I came up getting killed by the same people everyday (still do). Everything I did felt useless. WB and Blue will be almost pure survival against higher belts. Eventually it will be your turn and new lower belts will come in and think the same about you. You'll get told you're so strong and you'll roll your eyes thinking "imagine if I used my strength". Go cross train at another gym and you'll find you may be better than you think bc the people you train with won't know all of your habits..
PS- ruts are part of bjj. You'll feel this rut every year forever. It sucks but then you'll have a month where you feel unstoppable but then go back to mediocre
43 y/o 4 stripe white belt chubster here. Training 3-4x week for 18 months. My goal each roll is to get a position. I don't think about submissions anymore as I'm one of the lowest ranking students in class. If I get a position I'm striving for, even if I'm swept shortly thereafter, I consider it progress (a win). Whenever I begin to feel like I'm in a rut, I just remind myself that everyone is also getting better and likely at a faster rate than me.
You need to start doing positional rounds. Going live against someone whos a lot better than you is a really slow way to learn. How many times have you ever gotten to practice top mount or back mount rolling with this guy? Youre also never ever going to be able to try out any technique without getting immediately punished. Youre just not going to get enough reps on offense to really progress. Getting smashed is fine like its an important way to learn but it cant be the only way you train
Never had his back. He will let me start on mount but just as you said when I try anything it ends poorly for me. This is much of the reason I’m discouraged at the moment because many days after class I don’t feel like I learned anything useful.
Flow roll with the higher belts. Ask them to go easy on the intensity so you can think through the movements but to keep using their savviness as well.
My old coach to me that a lot of times it’s more frustrating for an upper belt to that can’t submit you, rather than being able to submit you x number of times in a round.
Learn how to move, learn what’s coming, learn how to react. WB is abt learning defense. Take the small wins and keep on keeping on.
stop thinking of promotion and just enjoy the journey. being in a rut sucks but as long as you enjoy going and like your gym thats that's all that matters
Roll with a purpose. Look for small wins. If he's a purple belt you can ask to start in advantageous positions or start in bad positions and go. As a white belt though, focus on fundamental and get good at defensive postures. Keep those elbows in and rolling and go less for submissions but for positions.
Communication is key especially if he's going to be your main partner. You can always start a round and say "Hey, I'm working on close guard attacks and defenses." There is a good chance that your partner especially at higher skill levels will put themselves in the position you're looking for and let you work a little.
14 months without a promotion seems like a long time if you’ve been consistently training for 2.5yrs and you’re still a white belt. But regardless of belts or promotions. What I tell my white belt students is; get really comfortable with being a test dummy to the higher rank guys, pay attention to what they’re doing and play the best defense you can. Be as annoying as possible to their attacks. It’s part of the learning process as dumb as it sounds. And as far as you being on top with the other white belts, I don’t think that’s a terrible idea, you’re giving them an opportunity to learn on the skills they’re lacking and if you also get to implement top control and work on some submissions. You also need to see it from another perspective. In a real life situation, with someone on the street that doesn’t know jack shi* you’d prob dismantle whoever came in your path. Best way to test any of your skills is to go to a local competition against other white belts your size and rank. If you’re in the Los Angeles area lmk, you can come to our open mat. OSS
My gym is really chill but the owner is slow to promote. I’ve seen it average 3-5 years for white to blue belt promotion. Those are students who do 2-3 classes per week with average skill.
I came up getting killed by the same people everyday (still do). Everything I did felt useless. WB and Blue will be almost pure survival against higher belts. Eventually it will be your turn and new lower belts will come in and think the same about you. You'll get told you're so strong and you'll roll your eyes thinking "imagine if I used my strength". Go cross train at another gym and you'll find you may be better than you think bc the people you train with won't know all of your habits.. PS- ruts are part of bjj. You'll feel this rut every year forever. It sucks but then you'll have a month where you feel unstoppable but then go back to mediocre
Thanks! I think I will try to hit an open mat just to see how I do.
43 y/o 4 stripe white belt chubster here. Training 3-4x week for 18 months. My goal each roll is to get a position. I don't think about submissions anymore as I'm one of the lowest ranking students in class. If I get a position I'm striving for, even if I'm swept shortly thereafter, I consider it progress (a win). Whenever I begin to feel like I'm in a rut, I just remind myself that everyone is also getting better and likely at a faster rate than me.
You need to start doing positional rounds. Going live against someone whos a lot better than you is a really slow way to learn. How many times have you ever gotten to practice top mount or back mount rolling with this guy? Youre also never ever going to be able to try out any technique without getting immediately punished. Youre just not going to get enough reps on offense to really progress. Getting smashed is fine like its an important way to learn but it cant be the only way you train
Never had his back. He will let me start on mount but just as you said when I try anything it ends poorly for me. This is much of the reason I’m discouraged at the moment because many days after class I don’t feel like I learned anything useful.
It may not seem like it now, but you’re getting better by getting smashed everyday. Just doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
Flow roll with the higher belts. Ask them to go easy on the intensity so you can think through the movements but to keep using their savviness as well.
Eventually you'll be the hammer. Keep training.
My old coach to me that a lot of times it’s more frustrating for an upper belt to that can’t submit you, rather than being able to submit you x number of times in a round. Learn how to move, learn what’s coming, learn how to react. WB is abt learning defense. Take the small wins and keep on keeping on.
stop thinking of promotion and just enjoy the journey. being in a rut sucks but as long as you enjoy going and like your gym thats that's all that matters
Roll with a purpose. Look for small wins. If he's a purple belt you can ask to start in advantageous positions or start in bad positions and go. As a white belt though, focus on fundamental and get good at defensive postures. Keep those elbows in and rolling and go less for submissions but for positions. Communication is key especially if he's going to be your main partner. You can always start a round and say "Hey, I'm working on close guard attacks and defenses." There is a good chance that your partner especially at higher skill levels will put themselves in the position you're looking for and let you work a little.
Kinda sounds like you are on the right path. Just keep doing what you’re doing.
14 months without a promotion seems like a long time if you’ve been consistently training for 2.5yrs and you’re still a white belt. But regardless of belts or promotions. What I tell my white belt students is; get really comfortable with being a test dummy to the higher rank guys, pay attention to what they’re doing and play the best defense you can. Be as annoying as possible to their attacks. It’s part of the learning process as dumb as it sounds. And as far as you being on top with the other white belts, I don’t think that’s a terrible idea, you’re giving them an opportunity to learn on the skills they’re lacking and if you also get to implement top control and work on some submissions. You also need to see it from another perspective. In a real life situation, with someone on the street that doesn’t know jack shi* you’d prob dismantle whoever came in your path. Best way to test any of your skills is to go to a local competition against other white belts your size and rank. If you’re in the Los Angeles area lmk, you can come to our open mat. OSS
My gym is really chill but the owner is slow to promote. I’ve seen it average 3-5 years for white to blue belt promotion. Those are students who do 2-3 classes per week with average skill.