The Brutal Reality Of Starting Jiu Jitsu

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Welcome And Voicemail Questions

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Hey, what's up? Welcome to the Bulletproof for BJJ QA episode. We got questions from you guys. We're going to answer them. We do three every episode. If you have a burning question about anything related to your jujitsu, to the gym politics, to your strength and conditioning or your flexibility or anything in between, fire away so we can f we can post it on the show and we can answer it for you. Because I guarantee there would be other folks out there that have the same question in their mind.

SPEAKER_03 0:25

For sure.

SPEAKER_04 0:26

This is the beauty of the community piece. All you got to do is go to bulletproof at BJJ.com, hit the podcast page and record us a voicemail there. We appreciate it.

Starting A Midday Class

SPEAKER_04 0:34

First one today coming in from Andrew States.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Uh calling to see if I can get a little bit of advice from you guys in the situation I found myself in. Long time listener to the podcast, love the show, love the material. I'm on the program, getting stronger, mobile, more mobile every day. So thanks for that. Uh so my work schedule recently changed, and I'm working 2 p.m. to midnight. So that excludes me from partaking in most of the evening classes. That's uh and my gym only offers evening classes. It got to the point where I started to look at other gyms, but I'm a loyal member of the gym. I love our program. The people are great, the settings are great, so no complaints. I want to see stay a member of the family. But uh that being said, I went to the coach and they've allowed me to start a midday program, which I think is really exciting. But my conundrum is I'm a humble two-striped blue belt. So maybe it's a self-confidence or how I'm gonna garner respect or things of that nature, right? To be in a position to like teach or lead. Uh but I do have a vast amount of experience in powerlifting, strength, conditioning. 15 years in the United States Marine Corps. Oh, yeah. So that all leading a group is not foreign to me, but in the jujitsu setting, of course it is. So maybe it's just reiterating techniques I've learned in the previous week's classes and things of that nature. So yeah. Hopefully, y'all can help me out. Thanks, guys. Please keep up the content.

SPEAKER_04 2:00

Andrew, you're a legend. Thanks for your question, brother. How good. Sounds like Andrew's just a fucking unit. He sounds like a rig. People come midday. That sounds relaxing. And then it's just like, ah, next. Let me show you how to body sleep. Yeah. Man, it's a tough position to be in. Look, I think um the first thing is that um no one like no one should question your loyalty if you were to make the decision that you have to go and train elsewhere in order to further your jiu-jitsu. Because you are you're at a uh at a precarious stage where you might feel equipped to teach, or as a bluebird, you might feel really underprepared for that. And it might just be the case that you need to be under a coach more directly, right? I know my coach Adam, our friend, said to me when I moved away from the area which our gym was in originally, he said, Hey man, if you need to leave the gym and train somewhere else, like do whatever you got to do for your jujitsu, I will totally support that. And I think that any good coach should be able to have like say such a thing to you. Um, so you know, loyalty aside, I think if that's what you got to do for your jits, that's what you got to do. With that said, if you feel confident in being able to um rehash techniques that you learned last week in the class this week, I'm I also think that's very effective. And if you feel like like that's probably gonna help you to learn the things even better because you're then reiterating them and teaching it to others, which as we know is like pivotal in learning, um, that could actually be a really good solution for you as well. And so I think, you know, maybe give it a go, run it for a few months and see. I just fear that you might not get the number of people that you want at that potentially, you you know, you don't get the traction and it's a bit of a lackluster thing, and but that will remain to be seen.

SPEAKER_03 3:47

Yeah. No, I I agree with Joey on the learning piece. Um you, you know, you you may not be familiar with Jamie Oliver, who at one stage was a very popular chef. And a big thing of him, um, one of one of his shows was he would show people how to cook a particular dish and then he would make them go and teach it to someone else. Oh, that's that was like the lesson to ingrain it, that they had to then take whatever his expert chef rules were and give it to someone else. And that really not only reinforced the the knowledge, but it also passed it on because he was trying to make more people eat healthier in England. Um, so I think you teaching will help your jujitsu, but it sounds like you are a man of experience. You're a marine, you're a power lifter, like you sound like a fucking unit. And in that way, you life has you have earned your leadership stripes. Like you can't have done the those hard things and not learnt many good lessons in leadership. And really, leadership is about facilitating others, as much as you know, you're there to help people with their jujitsu understanding, you're there to help others participate in the thing. So being the facilitator, it sounds like you already have a really good grounding for that. And I think you should, you know, in in not an overconfident way, but just trust that you've got really good experience and that obviously your jujitsu is a work in progress as it is for anyone. As long as you're getting an opportunity to learn, not just um teach. Like yeah, as long as you get to train too. There's got to be an element of you still developing. It can't just be like, oh, I'm just here to help everyone else. So I think like what Joey was saying about you finding a way, whether it's at a different school or however it goes through your work schedule, you would still need time to develop your own jujitsu as well as help others. But I think there should be no need for like a lack of confidence there.

SPEAKER_04 5:47

Yeah, and we've said it before that you know, people like we get taught too many techniques in jujitsu. So actually spending a lot of time on just the one thing and not changing very often goes a really long way for everyone involved. Yeah, for sure. So and you could be you could be opening up jujitsu training for people that weren't able to get to the evenings, right? That's right. Could be a whole crew.

SPEAKER_03 6:06

That's awesome, man. Well, best of luck with that. Let's know how you go in a

Building Safer Gym Culture

SPEAKER_03 6:09

couple weeks.

SPEAKER_04 6:09

Next one coming in, we've got no name here. Secret.

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Hello, Joey and JT. I have been listening to your podcast for a few years. Oh, awesome. With the current turmoil of the DJJ community talking about power dynamics, sexual abuses, um, just in general, how it's a very sad situation. Um I'm hoping to hear from you too, you're very experienced in this area to share some good practices of how a gym could be run and how people could help to prevent, mitigate, and avoid such sad stories from happening from the very beginning. My name is Emil. I train in the United States. I've been training for several years. My gym is extremely clean, that's why it bothers me to hear all these stories of people getting hurt and huge bad reputation for our sport, for our martial art. Look forward to hearing from you about your perspectives and how you run your side of MO.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

Big question. Big question. So we did totally agree. Big fucking problem. Yeah, we look, we we had our um extensive chat uh with uh bit Doctor Bridget, and which which was probably uh just after you shared us this message. Yeah. And and look, actually, this had had um this had kind of uh thinking around this idea, these ideas, this problem, this issue, it is, you know, humans are as great as they are, terrible, whether it be in jiu-jitsu or any other aspect in life. I think jujitsu is just it's so uh it's I I feel, and and and there's been a few people like comments in the show and stuff, people saying, Oh, this isn't a jiu-jitsu problem, this is a society problem. And yes, you could you could say that. You could definitely say that, right? But I I think that when we talk about power dynamics, the physical nature of jujitsu, there's some people who are saying, Oh, there should only be segregated classes. It's like, well, there I they're sure, sure.

SPEAKER_04 8:49

That's one potential solution in some places.

SPEAKER_03 8:51

I don't know that it necessarily is. No, it's not going to be viable for most places to do, and also not desirable. For myself, uh, just the other day, having been at Crumate, right? There was a lot of different people on the map, but there was all different ages there, and boys and girls, and men and women, and everybody, it was just it felt more like a family barbecue, to be honest. Even though there was perfect strangers there, the culture and the vibe, even though it was plenty of people rolling hard, the the general respect and how people were treating each other was friendly, uh, and and no one was really trying to assert dominance. It was clear who the black belts were, it was clear who the champions were, it was clear who who wasn't. But it the whole vibe for me felt like I was like, oh, this feels like like a family barbecue, you know? And it's like maybe there's some people here you don't know, but everyone's cool. And I I think it is really on the leadership of a gym to be very proactive about that. Now, obviously, if the abuse and and and problems is coming from the leadership, okay, well then it's rotten from the top down. But but I'm saying that like for yourself and and and for anyone out there, I don't run a gym, even though I have experienced hundreds of gyms worldwide. And I believe that you really do need to listen to your gut. So if you walk into a gym and you get a feeling like, oh, that's a bit weird. Like, you know, it's just it's just small, or something feels a bit off about someone. You shouldn't ignore that. And and really you should be, it's not unreasonable for you to say to yourself, well, I didn't. There's something about that place I'm not into. And and and just don't feel free to not go back. Or if you've been training at a place and you feel that the culture has changed, or there's a tipping point where you're like, oh, there's a couple of assholes who train here now. I I had a couple of negative, you know what I mean? Like it's it's I think everyone should feel free to change gyms, mention it to management, do whatever you feel you need to do to be able to navigate yourself. I I can't speak for jujitsu culture as a whole, but what I can say about gyms I love, the people at the top make sure that they look after their people and that people are interacting in a way that they see as being, you know, beneficial for everyone. Yeah, and and that they're very proactive about that.

SPEAKER_04 11:16

So I think um, yeah, it's obviously like and uh this you know, it's kind of insurmountable at this point because there's just more news coming out about such abuse, and even like you see, say, the comments on the the episode we did with Dr. Bridget, um, where there's guys in there that just clearly do not think the same as us. They're like, you know, whatever, women are just making false accusations and you know, male privilege doesn't exist. And you're like, okay, so there's a there's a there's a fundamental problem with um some people's, and I'm gonna say it's largely men's, understanding of the reality of such abuse. And I think that that is probably the largest thing we have to overcome, both in jujitsu, but also societally speaking, is that like men need to understand that there is a problem and that it is largely perpetrated by us, right? And so there is a responsibility for us collectively. It's not that each of us, you know, that every man needs to harbor guilt over this, but it's like collectively we have to be proactive in trying to remedy this thing. And so then I think that, you know, to speak to jujitsu, it's like, well, you would the first thing is that you want the academy owner to have that understanding and to acknowledge that that is a problem. And then you you you would hope that they would have policies or systems in place to manage such a thing. Most jujitsu gyms start in a very organic fashion, right? It's like someone with a bit of skill teaching some people in their garage, then they open a little academy and then they've got some more people and they pick up one of their students, purple belt, they become a teacher, and and it's all very nice when it works out well. But when it turns out that one of them's a fucking scumbag, it turns out really horribly, right? Yeah. And so this is where as a gym, and I can say this, running my own gym, not a jiu-jitsu gym, but running my own gym, it's very easy for a place that has a good culture to end up having a situation where there's one person that is not behaving in a way that is in line with the values of that culture. And so that's where we learned is like, fuck, we actually need to look at our business as a proper organization that has systems in place to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Now, that all requires work and resources and fucking focus and whatever. Um, that is a stretch, right? To for some business owners, right? We, as we know, a lot of jujitsu coaches are just holding the gym together. So, you know, it's a big problem, right? I really do think, though, the primary thing is that acknowledgement and understanding of the reality of the issue is kind of pivotal in the whole piece. Um, sounds like you're at a good spot, which, you know, be thankful for that. That's great. Um, yeah, fuck. I hope that we can have more discussions and that you and your training partners and other people in the jiu-jitsu community can have more discussions over time and without anyone feeling unfairly victimized. But that that men on the whole can be like, yeah, okay, there is a problem here, and we need to like let's look after our sisters and our mothers and our daughters and let's fucking do something about this.

SPEAKER_03 14:22

Yeah. Yeah, I'm with that a hundred percent. Uh, but yeah, hopefully, uh for you, um, that it's your jujitsu journey continues in in a positive way. And uh yeah, I think we're stoked. I I I can say that I I'm really glad that um we have you as a listener and that you uh you are training at a gym that you enjoy. So that's that's positive.

SPEAKER_04 14:44

Yeah, and you know, let your coach know. Like let him know he's doing a great job. If you feel like there's a great culture, like that, hey man, I fucking really appreciate because you know they're just they're probably just doing it, and they just happen to be doing a good job and they're a nice person. But you letting them know that, hey, I really appreciate this place for these reasons, that goes a long way, right? And that pushes that thing forward and positive reinforcement on that.

Electrolytes And Training Snacks

SPEAKER_04 15:05

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SPEAKER_03 16:03

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Beginner Rolling Without Being Reckless

SPEAKER_04 16:43

Ed.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Hi guys, um, massive fan of the show. Thanks for all the awesome content and tips you put out. Um I just wanted your opinion on rolling for beginners. I've been training for not even two months now, so I'm about as fresh as you can get. Um just wanted your opinion on kind of the balance between um just kind of cruising during rolling and you know, learning and also showing a bit of intensity and actually trying to get some submissions and wins. Um I'm finding that if I just kind of go with the flow and cruise and um don't be overly aggressive, I just get submitted every 10 seconds, as you'd expect, for a very fresh white belt. The only way I can kind of last a bit longer and um stay in the role for a bit longer is if I kind of use my like weight a little bit. I'm about 90 kilos, so not a big guy, but um can use that to my advantage sometimes. Um main thing is I just don't want to be that guy who people don't want to roll with because I go too intense or too aggressively. Like I'm really, really conscious about that and not wanting to be uh full turbo. So yeah, just wanted your opinion on the balance and uh any tips will be good. Thanks.

SPEAKER_04 17:54

Awesome. Ed coming in out of left field, busting up. I thought it was gonna be three from three from three for the US today. But no, we got the Australian contingent. Nice holding up the flag, nice to hear the local accent, brother.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

Well, for me, I think speaking of going full turbo, when I when I first started kilos, it's a reasonable size. That's not that's not a small boy, as we say. If I was your coach, I'd be at least calling you a medium boy. Um, mate, the mistake I made when I first started jujitsu through sheer excitement was rolling to the death. Um, just because I just didn't, no one actually told me to go light. I was just getting bashed, and so I was just trying to match that energy. And also just being a competitive person um and just being wildly insecure because I was very bad at jujitsu uh when I first started. Anyway, I think like most of us, the thing that I got from some higher belts, which has kind of helped me and also helped me teach uh beginners, is the survival element, which is defenses. Like you're gonna spend a lot of time in bad positions, but that in and of itself isn't so bad because you actually do get good at escaping, provided you know how to do that. And you also get good at knowing where you're safe and where you're not. And so there hit a point when I reached Bluebelt where I actually started roles in bad positions to get good at defending from there. And that is something I continued later on in my belts. If I was like, right, I keep getting finished, you know, from a guillotine from a front headlock, or I keep getting finished from the back, I need to spend more time here and and and think about it and think about how I can stay safe. So I actually think like my my best piece of advice to you as someone who's new to jujitsu, yes, I think you should learn submissions and all of that. But I think if you can focus on um being able to defend, um, getting out of certain submissions and just being able to like survive, not getting submitted every 10 seconds and and come up with a kind of formidable defense, this will create opportunities for you to then counterattack, attack, etc. But I think that you're gonna spend not you specifically, but anyone who's in their first six months of jujitsu or the first year, you're gonna spend a lot of time in bad positions. You need to get good there. Yep. That's my take.

SPEAKER_04 20:16

Yep. And if you make yourself harder to submit that, like that will be an epic strength for you to have forever in jiu-jitsu.

SPEAKER_03 20:23

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:23

Um, I would say, and and this is advice that I've given. Okay, so advice that I've received and advice I've given one is when you are new as you are, Ed, you don't have technical ability. All you have is like instincts and probably a bit of athleticism and your weight, right? Now, when you're rolling against someone who might be smaller than you, but is of a higher rank, they have more technical ability. So it's like you're choosing your character in Street Fighter and it's got the different, like the different strengths, and you know, and like in that regard, like that person is going to use all of their technical prowess against you. Yep. So in a sense, you have full license to use all of your instinctive athletic prowess, right? Because that's all you got. Now, of course, you you you need to understand that that can change based on like who is the person, what's their age, yeah, what is the size, you know, are you rolling with a woman? Is it someone else's first class? Yeah, you know, all of that. But if you're coming up against uh experienced white belt training partners or colored belts, then you know, I think the onus there is on it's okay for you to do what you got to do. I also think, and this is advice that I've given to um newer training partners at the gym. Uh, I see that these days we're all a lot more respectful. Like generally, people are a lot more respectful of not going super hard all the time. Some and people. I've actually found that with some of the like blue belts that I that I coach, I've had to tell the men like that's really good. Like it's good for you to do that and roll respectfully and keep it chill. With your training partners, but when you roll with me, you have license to go 110% because you need to. Like, I'm better at it than you. I've been doing it for longer. Yeah. So I have an advantage there. So fucking bring it, you know? And they know then. And and and you know, they fucking love it. And I usually end up regretting it because I'm like, fucking hell. Why did I ask for this? Like Andre, right? Like over there, like, man, the motherfuckers are handful. But that's what he needs, right? And we can do that together responsibly. So have the chat, like, make sure when you're training, you're not just accommodating your training partner all the time. Seek out the training partners where you can let rip and maybe they need to accommodate a little bit, and that gives you then a bit of balance.

SPEAKER_03 22:39

Yeah. And the last thing I would say is don't be afraid to ask a bunch of questions, whether it's post role, not during the role. What are you doing there? No, don't not during the role. Post-roll or when the coach asks, hey, any questions, like ask as many questions as possible because the best thing you can do is stop repeating the same mistake. New mistakes are good, but the same mistake over and over is what will really prolong how much you suck at jujitsu. So new mistakes are good, but like ask questions.

SPEAKER_04 23:10

Fuck yeah, I hope that helps out.

Final Advice And How To Ask

SPEAKER_04 23:12

Guys, thanks for your questions today. If you have a question that you want to leave for the show, please go to bulletproof for bjj.com, hit the podcast page, record a voicemail, and we'll catch you on a future episode.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

Shoo