Thinking about trying BJJ

Hi everyone,
so, I continue training in Karate and Taiji, I go to work out with kettlebells on Sunday evenings and despite my schedule being fairly full, I am pondering about trying BJJ.
I am having a hard time deciding whether it is a good idea. It is not that I lack training and I do want to focus on the arts I am doing, mainly karate, but I was thinking getting a bit more experience on the ground to round up my skills would be nice. And everyone keep talking about BJJ so I am kind of curious what it is about. (And I also fairly enjoy learning new stuff as a beginner).

There are more BJJ places here, one relatively close to me which opens a nogi course for beginners since January (lasting two months). I was alredy thinkng of signing up in August, but in the end I decided against it and now I am wondering again....

The school's main coach is a black belt, he's under organization called IBJJA. The beginner course is taught by a young guy with a purple belt. The beginner classes happen twice a week, and early in the morning, which would still fit into my schedule, if I sacrificed some sleep....

Now I am thinking if it is a good idea to still try something else rather than focus on what I already do, but I still wouldn't be able to force myself to practice at home so early in the morning anyway
Another concern is if my body would be able to take it as I already tend to be quite tired after a few days of training. But mainly legs from taiji, some sore muscle soreness from kettlebell, and this could be a different type of exercise (well, hopefully).

How hard is BJJ training? I suppose a beginner course at first shouldn't be too tough? Or will it be? Is it more strenght or cardio? How easy is it to get injured?

Any opinions on BJJ in general? Anything to help me decide?

 

I'd say go for it, especially if you enjoy learning new things! I was in a similar situation to you when I first decided to try BJJ (TMA practitioner looking to gain some grappling experience), and I'm so thankful that I did. It will offer you new perspective on martial arts training, and even if you don't enjoy it, then at least you found out it isn't for you and you'll be able to put that curiosity to rest. To me, the culture of pressure testing everything and focusing on what works was a welcome change to some of the more rigid aspects of TMA.

I would definitely echo everything that Dunc said above. As far as difficulty, it can be challenging at first since you'll be moving in ways that you might not be used to, but as an experienced martial artist you will likely pick this up faster than most. Be prepared to be challenged by the cardio aspect of sparring (or "rolling"), as many people underestimate this at first. My advice would be to stay calm and try not to burn through your energy too fast—this can also help avoid injury to both yourself and your partners. Overall, injuries do happen as in any contact sport, but you can do a lot to protect yourself by being mindful of your movements and choosing your partners wisely.

Morning training sessions can be difficult to drag yourself out to, but I find that starting the day with BJJ makes everything else seem easier! The usual daily sources of stress have a way of rolling off your back if you've already had to deal with people trying to choke and twist you into unnatural shapes.

 

Thank you for that info, that is really helpful. Yeah, I suppose beginners don't have much control and if I go, I will really need to watch myself to tap early. In karate, I tend to wait until I feel the technique really works, but that is with people I know have enough control.

 

Yeah, I am always excited to learn new stuff and just try and fail when no one has no expectations of me, hahaha
Yep, that sounds a lot like my thoughts! To be honest I am also a little afraid I will enjoy it. A few years ago I wanted to try Taiji as a supplement, one hour a week and it soon turned into liek 7-8 hours and now I am splitting my time between taht and karate. I don't really want to divert my way too much again, but want to learn a bit more about grappling

I see, I see, my cardio could use some work, so it may be a bit of a challenge. I just hope the course won't be full of overly fit guys, hahaha Well, no, at least it would be a challenge and fun

The last line isn't very encouraging! But I have my evenings full except for Friday and Saturday and that's not when classes usually happen. And for a reason, too. I, too, hope I'll be able to get myself out of bed

 

Sounds like you are approaching it with the right mindset! Grappling really is tons of fun, and you might find the more sport-based environment to be an interesting change of pace.

It wasn't my intention to alarm you! I've just found that BJJ can put some of life's other struggles into a different light. Many people liken it to a sort of meditation—when rolling you have no choice but to be 100% present and mindful in the current moment, and whatever else might be troubling you in life has a way of getting left at the edge of the mats. Besides, if you stick with it, you'll be doing some of the choking and twisting in no time

 

Yes, well, I have like never competed in anything, so a sport-type environment will be probably very foreign to me.

I see I can see how that could be the case Hm, hm, I will see, will see.

I will decide ove rholiday if I'll try or not. I am always almost decided I'll go, then I think about how little time I have and that it is not the best idea and so on

 

From what I recall the Goju Ryu style has some ground practice from what I've seen amongst other schools? It would certainly complement that.

Any that have a beginners course it's a great choice, our club runs a beginners course, and the skill level from those going through this is clearly better because of a solid program.

It can be hard if you go hard, learn to feel when you are pushing the pace and who else does, if you can handle it that's not an issue, but I find when I'm tired from a few sessions, lifting and running, then I'll be more cautious in sparring and more selective of who I train with.

BJJ seems to be opening on every corner these days, so I expect you have plenty of choice where you are, check them all out to see what fits with your schedule and attitude of the gym.
You'll find some that are very casual, and others with a large amount of members who compete. My gym is a mix, so it works out great, I can get competitive rounds with others who are training for competition, or I can get more technical rounds with other similar aged family guys like me.

 

It does. It has takedowns and we practice those quite a bit, but usually as a finisher (together with a strike or a lock). It does have ground techniques where both people are actually down, but we do not practice those in our country, and they aren't the typical focus on seminars, either. So there isn't much of a chance to learn(practice those and I would love to have more knowledge and experience. Which I think BJJ should help with.

It does have one and it is in the mornings, which works best for me.

I see, I should basically learn to go easy and technically, eight? I might have a hard time enduring it with being tired and sore from other training... But I won't know until I try.

There are plenty of BJJ places in the city, no doubt, but this time I really, really want to find a place which is close Of those that are, I think only this one offers morning classes = classes that I can fit into schedule. And I only found one more with beginner classes. So in the end, I do not have much choice, I suppose. But I think I saw some of the head instructor's YouTube videos where he explaines techniques and they did look nice, I had a good feeling about his attitude, etc. This class would be taught by someone else, but the chance is the atmosphere could be good.

 

So I decided I'd give it a go.
I might regret it when the alarm rings, but other than that I am looking forward to it

 

I just came back form my first class

I was wondering how many women and what kind of people there would be for the beginner class. There were three women, me included, and I think 6 guys - as expected, most being rather big and strong looking.

We did a very light warm-up with resets.
The sad part was there was an odd number of us and as expected as there were three women, one of us had a fair chance of ending up as the odd person.

For my first group of three, I approached the two girls, which was the most comfortable and most obvious choice. Then I was too slow and was left alone in the next round, too. I didn't want to go bother any of the girls again, so my options were one of the pairs of rather big and rather strong looking guys. Well, I though I shouldn't get intimidated by muscle and it's best to establish I am there to train with everyone, if possible, right away. So I approached the closest pair (everyone was already drilling). They were fine with me, though I could tell at least one of them was probably thinking hard about how to work with me. Can't blame him. He definitely had at least 100 kg, all muscle. He did seem out of his comfort zone, but I had a good round with him. Actually managed to pin him chest-to-chest, which was the goal of the attacker

I do want to train with everyone, but the guys here being msotly rather big and the veery close proximity makes me more aware of being a smaller woman than ever...
I totally understand I could be avoided by the guys, but hopefully it won't turn out like that.
Then I actually saw the biggest guy in the room turn his back to another girl next to him saying it's better to find someone of similar size (although that wasn't necessary for that drill, IMO). Yeah, I made a mental note not to approach him.
But to my surprise next round it was him actually approaching me. And it was the final round where we would test all we learned today under pressure, so this time, we would basically go against each other and here the weight would probably make more difference than ever before. It was a pleasant surprise he changed his mind He was a good partner, wasn't aggressive and used his strenght just the right amount to match mine. Maybe he was also going for me to relax a bit as he was apparently reaching his limit and ended up out of breath, but I am still glad I wasn't avoided.

Overall all the people I trained with seemed nice and although most of the guys were bigger and stronger, they all matched my strenghts well. None of them went too hard or too easy, which is great considering we're all just testing the waters. But of course, it wasn't full-out rolling, yet.

I suppose my karate won't generally help me much here, but I knew one (the very first one) exercise we did from karate. And breakfalls weren't new to me, either. Which was great as we practiced one sweep for a while and being able to not think too much about how to fall did help. It was a small thing, but definitely made my life easier

We were also told that basically the beginner course is more like for 4 rather then 2 months, which is fine with me. The more time to work on basics, the better. And aside from the two morning classes, we we're welcome to come to and additional Friday afternoon class (not mainly for beginners), which I will try.

I broke some sweat this class and I did have fun. The instructor and even the training partners seemed nice. So I am looking forward to the next class

 

I wouldn't think too hard on the guy who didn't want to train with that girl - good training partners can be strange. There are certain people (quite a few of them women) that I don't enjoy training with as they are quite rough despite their small size.

Also don't think you're going too slow for anyone - People generally need to take time to develop new people into new team mates so don't remove yourself from a group

 

Yeah true. I can see how women might be rough - trying to compensate for size, etc. But I do not think that was the case. First, the girl wasn't rough at all at least when I practiced with her and second, this was our first class and the guy never paired up with her before. So I thought he would just be avoiding women, and yeah, he was much bigger, but it probably wasn't the case as it turned out.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

I just had a second class, meant not only for beginners, but as the instructors said, a few of us gathered. This class was with the head instructor. There were many people (I estimate about 30). 4 of whom were women, including me, all were beginners. And the vast majority of the guys all look like gym bros I mean two or three beginners did not, but that was about it. I really wonder now if BJJ makes people bulky and looking like fit models or if it is a culture that attracts people who generally work hard on their strenght and fitness. Is it generally like that in BJJ?

This class was no gi, too and focused on a sequence of one take down and getting the other person of the goround getting at their back. Being the odd person once or having trouble doing the technique well with my partner I got to try a few things with the instructor, which was nice. He's about my height, but jacked and rock hard, I swear. It was a great experiendce trying anything with him, of course, and he was also the only one of my partners to put up any significant resistance, just so I would have to exercise some strenght and test if the technique worked, which was great.

So far, the classes are fun

 

Good to read you enjoyed the first class.
Figuring out which partners you can progress with is good, we have some big guys at our place. I often don't partner with anyone much lighter that me, with a few exceptions of those I know well though. So I can understand that someone may be cautious about partnering up with someone new who is lighter. Particularly if it are big and haven't had that much experience, so they may not be confident in how not to overuse the weight.

Anyone actively competing will often have a routine outside of the gym to keep them strong and fit, I see a whole range of people at our place.

You may not think it directly, but there is crossover from karate and similar martial arts which will help you progress. Balance, timing, distance management, and getting a feel for the go and slow times in sparring, reading people's intent.

Going for grips at the start of sparring I think it's a big crossover, deception or combination to get your hands to the grips you want whilst they try to stop you getting your grips is very much direct crossover.
Once you figure out the type of game you like to play, you can use this to force them into your game by getting your grips first.

Simple example, high low punch combination, equivalent to you going high for lapel grip, or collar tie, then low to wrist/sleeve grip.