Fighting BJJ | BJJ in Edmonton & Area

Starting any new martial art is tough, and BJJ is no exception to this rule. When you’re down in close quarters, every mistake is amplified and every movement is crucial. One wrong move and you’ll find yourself locked down and helpless in a matter of seconds. You’ll be wondering what you’ve possibly done wrong, and in most cases the answer is straight forward.

BJJ is designed to allow a smaller opponent to take down a bigger guy and come out on top. Think about it, everyone is the same height when they are lying down. The reason from bringing the fight downtown to ground level is to mitigate what could be glaring differences in size, strength and overall athleticism. Careful technique is required for this to happen, moves need to be precise, and managing your opponents strength is important. The important thing to remember is to stick to what has been taught to you, there are no shortcuts when you’re learning. Learn something wrong and it will be wrong forever, work infrequently and more than likely result in you getting embarrassed at crunch time on the mats.

The most common mistake a BJJ instructor will see a student make again and again is trying to use raw strength to overpower their opponent. Don’t be a douche, logical technique will always over come trying to force it. By trying to force a technique on, be it a choke or an arm bar, you are projecting you weight and force in one singular direction. All your opponent needs to do to get the better of you is then counter your movement in another direction that your full on assault has left you weaker in. If you regularly find your attacks being countered, bring it back to basics, practise the movements at a slower pace in a non-competitive environment to get each step down, then reapply on the mats, you’ll be amazed at how many fewer times you find yourself getting owned.

Think of your start in BJJ as a new beginning, leave everything that you think is a physical attribute at the door. If you’re quick, so what this isn’t a race, if you’re strong, well that’s not really a compliment in BJJ… The only attributes that are going to make a difference are willingness to learn, dedication and patience. Fights are not won on ferocity alone, BJJ is not a brawl, it’s an art. The only way to improve art is to practice each and every aspect until they are engrained in your brain.

As a beginner, you’re going to get beat time and time again, it’s all part of the learning process. The important thing to remember is that everyone was a noob like you once. The only thing that sets them apart now is the level of practice they have given their technique. You’ll never find a higher grade relying on strength, their technique will be smooth, soft until you’re pummelled into the ground by momentum, but smooth nonetheless. Master the basics and you’ll have a BJJ career littered with victories!

Come down to Arashi Do Edmonton and try out one of our great Brazilian programs like Fundamental BJJ, Women’s Only BJJ or Children’s BJJ for ages 4-7 and 8-14.

All those and you get a 30 DAY FREE TRIAL! As well as our 30 minute Fast Fitness program for FREE!

If you want to train when you are 80, start today. – Carley Gracie

In reality, sparring is not always about who is better or who is tougher. Sparring is a great way to learn and get better at BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU. Sparring is something many schools will offer from the start. However, some schools may make you learn a certain set of skills before you spar. Developmental skills programs are slowly becoming the trend; you may in fact choose a school that makes you take a beginner course before you engage in sparring. Sparring should always be at your instructor’s discretion.

Here is what an instructor wrote on a forum: “My approach, and the choice I was given, was to be ‘thrown into the fire’ from the beginning. What I mean by this is that I sparred with everyone, no matter what rank or level they were at. I enjoyed this approach because I am competitive by nature, but I understand it is not for everyone and it can be dangerous. Some may feel discouraged when getting tapped or beaten from the outset. Discouragement from the outset can be detrimental to a student and they may quit. This is a common mistake I made when I started teaching: I did not introduce BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU to people properly, and I did not explain it well enough to make them understand how difficult it was to just come in off the street and be good at it.”

Like anything else, it takes time and effort to develop your skills. No matter which approach you take or what approach is thrown upon you, do take sparring seriously because a lot of learning can take place during sparring if you are not just using thoughtless energy.

I also advise you to try something called “flow rolling.” Flow rolling is going about 50-70% while actually sparring. It is a smooth way to train without putting your ego on the line in terms of who submits whom or who dominates which positions.

Sparring is a time to learn, not always to compete. When you spar with the goal of increasing technical awareness, you will often learn more long-term, and that is the focus: to get better technically and to be more efficient for when you do have to go 100%. Don’t always overcompensate for your lack of technique by using strength. It happens; just make it happen less—your body will be thankful.

Again, I am not suggesting that being strong or athletic is inherently negative in sparring or for any aspect of BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU. In fact, it can obviously be a huge advantage. Anyone can get stronger, but to get better technically happens in BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU class and that takes a long time. Basically, you are learning BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU to learn BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU; many of the movements are not strength-based.

Come down to Arashi Do Edmonton North and try out one of our great Brazilian programs like Fundamental BJJ, Women’s Only BJJ or Children’s BJJ for ages 4-7 and 8-14. All those and you get a 30 DAY FREE TRIAL! What are you waiting for? Call or text us at 780-220-5425 or email us at myackulic@ArashiDo.com