Rolling with brand new, spazzy white belts is something that most seasoned BJJ athletes avoid. They think of it as a waste of time; after all, why should you spar against someone who literally has no idea what they’re doing? Against someone who could, in their lack of movement control, actually hurt you?
Both of these are valid reasons for not sparring against brand new training partners. However, there is at least one reason why you should roll with them.
Andris Brunovskis, a BJJ black belt under Andre Galvao and an instructor at Legion Jiu-Jitsu, shares this reason.
THE #1 REASON TO ROLL WITH SPAZZY WHITE BELTS
Instructor Brunovskis emphasizes that rolling with brand new, spazzy students could be a big advantage for you simply because these students are the closest thing you’ll come across to fighting against someone untrained. It’s the closest thing that you’ll be able to come to a “street fight simulation” in the BJJ gym, as the reaction of these individuals will closely resemble what an untrained person on the street would do.
He explains:
A brand new white belt is going to act the same way someone off the street is going to react. They’re going purely on instincts.
If you never roll with those types of people, and heaven forbid you get in a real situation out there, it’s easy to forget how crazy and recklessly people act.
Instructor Brunovskis gives an example of people extending their arms while in Mount:
You’re accustomed to people never framing in the Mount and never doing stupid stuff, because they know to stay tight.
Someone out there, or a brand new white belt, they’re going to spazz; they’re going to post their hands and you have to be ready for those crazy kind of movements. Because that’s the kind of movements that someone would give you “out there”.
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