Rener seems to be the face of Gracie Jiu Jitsu for the next 20-30 years. Rorion/Royce/Rickson catapulted GJJ to the fore with in-your-face aggression in real fights, but Rener seems to actually understand GJJ as a business model to get people interested and to feel included. Dialing down the machismo from a 10 to about 6 is genius. I'm a white belt, 47-years-old, been training all of two weeks, and don't even care about rank advancement. I'm there for self-defense and to get into physical shape (my goodness, no one ever says just how physically difficult it is just to do an hour of simple moves to an office worker is out of shape). The place I go is very good about employing what Rener is saying. Plus, Rener and Eve seem to be energetic, good, decent people. I am glad that they make these videos. Bravo.
Just started two days ago. Been a boxer and bodybuilder at different points in life and damn if this isn't the hardest thing I've done, yet. Day one, I get my ass handed to me by a purple belt. Day 2 I'm getting owned by a tall ass blue belt and another white belt who'd been rolling without a school for some time. I'm willing to get beat down and become fire hardened.
Jason Simpson lol, for beginners judo and bjj are the hardest, simply because you get destroyed all the time. I was a boxer too when i first started and i though it was gonna be easy until i got worked in my first sparring session
Jason Simpson - Go far with that attitude mate, Seriously 👍. I'm a Purple and spent my late 20's/30's travelling everywhere in Britain to get stripes. I never looked at it like stripe hunting. More like chasing knowledge, but as you said You have to do ALOT of losing before you can do just a BIT of winning, but if you persevere, at least i found that somewhere during 3rd/4th stripe that the Dime or Penny 'Dropped' and instead of just collecting techniques, i was noticing 'Principles' that carried themselves through Jui-jitsu such as Base, Structure, Posture, Frame's, Hook's, Lever's. Splitting the opponent's body into Sections and Realising there were Certain Spaces on a training partner's body i wanted to occupy as opossed to Just Solid Place's on his body i want to Occupy. This is the kind of 'Opifany's' you have if ur willing to keep being shown where ur going wrong, also known as losing. Once you leave ur Ego at the door like you're willing to do, then 'All thing's are possible!👍....
My professor paired me with blue and purple almost immediately to break my frustration. I used to punch that mat a lot. He told me “I’m teaching you to lose so you can learn how to win”. Made all the difference.
Rener I recently joined a Jiu Jitsu class in my town the head instructor is a 2nd degree black belt and he's a great teacher and when I first showed up on day 1 they had me sparring with a purple belt and I was a little unnerved bc I was a white belt but it was great. The purple belt taught me as we rolled and I learned a lot. In that school everyone is a teacher to the lower ranks and I think that's great
These people must have been sparring with some slightly rotten eggs if that's how they came out of things. I started sparring on my first day, and it was all at 50% power and every single time I was beaten or submitted I was shown by great guys what had happened and how to stop it. It was empowering and after a couple of sessions my confidence exploded. It's sad to think there are people in these academies that would purposefully hurt a new beginner. I'm a day one sparring student and have loved every second.
a lot of times its the beginners fault tho according to my extremely limited experience. as a matter of fact today I had to deal with 2 over aggressive newbies. so I try to roll with one of them and i say plz go slow(thats just my flow I like jiu jutsu like that since im new myself I wanna do things with technique and not use brute force i like to go at 50% max) and even though i told him before rolling the mofo just fucking put his pedal on the gas and im telling him to go easier as we re rolling I told him to go slow after roll and before rolling with him again (he wasnt too dangrous which is the only reaon why I didnt just tap or no reason and be like oooh u got me im gonna find a new partner although its 30 sec to the 5 min round (I dont fuck around when it comes to my safety). its my turn to roll with his buddy, the other new guy and i tell him plz go easy, I told this to ur homie there and he went hard plz GO EASY well he didnt and he ended up going home early cuz he got hurt and was light headed. dont be aggrassive, if u re new, why the fuck are u trying to go so hard? what? are u trying to tap people deep shit? u re white belt and u have that much ego god saves us when u get any power in the world
The first time I rolled I spent half an hour puking followed by an hour and a half of nausea I thought was going to kill me. It was the time of my life.
My first day of bjj was 4 days ago and I rolled, I puked at the end of the class, I made it outside and puked in the alley but it was awesome, I signed up for 6 months.
Been training 2 months now 3-4 times a week. I'm 36 years old and I love it. Getting smashed every open mat session but it's all part of the journey and the journey is never ending.
I recently move to NZ, from the US. I was training for a time at Easton BJJ in Bolder CO. I recently related a story to a new friend. When I wold roll with the upper belts at Easton, when I first started, I felt like I was doing really well. In fact, I was like, geez, this guy is a Blue belt/purple belt etc. Doesn't seem to tough. As time pasted, I realized that they were just being amazing partners. They would allow me to advance the position that they KNEW i was trying. They could see, well before I could think it. where I was heading. Be it a mount, arm bar, escape, whatever... What a special school. I am lucky to be surrounded by a great group again. Love BJJ, changed my life, and continues to be a cornerstone in my life's foundation. So lucky to have a body that allows me to train. Oss!!
I rolled with a white belt the other day and I let him get a few chokes and sweeps and he said something like, "I thought rolling with a purple belt would be harder".. so I dialled it up about 20% and 4 minutes later he was puking into a dustbin next to the mat, haha.
Gyms like that are awesome. When people can take ego out of the equation, everyone learns more and ends up happier with their experience. Mine is very similar. :)
I'm a new white belt (2 months) and was rolling with a purple belt last week. I knew he was going easy on me and with 10 seconds left I thought we'd finished and offered my hand. "We have 10 seconds" he said, before effortlessly almost removing my head from my shoulders in about 5 seconds.
wetlknbouteskimos Sure, it doesn't hurt to get your arse handed to you occasionally, but there needs to be some balance. A purple belt giving it 100% against you or I for 5 minutes seems like wasted energy for everyone.
My very first day I rolled with a brown and a purple belt. I ended up asking them a million questions during the roll and they explained soooo many techniques in a very simple way. Very grateful for that experience. BJJ is super addicting btw
I'm assuming I'm an outlier, and had an uncommon experience. I put it down to my attitude & teammates. Also I started because I wanted to learn Jiu Jitsu. It wasn't for self-defense, or for fitness. It was FOR Jiu Jitsu. I went into my first class expecting it to be too hard, expecting to fail at it because it was martial arts. Because I'm a computer nerd that has been inactive since graduating High School 10 years ago, and since I am the furthest from a competitive person. I rolled that first class. I was helpless. Being flipped into the air, choked, joint locked, and I loved it. I still love it, with a wide smile every time I tap simply because the art itself is beautiful. My teammates were extremely careful and kind, but also didn't hesitate to show me the awesome power that understanding Jiu Jitsu gave someone. The class was fun but that roll locked me in. I was in it for life after that first roll. I continued to get wrecked for a good 4 months until I had my first submission, in a competition. After that my confidence soared and I realized my lack of competitive spirit was really just a fear of failure. I'm now at 9 months with no intentions of slowing and my confidence builds every day. I still get wrecked 90% of the time, but every time I last a few seconds longer in a bad position, or perform the correct defense - I am elated. That is success in my mind. My point is, it depends on the person. If I had to wait 6 months or more for that first roll, I would have quit. No doubt about it. Instruction is so important but it's just not that fun - the fun part is what hooked me. So maybe a lot of people get demoralized but I can't believe that a lot of people wouldn't just get bored with no rolling for such a long period of time. The most important factor in my mind is removing that ego that says if you tap you're weak. If you tap you're smart, and then you try and figure out how to not have to tap the next time.
I have the exact same perspective! Getting smashed starting out (and right now) just shows me how much room I have for growth and makes me excited for what I’ll be able to do just a few years from now.
Thanks for the inspiration. Im 116 lb lady and these men and strong women really intimidate me. But im trying. 1 month in. Finally got the ok to do open mat and try advanced classes. I cant wait to learn more
I remember watching this right before I started training BJJ and was nervous about sparring. I started after a month. I’m not on month 7 of training and came back to this video....wow I really made it last the 6 month mark. It feels awesome, inspiring, fulfilling. Hang in there guys!!! 💓💓💓💓
I am 62 years old and started Jujitsu 2-3 months ago , sparring and sometimes holding my own with 20 year olds... This is the most difficult time , I need to get through this next 6 months of training and I believe it will get better ... hopefully 😊
I felt left out my first week when my instructor told me I shouldn't spar yet. I was exited to roll even when I suck and still do get smashed every single time.
+TheCoolwhipped I think it just depends on the person and where they're at in their life. When I was in my early 20's and in shape, I loved sparring, but after a decade break, in my 30's and out of shape, I hate sparring. Every time I spar I get so beat up, it takes me a week to recover.... I know, I know, I just have to get my ass in shape.
Had my first sparring session yesterday. It was one of the best experiances in my life. Never had a better workout. Puked at the end, never done that before!
Ha! Tossed my cookies a few weeks back after some good rolls. No shame! Washed up and got back on the mat (sorry for the dragon breath to whoever I rolled with after).
Never done BJJ but plan on trying it out this fall. I'm at the later half of my 30's now tho, so I hope puking isn't an expectation on the mat, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to roll after puking! Long live the unfit!
I'm near 400lbs. When I roll ppl get shocked that I start in a bad position. I tell them I want to learn bjj, I have the size and power I want the technique. I also tell my opponents how to beat me while rolling or were to move...I give them two escape or reversal choices. I do this to make me better...if they beat me...I have to work to beat them....its a cycle that doesn't end. Mat bullies and jerks are bad for the sport. BJJ is for self defense, a hobby, and a great workout. Every roll isn't the last one at the ADCC.... All big guys should ditch egos and start at their worst position possible it will help you and all you roll with.
As Eddie bravo says' big guys win because get to chose where they want to start' Being around 145lbs I normally have to start from bottom against big guys but if I sweep them they have no answers on there back, it's cool to see someone actively trying to work there guard as a big guy
+Brandon Big “The Blacc Superman” Man Stafford I'm a 140lbs. white belt, so I'm getting crushed, but I'm trying to put in the technique. Obviously, people like to warm up with me, but I welcome it: I might be tempted to try to muscle against someone my size, but I can't learn technique by doing that. If I try a move or an escape it HAS to work against the biggest guy in my gym, or I know I'm not doing it right.
+Brandon Big “The Blacc Superman” Man Stafford Ya I'm 400 lbs. I try to work my guard but people often won't engage me for like 2-3 minutes so sometimes Ill just engage them, roll over, stick them in full mount and work back from there lol
Yes this is by far the best way. I'm normally rocking around t about 350lbs and many times against guys alot smaller, if i manage to gain knee on belly or side control, I will often literally pull them on top of me and work armbars/triangles from bottom. (I still suck at both so it's great to take most of the mass out of the equation and really get to grips with technique). When your bigger you can sometimes have authority against the bullies too. A guy for pretty much no reason was trying to crush my head and put his elbow into my teeth/gums area and grind rather than work any subs. I just literally threw him off me out of side control as a 'Come on dude, pack that shit in' reality check. The more advanced belts are a dream to roll with as they just know how much force is actually needed, which seems to be almost none with great technique and knowing when to make thier move.
Brandon-Marcel Frederick Stafford I totally agree I'm about 280 pound every time I roll I allow the other in a dominant position to help me work my defence
White Belts are the MOST dangerous IMO, they have no self-control and they go CrAzY, the first time they roll, they usually hit you with an elbow, knuckle etc. especially against other white belts. And if/when they catch an arm they yank that arm with all their strength or crank with 150% of all their mount and injuries do occur. If, I catch an arm I S_L-O-W-L-Y put the screws on the arm until they tap, because that is what I would want someone do to me. Great video Rener and Eve.
ssimpala1901 I actually think this is just a convenient half truth that serves more to advise white belts to learn to relax. In my experience I received a black eye from a brown belt, and a sprained/rolled ankle from a blue belt. I can promise you that I'm not a thug when it comes to rolling, nor do I muscle through my drills or rolls. In most senses I'm just a guy who wants to learn but due to size/appearance (I guess?) seems to bring out the worst in some ppl when I roll with them. I definitely seen over zealous white belts but haven't ever been injured by any of them. For me it's mainly the guys who are protecting their belt are the ones to watch out for.
100% in a white belt with three months experience in bjj and about 5 years muay Thai. I hate rolling with white belts thry treat it like its a competition they must win or die. Any other belt yeah thry smash but then tell me how to improve after most subs and absolutely don't want to hurt anyone.
The first month of BJJ class was horrible, leaving the gym with busted lips and messedup elbows, I felt as if I was a rug. Purple belts were ok with me but the blue belt guys just wrecked me because the wanted to prove themselves, Ive noticed that when I end up tapping out that day I skip for few days, but when I make someone tap out or I escape an attack I just feel good and cant wait for the next class.. thats a very very important subject, thanks alot
Many blues go hard and beat the crap out of the Noobs, look around, the Noobs outnumber the blues, ,the Noobs pay the bills at the dojo, the instructors should focus on who keeps the lights on.
The first weekend of bjj survived, but I won't lie I started Googling how to go through upcoming period. And then I saw this video. Made me feel better, and now I know how I should adjust my approach. My training partner yesterday told me your goal is to survive and escape, now I understand why. Thanks!
This is exactly why i have quit a few martial arts classes. Class is full of low confidence losers who instead of guiding you, purposely hit you and then apologize sometimes. Even one of my side instructor did that many times to students. These people generally got punked or slapped in high school. They should be thrown out the class because they ruin it for people like me who wont bow down to bullshit and rather quit. I punked my last instructor in second day cuz he yelled and disrespected me like i was a punk for simply wearing pajamas instead of short. Then he tell me not to disrespect him by walking away beacuse he is a black belt. HAHAHA..... PUUNKED THAT BITCH SO HARD AND LOUD THAT HE NEVER SPOKE TO ME IN A LOUD TONE. THEN I JUST QUIT THAT NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENT.
make your team mates your instructor by encouraging real time advice and ego free environment meaning a mutual understanding that tapping is not for wusses ;)
GREAT VIDEO!!! Helped me totally change my mindset!!! I am 47 just started Bjj about 2 months ago. THANK YOU !!!!! This is just what I needed to hear! Even though this is an old video, the message is still valid to all of us “newbs”! GREAT VID THANKS!!!
Coming from a much keener interest in Muay Thai & boxing, it's all I've focused on in the last year. Today, I had my first no-gi mma jiu-jitsu session which came with rolling in the 2nd half. If I said it was the most frustrating experience in my entire lifetime, it would be an understatement. I left not defeated & never wanting to return, but more frustrated in myself in lack of, well, everything. I started this evening by watching youtube videos on basics of bjj, because I felt the need to just know *something*. It ended with me watching this video. And I swear I wish I had seen this first. My main problem is not my lack of knowledge, but lack of respect for the process. My attitude was all wrong. From the tip of Africa (South Africa), thank you.
Same here! Black belt Taekwondo and 10 years muay thai - I'm a complete beginner BJJ and had my first sparring session with a BJJ brown today . I felt really mad I didn't know what to do as I'm used to striking. Almost choked him out but decided to give him face.. of course he dominated me most of the after rounds..
"My main problem is not my lack of knowledge, but lack of respect for the process" As a bjj beginner, thats exactly what my mistake was. I just wrote that to my notes... thanks for sharing!
Had I not been rolling since day one, I never would have continued my journey which is now going in to year 8. It's what's fun, what evolves my game and what is real with jiu jitsu for me. If sparring is something that tares down rather than builds up, you're doing it wrong.
+Viktor Jacobs Amen! It's sad to see so many people have such a terrible experience sparring. It's by far the most fun part and the part that keeps me coming back again and again.
+Viktor Jacobs Most of my sparring sessions my first year would quickly turn into ego driven fights. A lot of people aren't naturally competitive, so they quit. If higher belts would learn how to flow roll it would be a lot better for everyone.
+Viktor Jacobs yea that may have worked for us, yet what about the nervous, passive newcomer who really needs jiu jitsu to change their mentality and build confidence. jiu jitsu is for the nonathletic weaker person to be able to defeat a larger, stronger opponent. Those nonathletic people tend to have less confidence and when they get beat down they quit.
+Andrew Pirsch well, eight years ago I was, and still am, a pretty shy guy with no martial arts experience and far from the alpha competitive mentality. At 170 cm/65 kg I wasn't the most intimidating person in the room. I came there, eager to learn, and started rolling the very first session. And I loved it. Sure, I couldn't stand a chance against the others, but they weren't mean about it. Above all, there was no ego. And when I progressed, that's the way I kept training. New recruits are there to learn and to hopefully be great sparring partners for me for a long time. Maybe my gym does things very differently but it sure works for us.
+Viktor Jacobs I think thats what this whole video is about. For jiu jitsu gyms to have the mindset like your gym where people's goals aren't to smash lesser belts to prove their rank. I've had an experience like that which caused me to quit after my first class because the guy I was rolling choked me so much I couldn't move my neck side to side for a week. After that I just assumed jiu jitsu wasn't for me and it was just something I liked watching, but not doing. 2 years later I decided to try again and the gym that I'm at now is more like your gym and I've been here 3 years strong.
Rener thank you so much for this video. I just went through my first day of jiu-jitsu with no wrestling or martial art background of any kind and boy did you hit the nail on the head. I definitely felt like I was in a blender sparring on my first day and knowing nothing. Today I will come to class with a new perspective. Thanks again!
BRILLIANT! I'm posting this in our gyms Facebook for all the new guys to see. It sucks to see someone who has been at it for a few months and one day decide to never come back again. The only difference between me and the rest is that I already knew all this coming in. I already knew a lot of experienced guys, blues and purples, who told me not to get discouraged from getting destroyed by the higher belts. This is awesome, and every newbie needs to see this. Thanks again, Gracies!
Yeah. I'm only a couple months in and I find the higher belts with nothing to prove usually have the coaching vibe and aren't hard core. Worst sparring for me at the moment is with dudes at same level but with 10-20kgs on me and use their strength not technique. A purple or even blue belt will tap me out without ripping my arm out its socket.
+Chief Wiggum I'm with you mate. Everyone should be required to watch this. I started BJJ because my eldest kid started training, and I wanted something to share. 5 classes in, I had my foot broken in four places. I'm probably not going back to BJJ as can't afford another injury... But if the "school" I went to had this approach, and coached its students appropriately, I may not have gotten damaged as badly. BJJ is full of assholes, unfortunately. These two (in the video) clearly aren't assholes. I wish they trained all the trainers.
I strongly believe that this video is relevant well after the initial six months. The idea of asking your sparring partner to assist you, especially if he or she is at a higher level, by reviewing how you got caught, swept,or taken down is a godsend.I hope to implement this in my rolling immediately an do course will show the appropriate gratitude to my sparring partner for their help. As info am a 67 year old blue belt who has been training since Oct 2009 except time out for injuries. This video really makes my day!
I started rolling on my first day. I was getting destroyed in a most humble way with lots of feedback and mutual respect. After awhile I noticed my body became stronger, my weight loss, my cardio, my muscles became stronger, tapping only 3 times instead of 10 times when rolling with the higher belts.. As said many times..either you win or you learn. Man, I love this art! And it definitely made me a more humble, easygoing and relaxed person. That bamboo analogy was spot on
I watched this video this morning, and it really puts things into perspective. I was on the verge of calling it a day, till a few weeks ago. These guys are bang on, and really care. Thanks for putting this video together Rener and Eve; won't be quitting anytime soon. Cheers!!
I love the Gracie mannerisms, I find my self laughing while nodding at the same time to most of these videos because there is a lot of wisdom in them! Watch 14:12 at .5 speed. Rener, Don't ever change sir!!
I start my jiu-jitsu classes today I have watched this video two times to help me prepare XD, My teacher asked if I had any previous experience in any martial arts and I told him I have learned some basic stuff by just watching Tenth Planet and GracieBreakdowns and I got basically a whole day of free lessons just for watching your guys videos, so thanks very much for all the videos and now a few free lessons.
I’m 41 and starting my BJJ journey tomorrow. I’ve been to 2 classes and was asked if I wanted to roll after the second class. The guys there are extremely nice. I’m excited about it.
I did not get a single tap for the first 6 months. I think my very first tap was an armbar from guard against a noobie with about 20 pounds on me. I don't think I'll ever forget that.
Thank you so much for making this video. I put on my gi and white belt today for the first time in 3 years after my first experience with Jiujitsu being in an MMA academy in Thailand where for a few months I was being taught confusing purple belt moves and used as rolling meat for savages. One of the only things I learnt there was that Jiujitsu gives you almost total control over another human being and I would always be bullied in Jiujitsu classes because I am a white belt and will always be one. After hearing Denzel Washington say "If you hang out in a barbershop long enough, you're gonna get a haircut" today I'm wearing my white belt again - this video will really help me to transform that type of experience from being bullied into unlocking the essence of Jiujitsu - the search for martial truth. Thank you, from the depth of my heart, thank you.
When I first started bjj I was in classes with 20-30 year olds when I was 13. Most of the adults that joined within my first 6 months quit after like a week and I got my ass kicked but I stayed and now not only do they respect me. But now I can roll with them and win or at least defend from submissions. Don't quit jiu jitsu if the reason why you're quitting is because your classmates are beating you then you shouldn't have started in the first place. Everyone has to start from somewhere
I injured myself my first time sparring, first time ever doing BJJ. Stuck my arm out to stop a roll, landed on it wrong, pop crackle pop as my elbow hyper extended. 3 weeks off. back at it now for the last month. Loving it, my body is sore and feels like I have been hit by a mack truck, but that's because I am doing every class they offer, every day. 4 hours of training last night. Loving it!
I’m about 6 months in now and this is GREAT advice. I used to come to class with anxiety every class. Forget about “winning”, no ego + no expectations = so much more fun
I rolled my first class. That was last Friday. I got choked 6 different ways by blue and purple belts. I thanked them for the opportunity and I've wrapped my mat burned feet, signed a membership agreement, and it's been on my mind ever since. I cant wait to go back. I hope my early start sparring wont shorten my time in the sport.
This was me 2 days ago. Hurts to swallow but I have so much respect for these guys cause I know they were treating me with respect. I thanked each one after every roll now I’m determined just to survive.
Wow. I was fortunate enough to come across this video the morning after a very emotional roll, where I lost my cool due to the exact reasons Renner & Eve discuss here. I'm five months in and was doubting my path. Now, I'm anxious to get back to class and try these techniques. Hope springs eternal.
My academy is insanely competitive. Full of champions and medals. Everyone competes. I arrived as a fresh blue belt but since I took a hiatus for 8 years, I demoted myself back to white. Excellent decision. What a massive difference to roll with competitors than to roll with more relaxed minded people. My BJJ has exploded in a few months and I’m still mostly in survival mode. Just remember the saying: “keep the shoes and egos off the mat”
I spent the first 15 years of my life on my back with my brother sitting on my chest torturing me at will (phase 1 - observation). In 2006 in my first BJJ class I learnt my first move, bumping someone from full mount. I fell in love with Gracie JJ instantly at that moment. My second move was the triangle, followed by an arm bar, all in the first lesson. Gracie JJ was my calling. Then a seminar with Royce Gracie gave me an appreciation of the depth of GJJ and the importance of an expert teacher. I left this particular school which was rough and intense because of injuries and 10 years later (i.e. 2 weeks ago) I resumed as I wanted to keep learning GJJ. I visited many schools and found the culture at the Roger Gracie Academy London to be a genuinely respectful learning culture. I don't want injuries, I want respectful students and partners who share and support each others learning. It's not cheap, but neither is losing a decade of progress due to ego, and that's why it's actually great value when all grades support each other. Long may it continue. This video is essential viewing for starters and also for schools who cannot retain students. Thank you for posting this. I wish you both the world of happiness, learning, and sharing.
I feel myself blessed to be training where I am. I began BJJ a little over a month ago at the age of 47. I was allowed to begin sparring as soon as I was comfortable (and was encouraged to start ASAP). I roll with the blue belts and they see their role as being my teacher. They put up a moderate amount of resistance to make me work for my guard passes, sweeps and submissions and put me into a dangerous position only so far as to let me figure out how to escape. And there's sometimes one or two other more advanced students watching and giving advice while my partner might pause, let me re-adjust and even give advice himself. I just say, “so-and-so, teach me something” and they have yet to refuse. They see it as bad form to beat up on me unless I were to actually tell them I wanted to go all out. In fact one even told me that if I ever were to train anywhere else and saw upper-belts smashing the white belts I should leave and find somewhere else...
Today was my first no gi Class. I have been doing Gi Bjj for about a week and figured I’d test this out. From the moment I entered I could smell the ego in the room everyone recognized me as the new guy and the gold medal champions decided to roll with me. No mercy, no teaching, no education, just humiliation and pain. I didn’t learn anything, I didnt learn how to avoid the submissions he got on me, and they didnt offer any advice, after asking post-roll, they simply told me to just keep working. I was submitted 10 times by the same guy, and I left seriously in pain, and demoralized. I’m Not going to quit, but I definitely don’t feel like I’m learning much from these people. But I’m gonna push through and do my best to observe. Please keep spreading your words of kindness and bash away people’s egos.
I just started in July. I am a white belt. I get submitted all the time. I am 43 and 6 feet 2 and 203. I don't really care if I get beat all the time - because the bottom line is at the end of 30 mins of rolling, even if I have learned nothing (which never happens)...my conditioning has improved. So something has improved. It's good to be humbled. I also played years of rugby from 7 years old, so i don't mind the competition and physical contact. Some people who don't have that physical contact sport experience (whether it is rugby, football, wrestling etc...) I think are scared a bit.
I just started BJJ and this is exactly what I needed to hear. Knowing that other people are going through the same thing. I've noticed that no one is teaching me during my sparring session. Like Eve said, I feel like im in a blender during sparring. Just tap out after tap out. I feel they are just going all out on me and I feel so soar and injured...I want to keep going but all that's happening is, I am getting my ass kicked without critique...But I will acknowledge the higher belt as a teacher next go as i am thirsty for that knowledge. I will not ever give up.
Without being told to do so, the first thing I tell higher belts is that "I know you can smash me and thats fine, but at any point during the roll if I mess up something can you pause it and give me tips" lol. It's been extremely helpful
Just started last week. Definitely took all of your tips and everyone is super helpful and encouraging towards the pace I’m trying to take everything in. Technique over strength is my focus for the first couple months. I sparred on the second day and my parter was very accepting and cool with going at 40%. Great video man!
Man, I needed this so much.. I've taken 4 classes, and I keep getting minor injuries here and there, and was thinking about looking for other schools, or even other martial arts. But knowing this, I think I'm going to give it another shot. Thank you!
Hands down, the number one thing that fixed me into helping others in self defense is; back at age 14 after being bullied most of my life and abused physically at home by my father is, being positive in IN TEACHING and being caring for BOTH parties. Thank you so much for being this way.
im a lucky guy. a good friend (purple belt) sent this vid to me on the eve of my very first jiu jitsu lesson (tomorrow). much respect and appreciation. i learnt a lot and havent even stepped foot on the mat. cheers
its all about the school and the attitude. where i go im one of the new students but nobody has an attitude. we spar at each session i get tapped like a typewriter but we have a chuckle and move on. i would recommend to other new practitioners to check the attitude of the gym
This video showed up in my suggested videos at exactly the right time. I'm 42, and have only been doing BJJ for a month. I have had some good rolls against other, more advanced white belts, but am humbled far more often than not. Every time I think I know exactly what I need to work on as a next step, I go to class and find another area that I am at the low end of. I haven't had the urge to quit, but I do get overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead just to keep my head above water. Thank you for the great advice! This video puts my journey into perspective, and the three steps are a perfect strategy to narrow my focus to a manageable state.
Y'all are perfection in motion so thank you for the amazing tips!!! I'm about to start BJJ in a few days these tips are priceless as a 35 year old newbie you've instilled years of advice in20 min!!!! Bless y'all for the perfect way to respect and approach as a newbie. Much love and respect to you and your family:-). Forever live the Gracie family!!!
I rolled on my first class. It was against a 2 stripe white belt. I have never felt so humbled. I did taekwondo for years, even taught it, and thought I could handle myself. Then I felt defeat in 15 seconds. I learned that day how little I know about defending myself. This guy was still fairly new to the academy and he stomped me quick. I keep losing still, but I am surviving longer. This martial art really taught me that no matter how big or tough you are, a guy who weighs 100lbs less than you can still crush you.
Shower, put on deodorant, trim your finger nails/toenails and just show up. Ten years in for me and the only hard part was showing up and not listening to the impulses to drink a beer instead or to sit on the couch.
Such a good video, I literal just got back from a session where I just felt like shit afterward. Completely demoralising. So this is uplifting thank you.
Around mark 6 months, I finally loved to go to JJ class! I suddenly started to relax, try to feel my opponents movements etc. i wasn’t submitting people, but was getting submitted less by other bigger white belts. Many times not at all. Im a smaller dude, in fact smallest guy in class usually. Ive done Muay Thai and Judo a bit so I feel comfortable standing vs on back as well. I started to take advantage of my smaller size to really take the back more! Every new class was exciting and I could not wait to learn new moves or drill learned stuff. Then, I quite literally had my neck disc explode. I started to go paralyzed neck down. Had a surgery and got disc replacement. Year and half later, I can now jog, workout and stuff, although nothing like I used to before. I would say I am 80% back. I am grateful I didnt become 100% paralyzed. But now I am afraid to do bjj....I dont think I got this from rolling and more during crossfit, but I am scared. I also found out my entire cervical discs are degenerated. All 7. It was mainly due to me working out hard with a kyphosis (reversed curve) in my neck. So compared to “normal” people, I put lot more pressure on my neck. I finally felt I found a art I loved to do. I am in my late 30s, but I wanted to do bjj until I died. Took me 6 months to really break out of uncomfortableness. I didnt want to sound like a sob story but I wanted someone to read this, and if they have knowledge on if I can still enjoy bjj. Rener or whoever reading, is my life over doing bjj? I met a great PT who is an athletic trainer, and he told me the problem with combat sports is the unpredictability that occurs sometimes. Also, my neck strength is super below avg atm due to surgery and muscle atrophy. I need to build up my strength again, but honestly dont know how, or rather I am kind of scared to mess with my neck after almost dying. I know Rener had a great PT when he hurt his back. Hopefully I can meet someone who knows about bjj and cervical myolopathy/stenosis.
Dr. Ruhe Doing well. Not the best but I can’t complain. I def have some issues I never had before getting hurt, but I really need to spend alot of time in those areas.
Oh my God! This helped me SO much. I'm a 31 year old housewife living in England, and I haven't done any sport in my life. I've just started jiu jitsu a month ago and I am totally hooked, but I am struggling with my ego and my not so young body as a beginner. Thank you SO MUCH Rener and Eve. Sou fã demais de vocês. Espero um dia conhecê-los em pessoa. ❤ agora eu sei como me manter humilde e pedir ajuda dos meus sparring partners! Seriously, amazing work, guys!
Then Jiu Jitsu isn't for you. If you're attacked on the street, for real, the *ABSOLUTE LAST PLACE IN THE WORLD* that you want to be, is on the ground. You will not be attacked one on one. You will probably not be aware it's coming without an entirely different set of threat awareness skills. Get some Muay Thai. Quick and savage knees and elbows to the right places at the right times to disable, and then you get the fuck out of dodge. THAT is how you survive an altercation. NOT, by wrestling a guy down to the ground and getting tied up keeping him under control while his friends are free to kick your head in. I hope this post helps at least one person lol. Krav, kickboxing, muay thai... There are effective measures for actually defending yourself when the shit really hits the fan.
+TheAcad3mic what you talking about? most part of street fights actually ends on the ground, and then your bjj will be VERY useful! if you have some skills in boxing or muay thai, even better! but bjj its very effective as a self defence, no doubt about it, there is any problem to practice bjj in order to improve your self defence skills.
+danaolsongaming a street fight against another dude and a gunfire are very different situations, dont you think? If someone with a gun invades your house, of course jiujitsu will not be very useful
I started sparring/rolling about 6 months ago. In the very beginning it sucked and I had to drag myself to class. I would have anxiety in my stomach during my drive there. I did NOT find it enjoyable, but I knew I needed to stick with it and eventually I would learn. I just wanted someone to tell me how long this was going to suck. I wanted to know how long I had to suffer before I would start to get it. I found this video and it was huge to hear an expert put a time frame on it. I clung to it. Every time I was discouraged I would look at the calendar and check how many months I’ve been sparing. I would tell myself “only a few more months to go…until you get to the 6 month mark…just keep going…it will get better soon”. I am fortunate to be a good school with many higher ranking training partners that help me and take it easy on me. They really helped me along. I found it more stressful to roll with other lower belts that have a bit more experience and really go all out and really want to beat/smash me. I’ve been training for 8 months total and just completed 6 months of rolling on a regular basis. I think I’m finding some footing & the anxiety has quelled. I appreciate the video!
I'm so impressed just how you relate to many students out there, Rener. It's amazing how you can relate to many frustrated students who get demoralized and frustrated and reach out to help them. I hope you can continue on this path until you can. I'm one of those students who got thrown in the sharks, in my first 3 months I got thrown into sparring with spazzy white belts and also blue belts who had the mindset to prove how superior they are over white belts. The result? I got so many critical injuries, from pop MCL, broken toe, to c5-c6 nerve damage from getting smashed. I was not spazzy, i was just trying to roll and learn, and so this is what I got? I had to quit, and after 5 years and feeling a bit better physically, i wanted to continue to my training, but just having the doubts about getting smashed again. How I wish you could be my professor in my BJJ journey, you're such a wonderful person and instructor that you're students are very lucky to be training under you. regards
the first time I spared vs someone they put me vs a woman 50 lbs lighter than me. I thought to myself are you serious why am I vs a woman. I left home so demoralized. I couldn't break her gaurd and she made me tap out alot of times.
Alex Peredia you have the wrong mentality my friend. i went to my brothers jiu jitsu place and im effectively a white belt. i had a blue belt female probably 1/3 smaller than me and im already small but i knew she had a loy more experience over me my sense of gratification came from not getting submitted in my first 2 rolls with her my 3rd time i. rolled with her she got me but not getting submitted by someone with significantly more experience than me was extremely satisfying. If you go into a martial art ANY martial art with that mentality you will generally speaking be disappointed every time.
that just happened to me and i damn near fell in love haahh. im also already stopping her subs after our second roll without relying solely on strength
Rener and Ryron are the' most humbling professor's I've seen. Always respectful, and funny when doing serious videos and throw a joke in there to. Stay true and never change.
Just attended my first jiu-jitsu academy, and like Rener said, I was thrown to the wolfs lol their was to warm up was to start rolling. So I walked in and I asked them how their normal routine works, and they just go in and start rolling😳 so I started rolling and guess what?? All night I was getting submitted lol my focus was to survive but of course I was getting smashed on lol. Good I wish I lived in Torrance to attend Gracie academy.
Tried my first BJJ class this week. Got hurt and hated the whole experience. The class babbled about self-defense. But I thought-I haven't been beat up since I was a kid. I'm 40 now. In the BJJ class, I got a total of 5 new noticeable injuries from fighting. And 1 of those 5 was actually lifestyle hampering for the rest of the week as it healed. So if I never come into BJJ again, I'll have effectively defended myself from getting beat up. Problem solved.
I have been a stand up practitioner in karate for 39 years and the 2 times I tried BJJ I met with the same fate that you described. Mostly because I am a high Dan ranking black belt and always had a target on my back and was always easily beat knowing next to nothing of ground fighting. Your video has made me want to search out a school in Texas. I live just south of fort worth and was hoping you could point me in the direction of a good school. I love the thought of being a white belt again at 52 yrs old and learning from a real instructor.
Yyyyyeah, but that's not such a great idea. Someone attacking you is not going to wait for you to fish around in your purse, then aim it and spray it at them. Too many things can go wrong.
Finally, someone tells the truth and advice for lesser experienced ppl. Thank you for this video! Congratulations on the pregnancy, she is so beautiful and glowing!!
I got hurt too. Rolled over my foot by some dude. I think Jiu Jitsu is wayyyyy to unstructured. In every martial arts you learn basics first long before you roll. In BJJ you are thrown right into the middle. Yes I get BJJ claims it beats the pride out of you, but that only lasts so long. Pride comes back when you get more and more into BJJ. But now as a mid white belt, I just want to survive. I only work on defense, I don't go for bates or anything else, I just try to survive. Also, I'm not scared of being tapped. Getting tapped is a good thing because one, it's funny, and two it helps me learn. I find the more amusement I find in rolling, the more easily I can be relaxed and not stressed or competitive. Honestly, I'm always fighting my competitive side, if I get competitive as a white belt I'll get hurt.
I think that's a good outlook to keep some humor in it. I've found it keeps things fun even when you are the nail instead of the hammer. It also helps to calm that training partner down if they are trying to smash you if they realize you are having more "fun" than them.
depends on the school. sbg and 10th planet...ive been to both...are very structured. im in fundamentals at tenth planet...and we have week long modules with reviews in the form of drills
Wonderful video! Key points: 12:50 Low belt asks high belt "do you have a partner yet?" instead of "do you want to roll?" Then low belt says "I'm new. I don't know what to do in the guard. Can you show me a guard pass?" High belt shows guard pass, then low belt asks "can I start in your guard?" Low belt thanks high belt for help. When high belt taps low belt, low belt says "that was cool, can you show me what you did?" After high belt coaches low belt, low belt asks "can I try again and try to defend it?" Try again and thank high belt. Sets new dynamic between partners.
I got lucky. I sparred my first day, but it was with my instructor who was my partner that day due to an uneven amount of students. He didn't say he would do it, but kept letting me get into positions to practice everything we learned that day. When I was dying from lack of cardio at 3 minutes into a 4 minute session, he was pushing me to keep going. When I made a mistake and almost gave up my back, he told me to not give it up and let me work on moving out of it
Same here! I went to a local Jui Jitsu mill for my first day. The instructors were very nice and taught me a few moves and escapes. Later, Without me realizing it, I was matched up with another student at the end of class. I expected some more general first day instruction. What I got was a full force rear naked choke that messed my throat up for a number of weeks. Not at all cool. Then when I discussed this with the lead instructor, he blew it off. Pissed me off and I have not gone back. I wish I could come in and train with Rener and Eve to learn Gracie style, which obviously shows respect and appreciation for new enthusiastic students.
Love this video, I needed this. One month in. Last class I held on for 5 mins against a more experienced guy and I felt mega for it. Last night though, I got smashed to bits and paying the pain price today. Extremely humbling. Tomorrow night, I will try a new approach taking all of these points on board. Reset and calm down,,,,
lol, at my MMA gym, we role on day one. I got absolutely slaughtered by the blue, purple, brown, & black belts. I would get submitted by a white belt around 6 times in 3 minutes😂 but I've been in it for roughly 3 1/2 months and I'm getting submission on some of them now. I never thought of quiting. I wanted to train and get better. I train muay thai and bjj 6 days a week. just train hard and you will really learn. you just have to have the want and desire to get better.
Just finished my second BJJ class ever. 1st day they had me rolling who ZERO instruction. 2nd class they had us roll to submission without ever teaching me any submissions. This video just saved me.
Your videos have helped to inspire me to take up Jujitsu. I started last week. My very first minute in class, we rolled. I rolled with another white belt the same size as me. Later in class, I rolled with my black belt instructor. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. That being said, I enjoyed it and have no plans of quitting.
I can honestly say it's an honor when I get beat down by my opponents! Haha I've been doing GJJ for about 2 weeks and I love it. The thing is that our instructor emphasizes that the point is not to beat me or the other guys, but to learn. So, it's always been a learning experience and I don't expect to ever stop learning. I love it. I've already been slammed over a guys shoulder, Americano'd, put in a guillotine, headlock, etc.! I think it's a great martial art and I am so excited to learn more!
The compatibility between these two is something I’ll always aspire to have in a relationship. Rener starts going off on rants, basically forgetting what point he was trying to make in the first place and Eve comes in and get control of the situation bringing it back into place. I love that because it shows they’re both genuine
This is also the reason why I found it so difficult in the beginning when I went to my first BJJ lesson (Gym). I felt like this dudes just needed a body to practice their moves without actually teaching anything. I changed to another gym and the experience was much better, everyone is there to learn with each other, help each other and there’s mutual respect, no matter what belt you are. I recently purchased the 32 principles of Jiu Jitsu from you guys and that has been helping me A LOT, to understand the techniques much better. Your way of teaching is AMAZING, I need to find someone like you for a Jiu Jitsu partner lol
Rener seems to be the face of Gracie Jiu Jitsu for the next 20-30 years. Rorion/Royce/Rickson catapulted GJJ to the fore with in-your-face aggression in real fights, but Rener seems to actually understand GJJ as a business model to get people interested and to feel included. Dialing down the machismo from a 10 to about 6 is genius. I'm a white belt, 47-years-old, been training all of two weeks, and don't even care about rank advancement. I'm there for self-defense and to get into physical shape (my goodness, no one ever says just how physically difficult it is just to do an hour of simple moves to an office worker is out of shape). The place I go is very good about employing what Rener is saying. Plus, Rener and Eve seem to be energetic, good, decent people. I am glad that they make these videos. Bravo.
Mossingen 1968 Keep on going! Achieve what you want and more with jui jitsu!
Just started two days ago. Been a boxer and bodybuilder at different points in life and damn if this isn't the hardest thing I've done, yet. Day one, I get my ass handed to me by a purple belt. Day 2 I'm getting owned by a tall ass blue belt and another white belt who'd been rolling without a school for some time. I'm willing to get beat down and become fire hardened.
Jason Simpson lol, for beginners judo and bjj are the hardest, simply because you get destroyed all the time. I was a boxer too when i first started and i though it was gonna be easy until i got worked in my first sparring session
Jason Simpson - Go far with that attitude mate, Seriously 👍. I'm a Purple and spent my late 20's/30's travelling everywhere in Britain to get stripes. I never looked at it like stripe hunting. More like chasing knowledge, but as you said You have to do ALOT of losing before you can do just a BIT of winning, but if you persevere, at least i found that somewhere during 3rd/4th stripe that the Dime or Penny 'Dropped' and instead of just collecting techniques, i was noticing 'Principles' that carried themselves through Jui-jitsu such as Base, Structure, Posture, Frame's, Hook's, Lever's. Splitting the opponent's body into Sections and Realising there were Certain Spaces on a training partner's body i wanted to occupy as opossed to Just Solid Place's on his body i want to Occupy. This is the kind of 'Opifany's' you have if ur willing to keep being shown where ur going wrong, also known as losing. Once you leave ur Ego at the door like you're willing to do, then 'All thing's are possible!👍....
John Taylor What do you mean you travel around for stripes?
I was once told, "You ether win, or you learn." I still remember this today...
Zac Walls great Jiu Jitsu philosophy
"You either win, or you learn."
i was told you either win or you get mauled and choked out by khabib.
My professor paired me with blue and purple almost immediately to break my frustration. I used to punch that mat a lot. He told me “I’m teaching you to lose so you can learn how to win”. Made all the difference.
That is a good quote
That baby is going to come out rolling.
Facts,it's in the blood first and foremost,is their any Gracie who hasn't studied?,not upset,I love it!
🤣
da baby gon fuck around n catch the doctor in a triangle
Baby gonna try to guillotine his arm
That baby is a badass 5 yr old now.
Rener I recently joined a Jiu Jitsu class in my town the head instructor is a 2nd degree black belt and he's a great teacher and when I first showed up on day 1 they had me sparring with a purple belt and I was a little unnerved bc I was a white belt but it was great. The purple belt taught me as we rolled and I learned a lot. In that school everyone is a teacher to the lower ranks and I think that's great
Damn this was so long ago 😱
@@damnson6556 what belt do you have now???
PrinceGaraad blue belt!
@@damnson6556 take it easy on the white belts.
Yo same
These people must have been sparring with some slightly rotten eggs if that's how they came out of things. I started sparring on my first day, and it was all at 50% power and every single time I was beaten or submitted I was shown by great guys what had happened and how to stop it. It was empowering and after a couple of sessions my confidence exploded. It's sad to think there are people in these academies that would purposefully hurt a new beginner.
I'm a day one sparring student and have loved every second.
Dan Peters same here man, day 1 sparring is the real deal.
Same!
a lot of times its the beginners fault tho according to my extremely limited experience. as a matter of fact today I had to deal with 2 over aggressive newbies. so I try to roll with one of them and i say plz go slow(thats just my flow I like jiu jutsu like that since im new myself I wanna do things with technique and not use brute force i like to go at 50% max) and even though i told him before rolling the mofo just fucking put his pedal on the gas and im telling him to go easier as we re rolling I told him to go slow after roll and before rolling with him again (he wasnt too dangrous which is the only reaon why I didnt just tap or no reason and be like oooh u got me im gonna find a new partner although its 30 sec to the 5 min round (I dont fuck around when it comes to my safety). its my turn to roll with his buddy, the other new guy and i tell him plz go easy, I told this to ur homie there and he went hard plz GO EASY well he didnt and he ended up going home early cuz he got hurt and was light headed. dont be aggrassive, if u re new, why the fuck are u trying to go so hard? what? are u trying to tap people deep shit? u re white belt and u have that much ego god saves us when u get any power in the world
Me too bro!
Same bro
The first time I rolled I spent half an hour puking followed by an hour and a half of nausea I thought was going to kill me. It was the time of my life.
:). that's awesome
I didn't understand this comment till I had this exact experience.
Welcome to jiu jitsu my friend.
I swear to goddd
My first day of bjj was 4 days ago and I rolled, I puked at the end of the class, I made it outside and puked in the alley but it was awesome, I signed up for 6 months.
Every jiu jitsu practitioner should see this video.
Every BJJ practitioner should see your comment. ::)
Been training 2 months now 3-4 times a week. I'm 36 years old and I love it. Getting smashed every open mat session but it's all part of the journey and the journey is never ending.
I recently move to NZ, from the US. I was training for a time at Easton BJJ in Bolder CO. I recently related a story to a new friend. When I wold roll with the upper belts at Easton, when I first started, I felt like I was doing really well. In fact, I was like, geez, this guy is a Blue belt/purple belt etc. Doesn't seem to tough. As time pasted, I realized that they were just being amazing partners. They would allow me to advance the position that they KNEW i was trying. They could see, well before I could think it. where I was heading. Be it a mount, arm bar, escape, whatever... What a special school. I am lucky to be surrounded by a great group again. Love BJJ, changed my life, and continues to be a cornerstone in my life's foundation. So lucky to have a body that allows me to train. Oss!!
I rolled with a white belt the other day and I let him get a few chokes and sweeps and he said something like, "I thought rolling with a purple belt would be harder".. so I dialled it up about 20% and 4 minutes later he was puking into a dustbin next to the mat, haha.
Gyms like that are awesome. When people can take ego out of the equation, everyone learns more and ends up happier with their experience. Mine is very similar. :)
I'm a new white belt (2 months) and was rolling with a purple belt last week. I knew he was going easy on me and with 10 seconds left I thought we'd finished and offered my hand. "We have 10 seconds" he said, before effortlessly almost removing my head from my shoulders in about 5 seconds.
wetlknbouteskimos Sure, it doesn't hurt to get your arse handed to you occasionally, but there needs to be some balance. A purple belt giving it 100% against you or I for 5 minutes seems like wasted energy for everyone.
@kevin richards north or south island? I just moved here from the States and joined a gym in Chistchurch.
My very first day I rolled with a brown and a purple belt. I ended up asking them a million questions during the roll and they explained soooo many techniques in a very simple way. Very grateful for that experience. BJJ is super addicting btw
I'm assuming I'm an outlier, and had an uncommon experience. I put it down to my attitude & teammates. Also I started because I wanted to learn Jiu Jitsu. It wasn't for self-defense, or for fitness. It was FOR Jiu Jitsu.
I went into my first class expecting it to be too hard, expecting to fail at it because it was martial arts. Because I'm a computer nerd that has been inactive since graduating High School 10 years ago, and since I am the furthest from a competitive person. I rolled that first class. I was helpless. Being flipped into the air, choked, joint locked, and I loved it. I still love it, with a wide smile every time I tap simply because the art itself is beautiful.
My teammates were extremely careful and kind, but also didn't hesitate to show me the awesome power that understanding Jiu Jitsu gave someone. The class was fun but that roll locked me in. I was in it for life after that first roll. I continued to get wrecked for a good 4 months until I had my first submission, in a competition. After that my confidence soared and I realized my lack of competitive spirit was really just a fear of failure. I'm now at 9 months with no intentions of slowing and my confidence builds every day. I still get wrecked 90% of the time, but every time I last a few seconds longer in a bad position, or perform the correct defense - I am elated. That is success in my mind.
My point is, it depends on the person. If I had to wait 6 months or more for that first roll, I would have quit. No doubt about it. Instruction is so important but it's just not that fun - the fun part is what hooked me. So maybe a lot of people get demoralized but I can't believe that a lot of people wouldn't just get bored with no rolling for such a long period of time. The most important factor in my mind is removing that ego that says if you tap you're weak. If you tap you're smart, and then you try and figure out how to not have to tap the next time.
Agreed.
I have the exact same perspective! Getting smashed starting out (and right now) just shows me how much room I have for growth and makes me excited for what I’ll be able to do just a few years from now.
Kyle Warford TL;DR
Fellow previously inactive computer nerd here. Day 2 of BJJ. Just got wrecked rolling. Can't wait to go do it again 👍
Thanks for the inspiration. Im 116 lb lady and these men and strong women really intimidate me. But im trying. 1 month in. Finally got the ok to do open mat and try advanced classes. I cant wait to learn more
I remember watching this right before I started training BJJ and was nervous about sparring. I started after a month. I’m not on month 7 of training and came back to this video....wow I really made it last the 6 month mark. It feels awesome, inspiring, fulfilling. Hang in there guys!!! 💓💓💓💓
my instructor is a purple belt.. hes 20 years old and spend half the class texting. think i need to find a new gym
WhatsY0UTUB3 what the fuck kinda gym is this?
mohit thapa it was a Gracie BJJ gym
whoa thats bad
WhatsY0UTUB3 which one?? Where at and who is the purple belt?
WhatsY0UTUB3 That's a sad scenario. I'm sorry to hear that. Rrrr!!!!
I am 62 years old and started Jujitsu 2-3 months ago , sparring and sometimes holding my own with 20 year olds... This is the most difficult time , I need to get through this next 6 months of training and I believe it will get better ... hopefully 😊
Sparring makes 90% of people quit? Funny, that's what I love about it.
I felt left out my first week when my instructor told me I shouldn't spar yet. I was exited to roll even when I suck and still do get smashed every single time.
+TheCoolwhipped I think it just depends on the person and where they're at in their life. When I was in my early 20's and in shape, I loved sparring, but after a decade break, in my 30's and out of shape, I hate sparring. Every time I spar I get so beat up, it takes me a week to recover.... I know, I know, I just have to get my ass in shape.
+TheCoolwhipped You're a 10 percenter.
Here is a better idea, take general mma, YOU WON'T GET BURNED OUT THAT WAY.
The Glyphon MMA has very specific rules, time limits, etc. That's not self-defense.
Had my first sparring session yesterday. It was one of the best experiances in my life.
Never had a better workout.
Puked at the end, never done that before!
is it more intense than muay thai? im tough naturally n young so bjj wont be to much on me!
+Jai Hind don't know if it's tougher than mt, but bjj is a pritty good workout. loads of fun, you should try it :-)
CozyBeard do i need wrestling to know takedowns in gracie bjj
Ha! Tossed my cookies a few weeks back after some good rolls. No shame! Washed up and got back on the mat (sorry for the dragon breath to whoever I rolled with after).
Never done BJJ but plan on trying it out this fall. I'm at the later half of my 30's now tho, so I hope puking isn't an expectation on the mat, because I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to roll after puking! Long live the unfit!
I'm near 400lbs. When I roll ppl get shocked that I start in a bad position. I tell them I want to learn bjj, I have the size and power I want the technique. I also tell my opponents how to beat me while rolling or were to move...I give them two escape or reversal choices. I do this to make me better...if they beat me...I have to work to beat them....its a cycle that doesn't end.
Mat bullies and jerks are bad for the sport. BJJ is for self defense, a hobby, and a great workout. Every roll isn't the last one at the ADCC....
All big guys should ditch egos and start at their worst position possible it will help you and all you roll with.
As Eddie bravo says' big guys win because get to chose where they want to start' Being around 145lbs I normally have to start from bottom against big guys but if I sweep them they have no answers on there back, it's cool to see someone actively trying to work there guard as a big guy
+Brandon Big “The Blacc Superman” Man Stafford I'm a 140lbs. white belt, so I'm getting crushed, but I'm trying to put in the technique. Obviously, people like to warm up with me, but I welcome it: I might be tempted to try to muscle against someone my size, but I can't learn technique by doing that. If I try a move or an escape it HAS to work against the biggest guy in my gym, or I know I'm not doing it right.
+Brandon Big “The Blacc Superman” Man Stafford Ya I'm 400 lbs. I try to work my guard but people often won't engage me for like 2-3 minutes so sometimes Ill just engage them, roll over, stick them in full mount and work back from there lol
Yes this is by far the best way. I'm normally rocking around t about 350lbs and many times against guys alot smaller, if i manage to gain knee on belly or side control, I will often literally pull them on top of me and work armbars/triangles from bottom. (I still suck at both so it's great to take most of the mass out of the equation and really get to grips with technique). When your bigger you can sometimes have authority against the bullies too. A guy for pretty much no reason was trying to crush my head and put his elbow into my teeth/gums area and grind rather than work any subs. I just literally threw him off me out of side control as a 'Come on dude, pack that shit in' reality check. The more advanced belts are a dream to roll with as they just know how much force is actually needed, which seems to be almost none with great technique and knowing when to make thier move.
Brandon-Marcel Frederick Stafford I totally agree I'm about 280 pound every time I roll I allow the other in a dominant position to help me work my defence
White Belts are the MOST dangerous IMO, they have no self-control and they go CrAzY, the first time they roll, they usually hit you with an elbow, knuckle etc. especially against other white belts. And if/when they catch an arm they yank that arm with all their strength or crank with 150% of all their mount and injuries do occur. If, I catch an arm I S_L-O-W-L-Y put the screws on the arm until they tap, because that is what I would want someone do to me. Great video Rener and Eve.
certain schools are just plain DANGEROUS
ssimpala1901 I actually think this is just a convenient half truth that serves more to advise white belts to learn to relax. In my experience I received a black eye from a brown belt, and a sprained/rolled ankle from a blue belt.
I can promise you that I'm not a thug when it comes to rolling, nor do I muscle through my drills or rolls. In most senses I'm just a guy who wants to learn but due to size/appearance (I guess?) seems to bring out the worst in some ppl when I roll with them.
I definitely seen over zealous white belts but haven't ever been injured by any of them. For me it's mainly the guys who are protecting their belt are the ones to watch out for.
the white belts think going all out is showing the instructor how good they are and trying to prove they are ready for promotion
100% in a white belt with three months experience in bjj and about 5 years muay Thai. I hate rolling with white belts thry treat it like its a competition they must win or die. Any other belt yeah thry smash but then tell me how to improve after most subs and absolutely don't want to hurt anyone.
ssimpala1901 i feel you man i broke a guys finger rolling wildly when i was a white belt and two years later i still feel like shit
The first month of BJJ class was horrible, leaving the gym with busted lips and messedup elbows, I felt as if I was a rug. Purple belts were ok with me but the blue belt guys just wrecked me because the wanted to prove themselves, Ive noticed that when I end up tapping out that day I skip for few days, but when I make someone tap out or I escape an attack I just feel good and cant wait for the next class.. thats a very very important subject, thanks alot
Many blues go hard and beat the crap out of the Noobs, look around, the Noobs outnumber the blues, ,the Noobs pay the bills at the dojo, the instructors should focus on who keeps the lights on.
The first weekend of bjj survived, but I won't lie I started Googling how to go through upcoming period. And then I saw this video. Made me feel better, and now I know how I should adjust my approach. My training partner yesterday told me your goal is to survive and escape, now I understand why. Thanks!
This is exactly why i have quit a few martial arts classes. Class is full of low confidence losers who instead of guiding you, purposely hit you and then apologize sometimes. Even one of my side instructor did that many times to students. These people generally got punked or slapped in high school. They should be thrown out the class because they ruin it for people like me who wont bow down to bullshit and rather quit.
I punked my last instructor in second day cuz he yelled and disrespected me like i was a punk for simply wearing pajamas instead of short. Then he tell me not to disrespect him by walking away beacuse he is a black belt. HAHAHA..... PUUNKED THAT BITCH SO HARD AND LOUD THAT HE NEVER SPOKE TO ME IN A LOUD TONE. THEN I JUST QUIT THAT NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENT.
Yep its the blue belts must be a world wide thing noticed exactly same.
Rener is so smooth. I would probably take jiu jitsu everyday if he were my instructor full time lol
make your team mates your instructor by encouraging real time advice and ego free environment meaning a mutual understanding that tapping is not for wusses ;)
GREAT VIDEO!!! Helped me totally change my mindset!!! I am 47 just started Bjj about 2 months ago.
THANK YOU !!!!! This is just what I needed to hear!
Even though this is an old video, the message is still valid to all of us “newbs”!
GREAT VID THANKS!!!
Coming from a much keener interest in Muay Thai & boxing, it's all I've focused on in the last year. Today, I had my first no-gi mma jiu-jitsu session which came with rolling in the 2nd half. If I said it was the most frustrating experience in my entire lifetime, it would be an understatement. I left not defeated & never wanting to return, but more frustrated in myself in lack of, well, everything. I started this evening by watching youtube videos on basics of bjj, because I felt the need to just know *something*. It ended with me watching this video. And I swear I wish I had seen this first. My main problem is not my lack of knowledge, but lack of respect for the process. My attitude was all wrong. From the tip of Africa (South Africa), thank you.
Same here! Black belt Taekwondo and 10 years muay thai - I'm a complete beginner BJJ and had my first sparring session with a BJJ brown today . I felt really mad I didn't know what to do as I'm used to striking. Almost choked him out but decided to give him face.. of course he dominated me most of the after rounds..
"My main problem is not my lack of knowledge, but lack of respect for the process" As a bjj beginner, thats exactly what my mistake was. I just wrote that to my notes... thanks for sharing!
Had I not been rolling since day one, I never would have continued my journey which is now going in to year 8. It's what's fun, what evolves my game and what is real with jiu jitsu for me. If sparring is something that tares down rather than builds up, you're doing it wrong.
+Viktor Jacobs Amen! It's sad to see so many people have such a terrible experience sparring. It's by far the most fun part and the part that keeps me coming back again and again.
+Viktor Jacobs Most of my sparring sessions my first year would quickly turn into ego driven fights. A lot of people aren't naturally competitive, so they quit. If higher belts would learn how to flow roll it would be a lot better for everyone.
+Viktor Jacobs yea that may have worked for us, yet what about the nervous, passive newcomer who really needs jiu jitsu to change their mentality and build confidence. jiu jitsu is for the nonathletic weaker person to be able to defeat a larger, stronger opponent. Those nonathletic people tend to have less confidence and when they get beat down they quit.
+Andrew Pirsch well, eight years ago I was, and still am, a pretty shy guy with no martial arts experience and far from the alpha competitive mentality. At 170 cm/65 kg I wasn't the most intimidating person in the room. I came there, eager to learn, and started rolling the very first session. And I loved it. Sure, I couldn't stand a chance against the others, but they weren't mean about it. Above all, there was no ego. And when I progressed, that's the way I kept training. New recruits are there to learn and to hopefully be great sparring partners for me for a long time. Maybe my gym does things very differently but it sure works for us.
+Viktor Jacobs I think thats what this whole video is about. For jiu jitsu gyms to have the mindset like your gym where people's goals aren't to smash lesser belts to prove their rank. I've had an experience like that which caused me to quit after my first class because the guy I was rolling choked me so much I couldn't move my neck side to side for a week. After that I just assumed jiu jitsu wasn't for me and it was just something I liked watching, but not doing. 2 years later I decided to try again and the gym that I'm at now is more like your gym and I've been here 3 years strong.
Rener thank you so much for this video. I just went through my first day of jiu-jitsu with no wrestling or martial art background of any kind and boy did you hit the nail on the head. I definitely felt like I was in a blender sparring on my first day and knowing nothing. Today I will come to class with a new perspective. Thanks again!
BRILLIANT! I'm posting this in our gyms Facebook for all the new guys to see. It sucks to see someone who has been at it for a few months and one day decide to never come back again. The only difference between me and the rest is that I already knew all this coming in. I already knew a lot of experienced guys, blues and purples, who told me not to get discouraged from getting destroyed by the higher belts.
This is awesome, and every newbie needs to see this. Thanks again, Gracies!
Yeah. I'm only a couple months in and I find the higher belts with nothing to prove usually have the coaching vibe and aren't hard core. Worst sparring for me at the moment is with dudes at same level but with 10-20kgs on me and use their strength not technique. A purple or even blue belt will tap me out without ripping my arm out its socket.
+Chief Wiggum I'm with you mate. Everyone should be required to watch this. I started BJJ because my eldest kid started training, and I wanted something to share. 5 classes in, I had my foot broken in four places. I'm probably not going back to BJJ as can't afford another injury... But if the "school" I went to had this approach, and coached its students appropriately, I may not have gotten damaged as badly. BJJ is full of assholes, unfortunately. These two (in the video) clearly aren't assholes. I wish they trained all the trainers.
I strongly believe that this video is relevant well after the initial six months. The idea of asking your sparring partner to assist you, especially if he or she is at a higher level, by reviewing how you got caught, swept,or taken down is a godsend.I hope to implement this in my rolling immediately an do course will show the appropriate gratitude to my sparring partner for their help. As info am a 67 year old blue belt who has been training since Oct 2009 except time out for injuries. This video really makes my day!
I’m 8 days in to BJJ. Have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, other than simply trying to “go with it” and keep me head afloat. Thank you for this!
Man I just love Rener. Such a positive cool dude.
Yeah, imagine how quickly your game would come on being coached by him.
"Appreciation is a universal currency that holds its value irregardless of the economy".... -drip the mic! I really luv this dude (pause)! Thanks!
I started rolling on my first day. I was getting destroyed in a most humble way with lots of feedback and mutual respect. After awhile I noticed my body became stronger, my weight loss, my cardio, my muscles became stronger, tapping only 3 times instead of 10 times when rolling with the higher belts.. As said many times..either you win or you learn. Man, I love this art! And it definitely made me a more humble, easygoing and relaxed person. That bamboo analogy was spot on
I watched this video this morning, and it really puts things into perspective. I was on the verge of calling it a day, till a few weeks ago. These guys are bang on, and really care. Thanks for putting this video together Rener and Eve; won't be quitting anytime soon. Cheers!!
I love the Gracie mannerisms, I find my self laughing while nodding at the same time to most of these videos because there is a lot of wisdom in them! Watch 14:12 at .5 speed. Rener, Don't ever change sir!!
I start my jiu-jitsu classes today I have watched this video two times to help me prepare XD,
My teacher asked if I had any previous experience in any martial arts and I told him I have learned some basic stuff by just watching Tenth Planet and GracieBreakdowns and I got basically a whole day of free lessons just for watching your guys videos, so thanks very much for all the videos and now a few free lessons.
I’m 41 and starting my BJJ journey tomorrow. I’ve been to 2 classes and was asked if I wanted to roll after the second class. The guys there are extremely nice. I’m excited about it.
I did not get a single tap for the first 6 months. I think my very first tap was an armbar from guard against a noobie with about 20 pounds on me. I don't think I'll ever forget that.
+Guarana Extract true 😂
Got mine first month americana
Got my first a month in actually. I pulled a guillotine from sprawl.
Got my 7th lesson against a noob, he thinking it was judo and tap me when i was in a strong mount.
Mine was a rear naked choke
Thank you so much for making this video. I put on my gi and white belt today for the first time in 3 years after my first experience with Jiujitsu being in an MMA academy in Thailand where for a few months I was being taught confusing purple belt moves and used as rolling meat for savages. One of the only things I learnt there was that Jiujitsu gives you almost total control over another human being and I would always be bullied in Jiujitsu classes because I am a white belt and will always be one. After hearing Denzel Washington say "If you hang out in a barbershop long enough, you're gonna get a haircut" today I'm wearing my white belt again - this video will really help me to transform that type of experience from being bullied into unlocking the essence of Jiujitsu - the search for martial truth. Thank you, from the depth of my heart, thank you.
When I first started bjj I was in classes with 20-30 year olds when I was 13. Most of the adults that joined within my first 6 months quit after like a week and I got my ass kicked but I stayed and now not only do they respect me. But now I can roll with them and win or at least defend from submissions. Don't quit jiu jitsu if the reason why you're quitting is because your classmates are beating you then you shouldn't have started in the first place. Everyone has to start from somewhere
I injured myself my first time sparring, first time ever doing BJJ. Stuck my arm out to stop a roll, landed on it wrong, pop crackle pop as my elbow hyper extended. 3 weeks off. back at it now for the last month. Loving it, my body is sore and feels like I have been hit by a mack truck, but that's because I am doing every class they offer, every day. 4 hours of training last night. Loving it!
Damn
More power to you!!!!!! 👍🏽👍🏻👍🏿
Bro chill😂 you will get injured alot if you train too much, dont rush, dont think about the belts, its more fun when you take breaks
Gracie Breakdown dating tips now!
The girl Eve? in this vid is so freaken hot.
SuperSneakySteve "
+ERD Epoch no shes not
ERD Epoch also 9 months preggrrs creep
sparring!
I’m about 6 months in now and this is GREAT advice. I used to come to class with anxiety every class. Forget about “winning”, no ego + no expectations = so much more fun
I rolled my first class. That was last Friday. I got choked 6 different ways by blue and purple belts. I thanked them for the opportunity and I've wrapped my mat burned feet, signed a membership agreement, and it's been on my mind ever since. I cant wait to go back. I hope my early start sparring wont shorten my time in the sport.
How has it gone?
This was me 2 days ago. Hurts to swallow but I have so much respect for these guys cause I know they were treating me with respect. I thanked each one after every roll now I’m determined just to survive.
Wow. I was fortunate enough to come across this video the morning after a very emotional roll, where I lost my cool due to the exact reasons Renner & Eve discuss here. I'm five months in and was doubting my path. Now, I'm anxious to get back to class and try these techniques. Hope springs eternal.
I actually found this video on my first day of class. I'll have my first class later today. Thanks so much this makes a lot of sense!
My academy is insanely competitive. Full of champions and medals.
Everyone competes.
I arrived as a fresh blue belt but since I took a hiatus for 8 years, I demoted myself back to white.
Excellent decision. What a massive difference to roll with competitors than to roll with more relaxed minded people.
My BJJ has exploded in a few months and I’m still mostly in survival mode.
Just remember the saying: “keep the shoes and egos off the mat”
Everyone at my academy is so helpful, it’s awesome. Surprised to hear that many people are all about defending the belt. That doesn’t benefit anyone.
I spent the first 15 years of my life on my back with my brother sitting on my chest torturing me at will (phase 1 - observation). In 2006 in my first BJJ class I learnt my first move, bumping someone from full mount. I fell in love with Gracie JJ instantly at that moment. My second move was the triangle, followed by an arm bar, all in the first lesson. Gracie JJ was my calling.
Then a seminar with Royce Gracie gave me an appreciation of the depth of GJJ and the importance of an expert teacher. I left this particular school which was rough and intense because of injuries and 10 years later (i.e. 2 weeks ago) I resumed as I wanted to keep learning GJJ. I visited many schools and found the culture at the Roger Gracie Academy London to be a genuinely respectful learning culture. I don't want injuries, I want respectful students and partners who share and support each others learning. It's not cheap, but neither is losing a decade of progress due to ego, and that's why it's actually great value when all grades support each other. Long may it continue.
This video is essential viewing for starters and also for schools who cannot retain students. Thank you for posting this. I wish you both the world of happiness, learning, and sharing.
I feel myself blessed to be training where I am. I began BJJ a little over a month ago at the age of 47. I was allowed to begin sparring as soon as I was comfortable (and was encouraged to start ASAP). I roll with the blue belts and they see their role as being my teacher. They put up a moderate amount of resistance to make me work for my guard passes, sweeps and submissions and put me into a dangerous position only so far as to let me figure out how to escape. And there's sometimes one or two other more advanced students watching and giving advice while my partner might pause, let me re-adjust and even give advice himself. I just say, “so-and-so, teach me something” and they have yet to refuse. They see it as bad form to beat up on me unless I were to actually tell them I wanted to go all out. In fact one even told me that if I ever were to train anywhere else and saw upper-belts smashing the white belts I should leave and find somewhere else...
Today was my first no gi Class. I have been doing Gi Bjj for about a week and figured I’d test this out. From the moment I entered I could smell the ego in the room everyone recognized me as the new guy and the gold medal champions decided to roll with me. No mercy, no teaching, no education, just humiliation and pain. I didn’t learn anything, I didnt learn how to avoid the submissions he got on me, and they didnt offer any advice, after asking post-roll, they simply told me to just keep working. I was submitted 10 times by the same guy, and I left seriously in pain, and demoralized. I’m
Not going to quit, but I definitely don’t feel like I’m learning much from these people. But I’m gonna push through and do my best to observe. Please keep spreading your words of kindness and bash away people’s egos.
I just started in July. I am a white belt. I get submitted all the time. I am 43 and 6 feet 2 and 203. I don't really care if I get beat all the time - because the bottom line is at the end of 30 mins of rolling, even if I have learned nothing (which never happens)...my conditioning has improved. So something has improved. It's good to be humbled. I also played years of rugby from 7 years old, so i don't mind the competition and physical contact. Some people who don't have that physical contact sport experience (whether it is rugby, football, wrestling etc...) I think are scared a bit.
I love how enthusiastic Rener is every time he teaches! He really really loves what he does
I just started BJJ and this is exactly what I needed to hear. Knowing that other people are going through the same thing. I've noticed that no one is teaching me during my sparring session. Like Eve said, I feel like im in a blender during sparring. Just tap out after tap out. I feel they are just going all out on me and I feel so soar and injured...I want to keep going but all that's happening is, I am getting my ass kicked without critique...But I will acknowledge the higher belt as a teacher next go as i am thirsty for that knowledge. I will not ever give up.
Without being told to do so, the first thing I tell higher belts is that "I know you can smash me and thats fine, but at any point during the roll if I mess up something can you pause it and give me tips" lol. It's been extremely helpful
Learning how to roll and pick up chicks, this is the all in one channel.
This guy is brilliant
Just started last week. Definitely took all of your tips and everyone is super helpful and encouraging towards the pace I’m trying to take everything in. Technique over strength is my focus for the first couple months. I sparred on the second day and my parter was very accepting and cool with going at 40%. Great video man!
Man, I needed this so much.. I've taken 4 classes, and I keep getting minor injuries here and there, and was thinking about looking for other schools, or even other martial arts. But knowing this, I think I'm going to give it another shot. Thank you!
Did you continue?
Hands down, the number one thing that fixed me into helping others in self defense is; back at age 14 after being bullied most of my life and abused physically at home by my father is, being positive in IN TEACHING and being caring for BOTH parties. Thank you so much for being this way.
I just got through my first 6 months and now I find this video lol
I'm 44, and haven't had any martial arts since 6th grade, but I want to get started and I'm SUPER grateful to have watched this first.
Watched this video at a perfect moment. Thank you Rener and Eve!
im a lucky guy. a good friend (purple belt) sent this vid to me on the eve of my very first jiu jitsu lesson (tomorrow). much respect and appreciation. i learnt a lot and havent even stepped foot on the mat. cheers
its all about the school and the attitude. where i go im one of the new students but nobody has an attitude. we spar at each session i get tapped like a typewriter but we have a chuckle and move on. i would recommend to other new practitioners to check the attitude of the gym
This video showed up in my suggested videos at exactly the right time.
I'm 42, and have only been doing BJJ for a month. I have had some good rolls against other, more advanced white belts, but am humbled far more often than not. Every time I think I know exactly what I need to work on as a next step, I go to class and find another area that I am at the low end of.
I haven't had the urge to quit, but I do get overwhelmed by the amount of work ahead just to keep my head above water.
Thank you for the great advice! This video puts my journey into perspective, and the three steps are a perfect strategy to narrow my focus to a manageable state.
Y'all are perfection in motion so thank you for the amazing tips!!! I'm about to start BJJ in a few days these tips are priceless as a 35 year old newbie you've instilled years of advice in20 min!!!! Bless y'all for the perfect way to respect and approach as a newbie. Much love and respect to you and your family:-). Forever live the Gracie family!!!
I rolled on my first class. It was against a 2 stripe white belt. I have never felt so humbled. I did taekwondo for years, even taught it, and thought I could handle myself. Then I felt defeat in 15 seconds. I learned that day how little I know about defending myself.
This guy was still fairly new to the academy and he stomped me quick. I keep losing still, but I am surviving longer. This martial art really taught me that no matter how big or tough you are, a guy who weighs 100lbs less than you can still crush you.
Shower, put on deodorant, trim your finger nails/toenails and just show up. Ten years in for me and the only hard part was showing up and not listening to the impulses to drink a beer instead or to sit on the couch.
The passion of this guy makes the hair on my neck stand on end.
Whenever he said “You guys”, I got promoted to a higher belt.
Such a good video, I literal just got back from a session where I just felt like shit afterward. Completely demoralising. So this is uplifting thank you.
What did you do to feel better after being demoralized?
My favourite thing in this video is just how excited you get talking about jiu jitsu. Shows the love and passion for the sport
Around mark 6 months, I finally loved to go to JJ class! I suddenly started to relax, try to feel my opponents movements etc. i wasn’t submitting people, but was getting submitted less by other bigger white belts. Many times not at all. Im a smaller dude, in fact smallest guy in class usually. Ive done Muay Thai and Judo a bit so I feel comfortable standing vs on back as well. I started to take advantage of my smaller size to really take the back more! Every new class was exciting and I could not wait to learn new moves or drill learned stuff. Then, I quite literally had my neck disc explode. I started to go paralyzed neck down. Had a surgery and got disc replacement. Year and half later, I can now jog, workout and stuff, although nothing like I used to before. I would say I am 80% back. I am grateful I didnt become 100% paralyzed. But now I am afraid to do bjj....I dont think I got this from rolling and more during crossfit, but I am scared. I also found out my entire cervical discs are degenerated. All 7. It was mainly due to me working out hard with a kyphosis (reversed curve) in my neck. So compared to “normal” people, I put lot more pressure on my neck. I finally felt I found a art I loved to do. I am in my late 30s, but I wanted to do bjj until I died. Took me 6 months to really break out of uncomfortableness. I didnt want to sound like a sob story but I wanted someone to read this, and if they have knowledge on if I can still enjoy bjj. Rener or whoever reading, is my life over doing bjj? I met a great PT who is an athletic trainer, and he told me the problem with combat sports is the unpredictability that occurs sometimes. Also, my neck strength is super below avg atm due to surgery and muscle atrophy. I need to build up my strength again, but honestly dont know how, or rather I am kind of scared to mess with my neck after almost dying. I know Rener had a great PT when he hurt his back. Hopefully I can meet someone who knows about bjj and cervical myolopathy/stenosis.
hey man, just curious, how's it going?
Dr. Ruhe Doing well. Not the best but I can’t complain. I def have some issues I never had before getting hurt, but I really need to spend alot of time in those areas.
Oh my God! This helped me SO much. I'm a 31 year old housewife living in England, and I haven't done any sport in my life. I've just started jiu jitsu a month ago and I am totally hooked, but I am struggling with my ego and my not so young body as a beginner. Thank you SO MUCH Rener and Eve. Sou fã demais de vocês. Espero um dia conhecê-los em pessoa. ❤ agora eu sei como me manter humilde e pedir ajuda dos meus sparring partners! Seriously, amazing work, guys!
Bottom line my goal is to beat people on the street if attacked. Not to beat Jiu Jitsu guys.
Good mindset to have
Then Jiu Jitsu isn't for you. If you're attacked on the street, for real, the *ABSOLUTE LAST PLACE IN THE WORLD* that you want to be, is on the ground. You will not be attacked one on one. You will probably not be aware it's coming without an entirely different set of threat awareness skills. Get some Muay Thai. Quick and savage knees and elbows to the right places at the right times to disable, and then you get the fuck out of dodge. THAT is how you survive an altercation. NOT, by wrestling a guy down to the ground and getting tied up keeping him under control while his friends are free to kick your head in.
I hope this post helps at least one person lol. Krav, kickboxing, muay thai... There are effective measures for actually defending yourself when the shit really hits the fan.
+TheAcad3mic what you talking about? most part of street fights actually ends on the ground, and then your bjj will be VERY useful! if you have some skills in boxing or muay thai, even better! but bjj its very effective as a self defence, no doubt about it, there is any problem to practice bjj in order to improve your self defence skills.
Are you in the US? Get a gun. Hands down the best way to protect yourself.
+danaolsongaming a street fight against another dude and a gunfire are very different situations, dont you think? If someone with a gun invades your house, of course jiujitsu will not be very useful
I started sparring/rolling about 6 months ago. In the very beginning it sucked and I had to drag myself to class. I would have anxiety in my stomach during my drive there. I did NOT find it enjoyable, but I knew I needed to stick with it and eventually I would learn. I just wanted someone to tell me how long this was going to suck. I wanted to know how long I had to suffer before I would start to get it. I found this video and it was huge to hear an expert put a time frame on it. I clung to it. Every time I was discouraged I would look at the calendar and check how many months I’ve been sparing. I would tell myself “only a few more months to go…until you get to the 6 month mark…just keep going…it will get better soon”. I am fortunate to be a good school with many higher ranking training partners that help me and take it easy on me. They really helped me along. I found it more stressful to roll with other lower belts that have a bit more experience and really go all out and really want to beat/smash me. I’ve been training for 8 months total and just completed 6 months of rolling on a regular basis. I think I’m finding some footing & the anxiety has quelled. I appreciate the video!
"You are not an expert at sucking at jiu jitsu...whereas I on the other hand..." for a second she got my attention...
I'm so impressed just how you relate to many students out there, Rener. It's amazing how you can relate to many frustrated students who get demoralized and frustrated and reach out to help them. I hope you can continue on this path until you can.
I'm one of those students who got thrown in the sharks, in my first 3 months I got thrown into sparring with spazzy white belts and also blue belts who had the mindset to prove how superior they are over white belts. The result? I got so many critical injuries, from pop MCL, broken toe, to c5-c6 nerve damage from getting smashed. I was not spazzy, i was just trying to roll and learn, and so this is what I got? I had to quit, and after 5 years and feeling a bit better physically, i wanted to continue to my training, but just having the doubts about getting smashed again.
How I wish you could be my professor in my BJJ journey, you're such a wonderful person and instructor that you're students are very lucky to be training under you.
regards
the first time I spared vs someone they put me vs a woman 50 lbs lighter than me. I thought to myself are you serious why am I vs a woman. I left home so demoralized. I couldn't break her gaurd and she made me tap out alot of times.
"I couldn't break her gaurd and she made me tap out alot of times."
well maybe thats why, dont you think?
Alex Peredia you have the wrong mentality my friend. i went to my brothers jiu jitsu place and im effectively a white belt. i had a blue belt female probably 1/3 smaller than me and im already small but i knew she had a loy more experience over me my sense of gratification came from not getting submitted in my first 2 rolls with her my 3rd time i. rolled with her she got me but not getting submitted by someone with significantly more experience than me was extremely satisfying. If you go into a martial art ANY martial art with that mentality you will generally speaking be disappointed every time.
that just happened to me and i damn near fell in love haahh. im also already stopping her subs after our second roll without relying solely on strength
Rener and Ryron are the' most humbling professor's I've seen. Always respectful, and funny when doing serious videos and throw a joke in there to. Stay true and never change.
Just attended my first jiu-jitsu academy, and like Rener said, I was thrown to the wolfs lol their was to warm up was to start rolling. So I walked in and I asked them how their normal routine works, and they just go in and start rolling😳 so I started rolling and guess what?? All night I was getting submitted lol my focus was to survive but of course I was getting smashed on lol. Good I wish I lived in Torrance to attend Gracie academy.
God, Rener has to be the best coach ever. His passion... you can see it, hear it and feel it. Outstandig man. The dream coach.
Tried my first BJJ class this week. Got hurt and hated the whole experience. The class babbled about self-defense. But I thought-I haven't been beat up since I was a kid. I'm 40 now. In the BJJ class, I got a total of 5 new noticeable injuries from fighting. And 1 of those 5 was actually lifestyle hampering for the rest of the week as it healed. So if I never come into BJJ again, I'll have effectively defended myself from getting beat up. Problem solved.
I have been a stand up practitioner in karate for 39 years and the 2 times I tried BJJ I met with the same fate that you described. Mostly because I am a high Dan ranking black belt and always had a target on my back and was always easily beat knowing next to nothing of ground fighting. Your video has made me want to search out a school in Texas. I live just south of fort worth and was hoping you could point me in the direction of a good school. I love the thought of being a white belt again at 52 yrs old and learning from a real instructor.
Do a self defense video for pregnant women!
+undeadpresident SAVAGE
+Double- Jay Use your Banshee scream. Wailing a lament that calls forth dense fogs and having your attacker collapse on the ground
that was creative.
Yyyyyeah, but that's not such a great idea. Someone attacking you is not going to wait for you to fish around in your purse, then aim it and spray it at them. Too many things can go wrong.
block with your stomach
Finally, someone tells the truth and advice for lesser experienced ppl. Thank you for this video!
Congratulations on the pregnancy, she is so beautiful and glowing!!
I got hurt too. Rolled over my foot by some dude. I think Jiu Jitsu is wayyyyy to unstructured. In every martial arts you learn basics first long before you roll. In BJJ you are thrown right into the middle. Yes I get BJJ claims it beats the pride out of you, but that only lasts so long. Pride comes back when you get more and more into BJJ. But now as a mid white belt, I just want to survive. I only work on defense, I don't go for bates or anything else, I just try to survive. Also, I'm not scared of being tapped. Getting tapped is a good thing because one, it's funny, and two it helps me learn. I find the more amusement I find in rolling, the more easily I can be relaxed and not stressed or competitive. Honestly, I'm always fighting my competitive side, if I get competitive as a white belt I'll get hurt.
Sounds like what I do, entirely. Save a ton of energy, too.
I think that's a good outlook to keep some humor in it. I've found it keeps things fun even when you are the nail instead of the hammer. It also helps to calm that training partner down if they are trying to smash you if they realize you are having more "fun" than them.
Boxing is the same, I boxed for a year and was thrown in the ring to spar on my first week. They do it to separate who really want to do this.
depends on the school. sbg and 10th planet...ive been to both...are very structured. im in fundamentals at tenth planet...and we have week long modules with reviews in the form of drills
Wonderful video! Key points: 12:50 Low belt asks high belt "do you have a partner yet?" instead of "do you want to roll?" Then low belt says "I'm new. I don't know what to do in the guard. Can you show me a guard pass?" High belt shows guard pass, then low belt asks "can I start in your guard?" Low belt thanks high belt for help. When high belt taps low belt, low belt says "that was cool, can you show me what you did?" After high belt coaches low belt, low belt asks "can I try again and try to defend it?" Try again and thank high belt. Sets new dynamic between partners.
when I started, I loved rolling from day 1
I got lucky. I sparred my first day, but it was with my instructor who was my partner that day due to an uneven amount of students. He didn't say he would do it, but kept letting me get into positions to practice everything we learned that day. When I was dying from lack of cardio at 3 minutes into a 4 minute session, he was pushing me to keep going. When I made a mistake and almost gave up my back, he told me to not give it up and let me work on moving out of it
THIS IS SO MAJOR
Same here! I went to a local Jui Jitsu mill for my first day. The instructors were very nice and taught me a few moves and escapes. Later, Without me realizing it, I was matched up with another student at the end of class. I expected some more general first day instruction. What I got was a full force rear naked choke that messed my throat up for a number of weeks. Not at all cool. Then when I discussed this with the lead instructor, he blew it off. Pissed me off and I have not gone back. I wish I could come in and train with Rener and Eve to learn Gracie style, which obviously shows respect and appreciation for new enthusiastic students.
I went to my first class and got injured in sparring, i saw the video to late, i will use your advise for the next class
How did that happen?
@@olioli9897 a more experienced guy use a lock in my knee and did not let me lose, he pulled fast and hard and that was it, 9 months recovery
Love this video, I needed this. One month in. Last class I held on for 5 mins against a more experienced guy and I felt mega for it. Last night though, I got smashed to bits and paying the pain price today. Extremely humbling. Tomorrow night, I will try a new approach taking all of these points on board. Reset and calm down,,,,
lol, at my MMA gym, we role on day one. I got absolutely slaughtered by the blue, purple, brown, & black belts. I would get submitted by a white belt around 6 times in 3 minutes😂 but I've been in it for roughly 3 1/2 months and I'm getting submission on some of them now. I never thought of quiting. I wanted to train and get better. I train muay thai and bjj 6 days a week.
just train hard and you will really learn. you just have to have the want and desire to get better.
Just finished my second BJJ class ever. 1st day they had me rolling who ZERO instruction. 2nd class they had us roll to submission without ever teaching me any submissions. This video just saved me.
3 minutes into this video and I'm already demoralized
🤣 just keep showing up. It will sort itself out.
Your videos have helped to inspire me to take up Jujitsu. I started last week. My very first minute in class, we rolled. I rolled with another white belt the same size as me. Later in class, I rolled with my black belt instructor. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. That being said, I enjoyed it and have no plans of quitting.
"Whoa, that lady swallowed a baby"-Dr. Nick
I can honestly say it's an honor when I get beat down by my opponents! Haha I've been doing GJJ for about 2 weeks and I love it. The thing is that our instructor emphasizes that the point is not to beat me or the other guys, but to learn. So, it's always been a learning experience and I don't expect to ever stop learning. I love it. I've already been slammed over a guys shoulder, Americano'd, put in a guillotine, headlock, etc.! I think it's a great martial art and I am so excited to learn more!
Took my first lesson and a purple belt mauled me
crappy school
The compatibility between these two is something I’ll always aspire to have in a relationship. Rener starts going off on rants, basically forgetting what point he was trying to make in the first place and Eve comes in and get control of the situation bringing it back into place. I love that because it shows they’re both genuine
#GOODHUMANS To Rener and his wife, beautiful heart felt advice, thanks
This is also the reason why I found it so difficult in the beginning when I went to my first BJJ lesson (Gym). I felt like this dudes just needed a body to practice their moves without actually teaching anything. I changed to another gym and the experience was much better, everyone is there to learn with each other, help each other and there’s mutual respect, no matter what belt you are. I recently purchased the 32 principles of Jiu Jitsu from you guys and that has been helping me A LOT, to understand the techniques much better. Your way of teaching is AMAZING, I need to find someone like you for a Jiu Jitsu partner lol