Showing posts with label Brazilian JiuJitsu BJJ Melbourne. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brazilian JiuJitsu BJJ Melbourne. Show all posts

Sunday 7 May 2023

Long Term BJJ Training

Eleven years ago since I got my black belt and I thought this would be useful advice for anyone who is in the earlier stages of their JiuJitsu training. 

Although it’s definitely important to have goals I think it’s also important to realise that goal setting will only get you so far. You have to enjoy the training in order to stick with it and to train consistently. 

Most people won’t really enjoy training, they might enjoy it for the first few weeks or months but after that the novelty will wear off. 

That’s why all the gradings and coloured belts in martial Arts were invented in the first place. To motivate people into training consistently because they feel they will get some kind of tangible reward at the end. 

The bad news is these rewards can be meaningless and don’t really work. If you don’t train consistently you won’t make progress and if you don’t make any progress you won’t enjoy the training. 

Even after you reach a major milestone such as a black belt you realise that you still need to keep training to maintain and improve on the progress you have made. The longer you train the smaller increments of progress you will make and the time between these improvements seems longer. 

Real Martial arts and combat sports training is tough and it isn’t for everyone. I think most people will figure out within a few weeks of their first sessions whether they want to do this long-term or not. 

To me, martial arts is a lifelong pursuit. It’s about gradually improving my skill level, understanding and ability even if it’s only a small amount every year for as long as I possibly can. 

Friday 1 July 2022

My BJJ grading criteria

BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU GRADING REQUIREMENTS 

BJJ Melbourne

After my last article, I have been asked what I would consider the criteria & benchmarks for progression through the ranks to black belt in BJJ. Obviously as previously discussed there are no standard grading criteria across the board in BJJ. The requirements can vary greatly from school to school. But here are some of the things which I consider most important and useful when deciding if a student is ready for promotion:
Consistent attendance:
I only grade students who train regularly and consistently. Jiu-Jitsu isn't something you do every day for two months and then take six months off. Promoting students who train like this would send the wrong message to the consistent students. Ultimately this would damage everyone's chances of progressing. Regular attendance is important, but the student must also be improving.
However, if they are regularly attending training and still aren't improving, then it implies my coaching is ineffective. Those who come to class regularly will improve, and it has nothing to do with how talented they are or even how good I am at coaching, it has more to do with Jiujitsu being such an effective system that practically anyone can develop the skills with dedicated practice.
Success in Competition:
Competition is one of the easiest and most reliable indicators of your ability. If you win your division in a decent-sized competition. (Ie. you won several matches to get to the final) then in my opinion you deserve to get promoted to your next belt.
I don’t see any point in holding students back so they can keep winning white belt divisions again and again.
Sparring Performance at the gym:
The majority of BJJ students have very little interest in competition. Most just want to learn and develop the skills. Sparring in class is how they gauge their improvement.
Rolling in the gym isn’t the same as competing in a tournament. There isn’t the same level of intensity or pressure. Instead of trying to win at all costs, the best competitor in the gym might be working on his weak areas or trying out new strategies. If a non-competitor student can consistently hold their own against students with a higher belt, then it is obvious they should also be promoted to the next belt.
Technical Ability:
Some students can do well in competition at the lower belt levels or do well in sparring at the gym but if they rely more on their strength and athleticism rather than really understanding techniques then in my opinion they aren’t ready to progress to the next belt. Demonstrating and executing JiuJitsu techniques correctly rather than just muscling through them is essential. i
How you Roll:
Being able to roll or spar properly is important for progression in most styles of martial arts but especially in Jiujitsu. There are very few advanced techniques in BJJ. In other martial arts, you don't learn certain advanced techniques until you reach a certain belt or rank. In BJJ you generally learn everything at the same time, but what changes is the way you roll.
Beginners often roll in an uncoordinated way and hurt their training partners with accidental elbows and headbutts. Experienced grapplers roll in a smooth and controlled manner avoiding erratic unpredictable movements and without cranking on submissions. They know how to apply as much or as little pressure and energy as it takes to achieve the objective. They don't try to bully or dominate the lower belts.
Being a good fit for the Gym:
It could be argued that this may be a selfish motive for the coach to promote students, for after all, what difference does it make what the student's attitude is, so long as they are winning medals and can beat everyone at training?
As mentioned previously the majority of BJJ students don’t care about competition. Very few could tell you who the current world champions are let alone the champions from five years ago. In order to learn BJJ, you'll need to surround yourself with a supportive team. Establishing the right team culture is crucial. If one student has the wrong attitude, it can bring the entire team down, so having the right attitude and mentality is more important than talent or medals.
Fitting in with the culture of our school is a very important factor for me. Having students who win competitions is important, but it is not important enough to spend hours every night with people you do not like because of their attitude or because they are competing or training for the wrong reasons. In addition, I've found that these types of people result in the gym losing more members.


Thursday 30 June 2022

Bushido Amateur MMA Melbourne




https://www.eventbrite.com.au/.../bushido-contenders...

Next Bushido Contenders amateur mma event is coming up on Saturday 9th July.
This is undoubtedly the best first step for any aspiring MMA fighter or for any martial artist wishing to test their skills and training under a safe modified MMA rule set.
Bushido Contenders is the perfect first step for any aspiring MMA athlete and many of the fighters who have gone on to have success on the local fight scene began their fight careers on this event.


Rule Changes for Teens MMA.
The next Bushido Contenders Amateur MMA Competition is coming up on Saturday 9th July at Australian Combat Sports Academy.
After consulting with some of the coaches who have been supporting our events over the last few years we have decided to make the following rule changes for the under 18 year olds division.
All matches will be 70% contact. Referees will give a warning for excessive contact and second warning will lead to disqualification.
All matches will still be 2 x 3 minute rounds however a submission will end the round but not the match. Ie. if one fighter gets subbed in the first round, we have one minute round break then another round.
As with adult matches all takedowns and Submissions must be applied in a controlled manner to avoid injuring the opponent.
We hope that by bringing in these rules we can encourage more teens to take part and also make it a more useful experience for everyone.

Sign up via this Link:

How to get your BJJ Black Belt.


                                    

BJJ differs from other martial arts in that there are no clear requirements for getting your black belt or if there are, they vary from school to school. 

https://acsamelbourne.com.au/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-classes/

Other traditional martial arts, on the other hand, usually have very clear-cut criteria about what you need to do to achieve each belt on the way to becoming a black belt. In karate, for example, there are certain techniques you have to be able to demonstrate and katas you have to perform before you can move up a belt. Even in Judo, which is the closest thing to BJJ, there is a progression path used all over the world for accumulating competition points, demonstrating certain techniques, and then performing the Nage no Kata to obtain a black belt.
Grading requirements can vary greatly from place to place in BJJ. Some schools measure belt advancement solely by the amount of time served and classes attended, while others focus on the number of techniques demonstrated for each belt. Others, such as my original academy (Carlson Gracie London), based belt progression on performance in competition. If you didn’t win a tournament at your current belt then you don’t progress to your next belt.
Your instructors will pick the best grading criteria that work for them, and your school will probably have its own variant, but in general, there are several keys to making progress in BJJ.
Don't focus on the belt.
Instead, focus on improving and learning. It usually takes 8-10 years of consistent training to achieve black belt status. Some people get it faster if they train full-time. Others, like myself, will take longer. (12 years in my case). If you enjoy the training and it becomes a part of your life, you won't care if it takes 3 years or 25 years. The journey is more important than the destination.
Avoid Burn-Out
Aim to train consistently rather than overdo it at the start. Don’t train 7 days a week for 3 months and then quit. Train 3 times a week for 7 years and then you’ll achieve your goals.
Compete.
I’ve been training in BJJ for approximately 22 years. The people who compete always make more progress and stick with their training. You don’t have to be a full-time competitor or quit your job to focus on BJJ competition but my advice would be to compete at least a few times at each belt level along the way to get accurate feedback on your strengths and weaknesses. 5 to 10 minutes in real competition can be the same as 6 months of relaxed training in terms of your development.
Real Training
Be clear about what counts as training time. If you’ve been training in BJJ for 8 years but have had several 6-month breaks or periods where you only trained once a fortnight then that doesn’t count as 8 years of training. Also, if your training session consists of you trying to overpower and tap out the new white belts rather than focusing on your learning and development then that also doesn’t count as real training.
Be a good training partner.
Your coach has your best interests at heart. They want you to make progress and eventually get your black belt because it reaffirms to them that they are doing a good job as a coach. However, they also want what’s best for the other nineteen students on the mat. If you’re a crappy training partner or even worse a dangerous training partner who risks injuring the other students there’s a good chance the coach doesn’t want you on the mats and won’t promote you. Learning how to be a good training partner is perhaps the most important BJJ skill you can learn.


Come try out my BJJ classes at Australian Combat Sports Academy in Thornbury, Melbourne.

https://acsamelbourne.com.au/brazilian-jiu-jitsu-classes/

Long Term BJJ Training

Eleven years ago since I got my black belt and I thought this would be useful advice for anyone who is in the earlier stages of their JiuJi...

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