{"id":20258,"date":"2023-09-14T15:53:28","date_gmt":"2023-09-14T20:53:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/?p=20258"},"modified":"2023-09-14T16:08:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T21:08:22","slug":"how-to-get-better-at-bjj-quickly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/how-to-get-better-at-bjj-quickly\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Best Ways To Get Better At BJJ Quickly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There isn’t a single jiu-jitsu practitioner who doesn’t want to get better faster. Or even better, immediately. For better or worse, the second is impossible, and spending time on the mats is the only way to get better. The more time you spend, the better you will get. You need to show up and train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But not every minute of training equals progress. The process can drastically speed up or slow down, depending on how you approach it. This is why I will share my best tips on quickly improving your jiu-jitsu skills. These tips will help you during the initial stages and even more so when you inevitably reach plateaus at various stages of your journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Best Tips To Get Better At BJJ Faster<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are tons of tips on how to get better at jiu-jitsu. The topic of skill acquisition, both in general and in BJJ, is as deep as any, and there are some conflicting ideas. For example, some gyms and coaches rely heavily on drilling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others prefer to focus mainly on conditional sparring. There are proponents of the method of using mostly free sparring. More recently, the ecological approach has been gaining traction, and it\u2019s a whole different thing than the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we are honest, all methods have produced results, each with merits. But as a beginner who wants to get better at BJJ quickly, these discussions present little real value because, for most of us, the gym program is what it is, and we cannot control it. So, the training sessions will be structured in a certain way that we have to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of telling you exactly how to train and which drills are better than others, I prefer to outline the methods and practices that are entirely up to the individual and are the things I have used and still use to make constant progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deliberate Practice<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most important advice I can give you, which is also shared by many coaches, is to train deliberately. This means going into each session with something specific to work on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps your side control escapes<\/a> suck, and you need to improve. Or your knee-cut passes work against some opponents but not against others. Or you manage to get people into a triangle but can’t finish it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The list is endless, but the concept is always the same. Have something you want to work on and do it. Use the time to drill freely and work on what you decide beforehand. This can be during practice or open mat<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best way to practice like this is through situational sparring, but if your gym doesn’t do a lot of it, you will have to intentionally focus on the technique you are working on during sparring. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can deliberately let people get into a certain position so that you can practice getting out of it. Or you can aim to hit a specific submission instead of using your bread-and-butter moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deliberate practice is sometimes non-technical. For example, you may tap to strangles that are not super tight, gas too early because you are too tense, or get too nervous when your guard is passed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to recognize certain weak elements and flaws and train with the focused intention of improving them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Deliberate, focused practice, in my experience, is the best way to get better at BJJ more quickly than just going to the gym and doing what’s in the curriculum for the day.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Your Homework<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You may hate the phrase doing your homework from school (or you may not), but you should implement it into your BJJ routine. This means finding ways to improve when you are away from the mats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I personally am a big fan of this because there are hours during the day that can be spent getting better at martial arts without being at the gym. This includes a few different practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may do just one or all of them; the choice is yours. But what’s best about them is that you can fit the practices into the gaps you have during the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can watch instructional videos on your lunch break or commute or visualize while doing attention-free tasks like commuting, waiting in a line, walking, etc.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch Instructional Videos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most obvious is watching tons of instructional videos and reading articles. Acquiring knowledge is invaluable, and we are so lucky to be in a sport like grappling, where the top competitors and coaches constantly pump out content. We have the knowledge at the tip of our fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watching multiple sources on the same thing is an excellent way to learn the technique and see various points of view from different people. While you will surely not remember and try everything, soaking up even a third of the knowledge will be super beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This way, you can research techniques and positions you are having trouble with and then try them during sparring, not having to wait weeks or months until the gym curriculum touches on your pain points. I can’t count how often I’ve seen something online and used it effectively in the gym.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But you can also overdo this. Binge-watching 16 hours of John Danaher instructionals in a couple of days will likely overload your brain and not bring any actual improvement. So, focusing on just one or two areas at a time is better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This free instructional channel by Sweet Science of Fighting is a good place to start:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n