In the army they told us whatever job you hold train and learn the role of the guy that is two ranks ahead of you. So as a white belt that’s why I come in late and skip warmups.
There’s no better feeling than the BJJ week where you’ve trained 4-5 times, are totally banged up and sore, and can barely remember who you trained/sparred with because you did so much work on the mat. The more you train the less you worry about how you did.
Exactly then life happens; you cant train for a while .... & finally after life gets back to normal you get the privilege to get back to training os 🤙🏼
I’m middle aged and have MS, mediocre is top-tier for my physical limitations. I strive to be the best I can be which is mediocre and I’m proud of it. I work myself as hard as I can and celebrate every tiny victory.
I’m a 60 year old white belt, 11 months in….at my age, I’ll be ok with mediocre. 😀 I do LOVE IT. I fell in love watching the UFC for decades and still watch UA-cam Jiu Jitsu daily. I’m a junkie !
well done man very impressive we have a 63 year old at our gym hes been going for 5 years now and hes a monster keep up the grind you are the kind of person the world needs
I believe the same goes for any complex skill you want to acquire in life. Big fan of the channel, just got my blue belt this week. Thanks for the awesome content, Chewy!
This is spot on and I love what Chewy is talking about around 1:52. The people that are advancing at anything can tell you exactly what they're focusing on at the moment.
As a 52 yr old, started about 4 months ago, you hit the nail on the head for me---trying to finish a lesson and 12 min of rollin' without a break----that is my "training with a purpose"
I think it’s really quite simple. When you are brand new, just show up, because you don’t know anything yet, and you don’t know what to work on because you suck at everything. Get a solid foundation. But after a short time, maybe as little as a few weeks or a few months at best, start to figure out the areas where you struggle. Pick your worst spots, and work specifically to get better at those. Put yourself in those positions over and over again with people who will work with you, and do live training with the techniques you’ve learned until you no longer suck at those positions. Rinse and repeat until you are competent at everything.
I show up to specifically work on my guard and passing guard. I'm still a white belt but learning how to keep my guard and how to pass guard are my biggest issues.
Today in class I plows for the first time with a higher belt. I’m a 2 month white belt, I rolled with a blue belt. I watch a lot of your videos and I tried to keep in mind what you have said. I tried take my time and survive. I was able to roll a 5 minute round and not get submitted. I was taken down a bunch, but I was able to survive.
I lost my first competition last week , it was submission it hit me pretty hard still does but I’m using that to fuel me for my next one , one thing I will say it is a humbling experience 100%
if it hit you pretty hard then you should work more on your mental/ego and to ask yourself with real honesty why are you doing this ..and then work on your skills.
Definitely agree with this advice. Yes, you will still improve by showing up and going through the motions since your brain will subconsciously take in the information; however, it is much more important that you are showing up eager to train and with specific goals. It could be something as simple as focusing on T-rex arms or relaxing more during rolls. Just do one thing at a time each day and you will see improvement.
This is such an important message!!! Well said, his example shows how important this is for not just BJJ but for life. Show up with purpose for anything that you want to do in your life. It is hard to figure out how to show up in purpose when first starting out in BJJ has been a little difficult (at least for me it was). I am learning. Thank you.
Man I got a blue belt super fast and then I got hurt. I can’t get motivated to get back to a consistent basis like before my injury. 3-5 days a week to now 3-5 months in between going. I agree you need purpose cause I feel like I don’t have any when I go and I don’t feel like I gain anything anymore. It’s extremely important to have an objective for every class or it just becomes social time between you and your buddies. Thanks Chewy, great content.
I feel you. I got into best shape of my life in my profile pic. Got bored only lifting. Got back into bjj 3 weeks ago. After 5 years off.Felt great for 37yo. Went outa town for work didn't want to lose skill or conditioning. So I found a school close to motel. Well a bigger young guy new to bjj put his elbow in my ribs next to chest bone . I think he got excited thinking he was gonna pass . I was just casually sweep him then mount then let him bump me off was going to do it again and I think he slipped and all his weight on his elbow. So I can't lift or roll . I'm 1000 miles from home and working a heavy duty construction job with busted ribs for one week .Got one more day of work then I go home but that guy just messed up my training for at least a month. I'll have to regain what I lost. However I will focus on diet so I don't gain bf. Not hard if u did bodybuilding diets. But im not rolling till I'm confident I won't reinjure it. My motivation was 100 percent before.i Was pissed off all week but I been watching alot of instructionals. And remembering to look out. In the long run its not that bad. Also I learned to not roll with inexperienced people I don't know. Also .... I should have been fine just leaving class after technique and not rolling. I also had to tell another kid to don't grind his elbow right in my Adam's apple I got shit to do tomorrow. However I did have a nice competitive roll with a blue belt my age. He's like hey don't stack me cuz of bad neck im like I'm a bricklayer don't crank on anything ill tap. Sorry for the long rant
I think it's important to differentiate between the best approach to improvement in students that are likely to stay beyond blue belt and those who tend to quit before purple. Those two groups tend to be wired differently and what will focus & motivate one group may have the exact opposite effect on the other. Given that most people quit, that's where the "just show up" mantra comes from. But rather than putting the onus on the students for dedication, I think instructors play a major role in keeping students coming back. Instructors that want to build armies will struggle with retention. Those that aim to make the club fun and inclusive will likely do better with retention. And let's be honest: the people who need grappling the most tend to be the ones that quit.
I am a fairly new purple belt with wrestling experience. I am trying to kind of absorb more stuff away from my wrestling foundation, and it is difficult. I am working on all my sweeps, all submissions from the bottom, and some days it feels like I need to give this purple belt back. Then I go back to my fundamentals and I feel like I have my powers back. I needed this video, the only valuable lesson I have learned from getting a purple belt is I have so much more to learn.
It takes guts to pull guard, it takes guts to get smashed and learn how to play from bottom. That’s what people don’t realise. But once you go through that fire, it might take a year or two, then you can feel comfortable on your back, submit people etc. it would be so easy for you to just play the top game forever but you’re being gutsy. Respect.
@@Patrick-sheen Truly appreciated, it is shocking to feel the advantage from the top then total hopelessness on the bottom. Thanks for the inspiration, I'll put the time in.
This just planted a seed in my head and made me think about what I should be working on. I've been feeling a little lost on the mats lately. I'm 1 year into my blue belt and I've been feeling like I've just been doing terrible the past couple weeks.
just got back from no-gi tonight. This video really helped me get back to feeling good! I had really good rolls tonight and trained with the purpose of practicing my passing and top pressure, and not feeling bad and holding back on submissions (respectfully). Thank you Chewy!
I always figured 'just show up' to be the backup for 'show up with a purpose': you are usually there because you love being there, because you want to learn or test new things, or whatever. But if your mind if not there, if you're feeling sick, etc. it is easy to say 'I am not going today', even if you should. And this is where 'just show up' **should** remind you of going to the gym, and the purpose will follow once you're on the mat, and everything in you remembers why you love being there
I agree with this , but most of us become more reactive in rolling, and end up not flowing at all when we have a tangible intention before going to class ........being said YES train hard set goals in BJJ , but co-exist with relaxing and passivity, I think Bruce said it best , "A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously" so be focused but not serious .
That's why I think we need to roll with less skilled or less stronger opponents once in a while. This is the way we can just relax and try to plan something ahead. Start with a plan and stick to it. If it's always "fight for your life/breath" kind of rolling, this cannot happen. You acquire a lot of skill with lower belts and them, being confortable doing your plan, you can try to apply it to higher belts.
This is true with learning any art from. I tell my drumming students that one-hour a week of dedicated and focused practice is more productive than goofing around for an hour every day. Of course, I don't give them one lesson and then expect them to perform on-stage like they know what they're doing... then mock them for panicking due to not being able to process what's going on.
Rule 1 : Find the best and the most complete definition of bjj you can have so that you can understand clearly what is it you are going to learn ( don't neglect this step because most trainers can't provide you with this you will have to research ) Rule 2 : have a clear objective Rule 3 :use only refined methodologies and film yourself right away, seek all the "whys" for everything
I think the difference between a job and martial arts is people need a job, they don't need martial arts. The person who just shows up to martial arts class generally wants to be there, where the person who just shows up to work doesn't. I think "just show up" is good advice, because someone who just shows up for 5 years will learn more than someone who trains really hard for 3 months and burns out.
I get what you’re saying. But I’ve been doing JiuJitsu since the mid-90’s and some days “just showing up” made all the difference. So many people quit JiuJitsu at blue belt, or it’s just too hard , or life takes over…if you just get your gi and your gear and get out the door and make it to a class or an open mat , THINGS CAN HAPPEN! Every time I’ve thought of flaking and just went anyway, I was rewarded. JiuJitsu is so hard that “just showing up” is a victory in itself. If you keep piling on other stuff to people that aren’t necessarily gonna be world champs… Sorry, I believe that golden rule still stands
This is great 👍🏼 - what do you think 💭 about showing up with purpose and afterwards analyzing the good, the bad, the ugly…? I’ve modified the old win or learn for myself to win, lose, or draw and learn, always learn…just my 2 cents…thanks for your insightful videos!!
Hi chewy hope your having a great day. I've been training in Jujitsu for over over 2 and a 1/2 years received my blue belt but a few days later hurt my knee I've been out of training now for over over 2 years. I've been in once or twice here and there but for some reason have this nervous wall where i almost get sick. I loved training was so excited and was one of the better guys even as a white belt. I trained MMA as well even took some fights but for some reason getting back to training seems to come with this sickness feeling i cant get over. I need some kinda wisdom. Please help brother! Osss!
Nothing else matters if you don't show up. Nothing. You can be the fastest learner, most athletic, gifted guy around but if you hardly ever show up it means fuckall. I don't know any part timers who are worth a damn. So of course you have to have a purpose and put in the work and have goals. But it all starts with coming to class...every...single time.
as a white belt my recommendation for fellow white belts is to work on your defense. don't be too hellbent on doing submissions that would come later but instead focus on being comfortable in uncomfortable positions. be comfortable with high calorie grapplers just laying on top of your head, be comfortable on being in a RNC and figure out a way to get out of it and so on. I personally put myself in bad positions so I can learn to be comfortable in them and learn how to escape from them.
I have different "goals". Sometimes, while rolling with higher belts I try to just get to one position or resist to one kind of attack or set some kind of attack. Something pretty basic. On the other side, while rolling with lower belts (blues) I set more challenging goals, like going to the back from this specific half guard or submitting in one particular way. All this while trying to pay specific attention to some specific techinique or something for one month or more. I'm still very far from good, but it's something... Honest work lol
Hey Chewie, just for some perspective I am a 3 stripe white belt with a small amount of wrestling experience. My question is, is there a respectful way to ask a higher belt to "go harder"? I understand higher belts take it easy in order to let me work a little which I appreciate. But sometimes it feels like they're taking it too easy and I'm not getting any actual constructive resistance to the techniques I'm trying out.
I always ask the lower belts when I roll with them if they have a game plan for their roll. Unfortunately, the vast majority do not have a game plan. I try to get them to focus on a game plan, even if its only holding someone in their guard for as long as possible.
Chewie, I'm going to be starting BJJ next month. I have over 15 years of martial arts experience, but haven't taken BJJ yet. A lot of the advice and videos I see on "What to expect in your first BJJ class" is aimed at people who have never done any martial arts before. Do you have any advice for someone who has taken a lot of standup martial arts, but not as experienced on the ground?
I'm that weird guy who's like naw I just want to be pretty okay, pretty good. This is my side hobby I do for exercise. I want to improve and do better, but the best that I can be would take time away from my family and other things I enjoy.
This was great. You can’t just show without the mindset and the effort. In anything really. But isn’t that one of the reasons jiu jitsu is so great? The number of things you’ve learned in bjj that apply to so many other things in life…
Just because there's a 20 year old champion black belt, doesnt mean there Isnt a 40 y/o brown belt champion, 30 y/o purple belt champ, the 26 year old blue belt champ, and their buddy whos a A year and a half younger white belt getting smashed by kids and seniors of all sizes and different backgrounds But going to compete and win a championship some day too.
I tried to enroll at my local bjj gym but they required a contract which could be unrealistic for me to fulfill if my place of work changes which is likely. I did however find a gracie jiu-jitsu school that might be a better fit. But, no competitive rolling until the combatives course is complete, 72 hours/ classes. Thoughts?...
The way I take it. Just show up. Eventually, being around it and being clueless with no direction long enough.... you'll eventually have a direction and clue will start piecing themselves together. After you have a base.
Chewy is turning into Venom Snake. Lol. By the way good video. Very true. When we had girls at our school I think they could have benefited from taking this to heart.
I disagree with your analogy. People show up to jobs without purpose because they are getting paid to not because they actually want to. Most people are paying for JiuJitsu so just showing up is taking some level of initiative. I agree that having an objective is a great way to stay focused and will help you see your goals more clearly, but some days your mind is cloudy or distracted and showing up is all you can do.
Possibly. But I've watched plenty of people guilt themselves into doing something without focus. I watch people do it with weight training all the time. And they get poor results. Again, showing up is good. It just won't bring forth the best of you unless you add some focus.
Thank you for the advice. To digress, since a number of the moves and techniques work for longer-limbed students, do you have any advice for students who have short limbs ?
Hey chewy! I have a question, I recently got through an injury, broke my hand while rolling. in Jiu-Jitsu and got another one. I was doing a pendulum sweep and dislocated my knee. All is well now, I just wanted to know how to get over the anxiety and fear of going back to the mats and just rolling without having to take away from my partner because of it. I know now that I have to be careful. but just sitting and watching tv I just think about it and it makes me not want to roll, gives me the willies. how do you put the fear aside and just do?
What's the "show up with purpose" for a while belt one month in? I don't know what I'm doing most of the time. Great curriculum, professors, partners, but it seems too early for me to have any purpose other than showing up and hoping to catch on.
Hey, this is not a real scenario out of my life but I'm sure a lot of guys are having this issue, it would be cool if you'd make a video about it: Imagine you're a blue belt in jjj (white yellow orange green blue brown black) and you want to train bjj and the trainer says you have to come with a white belt even tho its almost the same
Hey im looking for advice on the mental side of things regarding bjj I have been white belt since 2019 on and off. in last 18 months ive been extremely dedicated to my bjj. This year I had a goal of getting my blue belt. I competed 3 times this year and 4 times last year and didn't win one fight but all were heaviest division and im going to cut weight because size was factor. Grading is Tommorrow and i doubt ill get my blue belt because i lost on Saturday. Usually after a loss i take it on chin but this time knowing a blue belt was possility and i worked so hard and sacrificed so much all year it feels pretty disheartening. I suffered from bullying as a teen and sometimes it still affects me which is why i started bjj before i fell in love with it. On Sunday morning i was disappointed with result but got anxiety attack and all i could picture was all my bullies laughing at me and my brain kept telling me how they laugh at me and that im a loser and always have been and always will be. I know that nobody is laughing at me and that im not a loser but since the anxiety attack ive been pretty down in the dumps. I dont want to be person who obsesses over belts but at same time i feel gutted that others will progress quikcer than me and that i feel my progress is slow despite my hard work What advice can you give for me?
Weird. This video pops up on my feed on exactly this kind of day. My son (16) and I (58) usually go to class together but tonight I s 1:43 ent him on his own. I was too tired too… not motivated to be of any use tonight. I knew I could have shown up but I also know with how I feel it wouldn’t be a great class for me and more importantly not a great class for my rolling partners. My son just got home and had a great class. Ah, to have that 16 year old ability to just keep going.
Hey Chewy, Names Tommy, I am living down in Chile in South America in the deep south in Patagonia. Love your channel, any advice on how to advance in an environment where your teacher and other students are simply not taking it as seriously as you would like to, (for example, we never work from the standing, wrestling basically doesn't exist here, so no one will stand with me and they all pull guard and refuse to really practice their standing game and I don't know how to approach the professor to ask about new techniques or different scenarios without overstepping the boundary) Thanks in advance my man!
What you should do is play from guard yourself, then use a sweep to off balance, while they are off balanced stand up into a takedown to practice your wrestling. this is john danahers new wave guard system
My purpose for the last few months has been to gain lethality from bottom. I spend a lot of time on my back but I was just denying my partner, not actually being dangerous. I think I had a good two months at the start where my only aim was to get people into my guard and don't let them sub me, which helped me defensively (especially as we have a lot of strong fuckers at my gym but small gas tanks) Now people at my gym are wary of entering my guard at all, and know it's not safe at all 😅
I would say I am at my first real plateau and it is frustrating (purple belt). I feel like my old stuff doesn't work anymore and I can't quite grasp new stuff like I used to. I am telling myself I am about break through it. If this is the best I will ever be at BJJ so be it. I still like it, I like my team, I made friends, and I am in decent shape. So to me, that is a lot more positives than negatives. I don't know if you were specifically asking that question. I just wanted to try to help if you felt the same way I do.
@@IVIastodon You're right, maybe I am being hard on myself and not giving credit to myself for surviving bad positions. Anyway, glad I could help a little and I appreciate the advice.
Look at professional typists for example. They type every day for work and eventually hit a plateau and don't get any faster. To get faster, they have to deliberately practice speed and push themselves. Deliberate practice folks, Chewy has said it time and time again, and it's the damn truth!
Hey chewy im a follow you since i started bjj and i wanted to know your opinion on something(i know is a longshot) but im a 18 blue-belt(started at 15) and im trying to be a better jiu-jitsu competitor because my dream would be to be very good like world class good i try to apply myself as much as posible by watching instrucionals and things like this and sometimes i get some payoff in the gym but when i go out to compete i fucking suck and it seems all the time and hours i put into improveing just don't payoff and i am at a pont that i am loseing tournaments constantly and it's extremly demoralisng and it just hurts and i don't know what to do so it would be nice to know your opinión on the matter thanks
For me, I do best with either a semi-private or private with a uke. That way the instructor can see how I am interpreting the lesson. If there is a point he is trying to make that inst working with the partner, the instructor can insert himself in to the lesson to create the point.
@@rtexmx all mine have been strictly with my coach. He also corrects any of my mistakes as I'm making them though and I believe that's one of the reasons I take more from it than a regular class. You learn the right way the first time instead of trying to fix a broken technique.
@@rtexmx I'm a new blue belt so most of my experience during class is doing technique with another white belt which is fine but when neither guy knows what they're doing it's tough to get new techniques right. It'd be nice to do technique with higher belts more often but normally those guys have been training together for years and tend to pair up with each other, and fair enough. 🤷♂️
Chewi, did you have fellow employees not show up? Just showing up vs not showing up will bring a person farther than anything else. After a person keeps showing up, all the other things come into play. Purpose doesn't matter if you don't show up.
I have a question for you. I'm a white belt, and I've been having some success lately with the head and arm triangle from mount. However, if my opponent "answers the phone", I can't finish. My arms are occupied holding their head and arm, so I don't know how to clear the defense. Thanks for any help!
If they were gonna show up with purpose, they'd be doing it. This video changed 0 lives. But seriously, thanks for the other content. Maybe leave to pepp talks to Jocko;)
It’s true there are guys who have been training 5/6 yrs and they may be blue and purple belt but not that skilled or that good. I think you need to really be a student of the art and show up with purpose
Dopest video I've seen Imma start right now with purpose. I'm working on my bottom side control escapes. Oss. Chewy. P.s that's it UA-cam no more game from this player.
Damn yknow what thats why i hate my job and quit. What we still in the 50s where you join a company and stick with it for the next 20-30years? Damn. As the advice of the late kobe bryant said. "if you hate what you do, do something else." im paraphrasing.
I disagree. The examples of purpose in this video describe what is perhaps better termed as individual goals. The difficulty most students have in regards to showing up with purpose/goals is that they are in most cases not responsible for the techniques and positional sparring that will be focused on during the training session. This can result in misalignment between the individual's goals and the opportunities available to them where they can work towards these goals. The #1 rule for the majority of students is just showing up. The responsibility for creating purpose lies with the gym to have a structured curriculum that will clearly identify and communicate goals while providing learning opportunities specific to meeting them. A curriculum that does this can ensure all key areas of grappling are met with maximal efficiency throughout its' completion. The downside of this approach is that it requires students to consistently show up. Having purpose and goals on an individual level is still highly important but applies more at an advanced practitioner stage where a student has a level of design control over their training sessions. Academic programs run in schools and universities adhere to this same line of thinking. Responsibility of learning shifts from teacher to student as the competency of the student advances. However, showing up remains of the highest importance throughout the learner's journey if they are to reach their potential.
In the army they told us whatever job you hold train and learn the role of the guy that is two ranks ahead of you.
So as a white belt that’s why I come in late and skip warmups.
I do the pushups on my knees to save strength for rolling . I don't think coach has noticed yet.
🤣🤣🤣
😂
😂
Bruh 😂
There’s no better feeling than the BJJ week where you’ve trained 4-5 times, are totally banged up and sore, and can barely remember who you trained/sparred with because you did so much work on the mat. The more you train the less you worry about how you did.
Exactly then life happens; you cant train for a while .... & finally after life gets back to normal you get the privilege to get back to training os 🤙🏼
@@fuckbeingbroke2 Facts
I’m middle aged and have MS, mediocre is top-tier for my physical limitations. I strive to be the best I can be which is mediocre and I’m proud of it. I work myself as hard as I can and celebrate every tiny victory.
I’m a 60 year old white belt, 11 months in….at my age, I’ll be ok with mediocre. 😀
I do LOVE IT. I fell in love watching the UFC for decades and still watch UA-cam Jiu Jitsu daily. I’m a junkie !
well done man very impressive we have a 63 year old at our gym hes been going for 5 years now and hes a monster keep up the grind you are the kind of person the world needs
Old fart
I believe the same goes for any complex skill you want to acquire in life.
Big fan of the channel, just got my blue belt this week.
Thanks for the awesome content, Chewy!
Bro you have so many names
Congrats man. Achieving Blue Belt isn't easy
Congratulations my friend ;-)
This is spot on and I love what Chewy is talking about around 1:52. The people that are advancing at anything can tell you exactly what they're focusing on at the moment.
Nice
The number 2 rule for getting good at BJJ is watch as much UA-cam Jiu-Jitsu content as possible
Specifically, Chewjitsu content
Definitely NOT.
So true
@@TheCutdown61 definitely yes, as long as you are also going to class...
It helps keep the fire lit.
As a 52 yr old, started about 4 months ago, you hit the nail on the head for me---trying to finish a lesson and 12 min of rollin' without a break----that is my "training with a purpose"
I think it’s really quite simple. When you are brand new, just show up, because you don’t know anything yet, and you don’t know what to work on because you suck at everything. Get a solid foundation.
But after a short time, maybe as little as a few weeks or a few months at best, start to figure out the areas where you struggle. Pick your worst spots, and work specifically to get better at those. Put yourself in those positions over and over again with people who will work with you, and do live training with the techniques you’ve learned until you no longer suck at those positions. Rinse and repeat until you are competent at everything.
I show up to specifically work on my guard and passing guard. I'm still a white belt but learning how to keep my guard and how to pass guard are my biggest issues.
Today in class I plows for the first time with a higher belt. I’m a 2 month white belt, I rolled with a blue belt. I watch a lot of your videos and I tried to keep in mind what you have said. I tried take my time and survive. I was able to roll a 5 minute round and not get submitted. I was taken down a bunch, but I was able to survive.
Another good video to watch as I lay on the couch with a sore knee, back, and shoulder, contemplating whether to get beat up some more tonight.
I lost my first competition last week , it was submission it hit me pretty hard still does but I’m using that to fuel me for my next one , one thing I will say it is a humbling experience 100%
Got my first one comin up buddy.
if it hit you pretty hard then you should work more on your mental/ego and to ask yourself with real honesty why are you doing this ..and then work on your skills.
Grappling industries tournament in munich?
Bro get over it... your are (most likely) a white belt no one cares right now lol
Definitely agree with this advice. Yes, you will still improve by showing up and going through the motions since your brain will subconsciously take in the information; however, it is much more important that you are showing up eager to train and with specific goals. It could be something as simple as focusing on T-rex arms or relaxing more during rolls. Just do one thing at a time each day and you will see improvement.
Great information! I am in the area and will be stopping in for a drop-in class this week. Very much looking forward to it.
I just started bjj last week. I've learned a lot from your videos & wanted to say thank you for making them.
This is such an important message!!! Well said, his example shows how important this is for not just BJJ but for life. Show up with purpose for anything that you want to do in your life. It is hard to figure out how to show up in purpose when first starting out in BJJ has been a little difficult (at least for me it was). I am learning. Thank you.
Man I got a blue belt super fast and then I got hurt. I can’t get motivated to get back to a consistent basis like before my injury. 3-5 days a week to now 3-5 months in between going. I agree you need purpose cause I feel like I don’t have any when I go and I don’t feel like I gain anything anymore. It’s extremely important to have an objective for every class or it just becomes social time between you and your buddies. Thanks Chewy, great content.
Motivation for training comes from training.
I feel you. I got into best shape of my life in my profile pic. Got bored only lifting. Got back into bjj 3 weeks ago. After 5 years off.Felt great for 37yo. Went outa town for work didn't want to lose skill or conditioning. So I found a school close to motel. Well a bigger young guy new to bjj put his elbow in my ribs next to chest bone . I think he got excited thinking he was gonna pass . I was just casually sweep him then mount then let him bump me off was going to do it again and I think he slipped and all his weight on his elbow. So I can't lift or roll . I'm 1000 miles from home and working a heavy duty construction job with busted ribs for one week .Got one more day of work then I go home but that guy just messed up my training for at least a month. I'll have to regain what I lost. However I will focus on diet so I don't gain bf. Not hard if u did bodybuilding diets. But im not rolling till I'm confident I won't reinjure it. My motivation was 100 percent before.i Was pissed off all week but I been watching alot of instructionals. And remembering to look out. In the long run its not that bad. Also I learned to not roll with inexperienced people I don't know. Also .... I should have been fine just leaving class after technique and not rolling. I also had to tell another kid to don't grind his elbow right in my Adam's apple I got shit to do tomorrow. However I did have a nice competitive roll with a blue belt my age. He's like hey don't stack me cuz of bad neck im like I'm a bricklayer don't crank on anything ill tap. Sorry for the long rant
You really shaped my mindset! Big Thanx for all the advice. Love your channel! Big bear hug from Sweden /proud white belt beginner
Happy to help! Appreciate the comment.
@@Chewjitsu What do you think of kama Juitsu?
I think it's important to differentiate between the best approach to improvement in students that are likely to stay beyond blue belt and those who tend to quit before purple. Those two groups tend to be wired differently and what will focus & motivate one group may have the exact opposite effect on the other. Given that most people quit, that's where the "just show up" mantra comes from.
But rather than putting the onus on the students for dedication, I think instructors play a major role in keeping students coming back. Instructors that want to build armies will struggle with retention. Those that aim to make the club fun and inclusive will likely do better with retention. And let's be honest: the people who need grappling the most tend to be the ones that quit.
Brother this rule works with everything we do. It's a life principle! Thanks for sharing!
This is probably the best post ever!
I am a fairly new purple belt with wrestling experience. I am trying to kind of absorb more stuff away from my wrestling foundation, and it is difficult. I am working on all my sweeps, all submissions from the bottom, and some days it feels like I need to give this purple belt back. Then I go back to my fundamentals and I feel like I have my powers back. I needed this video, the only valuable lesson I have learned from getting a purple belt is I have so much more to learn.
It takes guts to pull guard, it takes guts to get smashed and learn how to play from bottom. That’s what people don’t realise. But once you go through that fire, it might take a year or two, then you can feel comfortable on your back, submit people etc. it would be so easy for you to just play the top game forever but you’re being gutsy. Respect.
@@Patrick-sheen Truly appreciated, it is shocking to feel the advantage from the top then total hopelessness on the bottom. Thanks for the inspiration, I'll put the time in.
This just planted a seed in my head and made me think about what I should be working on. I've been feeling a little lost on the mats lately. I'm 1 year into my blue belt and I've been feeling like I've just been doing terrible the past couple weeks.
just got back from no-gi tonight. This video really helped me get back to feeling good! I had really good rolls tonight and trained with the purpose of practicing my passing and top pressure, and not feeling bad and holding back on submissions (respectfully).
Thank you Chewy!
I always figured 'just show up' to be the backup for 'show up with a purpose': you are usually there because you love being there, because you want to learn or test new things, or whatever. But if your mind if not there, if you're feeling sick, etc. it is easy to say 'I am not going today', even if you should. And this is where 'just show up' **should** remind you of going to the gym, and the purpose will follow once you're on the mat, and everything in you remembers why you love being there
I agree with this , but most of us become more reactive in rolling, and end up not flowing at all when we have a tangible intention before going to class ........being said YES train hard set goals in BJJ , but co-exist with relaxing and passivity, I think Bruce said it best ,
"A good fight should be like a small play, but played seriously" so be focused but not serious .
That's why I think we need to roll with less skilled or less stronger opponents once in a while. This is the way we can just relax and try to plan something ahead. Start with a plan and stick to it. If it's always "fight for your life/breath" kind of rolling, this cannot happen. You acquire a lot of skill with lower belts and them, being confortable doing your plan, you can try to apply it to higher belts.
next time we visit the sister in louisville, I'll have to drop in for a class. love your stuff.
Thanks for all the videos. I am going to start jiu jitsu very soon and your videos have really helped me out .
Chewy on all he said is 1000% correct
This is true with learning any art from. I tell my drumming students that one-hour a week of dedicated and focused practice is more productive than goofing around for an hour every day. Of course, I don't give them one lesson and then expect them to perform on-stage like they know what they're doing... then mock them for panicking due to not being able to process what's going on.
I love this message, this video resonated with me a great deal. Great real life example with a full time job. Thanks Chew!
Rule 1 :
Find the best and the most complete definition of bjj you can have so that you can understand clearly what is it you are going to learn ( don't neglect this step because most trainers can't provide you with this you will have to research )
Rule 2 : have a clear objective
Rule 3 :use only refined methodologies and film yourself right away, seek all the "whys" for everything
I think the difference between a job and martial arts is people need a job, they don't need martial arts. The person who just shows up to martial arts class generally wants to be there, where the person who just shows up to work doesn't.
I think "just show up" is good advice, because someone who just shows up for 5 years will learn more than someone who trains really hard for 3 months and burns out.
Hell yeah! Great advice!
No matter what you do, in a street fight no holds barred against a Muay Thai fighter like Buakaw, you'll get ass kicked, literally!
I was always told the #1 way to get better at BJJ is to watch Chewie!
great analogy to coworkers who just show up....man. that really drove the point home
I get what you’re saying. But I’ve been doing JiuJitsu since the mid-90’s and some days “just showing up” made all the difference. So many people quit JiuJitsu at blue belt, or it’s just too hard , or life takes over…if you just get your gi and your gear and get out the door and make it to a class or an open mat , THINGS CAN HAPPEN! Every time I’ve thought of flaking and just went anyway, I was rewarded. JiuJitsu is so hard that “just showing up” is a victory in itself. If you keep piling on other stuff to people that aren’t necessarily gonna be world champs…
Sorry, I believe that golden rule still stands
This is great 👍🏼 - what do you think 💭 about showing up with purpose and afterwards analyzing the good, the bad, the ugly…? I’ve modified the old win or learn for myself to win, lose, or draw and learn, always learn…just my 2 cents…thanks for your insightful videos!!
Hi chewy hope your having a great day. I've been training in Jujitsu for over over 2 and a 1/2 years received my blue belt but a few days later hurt my knee I've been out of training now for over over 2 years. I've been in once or twice here and there but for some reason have this nervous wall where i almost get sick. I loved training was so excited and was one of the better guys even as a white belt. I trained MMA as well even took some fights but for some reason getting back to training seems to come with this sickness feeling i cant get over. I need some kinda wisdom. Please help brother! Osss!
Chewy time!!
Nothing else matters if you don't show up. Nothing. You can be the fastest learner, most athletic, gifted guy around but if you hardly ever show up it means fuckall. I don't know any part timers who are worth a damn. So of course you have to have a purpose and put in the work and have goals. But it all starts with coming to class...every...single time.
as a white belt my recommendation for fellow white belts is to work on your defense. don't be too hellbent on doing submissions that would come later but instead focus on being comfortable in uncomfortable positions. be comfortable with high calorie grapplers just laying on top of your head, be comfortable on being in a RNC and figure out a way to get out of it and so on.
I personally put myself in bad positions so I can learn to be comfortable in them and learn how to escape from them.
I have different "goals". Sometimes, while rolling with higher belts I try to just get to one position or resist to one kind of attack or set some kind of attack. Something pretty basic. On the other side, while rolling with lower belts (blues) I set more challenging goals, like going to the back from this specific half guard or submitting in one particular way. All this while trying to pay specific attention to some specific techinique or something for one month or more. I'm still very far from good, but it's something... Honest work lol
Hey Chewie, just for some perspective I am a 3 stripe white belt with a small amount of wrestling experience. My question is, is there a respectful way to ask a higher belt to "go harder"? I understand higher belts take it easy in order to let me work a little which I appreciate. But sometimes it feels like they're taking it too easy and I'm not getting any actual constructive resistance to the techniques I'm trying out.
I always ask the lower belts when I roll with them if they have a game plan for their roll. Unfortunately, the vast majority do not have a game plan. I try to get them to focus on a game plan, even if its only holding someone in their guard for as long as possible.
Chewie, I'm going to be starting BJJ next month. I have over 15 years of martial arts experience, but haven't taken BJJ yet. A lot of the advice and videos I see on "What to expect in your first BJJ class" is aimed at people who have never done any martial arts before. Do you have any advice for someone who has taken a lot of standup martial arts, but not as experienced on the ground?
I'm that weird guy who's like naw I just want to be pretty okay, pretty good. This is my side hobby I do for exercise. I want to improve and do better, but the best that I can be would take time away from my family and other things I enjoy.
The number one rule for getting good at BJJ is to troll chewjitsu comment sections
This was great. You can’t just show without the mindset and the effort. In anything really. But isn’t that one of the reasons jiu jitsu is so great? The number of things you’ve learned in bjj that apply to so many other things in life…
Just because there's a 20 year old champion black belt, doesnt mean there Isnt a 40 y/o brown belt champion, 30 y/o purple belt champ, the 26 year old blue belt champ, and their buddy whos a A year and a half younger white belt getting smashed by kids and seniors of all sizes and different backgrounds But going to compete and win a championship some day too.
I tried to enroll at my local bjj gym but they required a contract which could be unrealistic for me to fulfill if my place of work changes which is likely. I did however find a gracie jiu-jitsu school that might be a better fit. But, no competitive rolling until the combatives course is complete, 72 hours/ classes.
Thoughts?...
The way I take it. Just show up. Eventually, being around it and being clueless with no direction long enough.... you'll eventually have a direction and clue will start piecing themselves together. After you have a base.
Chewy is turning into Venom Snake. Lol.
By the way good video. Very true. When we had girls at our school I think they could have benefited from taking this to heart.
I disagree with your analogy. People show up to jobs without purpose because they are getting paid to not because they actually want to. Most people are paying for JiuJitsu so just showing up is taking some level of initiative. I agree that having an objective is a great way to stay focused and will help you see your goals more clearly, but some days your mind is cloudy or distracted and showing up is all you can do.
Possibly. But I've watched plenty of people guilt themselves into doing something without focus. I watch people do it with weight training all the time. And they get poor results. Again, showing up is good. It just won't bring forth the best of you unless you add some focus.
What you did there .. I see it. Silver UA-cam plaque in the background 😉 it's well deserved anyway, your channel is great 👍
Thank you for the advice.
To digress, since a number of the moves and techniques work for longer-limbed students, do you have any advice for students who have short limbs ?
I’m not just saving this to my BJJ folder. I’m saving it to my personal growth folder.
Hey chewy! I have a question, I recently got through an injury, broke my hand while rolling. in Jiu-Jitsu and got another one. I was doing a pendulum sweep and dislocated my knee. All is well now, I just wanted to know how to get over the anxiety and fear of going back to the mats and just rolling without having to take away from my partner because of it. I know now that I have to be careful. but just sitting and watching tv I just think about it and it makes me not want to roll, gives me the willies. how do you put the fear aside and just do?
Reminds me of: Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. This applies to any activity.
What's the "show up with purpose" for a while belt one month in? I don't know what I'm doing most of the time.
Great curriculum, professors, partners, but it seems too early for me to have any purpose other than showing up and hoping to catch on.
Hey, this is not a real scenario out of my life but I'm sure a lot of guys are having this issue, it would be cool if you'd make a video about it: Imagine you're a blue belt in jjj (white yellow orange green blue brown black) and you want to train bjj and the trainer says you have to come with a white belt even tho its almost the same
Hey im looking for advice on the mental side of things regarding bjj
I have been white belt since 2019 on and off. in last 18 months ive been extremely dedicated to my bjj. This year I had a goal of getting my blue belt. I competed 3 times this year and 4 times last year and didn't win one fight but all were heaviest division and im going to cut weight because size was factor.
Grading is Tommorrow and i doubt ill get my blue belt because i lost on Saturday. Usually after a loss i take it on chin but this time knowing a blue belt was possility and i worked so hard and sacrificed so much all year it feels pretty disheartening.
I suffered from bullying as a teen and sometimes it still affects me which is why i started bjj before i fell in love with it.
On Sunday morning i was disappointed with result but got anxiety attack and all i could picture was all my bullies laughing at me and my brain kept telling me how they laugh at me and that im a loser and always have been and always will be.
I know that nobody is laughing at me and that im not a loser but since the anxiety attack ive been pretty down in the dumps. I dont want to be person who obsesses over belts but at same time i feel gutted that others will progress quikcer than me and that i feel my progress is slow despite my hard work
What advice can you give for me?
Weird. This video pops up on my feed on exactly this kind of day.
My son (16) and I (58) usually go to class together but tonight I s 1:43 ent him on his own. I was too tired too… not motivated to be of any use tonight. I knew I could have shown up but I also know with how I feel it wouldn’t be a great class for me and more importantly not a great class for my rolling partners. My son just got home and had a great class. Ah, to have that 16 year old ability to just keep going.
Hey Chewy, Names Tommy, I am living down in Chile in South America in the deep south in Patagonia. Love your channel, any advice on how to advance in an environment where your teacher and other students are simply not taking it as seriously as you would like to, (for example, we never work from the standing, wrestling basically doesn't exist here, so no one will stand with me and they all pull guard and refuse to really practice their standing game and I don't know how to approach the professor to ask about new techniques or different scenarios without overstepping the boundary) Thanks in advance my man!
What you should do is play from guard yourself, then use a sweep to off balance, while they are off balanced stand up into a takedown to practice your wrestling. this is john danahers new wave guard system
My purpose for the last few months has been to gain lethality from bottom. I spend a lot of time on my back but I was just denying my partner, not actually being dangerous. I think I had a good two months at the start where my only aim was to get people into my guard and don't let them sub me, which helped me defensively (especially as we have a lot of strong fuckers at my gym but small gas tanks)
Now people at my gym are wary of entering my guard at all, and know it's not safe at all 😅
Not a rhetorical question, what about when hitting a plateau?
I would say I am at my first real plateau and it is frustrating (purple belt). I feel like my old stuff doesn't work anymore and I can't quite grasp new stuff like I used to. I am telling myself I am about break through it. If this is the best I will ever be at BJJ so be it. I still like it, I like my team, I made friends, and I am in decent shape. So to me, that is a lot more positives than negatives. I don't know if you were specifically asking that question. I just wanted to try to help if you felt the same way I do.
@@ajday2588 very helpful. Trying new moves from instructionals during open mat and putting myself in uncomfortable positions helps
@@IVIastodon You're right, maybe I am being hard on myself and not giving credit to myself for surviving bad positions. Anyway, glad I could help a little and I appreciate the advice.
And to all those who wish to compete do t forget to HAVE FUN
Bjj speech of the year.
I always say the hardest thing about training is getting there. I'm good once I'm there im all in.
Look at professional typists for example. They type every day for work and eventually hit a plateau and don't get any faster. To get faster, they have to deliberately practice speed and push themselves.
Deliberate practice folks, Chewy has said it time and time again, and it's the damn truth!
Hey chewy im a follow you since i started bjj and i wanted to know your opinion on something(i know is a longshot) but im a 18 blue-belt(started at 15) and im trying to be a better jiu-jitsu competitor because my dream would be to be very good like world class good i try to apply myself as much as posible by watching instrucionals and things like this and sometimes i get some payoff in the gym but when i go out to compete i fucking suck and it seems all the time and hours i put into improveing just don't payoff and i am at a pont that i am loseing tournaments constantly and it's extremly demoralisng and it just hurts and i don't know what to do so it would be nice to know your opinión on the matter thanks
One thing I have noticed after going consistently for about a year and a half is, the guys/girls who get good quickly are usually pretty intelligent.
Half truth maybe? But have to walk in the door before you can move onto the next steps.
I found private classes have helped me the most.
For me, I do best with either a semi-private or private with a uke. That way the instructor can see how I am interpreting the lesson. If there is a point he is trying to make that inst working with the partner, the instructor can insert himself in to the lesson to create the point.
@@rtexmx all mine have been strictly with my coach. He also corrects any of my mistakes as I'm making them though and I believe that's one of the reasons I take more from it than a regular class. You learn the right way the first time instead of trying to fix a broken technique.
@@rtexmx I'm a new blue belt so most of my experience during class is doing technique with another white belt which is fine but when neither guy knows what they're doing it's tough to get new techniques right.
It'd be nice to do technique with higher belts more often but normally those guys have been training together for years and tend to pair up with each other, and fair enough. 🤷♂️
That's life advice, not just combat sports
Are you saying that effort and attitude can impact performance? Who knew?
Love it
I've always considered "just show up" to be rule #1 because you can't do any of the rest of it if you don't. It's the prerequisite to all progress.
is that a cyst above your left eye?
Zig Ziglar: "No one ever got up Everest by wandering around." It always takes planning, prep, and purpose.
Chewi, did you have fellow employees not show up? Just showing up vs not showing up will bring a person farther than anything else.
After a person keeps showing up, all the other things come into play. Purpose doesn't matter if you don't show up.
I have a question for you. I'm a white belt, and I've been having some success lately with the head and arm triangle from mount. However, if my opponent "answers the phone", I can't finish. My arms are occupied holding their head and arm, so I don't know how to clear the defense. Thanks for any help!
If they were gonna show up with purpose, they'd be doing it. This video changed 0 lives. But seriously, thanks for the other content. Maybe leave to pepp talks to Jocko;)
It’s true there are guys who have been training 5/6 yrs and they may be blue and purple belt but not that skilled or that good. I think you need to really be a student of the art and show up with purpose
Hey does anyone know any good bjj masters in LA?.
Danaher says, “learn to use your legs as early as possible.”
Dopest video I've seen
Imma start right now with purpose. I'm working on my bottom side control escapes.
Oss. Chewy.
P.s that's it UA-cam no more game from this player.
Good luck with your intentional training brother.
Where's the end-of-video clap??
Damn yknow what thats why i hate my job and quit. What we still in the 50s where you join a company and stick with it for the next 20-30years? Damn. As the advice of the late kobe bryant said. "if you hate what you do, do something else." im paraphrasing.
I just showed up to the comment section. No real purpose.
Calling it the first step instead of the #1 rule is probably more accurate.
I disagree. The examples of purpose in this video describe what is perhaps better termed as individual goals. The difficulty most students have in regards to showing up with purpose/goals is that they are in most cases not responsible for the techniques and positional sparring that will be focused on during the training session. This can result in misalignment between the individual's goals and the opportunities available to them where they can work towards these goals.
The #1 rule for the majority of students is just showing up. The responsibility for creating purpose lies with the gym to have a structured curriculum that will clearly identify and communicate goals while providing learning opportunities specific to meeting them. A curriculum that does this can ensure all key areas of grappling are met with maximal efficiency throughout its' completion. The downside of this approach is that it requires students to consistently show up.
Having purpose and goals on an individual level is still highly important but applies more at an advanced practitioner stage where a student has a level of design control over their training sessions. Academic programs run in schools and universities adhere to this same line of thinking. Responsibility of learning shifts from teacher to student as the competency of the student advances. However, showing up remains of the highest importance throughout the learner's journey if they are to reach their potential.
That’s the first step
#1 Show up
#2 Have purpose
"I am White Belt, and I come burdened with glorious purpose!". The rest of the gym... 😳
fax
Hi
O I thought it was watching videos my bad.
"Deliberate practice", no?
"Everyone's got a plan until they get punched in the mouth."