Introduction
Hello this is Sa again and I’m back and excited to share with you a recap of my 2nd month of taking upon myself to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I started out a complete beginner in grappling and getting choked left and right on the sweaty battle fields of the mat the first month but by the second month I have notice a lot of growth and changes so let’s go!
Table of Contents
- A. Learning Curve in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Organizing information
- Building on Knowledge
- Adapting to Obstacles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Bicep and Neck Soreness
- Ear and Mouth Injuries
- Attainment of a Relaxed Mental Coolness in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Confidence
- Perspective-Taking
Learning Curve in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Two key takeaways from helping me understand BJJ are labeling and organization of information as well as continue to build on acquired knowledge.
Labeling and Organization of Information
First and foremost, I can remember being the guy who just didn’t have a clue on a lot of things. I didn’t know the terminologies used like; “Get in the the guard!” There were some techniques with no names to them. Also, I’d get a total brain fart when it’s turn to drill in the technique taught as to how to go about executing the move. There’s actually a lot of details involve in BJJ. The beginning stages was not fun whatsoever. Even when some blue belts were giving me some tips on a technique, I’d just nod my head but didn’t get a full grasp of the idea (no pun intended). I heard from a blue belt to just keep going to class everyday like I have been (5 days a week) and I’ll eventually pick it up. Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu requires patience like any other skill.
What I find that helped me was asking questions in class. I’d asked; “What is that called?” to find out the name of the positions or chokes. It definitely helps to hear coach using layman terms such as “turtle,” “push the pedal,” or “shave his neck” when explaining. In addition, after class I tried to visualize the moves that was taught. And another tip that helped me most was to write down what I had learn and how to execute the move as if I was teaching it with paper and pen, keeping a record in a journal. I would organize what I learn under categories such as chokes, positions, escapes, sweeps, takedowns, etc.
I started to realize that BJJ is a full body art of fighting with intricate details to make some chokes or techniques work. Unlike striking which consists of simply punching or kicking that BJJ required manipulation of a combination of my limbs with minute detail placement. It teaches body and spatial awareness.
Continue to Build on Acquired Knowledge
Because I started to organize BJJ information it made it a lot easier to build upon the knowledge. Every class I would try to come away with a nugget or tip not only learning from Coach but from my sparing partners. It’s definitely a cool community as everyone is giving each other tips even though we are rolling or “fighting” against one another on the mat.
It’s like organizing a puzzle to make a big picture. Once I learn what the name of the positions are I can add upon them to make the pieces fit together. With any subject the foundations are important. In BJJ what I would consider your basic foundations are the terminology which includes different positions then knowing which positions are dominate or not. Follow by how to go from one position to another. Then once you know the different positions you also learn about which chokes you can do in each position. After that you learn how to escape from each position. To build on knowledge be consistent going to class to acquire more knowledge, ask good questions, and roll on the mat for experience.
With the acquired knowledge, building on top of it helped me follow in class instructions easily – I can now see a technique and replicate it in detail.
Adapting to Obstacles in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Soreness and injuries can takeout a BJJ practitioner from practicing the art for the long haul that is why these obstacles need to be in check.
Bicep and Neck Soreness
During my first month of BJJ/Muy Thai there were days where my biceps were so sore yet I stayed back for Muy Thai. I’m talking about biceps being so sored that they felt like deadweight and I couldn’t even keep my hands up for Muy Thai. I learn that my soreness came from me using all my upper body strength because I didn’t know techniques. Imagine being crushed under an elephant and trying to push it off. Even a 12-year-old girl was pinning on top of me and I didn’t know how to get off. Using my full upper body strength not only did not work to get her off me but added to the soreness. But that also goes to show how effective BJJ is on the ground if a 12-year-old can pin me down (I weight about 145lbs).
The solution to bicep soreness is to learn how to “escape” or get out of locks and tough positions. Another tip is to only spar against your weight class.
On top of the bicep soreness was soreness around the neck. It got so sore I sought out a massage therapist. The reason for this soreness is because a lot of the times we are on our back on the ground defending or trying to get on top to a better position. It’s like doing sit-ups constantly without knowing that you are doing sit-ups. Plus, your sparring partner would likely try to choke your neck with the rear naked choke or the guillotine. Since I was a newbie in the first month, I didn’t know that I could simply defend by blocking my neck and tucking in my chin therefore I kept getting my neck squeezed.
Now I only get sore around my neck occasionally and when I do, I don’t force it by staying back for Muy Thai or continue going to class. The bicep soreness stopped because I apply techniques rather than pushing off with muscles. I rest and recover when the neck soreness gets out of hand. Also, during the first month Coach would allow us to pair up with any weight division – this was always an uphill battle for me as one of the few a welter weights amongst a handful of heavy weights. Now he suggests we pair up with our own weight class which makes a big difference in sparing too. This is how I overcome the obstacle dealing with bicep and neck soreness.
Ear and Mouth Injuries
The main injury I received was a hematoma to the ear or cauliflower ear from rolling daily the first month but what really did it was getting a lot into headlocks, triangles, and then face planting ear first onto the mat one day. I will not go into great detail about here but you can read about it in my cauliflower treatment post. In short, I bought materials to drain my cauliflower ear, Caulibuds, and Roar ear guard.
The second injury were incisions to the mouth since I got braces the second month. This was solved with a mouth piece designed for braces. In generally I would highly recommend wearing a mouth piece during sparing because I have had bit my tongue when a partner headbutted me to where I was bleeding. It was painful to eat anything after that and you know you need to be well nourished before any type of exercise… Talking was also excruciatin. A decent mouth guard will also protect your teeth from grinding top to bottom.
Attainment of a Relaxed Mental Coolness in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Last but definitely not least is the attainment of this wonderful state of mind which I called the state of relaxed mental coolness. Maybe the right term could be Zen but what I mean is this sense of calmness under high pressure such as sparing with an aggressive opponent. You know the calmness before the storm like Storm Shadow 😊? In this state I feel relaxed and cool perhaps because I am confident to deal with anything an opponent has to pull out in his arsenal of chokes on the mat. I became aware of my calm and coolness state after rolling with some newcomers who visited the gym.
New Sense of Confidence
I got this new sense of confidence because I have grown so much from the first couple of weeks I came to class. Having been able to apply the techniques learned successfully in class keeps me wanting to learn more and boost my confidence when I can choke my sparring partner or escape from his/her chokes.
It’s the ability to know that I can defend myself with my striking background as well as handle ground fighting by pinning someone down someone if push comes to shove.
It’s the vibe that a fighter gives off as he moves slowly, yet deliberately from one room to the other with head held high and a relaxed shoulder. He has great situational awareness, spatial awareness, and is in full control of his body.
Perspective-Taking
It was not until I started seeing newcomers and sparing with them that I noticed how much they reminded me of myself. They were very frantic like a crazy cockroach trying to make headway to the shadows when lights turn on. They didn’t know how to choke or what to do to get to a dominant position.
I drilled some techniques with someone on his second day compared to myself who have been training for two months and also saw how he behaved like myself in the beginning, missing minute details in executing techniques.
Generally, the newcomers are not used to the high pressure when rolling on the mat. I was like this – I had never done BJJ before and would be very gentle whereas my more experienced training partners would be very aggressive and pretty much man-handled me. But throughout I started to acquire the sense of aggression and dominance gained by sparing with the more experienced partners. Also, they were very calm and cool dominating top positions and switching positions with ease.
So now when I roll with a blue belt or any belt I smile, breath, flow, and have fun in my relaxed mental coolness state of mind knowing that “everything will be alright” as Bob Marley would say.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed the recap of the growth that I have attained through training BJJ for two months. As you can see, I love to learn and grow on this journey. It’s definitely a beautiful process from trying something new and then looking back to see how far I have grown.
Do you remember your first time trying out BJJ and then how was that compared to when things started to click?
