BJJ and rolling

Mancoach

Hi All

Have recently started back training in BJJ after about a two year absence.

Prior to that trained (in the UK) for 3 years with a Great Club but missed out on my Blue twice and kinda got discouraged as a result.

Anyway was recommended a club over here and have been training there for the last 6 weeks.

The coaching staff and class members are very welcoming and the technical instruction aspect of the classes is great.

I have one big issue however and thats when it comes time to roll. Half of the class immediately disappear. The half that do stay sit around and chat or demonstrate some Brabo variation they saw on the internet interspersed with some sporadic open ended rolling. Sometimes somebody brings a timer.

I would not mind if these sessions were timetabled as Open Mat's but they are specifically called BJJ competition Sparring.

In my old club everybody used to roll and the rolling class would be monitored by the instructor who would participate himself and the rounds would be timed with specified breaks in between. In this hour period you would get at least a good 10x5 minute rounds in and doing it twice a week it put a lot of gas in the tank. This happened religiously every class no matter how many people showed (although sometimes the round times were varied). Yes sometimes somebody would rest of a round or tend to an injury but there was no question of people doing whatever they felt like. if you came to the session you rolled for the hour and you rolled with everybody big and small

Now the first few times in my new club i put it down to me being the new guy and i had got things wrong but as the weeks go on its clear to me that thats the way it is and im finding it tremendously frustrating. To put it in perspective i've now logged 6 hours attending these "sparring classes" and have rolled 10x5ish minute rounds. The other 4hour 10 mins were spent sitting on my arse listening to war stories. In my Old Club i would have completed 60plus rounds in the same time period.

So my question is are there any BJJ clubs out there that have good , regularly attended and time tabled rolling sessions as i just feel like im wasting my time , not to mention my money in my current situation.

Now you may be thinking that people are deliberately avoiding rolling with me because im a head squeezing , neck cranking limb locker who goes balls to the wall in every round. I considered this myself but that is not the case as i am a conscientious training partner who checked his ego a long time ago.

Nor am i a 100kg plus monster who never washes his Gii or rash guard.

Now i wouldn't like this to become a guess the club and bash it type thread. As i already mentioned i cant fault the members and coaching staff for their friendliness or technical instruction. what i would fault them for is their lack of intensity or focus when it comes time to roll.

Maybe i have unrealistic expectations and things are done differently over here but any advice or if i could be pointed in the right direction of a club that might suit me better then it would be most appreciated.

I Just want to roll!!

Mancoach

Sorry may not have been clear. Am based in Dublin now and my prior BJJ training was when I lived in the uk.

Barry.Oglesby

Mancoach wrote: »

I have one big issue however and thats when it comes time to roll. Half of the class immediately disappear.

Welcome to the coaching paradox! People want to learn but don't want to do! I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that this is a major challenge- how to get people out of the beginners class and into sparring mode. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar so maybe your instructor is trying to make the "rolling" class more relaxed so as to get people involved.

The half that do stay sit around and chat or demonstrate some Brabo variation they saw on the internet interspersed with some sporadic open ended rolling. Sometimes somebody brings a timer.

I reckon everyone in BJJ recognises those guys

I would not mind if these sessions were timetabled as Open Mat's but they are specifically called BJJ competition Sparring.

Have you mentioned this to the coach? Maybe there's a philosophy behind why this is so relaxed?

In my old club everybody used to roll and the rolling class would be monitored by the instructor who would participate himself and the rounds would be timed with specified breaks in between. In this hour period you would get at least a good 10x5 minute rounds in and doing it twice a week it put a lot of gas in the tank. This happened religiously every class no matter how many people showed (although sometimes the round times were varied). Yes sometimes somebody would rest of a round or tend to an injury but there was no question of people doing whatever they felt like. if you came to the session you rolled for the hour and you rolled with everybody big and small

Sounds like a good session. But you have to remember that while you and I would like that, others might not. Heavy rounds of sparring might not suit the 50% of people who want to learn some stuff, have some light rolling and then head home. Ultimately there has to be room for both.

So my question is are there any BJJ clubs out there that have good , regularly attended and time tabled rolling sessions as i just feel like im wasting my time , not to mention my money in my current situation.

All of them I'd say. It doesn't sound to me like that's the problem though. I'd say you've maybe just found a place where your face doesn't "fit" so to speak. There's nothing wrong with that. People come to gyms all the time and don't like the feel of them- too relaxed, too intense or whatever. Like you say I don't know what club this is and I'm not going to hazard a guess (in case it's mine especially!!!! ) but I wouldn't be quick to slate a place just because the atmosphere isn't right for you.

Now you may be thinking that people are deliberately avoiding rolling with me because im a head squeezing , neck cranking limb locker who goes balls to the wall in every round. I considered this myself but that is not the case as i am a conscientious training partner who checked his ego a long time ago.

Good stuff!

Nor am i a 100kg plus monster who never washes his Gii or rash guard.

More good stuff. Unless you're a 100kg monster who does wash his gi...

Now i wouldn't like this to become a guess the club and bash it type thread. As i already mentioned i cant fault the members and coaching staff for their friendliness or technical instruction. what i would fault them for is their lack of intensity or focus when it comes time to roll.

Well I don't know what club you're on about but like I said before, as long as people enjoy it I don't think you can "fault" the club at all, just accept that you have a different outlook to them and that maybe it's not the club for you.

Maybe i have unrealistic expectations and things are done differently over here but any advice or if i could be pointed in the right direction of a club that might suit me better then it would be most appreciated.

There's a fairly comprehensive list of BJJ clubs on www.BJJ.ie it's independently maintained and I'm pretty sure they have every BJJ club in Ireland on it.

I Just want to roll!!

Yup, I know that feeling. I've a whole weekend of it ahead

SBG Ireland

try a different gym?

most of my classes are

1 hr - tech/drilling
1 hr - 5min rounds 45sec rest

EnjoyChoke

What club are you training in?

Niall Keane

The "rot", the rot guys, 150 years and you'll be dancing in parks!!!:D

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055972623&page=4

EnjoyChoke

Niall Keane wrote: »

The "rot", the rot guys, 150 years and you'll be dancing in parks!!!:D

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055972623&page=4

If only all you posts were this short Niall!

weemate

My class unofficially starts at 5 when the guys come in grab a partner and roll for a bit.I start coaching at 6 we do 15 minutes warm up,45 minutes technique and then start rolling again,class finishes at 7:30 but the guys have th eoption to stay on and roll some more...and most of them do.
BJJ is a competitve sport so the more rolling/perfecting technique you can get in the better.

Mancoach

Thanks all for your replies. Having reread my original post I think it may have come across as a bit of a rant against bjj which wasn't my intention at all. I certainly didn't wish to suggest some kind of rot setting in! I love Bjj. Even when i fell out of love with it temperarilly I secretly still loved it!

Don't think it would be fair to name the club. I'm beginning to think that the language barrier is the problem and maybe some things have been lost In translation. Anyway Barry.ogelsby your completely right I think my face just doesn't fit in the club.

Out of interest do you think it would fit at your club as having looked at your website it's not too far from where I live. What's the sparring situation like?

Sbgireland that sounds perfect. Exactly what I'm lookin for. Just wrong side of the tracks but I might put in the extra mile.

Weemate where is your club?

weemate

Im in Belfast sir....a bit out of the way for you

Killme00

Mancoach wrote: »

Out of interest do you think it would fit at your club as having looked at your website it's not too far from where I live. What's the sparring situation like?

Sparring rolling would generally be for 1 hour in 5min rounds with 1min rest from 8.30 on Monday (nogi) and Wednesday (Gi) after the technical class.

On Tues and Thurs afternoons (both gi) there are classes from 12 till 1.30.

Some of us drill and roll from six on a friday and also on a saturday from 12.30 after conditioning.

And if you want extra training or rolling at any other time (including odd hours because some of the lads have night shifts etc), just stick a message on the IP forum and whoever is available will meet you on the mats.

Barry.Oglesby

As above. Classes are consist of a warm up, mobility drilling, technical instruction, compliant drilling, resisted drilling and rolling. That takes about 90 minutes, then we take a small break and roll some more. Sometimes open ended, sometimes 5 min rounds, sometimes we toss a coin between short and long rounds. Some people go home at the break, either because they want to watch CSI or because they're new enough to the game. As I said in my earlier post it's not wrong to want to head off after a roll or two, but one thing the people who get really good have in common is that they roll a lot.

Some gyms spend less time on technique and more time rolling, some do it the other way around. I don't know whether we're a rolling heavy gym or not but based on the other gyms around Ireland I've trained in I'd say we're about the same. There's no right or wrong way to do it as long as you're rolling and keeping it honest. That's just my opinion.

kerinsp

Mancoach, What was it like coming back after 2 years? I've been away from the game for about that time myself but missing it.