Tap More to Improve
Chances are you need to tap more. If you are going weeks or even months without tapping, it is time to get outside of your comfort zone. Part of Jiu-Jitsu is being brave and constantly dealing with what is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. If you continue to stick with your “safe” game it will be much more difficult for you to progress to the next level. Make it a priority to seek out partners who are better than you; start from the bottom, get into risky positions. Let the roll take turns that are out of your comfort zone just to see where you end up. The more you fail and get tapped the more you will learn and improve.
With partners at your own level or below, let yourself get put into bad positions more often. If you are working with someone you can tap easy, add a challenge to the match. Mentally limit yourself to only one submission such as their left arm or arm bar from left side knee on stomach, etc. Pick a submission you know well and practice the entrances to it. By removing all of the other submissions, you now have a difficult puzzle to solve even if your opponent is a beginner. Your plan is only as good as the 1st few moments of the match until your opponent does not follow your plan.
Even for accomplished players, maneuvering your partner into the right position and setting up the exact submission you planned will not be easy. You will find yourself thinking more in strategic terms than just opportunistic terms—setting up the next series in order to lead them into position(s) you need for your planned submission. Concentrate on controlling the positions and don’t force it. Every match has a natural rhythm and your goal is to direct it like an orchestra. You cannot exert exact control on it but you can influence the tempo.
I don’t advise you tell your partner what you are doing because they may feel insulted or just not believe you. Unless you submit them 2-3 times with the same sequence. You can keep your training thoughts to yourself and still have an interesting and challenging roll. It just takes some forethought.
Tap more to improve.
I would love to hear how it works out for you. Drop me a note at Anthony@executivejiujitsu.com
Good training to you,
I agree with you especially if you’re an advanced person. But for people at the lower belt levels they need to work at the speed of their equals. Advanced BJJ practitioners often move slower and more deliberate, furthermore they tend to work towards refining their game. After rolling with higher blues and purples when I roll with whites (like myself) I find that they often work at such a fast pace that while I can get into various positions I amused to a more deliberate pace and find myself defending their onslaughts and not working my game. It’s a catch 22 my technique improves but my reaction time slows.
Don’t worry, they seem much faster because there is still a lot going on in your head. After you train a bit longer everything will seem to slow down. One thing you can do when training with other white belts is immediately pull open guard. This will do 2 things for you. 1. You will get a lot of practice on sweeps and preventing the guard pass, and 2. It will help you control the start of the game. Think of it as the opening move sequence in chess. You control the first move and after a short while you will start seeing their patterns.
Good training!