BJJ New Year Resolution: How To Make It Long Term

Published on by Dan Dufur

Photos By: Mike Kalika


With every new year that begins, we see a growth in students at our bjj academy. I was one myself. The mats are filled with new faces. Fast forward a few months later, only a couple of those new students are left. Why is that? I feel that there are multiple reasons why people quit after a short time. Maybe they don’t understand the moves, terminology, and think that they can never learn it. Maybe their ego gets shattered. Training bjj is like holding a mirror up to yourself and finding out who you truly are. Some people may feel bjj is too physically demanding. While others may just not catch the bug, and get bored. Some people just don’t put enough time in to truly see the benefits. I feel that there are certain guidelines that you should try to follow while beginning your training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

Ask Questions
You are new. You are not expected to know all the terminology and how to perform techniques totally correct at first. Although you may feel like you are being a nuisance or annoying, you are helping more than yourself by asking questions. It will help the newer students understand better. It can also serve as a refresher to the more seasoned student who may be missing a small detail in the technique. Your coach will see your interest and willingness to learn through your questions. After a round of rolling, ask your partner what you did wrong or what you can do to improve. They will be happy to share their knowledge and insight. They help you get better and you help them in return.


Introduce Yourself
Introduce yourself to your new teammates and coaches. Be friendly and approachable. These people will soon become your family. The more people you know at the gym, the more comfortable you will be. Some of your training partners may become your best friends. A good personality goes a long way.

Have Control Of Your Ego
When you start jiu-jitsu, your ego will be crushed. Students usually react two different ways. The first way is to realize that they are in way over their head. Usually it’s meatheads that view their self as superior humans. They cannot fathom that someone that may be smaller and weaker than them can whoop their butt. They expect to be able to come into the gym and wreck everyone.  After they realize that they have been lying to themselves, they try to forget about it and never train again. They can’t let their bros know that some small nerdy dude can control them like a puppeteer. The other type of student is very different. They see the possibilities that can be discovered through jiu-jitsu. They get an honest look at themselves. They realize that they have a long road ahead of themselves, but are ready to give it their all. They could be that small nerdy person that will one day be able to dominate physical freaks of nature. Bjj is brains over brawn.

Have Fun
Seriously, what is more fun than trying to defend against some sweaty person in pajamas trying to make you say uncle? Jiu-jitsu can be stressful. There is so much to learn. Do not overwhelm yourself. Don’t worry that you don’t have this or that technique down perfect. Your skill, finesse, and understanding will increase with time. Don’t think too far ahead in the future. If you are not focused on the present, you will miss what is happening right before your eyes. Bjj is something you should want to do. You shouldn’t force yourself too. You should finish every roll with a smile on your face, and should leave the academy in a better mood than when you arrived. Enjoy it, you are paying your hard-earned money to do something you like. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You are gonna suck when you start. But, so did everybody else when they first started training. You will hear the phrase “you win or you learn”. Just brace yourself for a very long learning streak.

Don’t Get Too Ahead Of Yourself
You may have done a few classes now and want to move on to the advanced stuff. Don’t! Stop that thought. You will learn the high-level stuff when the time is right. You may find some cool moves on youtube and think that you will tap the whole academy with your insane new move. Wrong! It isn’t gonna happen like that. You will try and fail. Your move will get shut down. Why did this just happen? They made it look so easy online. For starters, you don’t have your basics down good enough yet. The basics are the roots of the jiu-jitsu tree. All that crazy mumbo jumbo you are trying, are just branches on the tree. Will a branch hold you if it is not connected to a tree? I didn’t think so. Therefore, to do the crazy stuff, you need to know how to do the fundamental stuff first. I learned this firsthand. I thought I always came to class with what I viewed as an ace up my sleeve. My crazy moves never worked because I was always missing the details.

You may be getting better, but aren’t really as good as you think you are. That blue, purple, or brown belt that you think may not be that much better than you, is light years ahead of you. They are taking it easy on you. It’s sad but true. Think about it for a second. What do they have to gain by destroying some new white belt? Do they really need to tap you every ten seconds? Chances are that they are letting you get to certain positions and even letting you try different submissions on purpose.  They want to see what you understand and how you react in certain situations. As you start to get better and better, they will start picking it up on their end also.

Set Small Goals
Give yourself a chance. A good amount of people quit because they feel like they are not progressing. Slow and steady wins the race. Bjj is a marathon, not a sprint. It is not going to happen overnight. If you do not put in the work do not expect results. The more you show up the better you will be. Set goals for yourself to keep interest and motivation. Maybe sign up for a competition when your instructor feels that you are ready. Most academies give out stripes between belt ranks. These are great motivators for improvement. But don’t put too much emphasis on them. They are only pieces of tape, and mean different things to each instructor. Tell yourself that you want to get really competent in a certain position or concept. Another great goal to have, is to not get tapped as many times as before. Some people say that the best offense is a good defense.

Drill With Higher Ranked Students
I understand that you will feel more comfortable practicing techniques with your fellow new white belts. I did it too. You know what the problem with that is though? You will most likely miss a small but important detail in the move you are doing. Your instructor will show a move while explaining a few times for the class. While they are doing so you are listening, watching, and trying to remember it all at the same time. You may think you have it, then you mind goes blank. You ask your partner if you are missing something in the technique and chances are they don’t know either. Your instructor only has so much time between each move to check on the students to see how they are doing. The instructor will most likely help you get it right finally. Then once you did it right, it’s usually on to the next move. You will probably end up forgetting how to do the move you were struggling on by the end of the class. 

Drilling with higher ranked students will help you learn quicker and understand better. The moves you are struggling with, they have probably done hundreds or thousands of reps on. They know it better than you and can quickly help you fix and reduce the mistakes that you are making. In my opinion, people usually rise to the occasion when they are surrounded by those that are better at a given skill. You will have a clearer mind and listen better, so you can complete your task at a higher level.

These are just some of the things I have noticed with newer students over almost 4 years of training. Sometimes a student will follow all these tips and still end up leaving bjj. Life happens, sometimes things are out of our control. Most of these tips can be used no matter what rank you are. This art can change the lives of those willing to give it an honest shot. It will do much more for you than get you in shape and teach you to defend yourself. When you see a new student come in, share some tips and remind them that you were in their shoes once. Hopefully one day they can do the same when they are a seasoned student and another new student steps on the mat.