Written by Jakub Trojan
The Beginning
Every person who trains, trained or will be training bjj has something in common – they all were a white belt once. The first step into Brazilian jiu-jitsu is sometimes harsh and unpleasant, but full of new things, friends and traditions. It takes a lot of courage to get into the gym for the first time. It’s a whole new world, even for people who have trained martial arts in the past. What you have to know is that only 50% people that start BJJ will reach their blue belt. So that brings a question: how one can not get tired of being a white belt?
New Things
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is all about the technique. When you start everything is new- from one training to another you learn more. Even the simplest drills can appear as something game-changing. Don’t get distracted by techniques from Youtube. It isn’t wrong to watch new moves, but it’s one thing to watch and another thing to do it while training. The key to learn fast and legit BJJ is to make lots of techniques taught during class, never end the training before the coach says it’s over, and try to train as much as it is possible.
Fighting against the odds
Sparring sessions for a white belt is a remarkable experience. Everyone that you fight with is better than you. The first technique that you will use will probably be the tapout, especially when it comes to rolling with higher belts you think that it’s nothing you can do with. It’s hard to even make some points. As time flies you start to see that you’re no longer the newest trainee. After a few months you start to realise that you’re not getting tapped out so much. Maybe one day you will even submit a higher belt, and that’s pretty impressive…
Contest of white belt ‘Champions’
The first tournament is something agitating. The white belt competitions are a great way to start. Everyone is at the beginning of their journey with BJJ, the stakes are equal. It is really stressful to start competing, but it’s a great way to boost your skills. Nothing teaches more than a loss in the contest. It is really hard to lose in a tournament fight. The most experience comes from such matches, because we struggle with the feeling even several hours after the defeat. Some people might quit, but most of you will come stronger after defeat.
Listening and learning
BJJ is all about learning – you never stop studying. If you’re rolling with a higher belt friend, try to ask questions about positions/techniques that are problematic for you – what mistakes you’re making? What are the weaknesses of your guard game? How to improve your stand-up game? You don’t realise that probably everyone struggled with the same problems, and everyone has some tips and tricks of their own. When you will have some spare time try to read something about BJJ, there are many websites, books and even movies about the sport. It has an exceptional history, which you might find very interesting. For example “Choke” is a documentary about Rickson Gracie, one of the greatest BJJ/MMA fighters of all time, and you can watch on Youtube for free.
White belt forever
What’s so frustrating about being a white belt? Standing at the end of the row, getting submitted a lot, not having too much friends in the gym? Maybe everything combined. What you need to know about being a white belt- it doesn’t last forever. Remember that every black belt you see, was once a white belt. Well than what you need to do is go to the gym and start rolling because you don’t want to be a white belt forever.
