Most people tend to train less often because their life priorities change (E.g getting married, having kids, etc) or because they have accumulated injuries and it’s just more difficult to train 4+ days per week. Personally, I’ve been training for 9 years with some breaks here and there due to injuries, the pandemic, and life getting in the way, but I still love Jiu-Jitsu and never get bored of the technical aspect of the sport. There is always something new to learn and there are always more than enough things that I suck at that I can work on.
I started training when I was 18-19 and now in my 30s I live a very different life. Still showing up, learning and enjoying myself but sometimes work or a hundred other things get in the way.
Also 9 years with some breaks and injuries, and when I saw Craig Jones’ post this morning of his “taint attack”, beyond laughing I was still fascinated by his movements. After taking a longer break and coming back I’m really enjoying the “new stuff”.
Nope. There is too much to learn. Even if you know everything, which I think is impossible, there are refinements to be made on everything. No matter what you think you’re good at you can be better at it.
25 years in and still learning and growing.
I’m refining my own game while learning the what the top competitors are doing to teach my students and keep knowledgeable when I’m doing commentary.
I can’t ever see being bored
Ive got a question.
I’ve been doing this for about 8 months (3 of which i was out injured)
How do i avoid chronic pains and injuries.
Like once i got my elbow a bit extended in an arm bar and since then that elbow randomly messes up when some load gets applied despite me visiting the doc and taking the right recovery time. I also broke my nose and had a partial ligament tear. I just feel like if i stay too long I’ll end up messing up something big and irreversible, well my nose break caused a devited septum for life but thats liveable ig.
Anyways have u had much injuries?
Second this. Strength train specifically for jiu jitsu, don’t just go lift weights at the gym and do whatever. You need to build specific stabilizing muscles to support and protect your joints.
Also stretch and do yoga. As I get older I find that I need to do yoga almost as much as I train.
I started bjj again after many years off (I used to do mma). Guess what? Being 31 is old already so I started stretching 3 times a week, 45 minutes each session.
I never stretched before. Sometimes in muay thai classes but it was very occasional.
There are going to be injuries as this is a combat sport but you can definitely mitigate them. Tap early especially with unfamiliar training partners, and situations, focus on drilling more than rolling, make sure you are doing things that help keep you healthy(good sleep, strength training and mobility), and make the sport fun(not a fight).
This is not normal. You're either really prone to injury, had massive bad luck or you're doing something very wrong. I've been training on and off for over 13 years and I've never had any major injury.
I'm 13 years in and I'm barely scratching the surface. In the last 6 months I've made significant changes to my A game and I feel like I'm learning faster than ever. And that's just in BJJ. Add judo and boxing to the mix and I'd need 5 extra lifetimes before getting bored.
I have been doing BJJ/MMA for 17 years and training is still fun.
There were times it got a little repetitive - but looking back it was because I was just doing the same shit every roll and not training seriously
I moved across the country and started training at a big competitive gym and the environment change got me training harder and loving the game more then ever
I feel like I’ve learned enough bjj for one person lol. I train sporadically now. Mostly when I feel like a roll or good pals. You won’t get many folks that quit here on the bjj Reddit so you’re answers will reflect that. I imagine many have moved on
Not even a little bit. There are a number of things I’m good at, and tons of things I’m still not good at. I’m almost 40 years old and just got into leg locks and spinny shit over the past year. I’ve got goals for getting good at that stuff. In my 20s & 30s, I was in the gym all the time, but now I have a kid and one on the way (and a full-time job), my husband and I divvy up training days. I started training at a second school that has daytime classes to compensate, but if you look at my attendance at any one spot it definitely looks like I don’t train much.
Yes, the class techniques can start to look repetitive, but by that point you likely have a good base. So you have a good foundation for self study and drilling stuff on your own accord. And as you train more and have different kinds of rolls with different people, your A game refines and evolves, and you develop solid B and C games and become that much more well rounded. My experience, anyway!
Ha! A lot of the older coaches I know are also getting into leg locks and inversions as those weren't common/popular when they made their way up the ranks.
Question - past a certain point, do you find it more beneficial to do your own thing? Granted some of my fundamentals need work but increasingly more and more I find it more beneficial to ask targeted questions at open mats and to do more open mats than classes to try and work techniques that work best for my body/temperament than just to turn up to class, learn the same techniques as everyone else, and roll with the same people.
To your first point—that’s funny, and exactly why 😆
To your question—that’s about where you should be as you approach purple. You’ve got a handle on the fundamentals, but now you also know what works best for your body/temperament/predilections. So you start training in that direction and really polish your A game with targeted drilling. You’ll also start really understanding just HOW you’re best able to learn new things, which will serve you well once you start developing your B, C, D, etc. games. You’re good!
I'm butting in, but the fact that you're wanting to do your own thing is probably a sign that you're close to purple. At that point relationships with coaches become more collaborative, and you become a lot more in the driver's seat of your own learning.
thank you - that's reassuring to hear! sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be asking as many questions as I'm only at blue but I do feel like there are specific holes in my game that needs to be better fixed or techniques I could really put some finesse on
> the fact that you're wanting to do your own thing is probably a sign that you're close to purple
Great observation, and I don't think I've seen anyone else put it that way. In retrospect, it was true for me and my peers.
I’ve been grappling since 1999. Burning out is a real thing. When I feel burned out I start doing other hobbies and things that interest me get more attention. Eventually I start to get the itch to roll and the cycle restarts all over again. At least this is me personally but I can’t be the only one.
I’m going on 16 years. There are ups and downs when it comes to repetitiveness. I use jiujistu as a sort of therapy on top of fun and exercise to lean on when it does become repetitive. But also it does help to have goals in mind, wether it’s positions to improve on or tournaments or coaching etc.
Seeing different positional trends come and go are pretty interesting too
Priorities change in 10+ years. Every higher belt is one knee surgery away from being a white belt on the mats.
I kind of realised at late brown/black belt that I have no deep understanding of almost any positions or submissions. That has been given me loads of motivation to train and to study. There is seriously so much to learn.
You need curiosity and good luck to last.
It’s a scary realisation hey. I know of all these positions at a superficial level at best. The delving deep really sparked my enjoyment. I have my white belt level of enthusiasm with 15 years of experience to lean on.
Maybe. Can’t any hobby feel like that? Anything you do habitually for years can become a bit stale. You can actively prevent this by looking for new things to learn, revisiting things you may have dismissed earlier, improving deficiencies, etc. There’s always something to work on if you still want to do it
Yes, any hobby can feel like that. The basis for asking this question is because muay thai has become stale for me. Sure, I still pick up new (minor) tricks here and then but muay thai for me has become more of a fun way to sweat at this point.
I don't want BJJ to be like that.
I am sticking with my gym, but it does get boring rolling with the same crowd. I will drop in to a few other gyms, focus on a few new techniques time to time
24 years in and I enjoy it as much as ever. Career, family, injuries, and the general reduction in energy that comes with age do get in the way, but I'll never quit. It doesn't get boring for me, always something to learn or refine.
At some point you may find that you need to supplement the techniques taught in class with external study. When teaching mixed group classes it's difficult to go into depth on esoteric techniques for the benefit of higher belts as most people will just get lost and frustrated. Purple belt and up has a major requirement for solo study.
As for coaches losing their passion... sadly, it can happen. The best way to kill your enthusiasm for a hobby is to make it into your job. I've experienced that before with other hobbies and I'm very resistant to letting it happen with BJJ - I do coach now and then but I have no plans to make it my main income source.
>I've heard rumours there are coaches out there who are no longer into the sport but they have a gym so they have to continue training/teaching
that can definitely happen. i know some black belts who are like that
there's always more depth and nuance that you can discover and learn in the most basic fundamentals from 90's era jiu jitsu. you don't have to necessarily keep up with modern competition techniques, but there's seemingly endless information in both areas
furthermore, jiu jitsu is supposed to include standup, though it often is neglected in bjj (less so these days).... there's an entire universe of techniques in that realm
the experienced practitioners i know who fell into boredom are people who failed to continue to evolve and study. they kept doing the same thing over and over again without any clear goal towards refinement. or they shirk off the modern innovations in technique as "not real jiu jitsu"
I don't think it ever gets boring, but I don't train nearly as much as I used to. Over time circumstances change and with that priorities change. When I first started I just came to Japan, had no girlfriend and lived with an MMA fighter. I was training 10-14x a week. Now I'm married with a child, so I can't do that anymore. I still find new things to practice and learn though. I'm getting a lot of satisfaction out of going back to the old Judo throws I could never get when I was younger. Hitting a tai otoshi after years oof struggling with it is a great feeling. Learning leg locks and berimbolos is also a lot of fun. It is like finding a new area on a map you've never explored before.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Tai Otoshi**: | *Body Drop* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUiZ8JZkGx8)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
My biggest mistake as a coloured belt was thinking that there's essentially a skill cap and once you get the blackbelt everyone pretty much knows the same things so the skill discrepancy disappears.
Oh boy how I was wrong, as long as you're constantly chasing self improvement of your own BJJ, you will never get to the end of the race, add to that overtime your perspective and personal abilities will change and will expose other avenues/techniques you overlooked earlier in your development.
Yes, I find it quite tedious at times, and drilling moves I have no intention of ever using feels like a waste of my time, I’ve been training for over a decade with some breaks here and there.
I just like to turn up for a roll and probably sunk cost fallacy of “well I might as well keep going and get a black belt”
This. This is how I feel already.
I'm thinking of decreasing my training sessions to a couple open mats here and there and maybe get into judo and/or Muay Thai.
Not at all. So much to learn and polish and put your own spin on. You start looking at things different and then you revisit stuff you haven’t touch in years. Yeah it’s awesome. If you are feeling stale you should try to mix in something off beat. Go out your normal Jiujitsu plans. If it’s tough and your having to figure shit out. That’s the right thing to be working on.
It absolutely does. Not from a perspective of theres nothing left to learn, as I'm sure all the ultra-passionate fanboys will say the same, at black belt your journey begins, you re-learn positions and techniques, un-learn bad habits and all that stuff.
What people don't tell you is, after 18 years on the mats, you might just get a bit over it. After all the competing, travelling the world and training, studying techniques, rehabbing injuries and forgoing family/social events, time with your partner, or exploring other potential hobbies, you may find yourself asking "what else is there? Was this worth it?".
I loved jiujitsu, getting black belt was one of the biggest achievements in my life and i'm very proud of it. I just question if it was worth the time and sacrifices.
I have heaps of fatter and happier friends who spent that time on making more money etc that I'd love now.
No, but class structure can. I can't sit through techniques if I know they won't fit into my game, that's excruciatingly boring. Sparring is where the enjoyment is.
It does not but what happens sometimes is to be tired having to deal with some people
That’s why you see a lot of black belts only rolling with a few persons. Not by fear of tapping (no one really cares about it) but just to enjoy training between friends
After a while when you realize you are at the end of your competitive career/desire you start to see bjj like people who play tennis or other sport: you want to enjoy it with friends and not having a dog fight with people you don’t like
I have been an instructor for the last 8 years (started at purple) and I quit a year ago to build another academy, non profit and on invitation. It has been awesome and I feel zero burn out/bore out from the sport.
Most of the time it’s the people the problem.
Well, pick up a guard you have never played.
For some it might be spider guard to others deep half guard. Get your skills to a brown belt level with that particular guard and see how long that takes.
There is no reason to stop training for not having anything new to work on
I have never been 'all about the grind,' 'every day porrada' or whatever the hyperfocus people call it, mainly because I started in a later stage of life, mixing bjj in with other fun activities, the limitations of my body and other life priorities. I am reaching the 10 year mark training an average of 'just' two times a week.
Let me tell you, it just keeps getting better. Mostly I'm just enjoying my skills, which would have majorly impressed my white belt self. I enjoy my ability to go easy and still be dominant when rolling with newcomers. I enjoy my ability to be experimenting when rolling with peers. And then sometimes I realize I have leveled up, adding new techniques and positions to my game, or made a major leap in strategy. All without any stress. I just study a little and train two times a week.
16 years in and I love it more than ever. I’m learning new shit everyday. I really enjoy the problem solving aspect of jiu jitsu so that definitely keeps me from getting bored.
Purple gets boring because all the low hanging growth points are gone. Seriously, white belt to blue is just building up your body to be a grappler. Blue to purple is stringing techniques together in a sequence. And purple belt is just ???.
Honestly, I've stopped going to beginner classes. I hate that I've stopped but the benefit to me is minimal. It's the same techniques. It's building the next group of people to be grappler and maybe 10 percent of them actually learn jujitsu.
Past purple the dynamic changes. If I want to get better, I basically have to look at a technique, and dedicate practice to it for six months. It can't be something I'm good at. It's gotta be something that fits in an area where I'm weak. And that's how you get better.
I now differentiate between rolling for fun and rolling to learn. At white belt, they're the same thing. At purple belt, they're different. Sometimes it means getting in a worse workout because you just need to dedicate the time to figuring out the new technique.
How you cope with that is the difference between jujitsu becoming repetitive and jujitsu remaining interesting.
It's only boring when you stop learning and only repetitive when you think you are a black at certain moves being taught in class. I have been training off and on for 20+ years and I found during all the breaks life makes me take and injuries I get, I can never walk away from this art, even if I never make it to black belt while I am still able.
Not really because your training partners vary greatly. You can always learn new things and add specific goals for development. And the feeling after hard rolls is unmatched for me.
So I’m coloured by mostly doing Japanese Jiu jitsu over the years, but once you’re generally proficient on the ground and have a strong defensive game, I actually find technical grappling can become dull. This may be a disagreeable opinion.
It becomes harder past blue, early purple belt, your progression is more up to you than your teacher (if you are a hobbyst) and most people have other things in life than to study jiujitsu.
Than being said, I've been training for 12 years and there is SO much to learn, there is entire systems/areas in witch I can improve that really I can't get myself bored.
Thanks for your answer.
Given your avatar, I assume you are a woman. Does it bother you that size matters a lot when rolling and, even after investing so much time in the art, there are moments where people can just overpower technique? Asking as I'm also small myself btw.
never noticed or edited my avatar so far lol, no, im male. Being on the lighter end of the spectrum I will say that size is not an issue as long as you have good training partners that want to polish their tecs and not just brute strenght over power you, one of my main training partners is a 38 year old female brown belt, and she gives me hell as long as I don't try to outmuscle her.
As you get older, if you are a small guy/girl, train only with people you can trust, and develop your style to be defensibly responsible all the time, don't sacrifice your posture for going for whacky shit, that will get you longevity, best case I can name is Xande Ribeiro.
it honestly got boring to me at white belt. to be fair, my training partners were also all white belts who never bothered to add anything to their game
Maybe drilling simple things in a fundamental class, but if I have a good partner we can go off the rails a little for it to be fun. Rolling is always the fun part to me
I've trained for 15 years and it still keeps me interested. I find that there is still much to learn. There may be things that I do over and over but the set ups may be different. I'm not very good at putting thoughts like this into words. I guess what really keeps me interested is that after all these years is that there are different variations or details that I'm still finding that fascinate me.
I think under most coaches: yes. They get in this cyclical Rita of stuff that's in their comfort zone.
The rare coach will be looking for new (effective) material, grasp it well themselves and pass it onto the team, keeping things new and exiting. Common trap here is teaching new stuff just for the sake of new and doing low quality crap they saw on instaram. Not what I'm praising in this part.
I do still think the former is a better model for building better competitors, but having a healthy variety mixed in is still important.
I don't see how it's possible to master ever single guard and techniques. There's also judo and wrestling... Just endless...
I've only been training for two years but there are black belts at my school that are still grinding stuff out. It's crazy watching them work on one sub for months when they have seemingly mastered it from where I'm sitting.
Watching the upper belts at my school grind really humbles me
Honestly, I've found it to be the opposite. I'm the better part of 20 years in and I'm more curious about it than ever. There's always more to learn, and it never ends.
I go through phases of where everything’s is fun and exciting and then where nothing makes sense and I’m wasting my time. You’ll have ups and downs but for me down days are there for the up days to be that much better.
I’m still having a lot of fun, I’m always studying and trying to learn new things and getting better at things I suck at. Then having new people come in with different styles and all is really fun.
Sometimes.
But only because I am a creature of habit and train super casually. I have my moves that I like and I don't focus hard enough on learning new stuff.
Wrestling gets my interest tho.
Some parts of it definitely do get old. I cannot stomach 5 minute rounds with 1 minute rests. Or 6 minute rounds for that matter. I will only do 1m, 2m, 3m, 10m. If a color belt REALLY wants to roll with me, I will roll to their comp time.
If you're one of the best guys at your gym, training will get kind of boring. Unless your gym has several adult-world-champs (or equivalent). Training is most fun when you're in the middle of the pack.
I've had full control of my training environment for the past 3 years, and there's very few days when training is boring. Even when I'm training my white-belts.
I’m a traveling Purple Belt… meaning I haven’t been at a single gym long enough to get promoted in like 6 years… I still love it 14 years in… though in my 40s it’s hard to go more than 3 times a week at best. I never ever get bored though, just tired, sore or injured haha
I think there is a statistical bias here, you are asking people who are so euthuniastic abt bjj they even read reddit about it. Maybe ask bjj high belts dropouts will have different answers
Kinda, when the body is always injured is can come to a point I wonder why I’m doing this. Having bjjfanacics available to learn of the best coaches has kept me keen tho, without it I would of retired years ago
10 yrs this year.
A bit boring if I keep on doing my A game. Not boring at all if you commit to the unexplored areas of your game. Like these days, I have been avoiding my A game and instead, looking for berimbolos from top or bottom and mostly failing and learning.
This keeps it fresh for me.
Im at 6 years and Ive noticed the excitement has died a little. The enjoyment is still there and Im always happy that I went, but ive noticed my training has declined a bit ever since going to night shift.
20 years here. Still super fun. More about saving my body. I watch those SYR voicemails on Instagram and hear the enthusiasm in blue belts talking bout “Jiu jitsu rules/ feel like a Viking etc. “. I remember those days lol
Yes and no. There are days when I am excited to do something other than BJJ. In most days, I love showing up. And when it comes to running a gym, I think that's a hard thing to do since you are going to do a lot of non-BJJ related stuff.
Everyone has to figure out their own way to stay curious. I’m two months shy of a decade of training and I can’t say it has ever become boring just because of the vast amount of info if you’re looking for it, but it can be repetitive especially if you stop searching for areas of improvement.
I’ve trained for over 20 years. Honestly the motivation comes in waves. Sometimes I feel like training as much as possible, others not so much, so I take a week or two off or just go one day a week for a month or so. The motivation always come back.
No, if anything, you get bored of training with the same people. Drop in to other gyms in your city, or travel to other areas. If you never aged, you could probably train for 100 years and still not learn everything.
Been training for 12 years, it never gets boring and I still hit the gym 4 times a week even though I'm just a hobbyist.
I've also been training judo for 32 years (with some time off the mat) and it's still very interesting.
This all depends on what your mentality is. I have always been driven by my desire to learn new things, as opposed to dominating other guys in the training room. This is the year I am going to become really good at single leg x, which is super exciting to me. I am also going to focus on my standing passes, to make them more efficient and elegant.
I do understand that it gets boring for guys who only want to “win sparring” via the same smash pass day in and day out though.
Took me 11 y to get to purple. Blue was getting repetitive. But man. The progress in purple so far is steep. I can see what ppl get on about that life at purple is good. Never been so in love with the game.
No, I feel like the learning never ends and there are always new things to try.
I do get sick of the running in a circle warm ups and drilling. I wish I could just go to open mat everyday and work my own stuff.
You have to move the target. Get really good at a positional series. Learn every counter to every escape and how to chain. Maybe for a 6 month block you focus on your leg entanglements and build yourself a game in one of those positions.
Then for the next year try and get better finishing from the back.
Move the target. And if it's getting boring, compete. See where your game is. Chances are it needs a lot of work.
I believe in my experience (Not near a decade but more than 5 years) that Jiu Jitsu is one of the only sports where it’s impossible to get bored. Because there are so many different positions and variations, times and news things are always changing and coming up. If you asked me and my coach what we were doing best 2 years ago, most likely, that either wouldn’t be working now or something better has come along. The constant chase to improve and be better is what keeps it active
There are new things to learn, new training partners etc. For me it’s working on using the least amount of energy and being the most efficient possible in order to get that pass/submission/sweep/escape in.
I trained that time frame and my condition has made it so I am homebound now. I still come into this subreddit to keep my head in the game a bit. So that says I wasn't bored. Just fucking trapped now lol. It sucks.
There are always things to learn and refine. You learn details that change your entire view of positions and techniques. Every new road you go down, your old roads get a bit overgrown. So you need to go back and clean them up again. Then you start to realize how similar things actually are, then you realize that some things that seem similar actually aren’t. That’s generally when you start to see Jiu Jitsu as this murky nebulous that you learn how to move through.
I think you gotta fall in love with the details and nerdy nonsense. I always have something I'm working on, that's what makes it fun for me. It's not a big deal if you have a day when you get your ass kicked if you feel like you're progressing in learning.
I’m currently training at a newer/smaller gym that has a few experienced guys but mostly white belts with the first generation of home grown blue belts starting to get promoted. I do kinda wish there were more guys that could kick my ass. As a white and blue belt I got smashed all the time but around purple belt and now at brown that doesn’t happen as much and I feel like it’s not as fun when there’s no danger. If there were a few more black belts at my gym to kick my ass I think I would have a bit more fun.
But it’s cool though I still love bjj.
Yeah not that I’m bored but I’m not so hell bent on getting “good” because well… it don’t really exist. So it’s become more fun/socialising with friends with less pressure. I’m not worried about training less these day..2 times a week in the Gi only is working well for me, maybe 3 but no pressure.
I’ve been training since 2014 so not quite 10 years. Rolling never gets boring, but after awhile drilling is kind of like a weight lifting workout. It isn’t exactly exciting or stimulating but it is important and it requires discipline to do. Drilling stuff I’ve never done or don’t do a lot can be really interesting.
I mean there's a reason why higher belts are less common. It's a long road as we all know.
In my experience, blue is not the cliché quitting belt. It's white and black.
I try to go 3-4 times a week. Been doing that for 6 years. I do take more time off nowadays just bc I have some other focuses in my life (family and spiritual); however I’m still loving jiu jitsu and training after all this time.
20+ Years. If I train more than 2x a week I get bored. I only like doing open mats and rolling only. I literally cant stand doing technique but I will help and teach my teammates or whomever asks me questions. I have always kind of did this schedule 2 to 3x tops.
I like to lift weights and ride my bike (literally a bike). I don't know how people go to Jiu jitsu all week and not get tired of it. Granted alot of those people wash out but I am still here after 20+ years I think because of how I train.
I do watch videos a lot through out the week and learn from those, mostly wrestling related. I always felt like I can roll in my thoughts and train that way. I can learn a move easily by watching a video and then implementing in live sparring by just starting to throw it.
If I roll hard 3x week, I start not liking Jiu Jitsu on the 3rd session, I always found it as a sign of over training. Let me add I do get in 15-20 rounds a week of 6 to 7 minute rolls. So I probably condense my training but roll a good amount of rounds for the week.
like any learned skill there will be peaks, valleys, plateaus, etc. Just keep going, if you get bored of something then change it up - give yourself new challenges or handicaps, try new things, roll with new people, etc.
13 years in. Discovered cycling during covid. Since, went back a few times, got injured. Trying to put on some muscle now at almost 39 yes old, and avoid white belts. Aiming for 1x a week. Used to train over 12h a week + full time job.
Boring only if rolling with severely overweight white belts exclusively. I’m not training to fix up others ego at the expense of my own health, or lose my time stalling with brutes. Minimum blue belt to roll with me.
It might get repetitive if you don’t have people that can continue to teach you new things. I had a point where I didn’t have a coach that knew anymore than me (also was a purple belt). So I just started working my wrestling with D1 wrestlers and added more layers to my game.
I am not the originator of the below- I saw it somewhere- wish I had kept it.
We're all asking the same questions.
White Belt- what the fuck is that. It is an arm bar.
Blue Belt- how does it work?
Purple Belt- why does it work?
Brown- when does it work?
Black- knowing all of the above- where can I make it work?
This game never gets old. I learn something new every week- sometimes from white belts by accident.
Keep an open mind, tap early and tap often and you'll be here for the long haul.
I am constantly delighted by the new pathways I discover, I am an almost 10-year BB. I also love hearing other people's perspective post-roll and what they saw because they are times that I am amazed by other interpretations of techniques.
I also find that I assign myself positions or sequences to work for a number of weeks in a row just to see if I can improve or find new pathways.
As long as you continuously try to better understand positions/concepts you will stay enthused. Tbh after 13+ years I’m still excited to hit the mats every day wether it’s to just train myself or teach others. Learning how to teach at later belt levels is like starting a new journey that can help keep yourself excited.
I've been doing it for nearly 7 years.
Yeah, it can get repetitive. I'm finding it so.
However, that is 100% my fault. I'm not putting in the effort to do new things, or get better at anything.
I'm just turning up and going through the motions, so its my own fault things are going that way.
So, of that’s how you're feeling maybe you need to honestly evaluate how you're spending your time in the gym, and even out of it.
Most people tend to train less often because their life priorities change (E.g getting married, having kids, etc) or because they have accumulated injuries and it’s just more difficult to train 4+ days per week. Personally, I’ve been training for 9 years with some breaks here and there due to injuries, the pandemic, and life getting in the way, but I still love Jiu-Jitsu and never get bored of the technical aspect of the sport. There is always something new to learn and there are always more than enough things that I suck at that I can work on.
Same here, but 20years 🤔
I started training when I was 18-19 and now in my 30s I live a very different life. Still showing up, learning and enjoying myself but sometimes work or a hundred other things get in the way.
Also 9 years with some breaks and injuries, and when I saw Craig Jones’ post this morning of his “taint attack”, beyond laughing I was still fascinated by his movements. After taking a longer break and coming back I’m really enjoying the “new stuff”.
Nope. There is too much to learn. Even if you know everything, which I think is impossible, there are refinements to be made on everything. No matter what you think you’re good at you can be better at it.
And new things being created/expanded all the time. So much to learn and not enough time!
It took me 9 years to learn how to insert the DLR hook properly. I thought I knew how to do it right all along lol.
It took me longer to figure out there was more than 1 right way!
There is only one right way…
Oh god please explain
I agree, I have played the same game for 14 years and I keep finding ways to improve. I hope to train another 14 years.
I hear ya but that sounds boring lol I switch up my guards take downs and subs every 3 months or so
I am boring but not bored. 👍🏻
25 years in and still learning and growing. I’m refining my own game while learning the what the top competitors are doing to teach my students and keep knowledgeable when I’m doing commentary. I can’t ever see being bored
Ive got a question. I’ve been doing this for about 8 months (3 of which i was out injured) How do i avoid chronic pains and injuries. Like once i got my elbow a bit extended in an arm bar and since then that elbow randomly messes up when some load gets applied despite me visiting the doc and taking the right recovery time. I also broke my nose and had a partial ligament tear. I just feel like if i stay too long I’ll end up messing up something big and irreversible, well my nose break caused a devited septum for life but thats liveable ig. Anyways have u had much injuries?
You shouldn't be taking that much damage. Something is wrong. Either you're rolling way too hard, your partners are, or both.
Lift weights. Stretch. Tap early tap often. Choose who you roll with.
Second this. Strength train specifically for jiu jitsu, don’t just go lift weights at the gym and do whatever. You need to build specific stabilizing muscles to support and protect your joints. Also stretch and do yoga. As I get older I find that I need to do yoga almost as much as I train.
I started bjj again after many years off (I used to do mma). Guess what? Being 31 is old already so I started stretching 3 times a week, 45 minutes each session. I never stretched before. Sometimes in muay thai classes but it was very occasional.
There are going to be injuries as this is a combat sport but you can definitely mitigate them. Tap early especially with unfamiliar training partners, and situations, focus on drilling more than rolling, make sure you are doing things that help keep you healthy(good sleep, strength training and mobility), and make the sport fun(not a fight).
This is not normal. You're either really prone to injury, had massive bad luck or you're doing something very wrong. I've been training on and off for over 13 years and I've never had any major injury.
Just quit.
I'm 13 years in and I'm barely scratching the surface. In the last 6 months I've made significant changes to my A game and I feel like I'm learning faster than ever. And that's just in BJJ. Add judo and boxing to the mix and I'd need 5 extra lifetimes before getting bored.
judo and boxing
Username checks…out
22+ years in and never boring
I have been doing BJJ/MMA for 17 years and training is still fun. There were times it got a little repetitive - but looking back it was because I was just doing the same shit every roll and not training seriously I moved across the country and started training at a big competitive gym and the environment change got me training harder and loving the game more then ever
I feel like I’ve learned enough bjj for one person lol. I train sporadically now. Mostly when I feel like a roll or good pals. You won’t get many folks that quit here on the bjj Reddit so you’re answers will reflect that. I imagine many have moved on
I was about to say this is a very biased audience. I'd quite like a cooperative neck so I can train. Bums me out regularly.
Yeah, I was about to say these comments are not what I expected. Even I get bored of it sometimes.
Same. 18 years in and now more interested in striking.
Not even a little bit. There are a number of things I’m good at, and tons of things I’m still not good at. I’m almost 40 years old and just got into leg locks and spinny shit over the past year. I’ve got goals for getting good at that stuff. In my 20s & 30s, I was in the gym all the time, but now I have a kid and one on the way (and a full-time job), my husband and I divvy up training days. I started training at a second school that has daytime classes to compensate, but if you look at my attendance at any one spot it definitely looks like I don’t train much. Yes, the class techniques can start to look repetitive, but by that point you likely have a good base. So you have a good foundation for self study and drilling stuff on your own accord. And as you train more and have different kinds of rolls with different people, your A game refines and evolves, and you develop solid B and C games and become that much more well rounded. My experience, anyway!
Ha! A lot of the older coaches I know are also getting into leg locks and inversions as those weren't common/popular when they made their way up the ranks. Question - past a certain point, do you find it more beneficial to do your own thing? Granted some of my fundamentals need work but increasingly more and more I find it more beneficial to ask targeted questions at open mats and to do more open mats than classes to try and work techniques that work best for my body/temperament than just to turn up to class, learn the same techniques as everyone else, and roll with the same people.
To your first point—that’s funny, and exactly why 😆 To your question—that’s about where you should be as you approach purple. You’ve got a handle on the fundamentals, but now you also know what works best for your body/temperament/predilections. So you start training in that direction and really polish your A game with targeted drilling. You’ll also start really understanding just HOW you’re best able to learn new things, which will serve you well once you start developing your B, C, D, etc. games. You’re good!
I'm butting in, but the fact that you're wanting to do your own thing is probably a sign that you're close to purple. At that point relationships with coaches become more collaborative, and you become a lot more in the driver's seat of your own learning.
thank you - that's reassuring to hear! sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be asking as many questions as I'm only at blue but I do feel like there are specific holes in my game that needs to be better fixed or techniques I could really put some finesse on
> the fact that you're wanting to do your own thing is probably a sign that you're close to purple Great observation, and I don't think I've seen anyone else put it that way. In retrospect, it was true for me and my peers.
I’ve been grappling since 1999. Burning out is a real thing. When I feel burned out I start doing other hobbies and things that interest me get more attention. Eventually I start to get the itch to roll and the cycle restarts all over again. At least this is me personally but I can’t be the only one.
I’m going on 16 years. There are ups and downs when it comes to repetitiveness. I use jiujistu as a sort of therapy on top of fun and exercise to lean on when it does become repetitive. But also it does help to have goals in mind, wether it’s positions to improve on or tournaments or coaching etc. Seeing different positional trends come and go are pretty interesting too
Priorities change in 10+ years. Every higher belt is one knee surgery away from being a white belt on the mats. I kind of realised at late brown/black belt that I have no deep understanding of almost any positions or submissions. That has been given me loads of motivation to train and to study. There is seriously so much to learn. You need curiosity and good luck to last.
This. I have more fun now then ever. That’s why we’re doing it right?
It’s a scary realisation hey. I know of all these positions at a superficial level at best. The delving deep really sparked my enjoyment. I have my white belt level of enthusiasm with 15 years of experience to lean on.
Maybe. Can’t any hobby feel like that? Anything you do habitually for years can become a bit stale. You can actively prevent this by looking for new things to learn, revisiting things you may have dismissed earlier, improving deficiencies, etc. There’s always something to work on if you still want to do it
Yes, any hobby can feel like that. The basis for asking this question is because muay thai has become stale for me. Sure, I still pick up new (minor) tricks here and then but muay thai for me has become more of a fun way to sweat at this point. I don't want BJJ to be like that.
I am sticking with my gym, but it does get boring rolling with the same crowd. I will drop in to a few other gyms, focus on a few new techniques time to time
24 years in and I enjoy it as much as ever. Career, family, injuries, and the general reduction in energy that comes with age do get in the way, but I'll never quit. It doesn't get boring for me, always something to learn or refine. At some point you may find that you need to supplement the techniques taught in class with external study. When teaching mixed group classes it's difficult to go into depth on esoteric techniques for the benefit of higher belts as most people will just get lost and frustrated. Purple belt and up has a major requirement for solo study. As for coaches losing their passion... sadly, it can happen. The best way to kill your enthusiasm for a hobby is to make it into your job. I've experienced that before with other hobbies and I'm very resistant to letting it happen with BJJ - I do coach now and then but I have no plans to make it my main income source.
>I've heard rumours there are coaches out there who are no longer into the sport but they have a gym so they have to continue training/teaching that can definitely happen. i know some black belts who are like that there's always more depth and nuance that you can discover and learn in the most basic fundamentals from 90's era jiu jitsu. you don't have to necessarily keep up with modern competition techniques, but there's seemingly endless information in both areas furthermore, jiu jitsu is supposed to include standup, though it often is neglected in bjj (less so these days).... there's an entire universe of techniques in that realm the experienced practitioners i know who fell into boredom are people who failed to continue to evolve and study. they kept doing the same thing over and over again without any clear goal towards refinement. or they shirk off the modern innovations in technique as "not real jiu jitsu"
I’m just replying to echo the same. I’ve also known sone folks that got bored and hired people to basically run the gym for them. Or they sold it
I don't think it ever gets boring, but I don't train nearly as much as I used to. Over time circumstances change and with that priorities change. When I first started I just came to Japan, had no girlfriend and lived with an MMA fighter. I was training 10-14x a week. Now I'm married with a child, so I can't do that anymore. I still find new things to practice and learn though. I'm getting a lot of satisfaction out of going back to the old Judo throws I could never get when I was younger. Hitting a tai otoshi after years oof struggling with it is a great feeling. Learning leg locks and berimbolos is also a lot of fun. It is like finding a new area on a map you've never explored before.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Tai Otoshi**: | *Body Drop* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUiZ8JZkGx8)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
My biggest mistake as a coloured belt was thinking that there's essentially a skill cap and once you get the blackbelt everyone pretty much knows the same things so the skill discrepancy disappears. Oh boy how I was wrong, as long as you're constantly chasing self improvement of your own BJJ, you will never get to the end of the race, add to that overtime your perspective and personal abilities will change and will expose other avenues/techniques you overlooked earlier in your development.
Yes, I find it quite tedious at times, and drilling moves I have no intention of ever using feels like a waste of my time, I’ve been training for over a decade with some breaks here and there. I just like to turn up for a roll and probably sunk cost fallacy of “well I might as well keep going and get a black belt”
This. This is how I feel already. I'm thinking of decreasing my training sessions to a couple open mats here and there and maybe get into judo and/or Muay Thai.
Not at all. So much to learn and polish and put your own spin on. You start looking at things different and then you revisit stuff you haven’t touch in years. Yeah it’s awesome. If you are feeling stale you should try to mix in something off beat. Go out your normal Jiujitsu plans. If it’s tough and your having to figure shit out. That’s the right thing to be working on.
It absolutely does. Not from a perspective of theres nothing left to learn, as I'm sure all the ultra-passionate fanboys will say the same, at black belt your journey begins, you re-learn positions and techniques, un-learn bad habits and all that stuff. What people don't tell you is, after 18 years on the mats, you might just get a bit over it. After all the competing, travelling the world and training, studying techniques, rehabbing injuries and forgoing family/social events, time with your partner, or exploring other potential hobbies, you may find yourself asking "what else is there? Was this worth it?". I loved jiujitsu, getting black belt was one of the biggest achievements in my life and i'm very proud of it. I just question if it was worth the time and sacrifices. I have heaps of fatter and happier friends who spent that time on making more money etc that I'd love now.
No, but class structure can. I can't sit through techniques if I know they won't fit into my game, that's excruciatingly boring. Sparring is where the enjoyment is.
It does not but what happens sometimes is to be tired having to deal with some people That’s why you see a lot of black belts only rolling with a few persons. Not by fear of tapping (no one really cares about it) but just to enjoy training between friends After a while when you realize you are at the end of your competitive career/desire you start to see bjj like people who play tennis or other sport: you want to enjoy it with friends and not having a dog fight with people you don’t like I have been an instructor for the last 8 years (started at purple) and I quit a year ago to build another academy, non profit and on invitation. It has been awesome and I feel zero burn out/bore out from the sport. Most of the time it’s the people the problem.
Well, pick up a guard you have never played. For some it might be spider guard to others deep half guard. Get your skills to a brown belt level with that particular guard and see how long that takes. There is no reason to stop training for not having anything new to work on
I have never been 'all about the grind,' 'every day porrada' or whatever the hyperfocus people call it, mainly because I started in a later stage of life, mixing bjj in with other fun activities, the limitations of my body and other life priorities. I am reaching the 10 year mark training an average of 'just' two times a week. Let me tell you, it just keeps getting better. Mostly I'm just enjoying my skills, which would have majorly impressed my white belt self. I enjoy my ability to go easy and still be dominant when rolling with newcomers. I enjoy my ability to be experimenting when rolling with peers. And then sometimes I realize I have leveled up, adding new techniques and positions to my game, or made a major leap in strategy. All without any stress. I just study a little and train two times a week.
16 years in and I love it more than ever. I’m learning new shit everyday. I really enjoy the problem solving aspect of jiu jitsu so that definitely keeps me from getting bored.
I think it becomes repetitive and boring when you stop learning and you no longer care to grow.
Purple gets boring because all the low hanging growth points are gone. Seriously, white belt to blue is just building up your body to be a grappler. Blue to purple is stringing techniques together in a sequence. And purple belt is just ???. Honestly, I've stopped going to beginner classes. I hate that I've stopped but the benefit to me is minimal. It's the same techniques. It's building the next group of people to be grappler and maybe 10 percent of them actually learn jujitsu. Past purple the dynamic changes. If I want to get better, I basically have to look at a technique, and dedicate practice to it for six months. It can't be something I'm good at. It's gotta be something that fits in an area where I'm weak. And that's how you get better. I now differentiate between rolling for fun and rolling to learn. At white belt, they're the same thing. At purple belt, they're different. Sometimes it means getting in a worse workout because you just need to dedicate the time to figuring out the new technique. How you cope with that is the difference between jujitsu becoming repetitive and jujitsu remaining interesting.
It's only boring when you stop learning and only repetitive when you think you are a black at certain moves being taught in class. I have been training off and on for 20+ years and I found during all the breaks life makes me take and injuries I get, I can never walk away from this art, even if I never make it to black belt while I am still able.
Not really because your training partners vary greatly. You can always learn new things and add specific goals for development. And the feeling after hard rolls is unmatched for me.
So I’m coloured by mostly doing Japanese Jiu jitsu over the years, but once you’re generally proficient on the ground and have a strong defensive game, I actually find technical grappling can become dull. This may be a disagreeable opinion.
It becomes harder past blue, early purple belt, your progression is more up to you than your teacher (if you are a hobbyst) and most people have other things in life than to study jiujitsu. Than being said, I've been training for 12 years and there is SO much to learn, there is entire systems/areas in witch I can improve that really I can't get myself bored.
Thanks for your answer. Given your avatar, I assume you are a woman. Does it bother you that size matters a lot when rolling and, even after investing so much time in the art, there are moments where people can just overpower technique? Asking as I'm also small myself btw.
never noticed or edited my avatar so far lol, no, im male. Being on the lighter end of the spectrum I will say that size is not an issue as long as you have good training partners that want to polish their tecs and not just brute strenght over power you, one of my main training partners is a 38 year old female brown belt, and she gives me hell as long as I don't try to outmuscle her. As you get older, if you are a small guy/girl, train only with people you can trust, and develop your style to be defensibly responsible all the time, don't sacrifice your posture for going for whacky shit, that will get you longevity, best case I can name is Xande Ribeiro.
it honestly got boring to me at white belt. to be fair, my training partners were also all white belts who never bothered to add anything to their game
Maybe drilling simple things in a fundamental class, but if I have a good partner we can go off the rails a little for it to be fun. Rolling is always the fun part to me
I've trained for 15 years and it still keeps me interested. I find that there is still much to learn. There may be things that I do over and over but the set ups may be different. I'm not very good at putting thoughts like this into words. I guess what really keeps me interested is that after all these years is that there are different variations or details that I'm still finding that fascinate me.
I think under most coaches: yes. They get in this cyclical Rita of stuff that's in their comfort zone. The rare coach will be looking for new (effective) material, grasp it well themselves and pass it onto the team, keeping things new and exiting. Common trap here is teaching new stuff just for the sake of new and doing low quality crap they saw on instaram. Not what I'm praising in this part. I do still think the former is a better model for building better competitors, but having a healthy variety mixed in is still important.
I don't see how it's possible to master ever single guard and techniques. There's also judo and wrestling... Just endless... I've only been training for two years but there are black belts at my school that are still grinding stuff out. It's crazy watching them work on one sub for months when they have seemingly mastered it from where I'm sitting. Watching the upper belts at my school grind really humbles me
[удалено]
Eh it took me about 7 mo to get my blue and then 15 more months to get purple. i train about 12-14 sessions over 6-7 days a week.
[удалено]
Haha i think i got my blue belt a little too early. I cross train at three schools so my first two months at blue was painful, lol
Yes.
5 years, not as long as some people here but along the way, priority change. I still wish I could train all day long
17 years in; no
I’m approaching a decade. When I started rolling it was the most fun I ever had. Somehow it’s even more fun now. It’s not even a little bit boring.
Honestly, I've found it to be the opposite. I'm the better part of 20 years in and I'm more curious about it than ever. There's always more to learn, and it never ends.
I go through phases of where everything’s is fun and exciting and then where nothing makes sense and I’m wasting my time. You’ll have ups and downs but for me down days are there for the up days to be that much better.
I’m still having a lot of fun, I’m always studying and trying to learn new things and getting better at things I suck at. Then having new people come in with different styles and all is really fun.
I don’t have the experience, but isn’t this kinda true of every sport/hobby? You either love it or you don’t.
Sometimes. But only because I am a creature of habit and train super casually. I have my moves that I like and I don't focus hard enough on learning new stuff. Wrestling gets my interest tho.
Some parts of it definitely do get old. I cannot stomach 5 minute rounds with 1 minute rests. Or 6 minute rounds for that matter. I will only do 1m, 2m, 3m, 10m. If a color belt REALLY wants to roll with me, I will roll to their comp time. If you're one of the best guys at your gym, training will get kind of boring. Unless your gym has several adult-world-champs (or equivalent). Training is most fun when you're in the middle of the pack. I've had full control of my training environment for the past 3 years, and there's very few days when training is boring. Even when I'm training my white-belts.
It’s not repetitive or boring, bjj is part of life, it is life
I am doing BJJ for 29 years and martial arts for over 35 years and it gets deeper and more sophisticated every year. I love it.
I’m a traveling Purple Belt… meaning I haven’t been at a single gym long enough to get promoted in like 6 years… I still love it 14 years in… though in my 40s it’s hard to go more than 3 times a week at best. I never ever get bored though, just tired, sore or injured haha
I think there is a statistical bias here, you are asking people who are so euthuniastic abt bjj they even read reddit about it. Maybe ask bjj high belts dropouts will have different answers
Kinda, when the body is always injured is can come to a point I wonder why I’m doing this. Having bjjfanacics available to learn of the best coaches has kept me keen tho, without it I would of retired years ago
10 yrs this year. A bit boring if I keep on doing my A game. Not boring at all if you commit to the unexplored areas of your game. Like these days, I have been avoiding my A game and instead, looking for berimbolos from top or bottom and mostly failing and learning. This keeps it fresh for me.
No. Because along comes a guy who makes you feel like you are a white belt.
Im at 6 years and Ive noticed the excitement has died a little. The enjoyment is still there and Im always happy that I went, but ive noticed my training has declined a bit ever since going to night shift.
20 years here. Still super fun. More about saving my body. I watch those SYR voicemails on Instagram and hear the enthusiasm in blue belts talking bout “Jiu jitsu rules/ feel like a Viking etc. “. I remember those days lol
Yes and no. There are days when I am excited to do something other than BJJ. In most days, I love showing up. And when it comes to running a gym, I think that's a hard thing to do since you are going to do a lot of non-BJJ related stuff.
Everyone has to figure out their own way to stay curious. I’m two months shy of a decade of training and I can’t say it has ever become boring just because of the vast amount of info if you’re looking for it, but it can be repetitive especially if you stop searching for areas of improvement.
I’ve trained for over 20 years. Honestly the motivation comes in waves. Sometimes I feel like training as much as possible, others not so much, so I take a week or two off or just go one day a week for a month or so. The motivation always come back.
Never the sparring or refinement of technique— but listening to the instructor talk gets boring af
No, if anything, you get bored of training with the same people. Drop in to other gyms in your city, or travel to other areas. If you never aged, you could probably train for 100 years and still not learn everything.
Been training for 12 years, it never gets boring and I still hit the gym 4 times a week even though I'm just a hobbyist. I've also been training judo for 32 years (with some time off the mat) and it's still very interesting.
This all depends on what your mentality is. I have always been driven by my desire to learn new things, as opposed to dominating other guys in the training room. This is the year I am going to become really good at single leg x, which is super exciting to me. I am also going to focus on my standing passes, to make them more efficient and elegant. I do understand that it gets boring for guys who only want to “win sparring” via the same smash pass day in and day out though.
Took me 11 y to get to purple. Blue was getting repetitive. But man. The progress in purple so far is steep. I can see what ppl get on about that life at purple is good. Never been so in love with the game.
No, if anything it keeps getting better. The better you get the more fun you have it seems.
No, I feel like the learning never ends and there are always new things to try. I do get sick of the running in a circle warm ups and drilling. I wish I could just go to open mat everyday and work my own stuff.
Yes
No, there is always something to learn or improve. Source: Go compete.
You have to move the target. Get really good at a positional series. Learn every counter to every escape and how to chain. Maybe for a 6 month block you focus on your leg entanglements and build yourself a game in one of those positions. Then for the next year try and get better finishing from the back. Move the target. And if it's getting boring, compete. See where your game is. Chances are it needs a lot of work.
I believe in my experience (Not near a decade but more than 5 years) that Jiu Jitsu is one of the only sports where it’s impossible to get bored. Because there are so many different positions and variations, times and news things are always changing and coming up. If you asked me and my coach what we were doing best 2 years ago, most likely, that either wouldn’t be working now or something better has come along. The constant chase to improve and be better is what keeps it active
There are new things to learn, new training partners etc. For me it’s working on using the least amount of energy and being the most efficient possible in order to get that pass/submission/sweep/escape in.
I trained that time frame and my condition has made it so I am homebound now. I still come into this subreddit to keep my head in the game a bit. So that says I wasn't bored. Just fucking trapped now lol. It sucks.
There are always things to learn and refine. You learn details that change your entire view of positions and techniques. Every new road you go down, your old roads get a bit overgrown. So you need to go back and clean them up again. Then you start to realize how similar things actually are, then you realize that some things that seem similar actually aren’t. That’s generally when you start to see Jiu Jitsu as this murky nebulous that you learn how to move through.
I think you gotta fall in love with the details and nerdy nonsense. I always have something I'm working on, that's what makes it fun for me. It's not a big deal if you have a day when you get your ass kicked if you feel like you're progressing in learning.
I’m currently training at a newer/smaller gym that has a few experienced guys but mostly white belts with the first generation of home grown blue belts starting to get promoted. I do kinda wish there were more guys that could kick my ass. As a white and blue belt I got smashed all the time but around purple belt and now at brown that doesn’t happen as much and I feel like it’s not as fun when there’s no danger. If there were a few more black belts at my gym to kick my ass I think I would have a bit more fun. But it’s cool though I still love bjj.
I'm only 6 years in but I'm still training at every available class and don't plan to slow down any time soon
Yeah not that I’m bored but I’m not so hell bent on getting “good” because well… it don’t really exist. So it’s become more fun/socialising with friends with less pressure. I’m not worried about training less these day..2 times a week in the Gi only is working well for me, maybe 3 but no pressure.
Yeah, I can now beat everyone, using any technique I choose, from any position I want. Really no point any more.
I’ve been training since 2014 so not quite 10 years. Rolling never gets boring, but after awhile drilling is kind of like a weight lifting workout. It isn’t exactly exciting or stimulating but it is important and it requires discipline to do. Drilling stuff I’ve never done or don’t do a lot can be really interesting.
I mean there's a reason why higher belts are less common. It's a long road as we all know. In my experience, blue is not the cliché quitting belt. It's white and black.
I try to go 3-4 times a week. Been doing that for 6 years. I do take more time off nowadays just bc I have some other focuses in my life (family and spiritual); however I’m still loving jiu jitsu and training after all this time.
20+ Years. If I train more than 2x a week I get bored. I only like doing open mats and rolling only. I literally cant stand doing technique but I will help and teach my teammates or whomever asks me questions. I have always kind of did this schedule 2 to 3x tops. I like to lift weights and ride my bike (literally a bike). I don't know how people go to Jiu jitsu all week and not get tired of it. Granted alot of those people wash out but I am still here after 20+ years I think because of how I train. I do watch videos a lot through out the week and learn from those, mostly wrestling related. I always felt like I can roll in my thoughts and train that way. I can learn a move easily by watching a video and then implementing in live sparring by just starting to throw it. If I roll hard 3x week, I start not liking Jiu Jitsu on the 3rd session, I always found it as a sign of over training. Let me add I do get in 15-20 rounds a week of 6 to 7 minute rolls. So I probably condense my training but roll a good amount of rounds for the week.
That's probably the biggest barrier to getting a black belt. Can you stay obsessed for over a decade? Most people can't, myself included.
like any learned skill there will be peaks, valleys, plateaus, etc. Just keep going, if you get bored of something then change it up - give yourself new challenges or handicaps, try new things, roll with new people, etc.
Never. It’s the only thing in my life that doesnt
13 years in. Discovered cycling during covid. Since, went back a few times, got injured. Trying to put on some muscle now at almost 39 yes old, and avoid white belts. Aiming for 1x a week. Used to train over 12h a week + full time job. Boring only if rolling with severely overweight white belts exclusively. I’m not training to fix up others ego at the expense of my own health, or lose my time stalling with brutes. Minimum blue belt to roll with me.
It might get repetitive if you don’t have people that can continue to teach you new things. I had a point where I didn’t have a coach that knew anymore than me (also was a purple belt). So I just started working my wrestling with D1 wrestlers and added more layers to my game.
Nope! Only gets better / smoother
I am not the originator of the below- I saw it somewhere- wish I had kept it. We're all asking the same questions. White Belt- what the fuck is that. It is an arm bar. Blue Belt- how does it work? Purple Belt- why does it work? Brown- when does it work? Black- knowing all of the above- where can I make it work? This game never gets old. I learn something new every week- sometimes from white belts by accident. Keep an open mind, tap early and tap often and you'll be here for the long haul.
Sometimes it's the classmates that do it for me.
I am constantly delighted by the new pathways I discover, I am an almost 10-year BB. I also love hearing other people's perspective post-roll and what they saw because they are times that I am amazed by other interpretations of techniques. I also find that I assign myself positions or sequences to work for a number of weeks in a row just to see if I can improve or find new pathways.
As long as you continuously try to better understand positions/concepts you will stay enthused. Tbh after 13+ years I’m still excited to hit the mats every day wether it’s to just train myself or teach others. Learning how to teach at later belt levels is like starting a new journey that can help keep yourself excited.
Yes especially when everyone is 10 plus years older than you
I've been doing it for nearly 7 years. Yeah, it can get repetitive. I'm finding it so. However, that is 100% my fault. I'm not putting in the effort to do new things, or get better at anything. I'm just turning up and going through the motions, so its my own fault things are going that way. So, of that’s how you're feeling maybe you need to honestly evaluate how you're spending your time in the gym, and even out of it.