolled, but the majority of the people I rolled with where smaller and I don’t want to say it was easy, but I landed a good few submissions of different types that I had only seen and never practiced, (except for on my girlfriend). I’m sure I’ll get humbled in my next session, I hope so at least. But it goes to show that the experience isn’t the same for everyone.
appreciate this
After doing BJJ for 6 months before Danaher's team really exploded on the scene I can't agree more.
As a beginner and out of shape, you're always on bottom and the most comfortable position to actually get into and retain is half guard as most pin escapes are not a full escape. Once you have someone in half guard the sweeps to mount or just a top position in someone's guard are actually intuitive and not complex and it's also not to hard to stop people from immediately breaking the guard as you can keep them from posturing and their moves to hand fight you are limited. It's also a great position to stall while you catch your breath as a newbie.
I think starting closed guard is a terrible way to learn for two reasons;
1. Everybody's body is different, for some people you may not be able to fully set it and even if you do you might not have any power or squeeze because you just barely have it. I'm a big guy but we had a couple bigger guys in the gym and my legs are short for my height. It was impossible to wrap up these 280 pound dudes but I could half guard them. If you're even smaller no chance so right away you're forcing a newbie to modify the closed guard when the half guard could be done normally.
2. It puts an incredible strain on your lower back and abdomen that just isn't necessary until you've had more time to develop the core muscles needed. This is how I hurt my lower back and had to stop. There were days I couldn't get out of bed and had to call off work because I was carrying my lower body weight plus some 300 pound dude in my guard on muscles and joints that just weren't ready yet.
I really want to learn Jiu jitsu but there are no schools in my city which sucks, though I am moving to a new city in the next 3 months, and I heard there is some good Jiu-jitsu places there so that's awesome!
What city is that?
3:20 is probably where the most important part of this video starts. Watch until the end.
When Danaher discuss BJJ philosophy, I listen.
So much wisdom
True, I'm a purple belt now but I think I went six months before submitting anyone when I started. Get comfortable on your back and be humble.
He says "learn pin escapes first". Against who though? Other White belts? Blue black?
against who dominates and pin you 😊
I'm 98 and just started Jujitsu
3:33 the only thing that counts is the skills you have
lifetime jiu jitsu 19 yr old here for some KNOWLEDGE
God damn it this man is wise
He actually sounds like Yoda giving advice to a young padiwan!
my simple advice would be wear a mouth guard. My first class a blue belt choked me out with the back of his elbow across my jaw and I tasted sand , he chipped 2 of my teeth.. Until you learn defense and build your strength don't be afraid to be the guy wearing a mouth guard.
A belt is just to hold your pants in place when a more skill person is seeking position to perform a leg lock on you and you realize to late that they will not tickle your foot.
Pin Escapes
Guard Retention
Offense : Fight from your back from Half Guard
That's how you know you're a master of BJJ when you sit calmly and talk with a gable grip
🤣🤣