His new stuff seems to be quite interesting. I do mostly do gi though. Just want some recommendation on which one to get.

Are there gyms in the Twin Cities MN area that focus primarily on training with a Gi? Especially in regards for foundational training. I feel most gyms lean towards No Gi overall.

I am one of those annoying, heavy, athletic blue belts with top pressure and poor technique.

However, after 4 years in the game, I have started somewhat understanding guard. My coach has been great at helping me drill guard retention and overall technique, and I can feel I am just a missing piece away from making it all click.

I tried asking people at my gym on what was the one thing that made it all make sense, and so far two things helped get a somewhat better understanding of what I may be missing:

• My coach said I should think of guard as if I am "climbing my opponent"

• Blue belt buddy of mine that has been playing a great guard since his early white belt days said it helped him think of guards as a transitional space for sweeps and subs, and not as the focus itself

Those frameworks clearly worked wonders for them, and they help fill out the edges of the puzzle, but they aren't my puzzle piece. I feel like I'm still searching for that specific conceptual lens that will help me understand how to play guard.

​So I guess that's why I am here, hoping someone will share what made it all click for them and will make me go "A-ha!"

​What was the mental model or analogy that finally made guard click for you?

Anyone know of a gym near Arlington VA with a more professional environment?
I train as an escape and I’m just over stupid racist, sexist, homophobic shit. I’m not suggesting these places change and I’m not looking for a roll call of gyms where this happens. I just want to get away from it and focus on training. It’s exhausting.

Hi guys,

As the title suggests, I'm looking to pick up MMA.

A bit of history: I was originally interested in MMA from watching Aoki and Sakuraba, but there were only BJJ clubs where I lived so fell down the rabbithole. I started BJJ at around 31 years of age and trained for a few years until I got my blue belt. I haven't trained for the last 1.5 years after getting bored with the sport.

I was a big guard player, focusing on half guard, SLX and K guard. I really liked straight ankle/Aoki locks; they were my best submission a country mile. Stand up game was generally poor since I preferred fighting off my back and attacking the legs - this is obviously not ideal for MMA. I also did a bit of muay thai in the past, so know I'm not starting from 0 but my striking is fundamentally shaky.

The place I've moved to has a decent MMA gym and I'm psyched to go train. I'm hoping to pick it up to keep fit and for self-defense though I'd maybe like to do one fight just for the life experience. I'm 35 and under no illusions that I'm going to be a competitive fighter lmao.

Have you guys got some general advice for a guy in my situation - e.g. technical advice, how to adapt my BJJ, avoiding going snap/brain damage, etc....? I lift 2x/week but will be integrating some plyometric training to cope with the demands of the sport and these explosive young c*nts I'll be sparring with.

Also, are you able to point me towards any useful resources for MMA grapping? I figured CG's 'Just Stand Up' and 'Power Ride' would be applicable.

Thank you!

Hello everyone, I train at a 10th planet over in SoCal and at least in my gym we tend to use the slap bump for everything. Ya know greetings, saying bye, and before a roll. Im currently attending a trade school in NorCal and when meeting new people they try to dab me up but I instinctively go for a slap bump. Just wondering how often you guys slap bump and is it just before a roll?

Hello everyone, I have moved to Toronto, Canada, to do my master's, and previously I did 1 year of BJJ in my own country, and I really enjoyed it and want to continue it but it's expensive here, like 240 CAD, which is hard to do with part-time work, so I was hoping for advice or gym recommendation that is cheaper or provide student discounts

Bewaree possible TMI.. Okay I am 16F to begin with. Is it okay to grapple on my period? I am new. I dont have a really heavy flow, but its still a bit. I dont get bad cramps either so that wont affect my performance.

My main concern is the fact you get really close with your rolling partner, and although I shower before and after bjj practice, I feel like I might be a bit self conscious or anxious something may happen although I will have a tampon in and what not.

Ive played sports all my life w my period but never something with such close contact like bjj. I would love to attend bjj sessions no matter what, I just need some advice. Like what would you do? Have you ever rolled with a girl and you could tell she was on her period?

I’m aware this is an odd one

I’m a pretty high level bluebelt by competition standards who regularly competes up in the belt levels, and have a whitebelt buddy who I’m trying to prepare for his first competition.

Whenever we roll, how can I “act like a whitebelt” in order to help prepare him while not overdoing it and making it too easy?

so americana's from kesagatame are kinda my bread and butter. but my main issue is how to enter the position rather than the submission itself (once i'm in scarf hold it's easy to get the sub). from mount or side control i have gotten good at entering kesa, but i'm looking for other reliable entries, such as from half guard or closed guard. it is a pretty niche move, but hoping to improve my game even further

Just my personal experience has been with training for a number of days per week.

1x a week - yeah looking back this was terrible, not nearly enough to progress, you go one week and literally forget everything by the next session, its very hard to make progress imo

2x a week - Your average hobbyist - clean, good time for recovering, you can start making progress properly, and yeah as my coach said it’s the bare minimum to have steady progress. Con is there’s too much time be tween each session. From this point on please use tape and a mouthguard.

3x a week - pretty good actually, id say ideal, this is where I started really picking the pace up in terms of progress and understanding I think. Quite a sweet spot for recovering and progress

4x a week - what I’m currently doing, even faster learning, very low time between sessions, max you’ll have a two day gap between sessions. This is what works for me even in my very busy schedule. Main con being time taken up, and your body might hurt a little more often, like after a hard day you’ll have kind of a dull ache lol.

6x a week - I’ll just skip 5 cause same thing basicllay, but i do this during the holiday periods (yes I’m a very sad individual) cause I want to make good use of my time. Yes you ache, am I having fun though and learning very quickly and contributing even more to my next promotion? ye I am.

Well that was my very amateurish experience with each number of days training per week. In actually my exactly one year of doing Bjj. Myabe the higher belts on this sub may start flaming me and telling me I haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about lol

I train at an MMA gym that's the cheapest in my area that i can afford for now. I love my Muay Thai coach, but I'm struggling with the BJJ side.

My BJJ coach is a really nice guy, but his teaching often confuses me. When I ask him questions, he tends to beat around the bush and I walk away more confused than before.

The gym's previous BJJ coach was apparently better. I never met him, but when he left, a lot of the higher belts left to join other gyms too. Some of them still come back for the striking classes.

I recently did a trial at another gym, and a few people there had visited my gym before. They told me my coach wasn't the best. There are also fewer than 20 regulars at my gym, so the community is small.

The cost is the main reason to stay, and I do like the Muay Thai side.

Should I leave and find a better BJJ gym, or stay? Has anyone been in a similar situation?

Everyone now talks about how important it is to systemise your BJJ. To the people who have had success competing at high levels, how did you go about doing this? My idea of this is literally sitting down and thinking about your BJJ game, and what you do in response to different opponent's reactions.

I'm at the point in my BJJ where I feel I'm a level below the top competitors and want to break into that category. Should I be forming my own BJJ system, or will this leave out techniques that I've learnt in the past?

P.S. Sorry I didn't know what flair to put on this post.

Hello all I am trying to clean out my garage and I have 4 roll out mats 2 are newer Zebra ones I do not remember the older ones but they are about the same size. I am located near Port Hueneme Beach Park if anyone is interested

Edit: given to the wrestling club guy

Looking for reviews of Pawel Jaworski's False Reap Instructional on Submeta. For anybody who has seen it, was it worth the price of admission? Obviously he knows his stuff, but I'm more interested in his teaching abilities and the structure of the content. Was it easy to follow and is he able to communicate the concepts well?

I was asked about this on here earlier this year, and the post was considered helpful, so I thought I’d make a video to go with it. Here’s a link to that comment: https://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/comments/1naebkt/comment/ncufi5c/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Hi all, I'm a BJJ purple belt and looking to start judo soon. Just wondering if anyone who did this could shed some light on how you found it ? How was the transition ? Did you find alot of your BJJ helped or not ? Thank you

Hello, I am a 5'11 220 lb 22 year old male. I am a blue belt in jiu jitsu and have competed several times at white and blue. This includes local comps, ibjjf, and a super fight. This last year and a half or so I've become inconsistent with my training. Only training one day a week most weeks and sometimes not even going. I got a full time job this year and finding balance has been challenging. I've ballooned up from 180 to 220, this is due to limited physical activity from abandoning my training, running, and strength training. Looking to get back to being consistent with my training to hopefully get back to the competition scene. I'm also looking to get back to being overall physically fit. Looking for some advice to find a good work life balance, while still continuing to improve my jiu jitsu. I know life has its seasons, but I'm ready for a change and looking for the motivation to get back. Has anyone else struggled with this? What are some steps you took to get back to consistency?

Anyone have a flow space 10x10 mat they use in their garage. Is it worth it?

Any gym recommendations for Monterrey Mexico. Imma be going there this week and wanted to see what gyms I should hit? Looking for a competition focused gym.

I've been training for 2 years, and I developed a very solid guillotine and d'arce at the point where I can submit somebody off guard so quickly if its my first time rolling with them. However, as guys are getting used to my game which is very simple (guillotine, darce, butterfly guard, double leg, top pressure), it doesn't really work for me to hit submissions anymore. My question rises from this part, should I just polish my current game more to the point where others can't stop it despite they know whats coming? Or invent another root of game plan, currently thinking about leg locks and more sweeps from guards. I know I have to add more on my game as I progress, but I'm very confused on which decisions shall I make to be better. My goal is win but, also getting better because I want to compete, accepting any advice that will help me, thanks.