{"id":538,"date":"2019-05-08T13:48:44","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T18:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/?p=538"},"modified":"2023-07-01T11:42:02","modified_gmt":"2023-07-01T16:42:02","slug":"roll-with-higher-or-lower-belts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/roll-with-higher-or-lower-belts\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Roll With Higher or Lower Belts in BJJ? (And Why It Matters)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This article is to help answer the question: should you roll with higher or lower belts in BJJ?<\/p>\n<p>Now you may not have a choice&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>But if you do?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The answers below might help you choose:<\/p>\n<p>Who you ask to roll with<\/p>\n<p>Where you train, and<\/p>\n<p>How often you visit other clubs.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s get started:<\/p>\n<h2>80-90% of Your Training Should be With People of Significantly Lower Skill Level<\/h2>\n<p>John Danaher is regarded as one of the best Jiu Jitsu coaches in the world.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In an interview for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.verbaltapcast.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Verbal Tap MMA Comedy Podcast<\/a>, Raf Esparza asked the question about should you roll with higher or lower belts:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You don\u2019t want to train with someone whom is not going to push you or not submit you, right?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>John Danaher\u2019s answer might come as a surprise:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NH6r_Il7Je8?start=111\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a transcript:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>People have a mistaken impression that you should always be training with the toughest guys, that\u2019s not true at all:<\/p>\n<p>I believe about 80 to 90 percent of your training should be with people who are significantly lower in skill level than you are&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and then as you get into competition mode, you start training with guys who are your own skill level or better<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The idea of having some competition-specific preparation makes sense:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>But I do believe that it\u2019s a common misunderstanding that you should always be training with people better than yourself.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s very very hard to develop your technical skills on people that are better than you. All you develop is your defensive skills.<\/p>\n<p>But ultimately the point of Jiu Jitsu is to defeat people and not to become difficult to submit.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>That&#8217;s a good point&#8230; I&#8217;ve had some rolls where I&#8217;ve been in survival mode for 5 minutes!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>These sessions have been valuable in teaching me where I&#8217;m making mistakes and leaving openings&#8230;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8230;but I didn&#8217;t have much of a chance to work on passing, sweeps, or submissions<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>So there\u2019s this common misunderstanding: \u201cTo be the best, I\u2019ve got to train with the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yes to some degree I do believe it\u2019s important in your early days in training to feel what quality Jiu Jitsu feels like, you need to roll with someone good<\/p>\n<p>But as you progress beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/bjj-blue-belt\/\">blue belt<\/a> I always believed that around 80% of your training should be with significantly lower level people than yourself so you can practice new techniques and you can expand your repertoire.<\/p>\n<p>You cant do these things when youre going tooth and nail with someone of your own skill level.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I completely get that. Whenever I&#8217;m trying to work on something new, I&#8217;ve practiced it until I&#8217;ve had success with someone of a lower skill level.<\/p>\n<p>Once I&#8217;ve gotten the knack for it, then I&#8217;d try it on someone more my experience<\/p>\n<h2>Drill. Drill With Resistance. Then Practice on People With Limited Proficiency<\/h2>\n<p>Joe Rogan has a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu&#8230; and has spent a LOT of time picking the minds of some of martial arts&#8217; greats. There&#8217;s a great video that&#8217;s been put together by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/stuartcooperfilms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Stuart Cooper Films<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9zPEa2E1rVU?start=111\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Like one of the things about Jiu Jitsu, this is a very important lesson for anybody who knows jiu jitsu because a lot of people don\u2019t like this aspect of Jiu Jitsu:<\/p>\n<p>Some people have this meathead idea that the way to get good at jiu jitsu is to go against the hardest guys, get your ass kicked, and that\u2019s how you learn<\/p>\n<p>Actually, it\u2019s the wrong way to learn:<\/p>\n<p>The best way to get good at Jiu Jitsu is to strangle blue belts<\/p>\n<p>You go, and you find people that are just learning, but they\u2019re not as good as you, and you choke the f@#! out of them<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Sounds like he&#8217;s on the same page as John Danaher. It&#8217;s explained a little more colourfully&#8230; but it&#8217;s the same point!<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>That\u2019s how you get really good at your technique<\/p>\n<p>And people say \u201cwell that\u2019s bullying\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well it is important for the blue belt too, at some point, spar with black belts. It is important.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;because you need to know that there\u2019s a higher level of proficiency, there\u2019s a higher level of skill.<\/p>\n<p>And then there\u2019s a shorter distance in between points that these guys are hitting. They\u2019re cutting the chase, they\u2019re capitalising on very small openings&#8230; and they clamp down.<\/p>\n<p>And when they capitalise on these small openings, they get submissions quicker. So you have to know that there are guys that are better. That\u2019s important, but to drill.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Again, sounds like the majority of your time should be spent practicing in a situation where you can get the technique to work, and get those repetitions in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but every now and again you need a reality check.<\/p>\n<p>My thoughts on this is that this is important, <em>especially<\/em> if you take the time to reflect on where you went wrong, then put it back into practice when you&#8217;re rolling with someone of lower skill.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The most important thing is drilling. And when you drill, you drill with like someone of your level, and you just practice on each other. You choke me, and you know, you\u2019ll do it like twice, and then I\u2019ll choke you, and then I\u2019ll do it twice, and it\u2019s just practice.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And maybe you resist like 50%, like sometimes where when you\u2019re doing a drill and I\u2019ll pretend to be resisting, Ill resist just a little bit, and you\u2019re strangling each other, because that simulates real life. It simulates how it\u2019s supposed to be, and you\u2019re supposed to be building your muscle memory.<\/p>\n<p>But the real way to do it, after you do that, to get it really sharp is to practice on people with a limited amount of proficiency, just to choke the $h!t out of them.<\/p>\n<p>So that\u2019s like the way you ultimately get better, is to practice on people that aren\u2019t quite as good as you.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Then you eventually develop, and you get to a point where, you know, that seems kinda impractical.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This is a very common sense way of approaching skill development:<\/p>\n<p>1. Learn the basics of the skill until you know how it works<\/p>\n<p>2. Practice against simulated resistance so you know what adjustments you need to make<\/p>\n<p>3. Gradually increase the resistance, continually refining it, until you&#8217;re 100% proficient<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>If you\u2019re in a school, and say you\u2019re the only white belt, and everyone else is a brown belt, or a black belt, and you\u2019re training with them&#8230; f@#! man, you might not ever get good. You might just get wrecked all the time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This reinforces the same idea:<\/p>\n<p>If you only practice against people who are better than you, you might only ever get good at defence.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>From the original version:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PG5kb__hX_A?start=111\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Will You Roll With Higher or Lower Belts Next Time You Train Jiu Jitsu?<\/h2>\n<p>I can&#8217;t get to class as much as I&#8217;d like.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So when I do:<\/p>\n<p>I need to make the most of it.<\/p>\n<p>These are answers I came across when I was researching whether you should roll with higher or lower belts for another article&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/bjj-rolling-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BJJ Rolling Tips: How to Make the Most Out of Every Class<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Your turn!<\/p>\n<p>Comment below: what do you think? <a href=\"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/roll-with-higher-or-lower-belts\/\">Should you roll with higher or lower <\/a>belts in BJJ?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This article is to help answer the question: should you roll with higher or lower belts in BJJ? Now you may not have a choice&#8230; But if you do?\u00a0 The answers below might help you choose: Who you ask to roll with Where you train, and How often you visit other clubs. Let&#8217;s get started: 80-90% of Your Training Should &#8230; <a title=\"Should You Roll With Higher or Lower Belts in BJJ? (And Why It Matters)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/roll-with-higher-or-lower-belts\/\" aria-label=\"More on Should You Roll With Higher or Lower Belts in BJJ? (And Why It Matters)\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20],"tags":[],"wppr_data":{"cwp_meta_box_check":"No"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19699,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538\/revisions\/19699"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rollingaroundbjj.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}