Wednesdays with Coach Tim: Training Outside Class

Time on the mat sparring and drilling is important, but it isn't the only way to train.  Often times life throws me injuries, illnesses, crazy work schedules, or family emergencies that keep me from being able to get to class on time consistently.  I've asked Coach Tim for suggestions on what I can do to train off the mat.  

Coach Tim's Advice:  

On a practical note, it is easiest for me as an instructor to assist students with developing outside of class study and/or drilling routines.  Since I can answer e-mails, recommend videos, etc. when I'm not trying to be 100% focused on a class full of students, those few students who do e-mail me often get an answer more extensive than I think they anticipated.  (You should see what Veronica edits out of these posts!)  On top of that, any student that actively takes their learning into their own hands will always receive more attention from me because these students tend to share information with others very well - this is a way of creating "nodes" in the class room that students can look to for advice if I happen to be working a with a group when a question arises.

Take Notes on Techniques Taught in Class:

Taking notes is a great practice.   Simply writing things will help improve retention and recall.  For those that do take notes, often the struggle is that these notes are rarely reviewed.

If you do not currently take notes, you must make note-taking a habit and regular part of your training.  Start slowly; don't try and write every step to a technique, instead just try and write down all the techniques and movements you practiced that day.  Write down one thing that worked well for you and one thing that did not work well.  Slowly add in details to these overall ideas, then start adding the individual steps that apply to the individual techniques. Soon enough, you will have your own way of taking notes specifically for grappling.

If you currently take notes, but find that you rarely review them, my advice is to work on reviewing these notes and incorporating the movements you have logged into your game.  Here is what I do: anytime there is a particular technique or detail I want to incorporate, I write it down on a small post-it note (to limit how much I can ramble) and then stick that note to the edge of my computer screen. By spending a few minutes a day unintentionally looking at this post-it note, I slowly start to remember the movement during drilling and sparring.  Once the movement is an inseparable part of my game, I will take the post-it note down and replace it with another; the first note gets copied into my notebook, which serves as an archive.

This is what all those notes end up looking like:

Websites / Books / Etc:

There are a number of useful books and websites committed to deciphering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Saulo Ribeiro's Jiu Jitsu University is a great book for all levels, although Saulo's emphasis on defense might not appeal to more impatient students. I always advise learning to attack first, then defend, since learning to defend already places you at a disadvantage (something beginners have an ample supply of) and knowing what dangers you face is a great primer for thwarting them.

In recent years, the number of useful Jiu Jitsu websites / YouTube channels available has exploded.  Marcelo Garcia in Action (mginaction.com) and the Mendes Brothers Online Training (artofjiujitsu.com) are the two websites I have found most useful.  BJJ Scout, Bishop BJJ, BJJ Hacks, and our very own Robot BJJ are some of the more useful YouTube channels out there.

Whatever combination of books and websites you choose to utilize for off-the-mat study, keep this in mind: It is important to do what high-level competitors do, not do what high-level competitors SAY. 

Even the best practitioners in the world (at any sport) will, at times, unintentionally teach their techniques differently than the way they actually perform them when it's show time. A classic example from outside BJJ: Tennis instructors have often taught to "turn the hand over" as they make contact with the ball, in an attempt to give a favorable spin to the tennis ball.  However, through the use of high-speed cameras it has been shown that these same players actually turn their hand over much later than was thought, usually after they hit the ball!

Veronica's Side Note:  I like to watch high level BJJ competitions and tutorials with the sound off-- at least until I have an understanding of what I am looking at.  If I'm not listening to a commentator or instructor, I have no choice but to pay close visual attention and play the technique over and over again.  I listen with the sound at least once at the end, just in case there is a discussion of pressure or leverage that I may not be able to fully grasp with just visuals.    

The Take Away:  

Even if you can't make it to the academy for class, you can brush up on technique by reading, watching videos, and going over your notes from class.  It is the very rare student of any discipline who needs no outside study to improve.  BJJ is no exception.