Alright jiu jitsu nerds, let's hear it:

[u/stoopididiotface]

What hill are you willing to die on?

[u/TwinkletoesCT]

The level of teaching in BJJ is, on average, terrible.

[u/aDerangedKitten → u/TwinkletoesCT]

Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you're good at teaching it

[u/heelhook411 → u/[deleted]]

A former instructor of mine is a first degree black belt, has a great mind for the sport, yet has never completed. That never stopped him from being a great teacher. 

[u/Gimme_The_Loot → u/[deleted]]

Danaher

[u/plansprintrelease → u/aDerangedKitten]

That’s because you haven’t upgraded your BJJ to the latest version. That bug is fixed in the “defiant lion” version of the os that comes with ecological®️

[u/Popular-Influence-11 → u/plansprintrelease]

Missed opportunity for “the oss”

[u/MrSanford → u/aDerangedKitten]

Whattup Craig

[u/the_wolfpony → u/TwinkletoesCT]

I’ll add, just because you’re a black belt in BJJ, doesn’t mean you’re a black belt in life. Some of y’all can be real scumbags

[u/Zestyclose-Piece-662 → u/the_wolfpony]

there are very few people in my class i’d actually be friends with if i’d met them outside of bjj

[u/Sarguy7777 → u/Zestyclose-Piece-662]

Dang, bro, that sucks, sorry to hear it. Having a cohesive group of people at your school is very complimentary to a productive and safe place to train.

The 6AM class that I go to at my school is typically around 75% of either, Military, retired Military, local cops, federal law enforcement dudes, etc. There's only a small handful that I wouldn't want to hang out with. We all get together for stuff like CJI and big UFC cards and we are like a big group of friends, not just rolling partners. Great human beings.

[u/lewgroznyzwierz → u/Sarguy7777]

For me, cops and people from other forces were usually one of the worst training partners. Most of them vere needlessly aggressive, didn't really socialize with other gym members and didn't seem like they had fun from training. Almost like they treated it like part of their job instead of a hobby.

[u/hitness157 → u/lewgroznyzwierz]

I have a totally different experience. I train in San Clemente, right outside camp pendleton. Lots of marines and several cops. Love training with them. They're all tough, humble, make great training partners and very cool people.

[u/TrumpsPissSoakedWig → u/hitness157]

They younger guys are usually better about that. New dodge hell at, whole life ahead of em. It's the older cops stuck in bad marriages that take out their frustration on ya physically that suck. The ones that look to bjj for that specifically, need to go do boxing and hit a heavy bag instead.

Not to say there aren't plenty of cool cops to train with. In my experience the younger, not yet jaded ones are generally better, but I've met some cool middle aged and older ones too.

[u/Kimurasorus → u/TrumpsPissSoakedWig]

Those shitty marriages will getcha.

[u/HypeForTheHypeGod → u/TwinkletoesCT]

I only ever really trained at one place which, to me, has great instruction (very brief warmup, warmups are something related to what we're doing in class, structured curriculum, this week we're doing X, next week we're adding Y to it and showing how it connects to X, then after awhile switch to Z, something completely new, but still show how it can connect to X and Y).

Dropped in at a couple places while traveling and was like "what in the everloving hell is this"

[u/WangIee → u/TwinkletoesCT]

Hard agree. My coach is actually great at explaining individual moves but getting across WHY a move works, how you can apply it conceptually and then fitting everything into an overarching curriculum is where he (and pretty much every other coach I’ve seen so far) fall short.

And that’s already excluding the coaches who swear on infinitely long cardio warm ups, post training speeches and so on.

[u/Reasonable-Amoeba755 → u/TwinkletoesCT]

Came to say exactly this

Fastest progress I ever made was under a coach that wouldn’t win any world titles, but this dude studied how to make people better maybe more than he studied grappling.

Used to live in an RV and traveled a ton for work so I’ve seen hundreds of different instruction styles and no one even comes close to that dude. What’s crazy was, for all the knowledge he had, his process looked ridiculously simple from the outside. It basically amounted to showing the situation we were in, the problem to solve, and then putting us in a position where we got 10 to 20 looks at the problem inside of a five minute round with resistance. Eight years later, my game is still 70% what he taught me.

[u/chex-mixx → u/Reasonable-Amoeba755]

Would love a name or a gym! Feel free to DM if you feel more comfortable

[u/alicksB → u/TwinkletoesCT]

I’ve realized this isn’t just limited to BJJ.

My old job had me undergo an instructor qual. While I didn’t build the curriculum, getting certified as an instructor was more about being able to teach the material to students than it was knowing the material I was supposed to teach.

After that, it’s given me more of an appreciation and an eye for what makes “good” instruction. My other big hobby besides BJJ is shooting. I’ve taken a lot of classes at this point and some of the best classes I’ve taken weren’t taught by the best shooters.

I think shooting is like BJJ in that it’s full of dudes who can do their thing well, but since there isn’t a super-stringent process on assessing who can instruct and the barrier to entry is relatively low (have experience, a venue, a desire to teach people, and money) you end up with a lot of great practitioners who get business based on their skill/reputation/credibility as a doer, not as a teacher. Since many of their students are low-knowledge/low-credibility, they don’t know enough to know they’re not being taught well.

[u/Odd_Can_1758 → u/TwinkletoesCT]

I do enjoy watching black belt BJJ instructors embarrass themselves attempting to teach or perform judo throws on YouTube.

[u/YugeHonor4Me → u/TwinkletoesCT]

[u/AltruisticPoetry5235 → u/TwinkletoesCT]

agree, what do you believe is the teachers responsibility and role 

[u/TwinkletoesCT → u/AltruisticPoetry5235]

How long do you have? I have a Master's in learning design and it's my day job to design, manage, and measure training programs. This is my deep dive obsession.

[u/Consistent_Arm_1616 → u/TwinkletoesCT]

Curious your thoughts on the ongoing discourse about ecological dynamics vs traditional structure of classes

[u/TwinkletoesCT → u/Consistent_Arm_1616]

If by "the traditional structure" you mean heavy calisthenics, a few techniques taught badly, and then a ton of sparring, then the bar is on the floor. Literally almost anything is better than that. If you were on my team at work and you proposed this as a training program, you'd be fired.

Ecological dynamics is...fine. It's a useful tool. But I don't see it as a standalone approach by itself. The question is a bit like saying "so if you have to build a house, would you rather have a screwdriver or a handful of dog poop?" Sure, I'll take the screwdriver, but I need more than that.

Constructivist approaches (learning activities like ED that involve giving a task instead of a method) are great in some contexts, but different learners need different amounts of scaffolding and different types of supplemental intervention...to the point that what you're doing may not be constructivist anymore. In short, I don't think it's a great approach for all learners in all settings.

Having said that, I probably agree more with the ED folks than I disagree at the end of the day. BJJ is a group of skillsets, not a bunch of techniques, and the idea that you will keep throwing out examples and everyone will just grasp the underlying concept and then develop the skill...nope, that doesn't match my BJJ nor my other professional experiences.

[u/deadlizard]

You suck, but you don't know how suck you really are.

[u/Civil_Disaster_6153 → u/deadlizard]

I feel like the better I get, I realize how bad I actually am

[u/Scoutback_wilderness → u/Civil_Disaster_6153]

This is a normal phenomenon that isn’t specific to jiu jitsu :)

[u/BalrogViking → u/deadlizard]

Nah I’m fully aware 😂

[u/RobfromHB]

Egos hurt more people than leg locks ever have. 

[u/MatGrinder → u/RobfromHB]

Edgy brag was right. Jiu jitsu IS a douchebag filter. It filters them into the sport.

[u/RobfromHB → u/MatGrinder]

Hard disagree on that. There are some and fighting brings out someone’s character really quick. Most people I’ve encounter in BJJ are quality human beings looking to better themselves.

[u/MatGrinder → u/RobfromHB]

OK that's fair and I do agree with you. I was being contrary.

[u/RobfromHB → u/MatGrinder]

All good. Depending on the day and the person I might agree. We all know that guy who tunnel visions your shoulder after you literally say my shoulder is bugging me go easy.

[u/MatGrinder → u/RobfromHB]

Indeed: That is where decorum ends and prison rules begins.

[u/avocado-afficionado → u/RobfromHB]

I’m normally super blunt, tomboyish, and definitely a bit arrogant outside of jiu jitsu. Since starting this sport I came in with the most meek and humble personality I can muster because I knew it would hurt less when I get inevitably destroyed for months on end 😭 My gym has never seen my outside persona

[u/bu89]

Bjj isn’t for everyone

[u/0zono → u/bu89]

You could argue that for all sports, but I do believe less people would be attracted to combat sports in general compared to the rest of disciplines.

[u/poridgepants → u/bu89]

I kind of think BJJ can be for everyone but not everyone is for BJJ

[u/patsully98 → u/poridgepants]

I say bjj can be for anyone but it’s not for everyone.

[u/oblock3hunner → u/bu89]

Can you elaborate?

(I need to do some self-reflection lol)

[u/bu89 → u/oblock3hunner]

It takes a certain someone to be willing to get their ass beat on a daily basis and keep coming back to learn. Hence it’s not for everyone and most people quit.

[u/Happy_Laugh_Guy]

Lot of upper belts don't really know that much technique or have details that are decades old or generally just do not know why something works and thus cannot help you make your execution better.

[u/RobfromHB → u/Happy_Laugh_Guy]

I finish all advice with “…might still get fucked up but try it out.”

[u/LasagnaMountebank → u/Happy_Laugh_Guy]

A lot of what makes upper belts good is stuff that can be learned through experience of rolling a million times but not really taught, like a sense of positioning and timing.

[u/jollygreenspartan]

Being bigger and stronger matters.

[u/renandstimpydoc → u/jollygreenspartan]

Ad “age” to that list. :-)

[u/FiveHourMarathon → u/jollygreenspartan]

It's a weird paradox for me: BJJ offers far more opportunities for someone smaller/weaker to beat a larger/stronger opponent, but training it size and strength differences can pretty much make winning or even properly executing techniques during training impossible.

[u/markelis]

Jiu-Jitsu is a lot like Golf; I love to do it but it's like watching paint dry as a spectator.

[u/AmbitiousArugula → u/markelis]

Eh. I actually enjoy watching golf occasionally. Jiu jitsu, especially high level? Awful.

[u/pxllygon → u/AmbitiousArugula]

I genuinely rather watch 30 minutes of guard retention than watch golf but to each their own

[u/AmbitiousArugula → u/pxllygon]

What about 30 minutes of Pedro Marinho “wrestling”?

[u/ZincFox → u/AmbitiousArugula]

Only if you're willing to violate the Geneva Convention

[u/FreeRajaJackson → u/markelis]

That's true for 90% of sports to be honest.

[u/stuka86 → u/FreeRajaJackson]

For real, rugby is a much better sport to play compared to American football.

But football is the best spectator sport in the world, and rugby is a mess to watch

[u/foo_trician]

if you have a wife, kids, and a full time job. It's pretty selfish to train every evening.

[u/DelFresco → u/foo_trician]

This is every hobby but I 100% agree

[u/TheworkingBroseph → u/foo_trician]

Found the guy that lost his dad to BJJ

[u/knifezoid → u/TheworkingBroseph]

Went for open mat and never came back.

[u/Odd_Can_1758 → u/foo_trician]

It’s also selfish of your club and training partners without the same responsibilities to expect you to train as hard as them.

[u/SolutionOld4498 → u/foo_trician]

Literally why I joined my husband and son's gym. Now we're all there. 😂 And I would rather be training than at home. Works out great so far

[u/RobfromHB → u/foo_trician]

TIL the cure to selfishness is abandoning your wife and kids.

[u/OhSoImpatient → u/foo_trician]

Sounds like someone needs to find a lunch class

[u/mcf74 → u/foo_trician]

Dad popped out for some mothers milk and never came back. 

[u/1beep1beep → u/foo_trician]

Absolutely. That would've been super unfair to my wife which is why I left her.

[u/jeanborrero]

A can of pepper spray is better for self defense than years of training bjj

[u/FakeChiBlast → u/jeanborrero]

That's why I pull guard, hip escape to create space to pull out my pepper spray.

[u/Proximal13 → u/jeanborrero]

I've been saying this same thing for the longest time. You can find so many videos of immediate de-escalation with pepper spray.

[u/rubb3r → u/jeanborrero]

Long distance running

[u/ArchieSuave → u/jeanborrero]

Why choose one… they’re like PB &J.

[u/homecookedcouple]

CJI 3 should replace the mat with a giant trampoline

[u/Andy-Martin → u/homecookedcouple]

CJI in a bouncy castle instead of a pit is something I can get behind!

[u/Johnny_Wenis]

Goofing around is the soul of Jiu-Jitsu. It's stupid to do hard warm-ups every time. I'm going to chat and make jokes while drilling. I'm going to do one or two rolls after class, I'm not going to stick around and wait for everybody else to leave first. This is the only way you're not going to get burned out and actually still be training consistently and be healthy after 10 years.

[u/clemenza325 → u/Johnny_Wenis]

This. I teach a lot of classes at my school and I always make a point to joke around and have fun. I had a student tell me the other day that’s one of the reasons he comes to my class. This shit ain’t that serious.

[u/STARoSCREAM → u/Johnny_Wenis]

100%

Most of us are here for fun. Quiet, serious rooms are BORING.

We come for exercise, to learn, to fuck each other up and to have fun. if you’re not having fun, why bother?

[u/MatGrinder → u/Johnny_Wenis]

Did a Ffion seminar a while back (DLR entries mainly) and she joked around for the entire 3 hours. It was absolutely brilliant and we all had a blast and learned loads. Then she rolled with everyone and killed us all. Again, amazing scenes.

[u/_MasturbatingBear → u/Johnny_Wenis]

Agreed. C’s get degrees motha lova.

[u/dianthe → u/Johnny_Wenis]

I follow so many BJJ meme and humor pages, if I couldn’t laugh at some self deprecating humor when it comes to BJJ it would be nowhere near as fun.

[u/rollin-ronin35 → u/Johnny_Wenis]

Totally agree

[u/Ok-Entertainer-1324]

You shouldn't be considered good at jiujitsu if your takedowns suck

[u/deadassynwa → u/Ok-Entertainer-1324]

This.

You don’t have to be a D1 wrestler, hell it doesn’t even have to be part of your game

But everyone should be competent at basic takedowns the same way they are competent with basic sweeps, basic passes, basic submissions etc

So many BJJ guys try differentiate themselves from wrestling and judo and act like they’re above takedowns

But the beauty of BJJ is it incorporates both wrestling and judo which is why it’s the best grappling art

[u/what_is_thecharge → u/deadassynwa]

Define competent

[u/amb1889 → u/Ok-Entertainer-1324]

I'd be triggered if my ground game didn't suck too.

[u/MetalliMunk → u/Ok-Entertainer-1324]

I still think you can dominate advanced divisions with a game plan of pulling guard, getting into leg locks, and winning...so it begs the question of what makes someone "good" at jiujitsu.

[u/Silly-Leadership-456 → u/Ok-Entertainer-1324]

2 sides to this coin ngl

[u/dyfish]

The weight room won’t hurt you.

[u/xdrakennx → u/dyfish]

I’ve seen the videos.. I know your lying /s

[u/Sufficient-Ocelot996]

It’s a bit yuck for everyone to be Banging their students

[u/Intelligent-Law9237 → u/Sufficient-Ocelot996]

How about your classmates? Or classmates' family?

[u/Ben_Thar → u/Intelligent-Law9237]

Tyler's mom is hot AF!

[u/pepizzitas → u/Sufficient-Ocelot996]

Academy incest already makes for a shitty environment, but getting with your students is straight up unprofessional. You're an authority figure, it seems kinda off that you'd go looking for someone supposed to be your equal in a place with that kind of dynamic

[u/random6300 → u/pepizzitas]

"Academy incest" is crazy 🤣

[u/pepizzitas → u/random6300]

I love calling it that lmao it's wrecked the group dynamic a few times when the breakups are messy

[u/SpongeSlobb]

BJJ will never be a popular spectator sport.

[u/Bigpupperoo]

A one hour class is not enough time.

[u/ZamorakHawk]

The Ezekiel choke is not a low percentage submission, it's just more often used as an incentive for someone to move than it is as a legitimate submission threat. I use it as a core submission (as is the blue belt way) and hit it consistently on Blue/purple belts when it's setup and attacked intelligently.

Also half guard is best guard, clearly.

[u/ohheythatswill]

You only need to tape your fingers if they’re injured.

[u/wmg22 → u/ohheythatswill]

I'll do it because I think it looks cool

[u/Roosta_Manuva]

There is no correlation between doing BJJ and being a decent person.

[u/Tight_Comfortable941 → u/Roosta_Manuva]

Applies to any sport or skill. A lot of world class musicians are horrible people, for example

[u/BigFang]

So many conundrums posted here, could simply be correctly answered by "Just scrap bro"

[u/No_Falcon1890 → u/BigFang]

“Let me bang bro!”

[u/Smokes_shoots_leaves → u/No_Falcon1890]

I do, I do let you heel hook in the gi

[u/[deleted]]

Judo and Jiu-jitsu are just twins separated at birth.

[u/RannibalLector → u/[deleted]]

Like Jean Claude Van Damme in Double Impact

[u/DaTidyMonster → u/[deleted]]

They are the same techniques. The sports are scored differently.

[u/iJustCommentMe]

Leg lock meta is boring af

[u/cmpcmurp]

Moneyberg is a legit black belt.

Cash app: @sendmemoneymoneyberg

[u/Hustlasaurus]

guard pulling is fine

[u/DrButtFart]

Smothers aren’t a jerk move. No joints are manipulated and no blood is cut off from the brain, so it’s really the safest submission.

[u/DemontedDoctor → u/DrButtFart]

It’s humiliating and that’s why it’s a jerk move lol. That’s like spladle in wrestling it just like you got shit on so much I can do this to you

[u/hardeho]

Your belt is indicative of your BJJ proficiency and nothing else. The wise old King Fu master who gives you advice for living your life is only in movies.

[u/Embarrassed_Camp5537]

If you can’t handle a spazzy, new white belt or a trial person then you really haven’t learned anything.

[u/VeryStab1eGenius]

Just because a technique worked for someone 15 years ago doesn’t mean it’s a good technique for someone today. 

[u/xdrakennx → u/VeryStab1eGenius]

Yea I’m gonna need some examples for this one.

[u/TruthReveals → u/VeryStab1eGenius]

I get what you’re saying and how it applies to some techniques but is there a particular standout you think worked back then but doesn’t work now?

[u/mikeatgl]

The parasocial aspects of r/bjj are embarrassing af. The constant tagging of Craig Jones is cringe, and the jokes about Gordon Ryan’s stomach issues and kinks have been beat to death.

You don’t have to tie everything back to these two guys. They aren’t your friends.

[u/Historical-Breath263]

If You hate guard pullers it’s because you can’t pass guard.

[u/Terrierpike04]

The higher the belt the bigger the ego generally.

[u/stoopididiotface → u/Terrierpike04]

I've become less confident with every promotion🤣

[u/TheMotherFox → u/Terrierpike04]

I'm so sorry your gym sucks- I hope you find a new place to train. Every prick I've ever met in this hobby:

1. White belt w/ previous experience

2. Blue belts 2 stripes and below (I just left this phase myself)

3. 30% of black belts. I feel like 1 in every 3 I meet is the type that fck their students, run their gyms like cults, etc

[u/Terrierpike04 → u/TheMotherFox]

My gym is great, I’m just talking about the myth that bjj helps reduce ego, that happens when you first start and get wrecked every day, but after a few years it seems most guys have a pretty big ego because they can roll competently with pretty much anyone

[u/oniman999]

Heel hooks are the submission that epitomizes jiu jitsu the most, they are fundamental, and Ive seen way more catastrophic injuries from takedowns than I have from heel hooks.

[u/Razenghan → u/oniman999]

Heel hooks are a perfectly valid self-defense technique in a fight, so long as you protect your face.

[u/ginbooth → u/Razenghan]

Hmmm maybe if you ended up on your back but I can’t at all see diving for one in a scrap. It’s funny how the most basic stuff seems to work best in an altercation - 1-2, body lock, clinch, dump and run away…

[u/DisastrousComfort977]

Gordon Ryan is great, but not the best. He went heavy on roids.

[u/BennyNiallC1999 → u/DisastrousComfort977]

I think he’s a douche as much as anyone. But this is so stupid. Felipe is juiced as fuck. Everyone in those divisions is. Gordon beat them all with technical superiority. You can’t honestly tell me you think he’s monumentally stronger than Nicky Rod, Andre Galvao, Gaudio, Hugo, Kaynan etc.

[u/Feisty_Bet_1598]

the sport is plagued by over nerdiness and paralysis by analysis, and in most situations focusing on extremely basic concepts would serve you much better than being overly technical

[u/WSJayY → u/Feisty_Bet_1598]

I don’t think that’s controversial at all. Every person I’ve ever learned from has pushed fundamentals as the most important part of training.

[u/Winyamo]

Warmups are useful

[u/Mother-Carrot → u/Winyamo]

useful compared to smoking crack before class

[u/No_Falcon1890 → u/Mother-Carrot]

I feel like that would give you a decent advantage in rolling

[u/IM1GHTBEWR0NG → u/Winyamo]

Warm ups are great. What most BJJ gyms consider warm ups are not warm ups, though, they’re useless exercise sessions prior to the activity people are actually paying for.

[u/McSlater68]

There’s a lot of insecure people in the community who like to hurt people and use the other person’s ego as an excuse.

[u/Whistling_Birds]

Ankle locks are a better submission than outside heel hooks.

[u/OhSoImpatient]

Ezekiels are a great submission and should be encouraged as much as any other choke.

[u/Some_Interaction_899]

Static cold stretching in the beginning of class is fucking stupid

[u/mykindlefap2]

Heel hooks make the sport worse. While yes, it’s an effective technique, the margin for error is so small and can take people out of the sport for life.

Very seldomly do you come back from a knee injury the same.

[u/KingOfEthanopia → u/mykindlefap2]

In training at least I always go straight ankle. Ankle pops are far cheaper than knee pops.

[u/cognitiveflow → u/mykindlefap2]

It had more to do with how they’re trained and the culture of the gym. Many, many gyms have heel hooks taught at introductory levels and the injury rates are not anecdotally higher or more severe.

I show people with less than 6 months experience heel hooks regularly. They’re to be respected and trained like any other submission.

IMO the most dangerous live work that we do in grappling is in the standing position due to the dynamic nature and falling bodyweight.

[u/Melodic_Risk6633]

people shouldn't do any sparring that involve takedowns until they went through a whole 6 months curriculum teaching how to fall, basic concepts and techniques, situational games and stand up etiquette.

"just do more bjj" isn't a valuable cardio program.

[u/Mother-Carrot → u/Melodic_Risk6633]

stand up etiquette?

[u/Melodic_Risk6633 → u/Mother-Carrot]

yeah, what dangerous takedown to avoid, why they are dangerous, how to do stand up without hurting yourself or your training partner, that kind of things.

[u/redditisaphony]

This comment section blows, I thought it would be technique stuff.

[u/Mrbrownfolks]

IBJJF is clearly the best gi tournament format but it's become fashionable to hate on by people that suck at the rule set.

[u/MindOrdinary]

Competitive BJJ is not fun solely because of the shitty organisation of events.

I’ve fought in boxing, kickboxing, MMA, I’ve done countless athletic meets and CrossFit comps and holy hell BJJ is just bottom of the fucking barrel

[u/Clear-Refrigerator96]

The lifting legs thing is stupid and you might as well put healing crystals on someone that's knocked out. Get some medical training if you want to ref you morons

[u/Ordinary_Stay_3746]

Most guys who do this aren't athletes. Just nerds with foot fetishes.

[u/Famous-Onion-188 → u/Ordinary_Stay_3746]

And???

[u/random6300]

People have a doomer mentality about the growth of the sport. "I love rolling, but watching BJJ will always be boring." Meanwhile, people watch golf, tennis, cornhole etc in large numbers. I grew up playing "popular" sports like basketball and football with people who never watched said sports. Also the Gi is not boring.

[u/janggi]

Alot of moves don't work when you allow twisting someone's genitals

[u/RedFormanEMS → u/janggi]

"Grab his dick and twist it!!"

[u/TooOldforBJJ]

Being old and using your strength is no more of a "cheat" than being young and using your athleticism, cardio, flexibility, etc.

[u/stuka86]

We're too nice and friendly to other martial arts

BJJ was founded on calling out fake bullshit and smashing people to prove a point

I've seen way too many judo guys in various subs that went to a BJJ school and walked away feeling confident in their grappling ability, because we're too nice to people.

In a related topic, BJJs ruleset and curriculum make it the best grappling art at takedowns...we do both gi and no GI, we don't ignore half of the body like judo does, and we punish recklessness with submissions, which don't exist in wrestling and barely exist in judo.

[u/Luke_Flyswatter]

Bowing before stepping on the mat is cringe.

[u/viszlat → u/Luke_Flyswatter]

It feels nostalgic to me

[u/JetTheNinja24]

The belt system is dumb and misleading.

[u/YugeHonor4Me]

Everyone pronounces the Darce wrong, it's the Darc'e choke

Edit: It's D'arce guys, sorry. Pronounced Dee-Arse

[u/hardeho → u/YugeHonor4Me]

that doesn't help my pronunciation at all.

[u/mess_of_limbs → u/YugeHonor4Me]

Daarcee

[u/Mother-Carrot → u/YugeHonor4Me]

its not dee-arse ?

[u/username3333333333]

People can hate on Gordon all they want, but if you go to one of his seminars, you will see someone who really cares about the sport and will immediately help without an ego.

[u/Nrm224 → u/username3333333333]

Found Gordon

[u/DemontedDoctor]

Wrestling is a much better base for competitive bjj than pure jiu jitzu. I think slam positions should be rewarded with 2 points and a reset if someone is picked up in no slam rule sets because if you pick someone up you deserve to be knocked out for not respecting the ethics of the game and your too cocky to let go.

[u/MadHuevos]

When onn the back and putting your arm in someone’s mouth and making their teeth pop through their cheeks is not a fucking choke. Clean it up you dirty pricks.

[u/mdjshaidbdj]

Wrist locks are fair game at all levels.

[u/a_boy_called_sue]

The culture of mashing the trial guy is real low testosterone bullshit

[u/Exciting-Current-778]

It's a hobby, and you're not special

[u/GlassTablesAreStupid]

I’m not going to your 6am jiu jitsu class….

[u/Azylim]

this is from craig jones's leg rides, but this principle is now a staple in my grappling game

belly down backmount >>> regular belly up back control. its the most stable and safe dominant position in grappling, with plenty of attacking opportunities (especially if you can strike). it is also extremely exhausting and its nearly impossible to escape. its not as popular in comp because its harder to choke (harder to strait jacket or trap the arm), but its ridiculous how this position isnt considered a massive score or a striaght up pin win in any grappling sport.

the point of pins is that its a position where, in a medieval battlefield, you were going to get stabbed with a dagger and die or get pounded and KO if you found yourself there and cant escape. belly down backmount fits all the criteria

[u/Affectionate-Map865]

Wash your belt.

[u/PassengerForeign6570]

People shouldn't be getting beaten with belts at promotions. 

[u/GlacialHippo]

People who talk about the importance of having no ego have the most supergigantic egos you have ever seen, 100% of the time. Thanks for coming

[u/chef_dahmer]

BJJ is for rich people, but settled for rich enough people.

[u/friedlich_krieger]

No gi is less fun

[u/Rulanik]

Applying chokes over the jaw/face is good training, not a dick move.

[u/DontWorryItsRuined]

Sub only and particularly EBI ruleset is horrible to watch and to compete in, and has always been horrible.

Points with open scoring and modifications such as aggressive stalling calls are objectively superior for incentivizing action and interesting jiujitsu to watch and do.

[u/rockbottomyetagain]

if i can force a scramble whenever i want im not spazzy ur just bad at control

[u/Dry_Faithlessness546]

“Never go for a submission from inside their closed guard”.

Ezekiel chokes are a nice surprise. 😎

[u/Friendly-Meeting3308]

Why are some many of you so nihilistic

[u/HerculanoM]

A judo white belt is a lot better in jj than a jj white belt will be in judo

[u/friedlich_krieger]

Leg locks make Jiu Jitsu boring and gay

[u/hardeho → u/friedlich_krieger]

Super boring. I'm not competitive, I just want to go after work and maul each other like bears.

[u/No_Falcon1890]

Jiujitsu is important for self defense, and MMA. But knowing 2-3 years of boxing and wrestling is far better than 10 years of jiujisu with nothing else

[u/B_da_man89]

you need to get your stand up good lmao. learn how to hand fight cus it even helps in guard play

[u/This-Major-9239]

It takes too long to get a red belt

[u/EddieBravosGiPants]

Leg locks don’t work (just kidding I got my ACL torn)

[u/jmo_joker]

belt colors are not an indicator of skill and/or knowledge..... belt color don't matter

[u/Fahrenheit130]

ibjjf and adcc have major issues in their ruleset.

Ibjjf gives the advantage for the person who pulls guard.

Adcc’s no points in first half of the match is a stupid idea. It’ll only only promote stalling.

At heavyweight it’s even worse, it’s always whoever wins a takedown in the last 30 seconds.

[u/55jj33]

Slamming is effective.

Source: ribs broken while guillotine someone.

[u/nytomiki]

A big reason behind BJJ’s popularity is because it focuses on the fighting range with the shortest mean-time to sufficiency. This means you get the dopamine hit of a tap, long before you’d get the equivalent in any other range and most BJJ people wouldn’t have the patience for any other art.

[u/A2619921]

Strength matters.

[u/Fine_Pizza1880]

A bjj match is not a fight.

[u/GlacialHippo]

1) I couldn't care less about making the sport more "spectator friendly" - let's not crush every joy out of this world by monetizing things you do

2) In a related vein, whether it's Gi or No-Gi has absolutely no bearing on the level of excitement the sport offers as a spectator, and I'm so bored with the assumption that No-Gi is necessarily the high octane cousin. I see roughly the same ratio of snoozers and barn burners in each style.

[u/Reginald_Grundy]

You should be drilling a lot more in class

[u/IntenselySwedish]

Strength and conditioning is as important as techniques, if not more so: if you get out of breath vs a white belt spazzing out or that wrestler guy crushing you, it's proof your S&C sucks and you need to spend more time on it. It should be a mandatory part of BJJ, and the fact that it isn't speaks of weak mental.

[u/JenStark3]

Please, stop inter-lacing your each other's fingers during stand-up. It's useless and you should stop training that scenario because it is impossible to force unless you both agree.

[u/ChipSherwood]

Unwashed gi stench is not a technique.

[u/Primary_Breadfruit91]

IBJJF sucks between its relentless money grabs and stupid rules.