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Rolling Questions

BingeAndPurge

BingeAndPurge

Active member
I've been doing the grappling thing for four or five months now, about once a week. It's an army combatives program, but I go at night when it's basicly an open mat type of thing after you get the basics down. We occassionly get some good instructors to come in, or guys who know their ****, or guys learn something knew and share it. Most of the time is spent rolling, which I'm pretty much sick of doing most every week, I'd rather drill.

Most of these guys at the night classes, 4 or five guys, come in 2-3 times a day almost every weekday and have been for a six months or more. One guy was a wrestler and another guy had BJJ experience before this. Most of them are cool about everything. A few things are frustrating the crap out of me, though, and I'm looking for some advice.

One thing is, like I said, we mainly spend our time rolling. I don't know if it's because these guys drill during the other sessions, or what, but I'd rather get the physics down than try to figure things out while I'm going. Nobody seems to want to work on takedowns or clinches very much and those are things I've never really had to do before.

The other thing is the guys I roll with. Me and another guy are both around 230, only he's much shorter and stacked than I am. He's also pretty damned good and I rarely get an upper-hand on him. He's good about it though. He pauses to show me what I'm doing wrong or what I could have done and isn't an ass about it. He knows that I don't give a **** about losing right now. I mainly work on my positions and once I've got something established then I try to work something. The other guy, though, is an ass about things. He's got some jacked up attitude where it's as if he thinks he's hot **** if he submits me. He doesn't get that I'm working on my technique first, and winning second. He also seems like he's talking down to me when he shows me what I should have done. I mean, once we started from the standup and the dude basicly jumped in my arms. I stopped and told him that was stupid and that I could have slammed him. He got an attitude about it.

Sorry if I'm venting here. I guess I am wondering if I'm approaching **** the wrong way. It's hard to tell if I'm getting better when the other guys get more practice in than me and one of the instructors is high on himself. I know I'm in a different training environment than if I were at a school, but, regardless, how do you know if you are getting better or not? It's just frustrating getting my ass whooped 90% of the time.
 
You're definitely going about it the wrong way and this will eventually lead to injury. You should learn the technique through endless drilling and then employ them when rolling. You need to learn the proper mechanics of the moves through slow practice/drilling. Most of those guys do in all likelihood take bjj classes where they learn the techniques. They then apply them when they roll with you.
 
I guess I need to explain a little. These classes started off as a basic combative class for soldiers going to Iraq. There is a unit mainly of people getting out soon who are assigned as a training unit for deploying soldiers. One of the captains goes to a Gracie camp somewhere a few times a year. He is the only one, that I know, who's been through any formal training. He then certified a few other guys to teach this class by army standards. Now, these classes have evolved a bit. A few guys went to a NAGA tournament a few weeks ago, we are getting varius instructors to come in from time to time. There is only on other guy besides this captain, that I rarely see, who has had any bjj training. Little by little, this is turning into something, it's just not there yet. It's free and I am learning things, it's just frustrating some nights. The "hot ****" guy just really got on my nerves tonight.

I agree with what you said about the drilling. What I meant about my approach was my idea of working on my technique first, and winning second when I roll.
 
Sounds a bit like what i started like.

When i started, the club i was in had 1 good instructor (very good) and some half decent students, but i never learned alot of technique at the start like i should have, mostly just learned stuff through rolling.

I got to be half decent, but there were a ton of holes in my game, and until i moved and went to a proper school i was really an incomplete grappler.

I recommend doing more drills and technique, if the guys you are training with arnt down with that i would honestly recommend not wasting your time and just finding a good bjj school.

And as well, when you are training with guys who are better than you, remmeber they are getting better at the same time that you are, so they will be tapping you out for a long time to come.

And for the asshole who tapps a newbie and then thinks hes the **** because of it? obviously has never trained with people who are very good, or would be alot more humble. I would love to roll with this guy and see how cocky he is after i choke him out.
 
I would find a dojo that is more traditional with an older sensei, get in a class with people on the same level as you are with at least one Black belt who supervises. It is traditional to have a black belt kick your butt at least once a week, thats how they have done it in Japan since the arts began.
 
Thanks for all the input, guys. I have been shopping schools online and I am pretty sure I just got a bouncing gig that pays 10/hr cash at closing. Hopefully I won't have to worry about this freebie **** for much longer.
 
I started bjj a couple of months ago. We spend about half our sessions doing drills and the other half rolling. During the rolling I get flattened and choked out and arm barred by almost every other guy in the place. It can get fustrating when the same person chokes you out with ease every session - ive found if i just relax and try and focus on the basics and start to think more while rolling I can hold them off a lot longer than I did when I just paniced/wasted energy by trying to brute force my way to a dominant position.
 
When I started out white belts would practice with one another but once a week we would have to roll with higher belts. In my experience the latter greatly improved technique for one simple reason. The more advanced practioneers would point out our mistakes and offer bits of advice.
 
ersatz said:
When I started out white belts would practice with one another but once a week we would have to roll with higher belts. In my experience the latter greatly improved technique for one simple reason. The more advanced practioneers would point out our mistakes and offer bits of advice.
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Definately
 
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