[Green Monkey]

I started this off on the wrong track, so it's going to be a bit of a long post - sorry.

My basic question is - is there a decent resource for learning the theory of BJJ rather than a collection of techniques?

Right now, I'm in the begginer, learning-by-losing phase of rolling live and it's bugging me that I don't really have a way other than that of learning how to string things together.

I do know that I'm being impatient, but I'm just wondering.

Now back to the original post:

Okay - first I admit that I like to over-analyze things and learn more than I really need to.

My name is Green Monkey and I'm an info-holic.

I'm pretty new to BJJ (single-stripe white) and I'm have problems with the theoretical/strategic parts of rolling live.

I'm not explaining this well, but I think the trouble is that I understand the techniques, but I'm not grasping the fundamental ideas behind BJJ.

For example, yesterday we were doing some drills from the guard and I noticed that anyone who was patient could get through my closed guard by simply waiting for me to get tired out.

I asked a higher ranking guy about it and he showed me a few things about moving my hips and regripping/resetting the guard that really helped out, but I'd really love to have this kind of stuff at hand so I can start to digest it on my own time rather than right in the middle of things.

Is there a decent resource out there for theory rather than technique?

[SFinclined]

It takes time, you will start seeing shit that you didn't notice before. As far as you're closed guard, why are you trying so hard to keep them locked down, open it up and move on. I don't think you're learning by holding them in closed guard the whole time.

[Shooto Panama]

You suffer from White belt syndrome.

"Jiu-Jitsu is a personal thing. There are techniques that work well for me, but don`t work well for you. There are a great variety of body types out there, and not every position will work for all of them. You can`t make an elephant fight like a mouse and you can`t make a mouse fight like an elephant. Each person has his own reaction and that is specific to the person. Some are faster, some are slower, some have longer legs, some are stronger, so each much adapt his game to his biotype, physical condition, and way of thinking and reacting to things.

It is important to learn the positions and try to adapt them into your own game, but it is also important to realize that some things are not for you"

The quote above is from JJ Machado. The reason I posted that is because everybody, at one point or another begin to question themselves regarding techniques and theory behind Jiu-Jitsu.

Some things will be easy and some other will be not. To me, White and blue are the best experience for any BJJ practitioner because those are the learning stages. Don`t try to over analyze Jiu-Jitsu too much at this point because you are basically learning the art.

In time, everything will fall into place and most things that doesn`t make sense now or confuse you will be discarded.

[STFUjiujitsu]

I didn't understand the ground game for a long time.
The first time I thought I knew what was going on, I rolled with a blue belt for the first time and realized I didn't quite get it yet. That was around the 7 month mark. At the 1 1/2 year mark It clicked and my game has tripled in less than 6 months.
Literally One day it just made sense.

[fiftysvn]

I feel the same way you do green monkey -=/

But I'm hoping with time it'll click, as it seems to have for many members on this forum.

I find that a lot of the videos I watch are very good at explaining some of the theory/principles of why things work and what not. I first started with Matt Serras videos and thought they were fantastic. How little I knew. While he explains technique really well (and I still go back to his videos), he doesn't get into some of the theory behind things.

Currently I'm watching Saulo Ribeiros JJ Revolution I, and I think it's great. He goes beyond technique and explains things that I might not get in class. Things like the importance of hip control, using as little effort/strength as possible, etc etc. Check his vids out.

[TacWar]

one day you will sit in class and someone will ask you "what do you do from X" position, and your response will be a long winded speech as you show them every little thing you look for from that certain position including every submission and transition. Then just as you think you've covered everything you realize there is more to it, but that whoever you were talking to is looking at you like you were speaking like the teacher on charlie brown.

At least thats what happened to me and I finally believed I was starting to put things together, granted i'm still putting it together but you never stop learning.

[tbonejackson]

I'm a white belt myself and I can definitely relate to some of the things that you talk about. There are a couple of tricks that have really helped me out a lot so far:

1. Try to find specific techniques being used against you that you have a hard time with. Make a mental note, and then try to use that exact same technique against someone more advanced than you. Most likely, they will be able to counter you in some manner. Do your best to make a mental note of what they did and if possible, stop the roll and ask them to explain to you what they just did. Man, I have found this helps a lot.

2. Keep a log. After class, do your best to take notes on what went on. I try to focus mine more on less tangible ideas and specific things that I have trouble with or am forgetting during live rolling. I don't write down a whole lot of the technical details of what I learned, because I remember those pretty well anyway plus the technical details are available in books, videos, etc. (You seem to have already discovered this.) This is also helpful to keep you motivated and in a positive frame of mind. There are many times I have left my school thinking I just got my butt kicked all night. However, as I think about it and go to write things down, I will realize I did more things right than I gave myself credit for (executed a proper technical escape from a given position, made a more advanced guy work harder to tap me than he normally does, etc.) . This actually gets me really excited to go online or read books or gather questions in my head to ask my instructor. Overall, it just gives you a much more organized approach towards solving this crazy jujitsu puzzle.

Both of these things have really helped me out a lot so far.

tbone

[Tony Manifold]

Damien Maia's science of jiu-jitsu does a good job of tying techniques into principles and theories. Pick up that set if you are that type of guy (like me).

[Davii]

Actually, Green Monkey, the things that kept me going to bjj in the beginning where those moments where things just clicked.

I'd watch videos, ask my instructor, ask higher belts... I just didnt get certain things.

When do I apply this sweep? Why hip like that and this? When do you know to switch to open guard? etc etc.

Every now and then - things just CLICK. It's honestly one of the best feelings I've ever had in a sport.

One thing that I have to admit to, is that my instructor does try to teach the reasoning behind what hes doing. Which allows concepts to sink in faster - especially for beginners.

I do think though, that me taking the initiative to try and understand things made me click that much sooner. So keep working on it in class and things will happen.

Good luck

[lethalazn]

overanalyzing to the point where you miss the point? Yeah i've seen that problem before, here's some suggestions to either troubleshoot your problems or avoid problems that you MIGHT run into in the future

- Concepts will click together when you figure out what certain types of moves have in common
- No matter how little technique you know (and i barely knew any for my first 1.5 years since I would just roll without formal instruction) your objective will ALWAYS be to advance your position, keep that in mind no matter what position you're in (o and don't forget to remember which position is more dominant and etc) so even without technique, you will naturally at least ATTEMPT to advance position. Sure you're supposed to go with the flow and switch between moves when you have to, but you shouldn't be "just doing whatever." you need to keep that strategy/objective in mind. I've seen people who have rolled for half a year who forget that their primary objective is to PASS guard when they're inside someone's guard. If you're already in position to submit, you'll have to securely use the first few steps to put yourself closer to closer to submitting.
- As you learn different moves, you'll realize that they share a lot of concepts, and taking those concepts to heart (rather than thinking too much about it) will make learning new moves/variations of moves, much easier
- Figure out what techniques work best for your body in every position, create GOTO moves. That means that if I ask you what YOU'RE going to do when someone's inside your guard, you won't be listing a catalog of techniques listed from an instructional or "Well....maybe i could use technique 11 where..." your response should be as simple as "Control his posture and adjust my hips at an angle so I can set up a sweep" or "Start setting up the armbar"
- Mastering first few steps of a technique (transitions) are more important than finishing the submission itself
- While BJJ has a wide technical base (at least wider than most technical sports) if you're the type that analyzes too much, you should definitely remind yourself that it's better to learn less things at a deeper level, than more things at a shallow level