Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - General Thread

QueenMTBee wrote: »

I really loved my club/team so I wouldn't consider going back to BJJ unless I went there. I guess I was just wondering if my hesitation is a normal nervousness about going back to BJJ after a long break or if my excuses/reasons are a sign that I was right to quit and it isn't the sport for me.

I'd hate to go back and then quit again. Failing twice would suck more than failing once and not trying again!

I took 3-4 years off shortly after I got my blue belt. The initial layoff was because of an injury, then a work promotion, then kids coming along... I had a number of excuses and eventually I realised years had passed.

When I went back, it was to a different gym, and I had a pretty modest goal of training even once a week, just a hobbyist approach. It was 'tough' in the sense that I realised how much the sport had moved on technically, and I was a poor blue belt. I remember being in side control underneath, and I felt a momentary sense of that stupid panic that you might remember from being a complete beginner. It was at that point I realised that I really had to pull up my socks.

That was two years ago and I'd like to think I've progressed a lot since then.

For me the biggest thing was that I liked the culture of my new gym and it was easy to get enthusiastic about training again. I had to take a self-directed approach to filling gaps that I had, however. Came back and realised that in some ways I was back to white belt in practical terms, had to get quickly up to speed. No one really made a fuss about a strange blue belt coming in. In hindsight I realise now that no one really cared, people in gyms are just busy with their own development, they're usually not worrying about others in a negative way!

On the upside, the break did rekindle a keenness for training that had waned. I found white belt to blue belt a real grind and I think a lot of people do, actually, because of course they're training completely the wrong way. It's only after a bit of time that things calm down.

On the small woman versus big white belts smashing you: I think that's an eternal problem for small BJJ players. I can only say that if I were in your shoes I would consider a club with a lot of coloured belts, and choose partners carefully. Being stacked or smashed by someone who has a big weight advantage and doesn't realise that they should dial it back is a learning experience but it gets old after a while. If it's a large club you might be able to set up your schedule so that you're generally paired with someone your own level or higher. I'd rarely avoid rolling with someone but for my own benefit I'll always try and hunt out someone more technical than me to roll with, and it's usually possible :pac: