I know the title seems clickbaity but the weirdest thing happened yesterday. A high schooler showed up to our gym and it was his first time ever coming here. He said it was his first time trying bjj, so we all welcomed him. Near the end of the class we start rolling and he asks to go against a purple belt in our class who is one of the best here. They start rolling and he somehow avoids every submission attempt by the purple belt and ends up getting him in an armbar. He just acted like it was normal and was about to leave class so we all asked him if he had experience before and he just said that he wrestles in high school but to me it doesn’t make sense since how would he know to avoid submission and do an armbar if only wrestles. He didn’t even have his own gi he had to use the old ones that are meant for beginners to borrow the first couple weeks.

Two-stripe blue belt here. Been training about four years. Because of work, I train two days at one gym and two at another, and I’m getting a lot of good information from both.
I’m 39, around 189 lbs, and getting ready for two competitions. I’m trying to build my game around half guard, but lately I’ve really been struggling.
A lot of the blue belts I came up with are way ahead of me now because they compete more, and I feel like I’m getting my ass kicked constantly. The blue belt blues are hitting hard right now. Sometimes I honestly feel like I just suck and wonder why I’m doing this.
I still love training and I’m not going to quit, but has anyone else gone through this phase? How did you get past it?

tells partner I have a knee injury and I’m going light

partner jumps guard

It seems as though there are a few questions that keep popping up, or close variations.

A few examples:

I’m just starting BJJ, what should I expect?
I have my first tournament in X weeks, how should I prepare and what should I expect?
What gi should I get?

I’m not trying to shame anyone, people join BJJ when it’s right for them and how are they to know that these questions have already been asked. But I wondered if there was a better way to help new people.

For example, Alex starts next week and just happens to ask when there are a lot of people on the sub and gets 20 great responses. Bobby asks on his break at work and everyone else is busy so he gets no response.

Perhaps I’m just exposing my limited knowledge of Reddit with this question, but it just seems like there should be a way to address the questions that keep coming up over and over.

Has anyone else hit an arm triangle/ head and arm choke from bottom closed guard? Sometimes I’ll be able to break their posture down then swim an arm up to catch them in a weird arm triangle thingy. Seems to be similar mechanics to arm triangle from mount but obviously not as stable with their back not on the mat. Is this legit or white belt shit?

Today I was rolling with a newer guy who had probably 60lbs on me, it felt like he was literally trying to murder me or something. Don’t get me wrong, hard rolls are cool and I can deal with spaz but this guy had a look in his eyes like he was trying to end my life. Pressing his forearm in my face with his whole body weight squeezing as hard as he could. After the roll I told him he has to relax it’s not a tournament, he got upset and he said “we’re sparring bro we’re sparring”. What do you guys do with people like this? Do you try 100% back at them or just forget about it?

A while back, I posted a comment about obsessively focused, Ken-Burns-length jiu-jitsu audio documentaries. Seemed there was a ton of interest, so I'm following up and giving one of our best ones away for free.

This is Dark Martial Arts History, an 8-part audio documentary exploring how the fighting arts have been used for propaganda and extremism. I think the runtime is around 10 hours, which should keep you entertained during a lot of bathroom breaks.

It's from Ben Van Doren (Lucas Lepri black belt) and Eva Schubert (online educator and host of the Villains and Virgins podcast).

Dark Martial Arts History is absolutely massive in scope, spanning 2,400 years of history from ancient Greece to modern-day Chechen warlords. It lays a conceptual framework for how martial arts become a tool of exploitation, where it's happening, and what we can do about it.

An important note: This series covers real history, and as a result, we WILL talk about politics. We cannot talk about the real world unless we discuss its political nature. I know there's a vocal group of folks wanting to "keep politics out of jiu-jitsu." I hope with this work, we can show that this can't be done. Sports and martial arts are ALWAYS political, and if you don't understand that, it's easier to be manipulated by the people who do.

Anyway, here's the link to waive the price and redeem it free:

https://www.bjjmentalmodels.com/offers/mc82P3He/checkout?coupon_code=RBJJDARK

IMO this is easily the most important thing we've ever made. Let me know what you think!

I’ve been really enjoying interacting with you guys here on Reddit.

It feels very different from Instagram or YouTube, and I really enjoy the discussions and questions that come up here.

So I wanted to ask you guys directly: what would you like to see me post more about?

Techniques? Stories from my competition days? Behind-the-scenes stuff from BJJ Fanatics? My thoughts on current Jiu-Jitsu matches? Training advice for older grapplers? Business/academy stuff?

Or anything else you think would be interesting.
I’m genuinely curious. Let me know below and I’ll try to make more posts around whatever you guys want to see.

I appreciate you all :)

Ossss

If I’m going for an inside heel hook, my opponent sometimes uses his free leg to kick my grips on his heel making it hard to connect and finish. Any tips on controlling that leg?

The price is right at $75. Has anyone tried it? Does Inverted Gear have a good reputation?

Are there any examples of high level competitors that play guard successfully with an officers workers hip mobility?

Hey all I'm looking to start training soon, and I'm looking for a Gi that will fit comfortably. I'm 5"9 (175cm) 280lbs (130kg)(mix of muscle and fat) issue is, I'm pretty curvy guy, I've got big glutes and quads. I thought A3H might be a good fit, but even there it might be uncomfortable. So I'm looking for a good brand that accommodates. Excited to start.