Ever had a training session where there weren’t any higher belts present, but just a couple of students at your belt level – and a whole bunch of lower belts? It felt amazing, didn’t it?
But why did it feel so amazing? Okay, you didn’t get smashed as much as you do when rolling with those grizzled brown and freshly minted black belts… But there was something else to it.
THE BIGGEST ADVANTAGE TO ROLLING WITH LOWER BELTS
Whether you realize or not, there is one great advantage when it comes to rolling with lower belts. And that’s the opportunity to become innovative. To try stuff out without risking (your ego and) being demolished after you fail that out-of-coordination-submission-attempt.
That’s exactly why Andris Brunovskis, BJJ black belt under Andre Galvao & an instructor at Legion Jiu-Jitsu, loves rolling with blue and purple belts:
Some of my favorite people to roll with are just blue and purple belts. I want to just create a tempo where they go for some transitions and I go for some transitions… And I feel like I learn so much doing that.
He explains that rolling with people who are at a much lower level than he is, gives him the freedom to work on his creativity a bit:
Some of my greatest innovations have (come from) rolling with people that are much lower level than me. Because, in those rounds I have the freedom to work my game a little bit.
I get to be creative, because I don’t have to be worried about getting smashed under Side Control or getting my back taken. I can just keep the round really open.
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