I’m more lucky to get to have a life where I get to share what I love to do with people, they appreciate it and allows me to have a living. Thanks so much for support
This is really well understood in climbing. Being chatty and conversational about problems is how you dial in on what you are missing. Mistakes are usually obvious to someone watching you because most of the time we are to close to the problem to see what we are doing wrong.
One hundred percent, it’s so easy and fun too. When I get bored I just call a friend and talk about positions and it always helps organize it in my head.
As a beginner blue belt with little time on the mat of late (I am a law enforcement supervisor) this advice is priceless. Looking forward to retirement in 2 years will free up time so I can train to my hearts content! Thank you for this!!
Soooo true…..i have been working on a pretty intense routine for my purple belt ceremony in a few months where I have pain stakingly written out over 80 position moves, escapes, attacks. Forcing me to explain it on paper so that I can excecute with excellent detail. My knowledge and understanding of fine details has grown so much that it is difficult to feel that I am worthy of purple. Huge growth over that last few weeks
Yeah really engaging in thinking and talking about the positions and organizing in your head changes your deep understanding and really makes you much better and making good decision on the mat fast when you need to
This is great advice and makes a ton of sense. It’s what I do with my job, but never thought of actually doing something similar here in BJJ. Thank you!
Yeah honestly I do it all the time with so many problems. Once I really started thinking about how helpful it was I started intentionally making more time for it in my schedule.
Thank you for this video. I work in the medical field as an RN for about 23 years and this is how we train real life scenario in the hospital where time is of the essence in saving a life; I also have been using this same approach in my bjj learning for the past 7 years of the 13 years I have been practicing as it seems to fit my learning style better. Thanks again for sharing this as I was not even conscious that I was doing this til now.
Thanks a lot for letting me know! It’s really interesting to see how many different fields who work under high pressure use similar training habits I have had pilots explain that’s how they work as well.
Couldn't agree more. In Fact i prefer this approach. I'm the guy who is always saying "Hey mind if i try something" or "Let's workshop something"...then go through it asking qauestions along the way to understand how/why things are or are not working..
Exactly this when done over years ends up with an insane level of knowledge that can’t be replaced. Of course hard training matters too, but you can only do so much this off the mat time makes the difference.
I actually do the same exact thing in my own mind.... where sometimes a go into my roll and start thinking of that pass I should've try or that submission I missed, and it works so well and give me a purpose in future rolls.
Absolutely thinking on positions and reflection is a huge difference between a lot of people that improve and don’t. Some people just turn it off when they leave the gym, which is fine if it’s just a hobby but if you have goals to compete and improve faster it’s critical to think a lot off the mat.
Curios about this because this is me constantly wanting to understand the move in all its possiblities and then where can it go wrong but i feel like i annoy my instructor alot aswell and even when im doing it with people on the mat sometimes it seems like they just wanna roll
Wise words Professor. Completely agree. Thanks for all the content you put out, it's been game changing for one or two of my regular training partners.
Absolutely they go hand and hand. After good conversations on positions I think about the positions a lot. Also after I think of a new idea I often call a friend and discuss it.
I think what you're saying if I am understanding you correctly is verbally saying what you are doing and thinking. Which is very important. You need to know when you are in a closed loop or open loop thinking. All great championship fighters do this. They see what they want to do in their mind visualization and talk themselves through what they are Doing or want to do. A form of NLP, neural-linguistic programming. Good stuff thank you.
Yeah definitely this. I sharpens your memory for positions but also makes you consider different variables you didn’t before. So many benefits and no extra time in mat if you do it couple times a week it will help a lot over long time.
This is a common problem for people I talk with. You need to take the time to talk after class and be proactive in trying to find someone you can get to do this, even if you have to convert them into the idea. Or try to find someone from another gym, it’s worth the effort once you find someone. You just gotta be a bit pushy
Always great content professor! Question: I always have difficulty of employing/doing my game (attacking) during rolls and even on competitions, specially on fast opponents. for example, I really want to do full guard on a match but during the match my opponent/s always does go full guard on me first making me on the defensive trying to be on the offensive. I hope my question make sense professor. Thanks in advance and more power to the channel!
Hey buddy great question I will answer it in a talking video as it’s good topic. I might post it in other channel but we will see. Difficult to answer through text.
HI Jon, Do you think that the philosophy that only black belts should teach people, and learning something from a blue/ purple belt is wrong halts this form of sharing ideas? I know sometimes if a white belt does something wrong, that I'm pretty sure I know a better reaction for, I'm still hesitant to help as don't want to be seen to be thinking I'm the teacher/ giving the wrong info.
You can absolutely help people if you aren’t a black belt. Black belt doesn’t mean you are or are not knowledgeable in specific positions. All the time I ask blue and purple belts for the perspective and details on how they respond in positions. The main thing when giving advice is that you are competent and a give assessment or what you know and don’t. Just explain to them “ This is how I like to do it here, of course there are other ways, but this is working well for me right now”. Don’t tell them that your way is “the right way” just give perspective. Al the time I look at advice I gave a year ago and I’m like oh I wouldn’t say that now or I would do that differently. You will never “know” jiu jitsu so just share what you know now and don’t be authoritarian about your suggestions.
100% yes! You need to flow roll, have a cerebral roll, where your brain can connect the physical position. These sessions are actually rare imo but are where the most “light bulb” moments happen.
So let’s do some conversational jiu jitsu! How about you and Sebastian or one of your other friends do a podcast or video of conversational bjj. Thank you!!!
Would love to do a podcast with serpa and espen on this, would probably put that on the second channel as I feel if we go really in-depth a lot of people are going to check out mentally lol. For the really serious people though they will like it a lot.
There is something about those with the name John (Jon) that succeed so well at communicating the nuances of Jiu Jitsu in a a very concise thoughtful way. So the moral of the story is when your not training Jiu Jitsu, go to the local government office and change your name to Jon. The only thing the other John has is a good mock channel @donjohnaher. So... team mates.. .you need to step up 😅🤣😂
Love your videos, but you can’t be saying “spastic” or “spaz” anymore. This has been deemed a deeply offensive term for a long time now. I’m sure you wouldn’t knowingly try to be offensive but I it seems to be a problem in BJJ, especially in the US.
@@noahheinrich6382 I wouldn’t be surprised if he had taken at one point, the only natural guy I know for sure who doesn’t even compete anymore anyway was Keenan
It’s so unfair that we have you Jon. The amount of high-level content you have dropped over the years is insane. Thanks!
I’m more lucky to get to have a life where I get to share what I love to do with people, they appreciate it and allows me to have a living. Thanks so much for support
Jon is the man
This is really well understood in climbing. Being chatty and conversational about problems is how you dial in on what you are missing. Mistakes are usually obvious to someone watching you because most of the time we are to close to the problem to see what we are doing wrong.
One hundred percent, it’s so easy and fun too. When I get bored I just call a friend and talk about positions and it always helps organize it in my head.
As a beginner blue belt with little time on the mat of late (I am a law enforcement supervisor) this advice is priceless. Looking forward to retirement in 2 years will free up time so I can train to my hearts content!
Thank you for this!!
Soooo true…..i have been working on a pretty intense routine for my purple belt ceremony in a few months where I have pain stakingly written out over 80 position moves, escapes, attacks. Forcing me to explain it on paper so that I can excecute with excellent detail. My knowledge and understanding of fine details has grown so much that it is difficult to feel that I am worthy of purple. Huge growth over that last few weeks
Yeah really engaging in thinking and talking about the positions and organizing in your head changes your deep understanding and really makes you much better and making good decision on the mat fast when you need to
This is great advice and makes a ton of sense. It’s what I do with my job, but never thought of actually doing something similar here in BJJ.
Thank you!
Yeah honestly I do it all the time with so many problems. Once I really started thinking about how helpful it was I started intentionally making more time for it in my schedule.
Thank you for this video. I work in the medical field as an RN for about 23 years and this is how we train real life scenario in the hospital where time is of the essence in saving a life; I also have been using this same approach in my bjj learning for the past 7 years of the 13 years I have been practicing as it seems to fit my learning style better. Thanks again for sharing this as I was not even conscious that I was doing this til now.
Thanks a lot for letting me know! It’s really interesting to see how many different fields who work under high pressure use similar training habits I have had pilots explain that’s how they work as well.
Couldn't agree more. In Fact i prefer this approach. I'm the guy who is always saying "Hey mind if i try something" or "Let's workshop something"...then go through it asking qauestions along the way to understand how/why things are or are not working..
Exactly this when done over years ends up with an insane level of knowledge that can’t be replaced. Of course hard training matters too, but you can only do so much this off the mat time makes the difference.
One of my coaches calls this doing your homework. Loving all of your latest content, sir
The content of this video is absolutely amazing. The audio quality, on the other hand...
was traveling didn't have the best mic set up. Figured was better to post than not though.
I actually do the same exact thing in my own mind.... where sometimes a go into my roll and start thinking of that pass I should've try or that submission I missed, and it works so well and give me a purpose in future rolls.
Absolutely thinking on positions and reflection is a huge difference between a lot of people that improve and don’t. Some people just turn it off when they leave the gym, which is fine if it’s just a hobby but if you have goals to compete and improve faster it’s critical to think a lot off the mat.
My first thought of “conversation jiu jitsu” is friendly trash talk during rounds with your friends 😅
Incredible video.
Curios about this because this is me constantly wanting to understand the move in all its possiblities and then where can it go wrong but i feel like i annoy my instructor alot aswell and even when im doing it with people on the mat sometimes it seems like they just wanna roll
Thank you, will be doing more of this. Got a ticket for one of your seminars in Toronto next month, super looking forward to that!
Excited to be there buddy!! Let me know when I am there will be nice to meet you!
thanks for all your help jon
No problem happy to help!
Wise words Professor. Completely agree. Thanks for all the content you put out, it's been game changing for one or two of my regular training partners.
So happy to hear it! It matters a lot to me that people are actually improving because of the videos. So that’s the best thing to hear.
You just gave me the aha moment, you give really good advice on learning how to level up in jiu jitsu.
Thanks a lot buddy! Happy this video helped that click for you! Will do more soon!
Yeah, totally agree. Gotta take advantage of all the ways to gain and integrate new information.
Yeah it makes a tremendous difference in the off time, and is a fun way to pass the time just calling a friend to talk jiu jitsu,
Absolutely fantastic video, Jon! You've made such great points here and explained them so clearly!
Thanks a lot buddy appreciate it!
@@JonThomasBJJ You're very welcome!
Great concept and video, thank you!
Thank you too! Has been fun sharing them
thank you for the contents!
Great channel, great advise, great instructor!
This is awesome. I'm going to be doing this . Thank you 🥋🙌
Hope it changes how you see the game. Over a long period of time this will take you to next level
Awesome advice!
I had the pleasure of trained with Jon in Atlanta super smart instructor
Well said
Thank you!
Happy to help!
Is there a way to integrate this type of "conversation" into warm ups or drills?
Thank you very much, im a white belt. Things from you funcioned very well and it looks like that i safe lifetime
Do you think conversational jiu-jitsu and visualizing rolls and specific scenarios compliment each other?
Absolutely they go hand and hand. After good conversations on positions I think about the positions a lot. Also after I think of a new idea I often call a friend and discuss it.
I think what you're saying if I am understanding you correctly is verbally saying what you are doing and thinking. Which is very important. You need to know when you are in a closed loop or open loop thinking. All great championship fighters do this. They see what they want to do in their mind visualization and talk themselves through what they are
Doing or want to do. A form of NLP, neural-linguistic programming. Good stuff thank you.
Yeah definitely this. I sharpens your memory for positions but also makes you consider different variables you didn’t before. So many benefits and no extra time in mat if you do it couple times a week it will help a lot over long time.
Love this
Thank you so much!
At my gym everyone just wants to roll hard. What do I do if I don't have a partner to positionally spar with?
This is a common problem for people I talk with. You need to take the time to talk after class and be proactive in trying to find someone you can get to do this, even if you have to convert them into the idea. Or try to find someone from another gym, it’s worth the effort once you find someone. You just gotta be a bit pushy
@@JonThomasBJJ Thanks for the encouragement. I know I can be more proactive about it instead of just complaining.
Thank you!!!
No problem!
Always great content professor!
Question: I always have difficulty of employing/doing my game (attacking) during rolls and even on competitions, specially on fast opponents. for example, I really want to do full guard on a match but during the match my opponent/s always does go full guard on me first making me on the defensive trying to be on the offensive. I hope my question make sense professor. Thanks in advance and more power to the channel!
Hey buddy great question I will answer it in a talking video as it’s good topic. I might post it in other channel but we will see. Difficult to answer through text.
HI Jon,
Do you think that the philosophy that only black belts should teach people, and learning something from a blue/ purple belt is wrong halts this form of sharing ideas?
I know sometimes if a white belt does something wrong, that I'm pretty sure I know a better reaction for, I'm still hesitant to help as don't want to be seen to be thinking I'm the teacher/ giving the wrong info.
You can absolutely help people if you aren’t a black belt. Black belt doesn’t mean you are or are not knowledgeable in specific positions. All the time I ask blue and purple belts for the perspective and details on how they respond in positions. The main thing when giving advice is that you are competent and a give assessment or what you know and don’t. Just explain to them “ This is how I like to do it here, of course there are other ways, but this is working well for me right now”. Don’t tell them that your way is “the right way” just give perspective. Al the time I look at advice I gave a year ago and I’m like oh I wouldn’t say that now or I would do that differently. You will never “know” jiu jitsu so just share what you know now and don’t be authoritarian about your suggestions.
100% yes! You need to flow roll, have a cerebral roll, where your brain can connect the physical position. These sessions are actually rare imo but are where the most “light bulb” moments happen.
Absolutely most of my major breakthrough have come after long periods of reflection trying to distill positions down to their key components.
Lex Fridman has got to get you on his podcast.
Would be cool to meet and chat with him !
"JonThomasBJJClips" needs to be written on screen. Also. Please make a link. I'm already there, professor!
He buddy I spoke wrong. It’s JonThomasBJJ Plus. I put the link in the description.
true
Simple but true
So let’s do some conversational jiu jitsu! How about you and Sebastian or one of your other friends do a podcast or video of conversational bjj. Thank you!!!
Would love to do a podcast with serpa and espen on this, would probably put that on the second channel as I feel if we go really in-depth a lot of people are going to check out mentally lol. For the really serious people though they will like it a lot.
Do you have a school I can come visit you at? I tried messaging you on Reddit
Hey buddy I’m often in Gothenburg sweden training that’s where you will usually find me.
Gym is called fighter Centre
💪
Here I thought the common thing about top athletes was PED's.
There is something about those with the name John (Jon) that succeed so well at communicating the nuances of Jiu Jitsu in a a very concise thoughtful way. So the moral of the story is when your not training Jiu Jitsu, go to the local government office and change your name to Jon. The only thing the other John has is a good mock channel @donjohnaher. So... team mates.. .you need to step up 😅🤣😂
Hahah I guess I need to thank my parents. Really appreciate the message and I’ll definitely get to work on the mock channel lol.
Love your videos, but you can’t be saying “spastic” or “spaz” anymore. This has been deemed a deeply offensive term for a long time now. I’m sure you wouldn’t knowingly try to be offensive but I it seems to be a problem in BJJ, especially in the US.
We do not care in BJJ. Act like a spastic white belt, get called a spastic white belt.
Steroids?
Definitely gonna do one on this topic!
@@JonThomasBJJ do you think one could become world champion at black belt level without steroids?
@@squidguard1 Yup. Big Mikey Musumeci.
@@noahheinrich6382 I wouldn’t be surprised if he had taken at one point, the only natural guy I know for sure who doesn’t even compete anymore anyway was Keenan
@@squidguard1Rutolo brothers
Is this an ad for @bjjmm?
Haha might as well be! I’m gonna do a podcast with them soon