I just started taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu last week, and I'm just looking into ways to help me settle in. Anyway, at the place I go to, they have a great emphasis on the technique, which is great! I mean, nearly every place has that. But, with sparring, its definitely there, but, you can voluntarily get more sparring after class as compared to when it is just there as part of schedule. With that, I just want to know, how much will sparring help me? Or better yet:
How much better would my grappling be within about 4-6 months if I sparred 3-4 times during/after class as compared to if I only sparred one time during class?
Now, I'm not in a rush with becoming good. I understand that it takes A LOT of time, training, and patience. I'm just trying to see what could help me in the long run.
Also, I know my limits, and I won't try to go all out sparring all the time like a muscle maniac. I just want to help improve my technique.
First of all, welcome to BJJ -- I hope you stick with it since it can change your life. Now, on to your question.
The more mat time you get, the better. The thing I love about BJJ as compared to many martial arts is that you can spar in conditions that approximate a real-life fight with a much less chance of getting injured. So I recommend taking advantage of that and sparring as often as you can.
Having said that, I think drilling basic techniques over and over is the best way to improve your jiu-jitsu -- particularly when you're first starting out. Most people find rolling much more fun than repping escapes, passes, sweeps and submissions over and over, but that's really the best way to improve. But ANY time on the mat is helpful, so stay after class and participate in the voluntary sparring. Besides, you can often pick up great tips and even receive what amount to mini private lessons by hanging out after class and talking to the more advanced students.
The thing is; drilling and learning technique is great, and very important, but being able to implement it against a resisting partner is something totally different. This is where hours and hours or rolling time come into play. The more you roll, the more you will develope the timing, balance, and overall feel required to implement stuff into your game.
Getting extra time rolling will not only help your technique and understanding of the art, but at the same time you are working on developing a deeper gas tank. Then, you start to learn how to get more with less effort becoming more relaxed and able to roll even longer.
Rolling is where the magic happens! If you dont roll a lot then you are likely to progress slower then if you had. One reason why is because when you start bjj, rolling teaches you what not to do. It breaks habits like bad posture, stretching your arm out, one arm out and one in, etc. Drilling and learning techniques is very important, but you need to practice them against a resisting partner. The more rolling you do, the more you will progress.
Roll, Roll, Roll, drill, then Roll some more. Sparring is probably the best aspect of BJJ. If you only sparred you could really learn BJJ. If you only drilled you would learn but your efficiency and effectiveness would be severely limited. congrats on joining this great community and art!
"If you show up for a decade, eventually you will quit sucking" - Forrest Griffin on Training Jiu Jitsu
Sparring is where the fun and humiliation are!
Im with everyone else, rolling definitely makes you better. I like to try the moves we drilled in class during rolling and not worry about getting swept or submitted (its a hard concept for some people). It'll make you that much more technically sound if you can pull off a move that you and your training partner know you going for. I usually do this a few rounds and than do a couple rounds where im trying anything.
sparring and drilling is what makes you really good work open guards as soon as possible is what i was told by a freind of mine
Rolling is probably along with drilling the most important aspect of training. The important part is that you need to roll with a mix of people not just people that are better than you but also more inexperienced students. If you only roll with better people you don't get to try anything out or experiment if you only roll with less experienced people you never truly test yourself.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks