Photo: Hywel Teague

Striving for success in Brazilian jiu-jitsu gets most athletes to look for whatever advantage they can get in front of their opponents before they face off. Analyzing the game of your adversaries can help you win matches, but analyzing your own game by watching footage of your training sessions and live sparring can be essential for your development as a BJJ practitioner and sharpening your skills faster.

How is filming and watching my own rolling sessions beneficial for me?

Watching your competition footage might not be enough to fully uncover your flaws and bad habits in some positions. Adrenaline rush and pressure of competing could have got the best of you and when watching the video afterwards you might not see the best version of yourself. However, if you videotape each and every roll in your academy you will have more material to study on and you know that your mistakes could not have been caused by irrational decision making due to adrenaline rush. This way you can write this excuse off and focus entirely on your skills.

Hard sparring sessions are extremely beneficial for you to practice you’re A-game, but how many times have you got out of the gym after a brutal sparring session and you were so exhausted that you barely remembered what positions you were in? Our memory tends to keep most of the “good moves” that we did, but only if you watch yourself from the outside you can notice little details you might be missing like the position of your head, angle of your hips, your gripping combinations, etc.  In addition, you wouldn’t have to worry to take notes as soon as you get home and leave that to when you are analyzing the footage.

Instructors that roll during open mat or even positional sparring might not have the opportunity to watch how your game develops day after day and correct your mistakes. Even if they observe the sparring sessions in class and the open mats, they can not focus entirely on you. However, if you analyze your game on your own and reach out to them with video footage they might assist you, if they are willing to and have the time.

How can I do it and what would it cost me?

The best way would be, if you have somebody walking around and filming you as you would be constantly moving around the mats, but let’s face it – that’s not possible for most of us. Attaching a GoPro camera on the wall or putting it on a tripod next to the mats is a good idea, however, a GoPro camera with a tripod and a memory card could cost you somewhere between 400 and 800 euro. Not to mention, if you would want to have some accessories as additional batteries and cases. There are some similar cameras, that might not provide you with picture of highest quality, but are way more affordable and you wouldn’t be that mad, if you land on them and break them during rolling.

Make sure your teammates are cool with that.

Facing the truth by watching your BJJ skills from the outside might be a scary thought for you, but if you can afford it and you are willing to put the time in – don`t wait for it! However, make sure your training partners know that they will be filmed. Some people just don’t feel good when they are on camera and some don’t want to be embarrassed, if you give them a hard time and it`s being recorded. In some cases, your training partners might actually ask you to send the the footage, so they can watch it too. Ask them politely, if they are OK to be filmed and if they are not, just leave it for the next round.

The professionals do it.

Watching and analyzing footage might require a lot of time and energy, but given the fact that some of the best professionals in the sport are doing it and even posting it online with commentary like Keenan Cornelius, then it`s probably not a bad idea. Another great example is Tristar MMA Head Coach Firas Zahabi, who is regularly posting training footage with commentary by himself. Of course, many of the BJJ stars are doing it to bring media attention to themselves and their academies, but you can do that too once you reach a certain level and would like develop your own brand.