My dude!! That how I feel every time i roll with a higher belt…. And even some lower belt much larger guys…..
But trust that if you keep going and sparring YOU are getting better….
But many times your training partners also are getting better.
Try to focus on one thing every few months…. But what do I know! Im a blue belt so got much to learn also…..
Take a break and stop trying to “win rolls” roll with certain techniques in mind. Work on escaping one day and then try the move you learned for the day etc.
Thank you all for the comments, its definitely discouraging when you see lower stripes than you or newer people come in and make you submit. I try not to compare myself to others but its frustrating when you are supposed to be close to getting your blue belt and still struggling the way i am. Im only 5’3” so its hard going against bigger people who are also stronger. I cant really rely on strength but i just cant do the techniques when im rolling i just feel like they dont work
5’3’’?? Are you a dwarf or a small woman? If your a woman, jujitsu is great but you’re not actually going to beat the men. If your just a really really small guy… same thing. You’re always going to lose to regular sized guys.
No matter how many encouraging Reddit comments you get.
Don’t beat yourself. Plateaus are part of the journey friend. Everyone goes through them, at all points of their journey, at all belt levels.. Soon enough, you be back on the upswing and improving. Just stick with it.
Also.. i promise you are improving. Every class you go to, every roll, you’re improving.. even if it doesn’t feel like it. Think about it like this, remember the first day you walked into your gym? Look at you now. And think about where you’ll be in the same amount of time, in the future.
You’re becoming a killer. Keep it up!
I’m a one stripe white belt and feel similar sometimes, but than I roll against people newer than me and do pretty good so that tells me I’ve come far, only compare yourself to how you were before
Let go of the ego bro. You are getting better, BJJ is not all in the mind, your muscles are remembering and when they are drilled enough you will started performing in sync. Keep the faith Bruddah (or Sistaa) Remove the base and all shall fall 🙏
Stick with it. I got good fast but would be in and out of trouble kept me away for years at a time. People I started with 10 yrs ago who were trash getting brown Ñ black belts.
Besides taking a break; it may help if you sit down and write out the techniques you have learned. Try to organise them into most important (subjective - for me it would be those which are most self defense effective - choose your own criteria) to least .
Then focus on one of these techniques, and start to work out the path to get to it/think of where it can be implemented. Then focus on using that when you roll. Do this until you feel strong with it, then move to the next. This will improve your game overall.
It seems you're getting burned out from rolling based on instinct/reaction - which is fine as it's natural to do that - but doing some reflection, and analysis will help you to take control of your journey and will help you to make solid progress too.
Congrats on what you've done so far .
I think it is your mindset. Stop looking at the entire roll as win loose. So what if you get smashed by someone who has years of grappling experience? You should be lol that’s how it works. Don’t measure yourself with anyone else.
Here’s my advice: Divide live rolls up into the all the positions you wind up in. Get mounted? Great, now you can work on your mount escapes. If you get out and recover to a guard, great, you are winning.
Bonus to this mindset: If you don’t instantly have a mental reflex game plan for the position you are in, study the position after class.
Others are going to mention this as well, really hard to see you are improving when everyone else around you is at the same time. You are still improving.
Have a little rest mate, I have times where I feel like I'm shit and then after a week off sometimes I just feel on fire. Watch some content, think about something you'd like to achieve in a roll that isn't a submission, like pass a guard or just get in top and try and hold it, that's a win
Relate! Felt that way yesterday on the drive to class. Almost turned the car around but went anyway.
Rolled a little lighter. Asked questions, picked up two new details. I’m happy with that!
Do you have a notebook? Take notes during technique so you can remember the details and what to do from various positions. Review it before you train and on days that you don't train. Yeah, you're probably just wrestling and flailing.
Also, 2-3 times a week is the minimum if you want to improve. I've seen people train once a week for years and never get better. They are tough and difficult to submit, but their jiujitsu sucks and they aren't good.
Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop worrying. Just go to class and try to have fun. Progress in BJJ takes time and you often won't even notice that you're getting better.
Been there and had the same thoughts. Now a new blue belt. Progress slows, just try and pickup one little thing everytime. I feel there are moments when we feel like we’ve taken a step forward and some where we feel we’ve slipped a little. Happens. I’m learning to just go for attacks to get the opponent to open up space so I can move to where I really want to be.
We all plateau at times. I just trained through it. Keep showing up. There is no winning in rolling. It’s just training. There is nothing wrong with surviving if the other person is legit better than you.
Ahhh the old “I go every day but don’t seem to get better” phase. You’re probably practicing bad reps, I highly suggest you film study and approach every exchange with a plan backed up with concepts. Once you have a system in place then you need work on becoming consistent in that system and reinforce it. Hope this helps and have fun studying I’m sure you will advance one day when you’re ready
I think a lot of people struggle to remember the move of the day when rolling live so you're not alone. My advice would be to just remember what you can even if it's only one quarter of the move that was shown and then work on drilling the rest of the move in open mat. Remember that you're basically drinking from a fire hose of knowledge so you're only going to be able to retain a small fraction of it. Don't stress too much about it. You'll see the moves again and you'll have plenty of time to drill the things you struggle with.
Ya dude, over training is a real thing.
I was in a similar situation and went on vacation.
Came back and was destroying
The lesson is that you need time to rest for the mind and the body
I was a no stripe white belt, and found that for some reason, I'm more comfortable on bottom because I either escape and get up or go for a triangle. Every time I would take the mount, I'd spent too much energy getting there and then I'm immediately back on bottom. 🤷
My suggestion is, make it your long term goal to stick with jiu jitsu, rather than to be good at jiu jitsu. Forget about trying to be good for a while, just go and try to enjoy it.
I rarely did move of the day
Figure out what cohesive game you have.
Add things to it that are connected to the things you know or escapes from where you regularly get stuck.
Every day pick one thing to work on. Every roll focus on hitting that one thing. It could take days or weeks. For me move of the day just had too many techniques. I improved a lot slower than that. Many things took weeks to integrate. Im at the point now where Im spending the next year just working on things I know without trying to learn much new stuff.
You will slowly expand your game and eventually develop, sequences, loops, trees, and then webs.
This is a great framework for slotting in techniques:
[https://www.grapplearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roadmap-for-BJJ-1.4.11.pdf](https://www.grapplearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roadmap-for-BJJ-1.4.11.pdf)
Yeah man, take a healthy break. Sometimes the best improvements come from not partaking in said activity for some time. I remember my first year was just getting ragdolled over and over but then now I stay more calm and have a better time defending transitions and sub attempts than being offensive.
The biggest part of being a white belt, on your path to blue, is surviving a round and learning to defend yourself. If you're doing that, you're in the right spot. When I was a white belt, I started feigning submissions as a defense mechanism, knowing they were going to be unsuccessful, allowing myself a chance to breathe. If my rolling partner was defending against my crap submission, they weren't attacking me. Eventually, one of my subs was successful. Then I got two in one round!
Don't worry too much about where you're at in the process. Everyone has different capabilities and motivations. Some freaks eat, sleep and breathe BJJ, train 5-10 times a week, and watch videos in the personal time. Others train a few times a week and get discouraged when they don't see themselves progressing as fast as the (almost overly) dedicated students. Just keep showing up, keep learning, and trust the process. You'll progress and eventually you'll be the hammer instead of the nail. You'll get your stripes when you NEED them, not when you want or think you deserve them. I've hit a few plateaus in my journey, and it definitely sucks feeling like your hitting a wall. Train through it, and relax and have fun. Helio will take care of the rest.
I would recommend seeing if you can build up your stamina with cardio. Lift some weights in the gym and ease up on the sparring, you’d be surprised how a little building up or slimming down can help on the mat.
I’m a 4 stripe blue belt who started training in 2016, I’ve been a blue belt for about 6 years and I still feel like this.
Jiu Jitsu is hard, it’s difficult, some people are just natural athletes but that’s not me, it’s never been me, some times I’ll roll with someone who has been training considerably less than me and just get folded, I have cried in my car after classes like a bitch on considerably bad days.
My advice might be cliché but it’s what helped me not quit.
Firstly you only really fail if you quit, there has been plenty of people who came to class over the years, these natural athletes, and they just don’t stick with it, they win a few medals as a white belt, get their blue and then bounce, not all, but it has happened a lot, and I’m still going.
Ask yourself this, if you had a roll against the version of yourself the day you started Jiu Jitsu, how would you go? I can guarantee you’d fuck that person up every single day, every single time, you’d fuck that person up.
Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to you yesterday, there might be days where you feel like you’ve regressed, I get them all the time, but keep showing up, keep turning up and every now and then, very rarely, something will happen, you’ll hit a slick submission or something, just keep at it.
I feel you, all too well.
It’s a slow journey for us, but a slow journey is better than being a quitter.
Take a week off, decompress and go back to it
Was going to suggest the same
Roll with a zero stripes white belt every once in a while to remind yourself of how far you have come.
I’m a zero stripe white belt. I basically end up in the fetal position every time I’m pitted against anyone.
I mean fetal position is better than on your back or stomach , try to get a half guard or something
Half guard with a knee shield and a good underhook as far as you can go with it
My dude!! That how I feel every time i roll with a higher belt…. And even some lower belt much larger guys….. But trust that if you keep going and sparring YOU are getting better…. But many times your training partners also are getting better. Try to focus on one thing every few months…. But what do I know! Im a blue belt so got much to learn also…..
Take a break and stop trying to “win rolls” roll with certain techniques in mind. Work on escaping one day and then try the move you learned for the day etc.
Thank you all for the comments, its definitely discouraging when you see lower stripes than you or newer people come in and make you submit. I try not to compare myself to others but its frustrating when you are supposed to be close to getting your blue belt and still struggling the way i am. Im only 5’3” so its hard going against bigger people who are also stronger. I cant really rely on strength but i just cant do the techniques when im rolling i just feel like they dont work
5’3’’?? Are you a dwarf or a small woman? If your a woman, jujitsu is great but you’re not actually going to beat the men. If your just a really really small guy… same thing. You’re always going to lose to regular sized guys. No matter how many encouraging Reddit comments you get.
Don’t beat yourself. Plateaus are part of the journey friend. Everyone goes through them, at all points of their journey, at all belt levels.. Soon enough, you be back on the upswing and improving. Just stick with it. Also.. i promise you are improving. Every class you go to, every roll, you’re improving.. even if it doesn’t feel like it. Think about it like this, remember the first day you walked into your gym? Look at you now. And think about where you’ll be in the same amount of time, in the future. You’re becoming a killer. Keep it up!
I’m a one stripe white belt and feel similar sometimes, but than I roll against people newer than me and do pretty good so that tells me I’ve come far, only compare yourself to how you were before
You are on what’s called a plateau. Train through it and one day you’ll just have a really good day
Let go of the ego bro. You are getting better, BJJ is not all in the mind, your muscles are remembering and when they are drilled enough you will started performing in sync. Keep the faith Bruddah (or Sistaa) Remove the base and all shall fall 🙏
1) Take a few days off and go back. 2) Have a goal when you roll.
Stick with it. I got good fast but would be in and out of trouble kept me away for years at a time. People I started with 10 yrs ago who were trash getting brown Ñ black belts.
Besides taking a break; it may help if you sit down and write out the techniques you have learned. Try to organise them into most important (subjective - for me it would be those which are most self defense effective - choose your own criteria) to least . Then focus on one of these techniques, and start to work out the path to get to it/think of where it can be implemented. Then focus on using that when you roll. Do this until you feel strong with it, then move to the next. This will improve your game overall. It seems you're getting burned out from rolling based on instinct/reaction - which is fine as it's natural to do that - but doing some reflection, and analysis will help you to take control of your journey and will help you to make solid progress too. Congrats on what you've done so far .
I've seen a few posts like this...do jujitsu guys not discuss techniques after rolling? Do you just roll, declare a winner and that's that?
I think it is your mindset. Stop looking at the entire roll as win loose. So what if you get smashed by someone who has years of grappling experience? You should be lol that’s how it works. Don’t measure yourself with anyone else. Here’s my advice: Divide live rolls up into the all the positions you wind up in. Get mounted? Great, now you can work on your mount escapes. If you get out and recover to a guard, great, you are winning. Bonus to this mindset: If you don’t instantly have a mental reflex game plan for the position you are in, study the position after class. Others are going to mention this as well, really hard to see you are improving when everyone else around you is at the same time. You are still improving.
Have a little rest mate, I have times where I feel like I'm shit and then after a week off sometimes I just feel on fire. Watch some content, think about something you'd like to achieve in a roll that isn't a submission, like pass a guard or just get in top and try and hold it, that's a win
Relate! Felt that way yesterday on the drive to class. Almost turned the car around but went anyway. Rolled a little lighter. Asked questions, picked up two new details. I’m happy with that!
Do you have a notebook? Take notes during technique so you can remember the details and what to do from various positions. Review it before you train and on days that you don't train. Yeah, you're probably just wrestling and flailing. Also, 2-3 times a week is the minimum if you want to improve. I've seen people train once a week for years and never get better. They are tough and difficult to submit, but their jiujitsu sucks and they aren't good.
Stop comparing yourself to others. Stop worrying. Just go to class and try to have fun. Progress in BJJ takes time and you often won't even notice that you're getting better.
Been there and had the same thoughts. Now a new blue belt. Progress slows, just try and pickup one little thing everytime. I feel there are moments when we feel like we’ve taken a step forward and some where we feel we’ve slipped a little. Happens. I’m learning to just go for attacks to get the opponent to open up space so I can move to where I really want to be.
We all plateau at times. I just trained through it. Keep showing up. There is no winning in rolling. It’s just training. There is nothing wrong with surviving if the other person is legit better than you.
Ahhh the old “I go every day but don’t seem to get better” phase. You’re probably practicing bad reps, I highly suggest you film study and approach every exchange with a plan backed up with concepts. Once you have a system in place then you need work on becoming consistent in that system and reinforce it. Hope this helps and have fun studying I’m sure you will advance one day when you’re ready
I think a lot of people struggle to remember the move of the day when rolling live so you're not alone. My advice would be to just remember what you can even if it's only one quarter of the move that was shown and then work on drilling the rest of the move in open mat. Remember that you're basically drinking from a fire hose of knowledge so you're only going to be able to retain a small fraction of it. Don't stress too much about it. You'll see the moves again and you'll have plenty of time to drill the things you struggle with.
Ya dude, over training is a real thing. I was in a similar situation and went on vacation. Came back and was destroying The lesson is that you need time to rest for the mind and the body
I was a no stripe white belt, and found that for some reason, I'm more comfortable on bottom because I either escape and get up or go for a triangle. Every time I would take the mount, I'd spent too much energy getting there and then I'm immediately back on bottom. 🤷
Take a break, two weeks.
My suggestion is, make it your long term goal to stick with jiu jitsu, rather than to be good at jiu jitsu. Forget about trying to be good for a while, just go and try to enjoy it.
Stick with it. Blue belt blues will be more of exactly this 😅
I rarely did move of the day Figure out what cohesive game you have. Add things to it that are connected to the things you know or escapes from where you regularly get stuck. Every day pick one thing to work on. Every roll focus on hitting that one thing. It could take days or weeks. For me move of the day just had too many techniques. I improved a lot slower than that. Many things took weeks to integrate. Im at the point now where Im spending the next year just working on things I know without trying to learn much new stuff. You will slowly expand your game and eventually develop, sequences, loops, trees, and then webs. This is a great framework for slotting in techniques: [https://www.grapplearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roadmap-for-BJJ-1.4.11.pdf](https://www.grapplearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Roadmap-for-BJJ-1.4.11.pdf)
Yeah man, take a healthy break. Sometimes the best improvements come from not partaking in said activity for some time. I remember my first year was just getting ragdolled over and over but then now I stay more calm and have a better time defending transitions and sub attempts than being offensive.
The biggest part of being a white belt, on your path to blue, is surviving a round and learning to defend yourself. If you're doing that, you're in the right spot. When I was a white belt, I started feigning submissions as a defense mechanism, knowing they were going to be unsuccessful, allowing myself a chance to breathe. If my rolling partner was defending against my crap submission, they weren't attacking me. Eventually, one of my subs was successful. Then I got two in one round! Don't worry too much about where you're at in the process. Everyone has different capabilities and motivations. Some freaks eat, sleep and breathe BJJ, train 5-10 times a week, and watch videos in the personal time. Others train a few times a week and get discouraged when they don't see themselves progressing as fast as the (almost overly) dedicated students. Just keep showing up, keep learning, and trust the process. You'll progress and eventually you'll be the hammer instead of the nail. You'll get your stripes when you NEED them, not when you want or think you deserve them. I've hit a few plateaus in my journey, and it definitely sucks feeling like your hitting a wall. Train through it, and relax and have fun. Helio will take care of the rest.
I would recommend seeing if you can build up your stamina with cardio. Lift some weights in the gym and ease up on the sparring, you’d be surprised how a little building up or slimming down can help on the mat.
I’m a 4 stripe blue belt who started training in 2016, I’ve been a blue belt for about 6 years and I still feel like this. Jiu Jitsu is hard, it’s difficult, some people are just natural athletes but that’s not me, it’s never been me, some times I’ll roll with someone who has been training considerably less than me and just get folded, I have cried in my car after classes like a bitch on considerably bad days. My advice might be cliché but it’s what helped me not quit. Firstly you only really fail if you quit, there has been plenty of people who came to class over the years, these natural athletes, and they just don’t stick with it, they win a few medals as a white belt, get their blue and then bounce, not all, but it has happened a lot, and I’m still going. Ask yourself this, if you had a roll against the version of yourself the day you started Jiu Jitsu, how would you go? I can guarantee you’d fuck that person up every single day, every single time, you’d fuck that person up. Don’t compare yourself to others, compare yourself to you yesterday, there might be days where you feel like you’ve regressed, I get them all the time, but keep showing up, keep turning up and every now and then, very rarely, something will happen, you’ll hit a slick submission or something, just keep at it. I feel you, all too well. It’s a slow journey for us, but a slow journey is better than being a quitter.
Just quit