If I Started BJJ In 2024, I'd Do This

[@JoelSnape1]

Ask me anything about BJJ!

[@apurbabiswas7218]

how much would you emphasise strength and conditioning for a new white belt? I’m rooster weight, with pretty good cardio but feel my joints going soon as I’m always sparring with bigger people. But I want to train a lot so I pick up the skills and then worry about getting injury proof months later. Do you think this is a good approach

[@jg7923]

How long did it take to find trustworthy long-term training partners ?

[@JoelSnape1]

I've trained in a few places so they've changed a bunch, but if you're approachable and open about your desire to train properly, not long I think? We've had new guys come into our place and when they have the right attitude they find people to work with really fast

[@JoelSnape1]

S&C depends on your other commitments and how much you can recover. I used to train 3-4 times a week and do judo but also hit the gym a couple of times a week, but I was lucky that I could sleep a lot and my work wasn't too stressful

[@TheTgirl326]

​@@CortVermin❤❤⁰00

[@redpepper313]

One thing that became apparent to me when I did wrestling was that high-level wrestlers can usually shut you down before you’ve completed an offensive move, which means that if you train with people who are way more advanced than you, you will never learn what it feels like to complete 100% of the move.

[@JoelSnape1]

Exactly this!

[@ron-kf8sf]

That’s backwards. You learn defensive skills first. Once your defense is on point then you can worry about submissions.

[@odudog]

Thoughts from a non BJJ guy. The higher level players are doing a disservice to entire gym by just winning all the time. They should have known your were at a lower level, therefore, tone it down, give feedback and help create the linkages for you. Coaches can't see everything so they require assistance from their higher level students. The quicker a higher level student helps the lower skill guy progress, the stonger the overall gym talent. A win win for everyone. That's how i operate in my chosen art.

[@vanillagorilla5722]

This is not how it is in 99% of BJJ gyms lol. Everyone likes to show a lower belt a tip or move and help them.

[@Kushgroove234]

Agreed Every higher level belt I’ve rolled with always takes time to show me a variation or a different way to approach something and it builds friendships fast

[@cheesejkliop]

Agreed - not everyone is like that though. There are plenty of colored or advanced belts who are happy to help.

[@get_a_sport_car]

Eh, sometimes its like that, but sometimes the higher level people need to be higher level people. In an ideal training environment you "win" 50% of the time and "lose" 50% of the time. Losing is good if mixed with winning. When Joel moved up to the higher class, he was losing a lot more, so he probably should have just supplemented his training with more some beginner rounds.

[@massasauga100]

Most trainers are aware of this in bjj already, they will allow lower belts to work unless they need to teach em a lesson

[@qazmko22]

0:19 1. Train with worse people. It's harder to get better at offense, if you can't practice it or set it up. It's also hard to work on defense because you don't learn what your holes are, and many higher belts won't explain why what you tried didn't work. 1:35 2. Don't try to "win" rolls. Focus on the things you are bad at, become more well-rounded, even if this means "losing" to a 1 stripe white belt. 2:22 3. Prioritize escapes. If it's good enough advice for Danaher, Craig Jones, Roger Gracie... it's good enough for you. It also lets you build a good defense, and helps you set up your offense. Let people who are worse then you start in good positions, and practice until the holes in your moves start working more consistently. 3:08 4. Drill for understanding. With different levels of resistance you will master the move quicker, and you will learn to "make it work" under pressure. 4:13 5. Play more games. Not just loose positional sparring, that results in doing things we are good at, but games that limit the kinds of movements we can use... this will result in higher quality experience in terrible positions and learning offensive and defensive moves faster. 5:41 6. Work on one thing at a time. Men (and some women) like to overestimate how much we can learn, and how fast we can learn it. Many schools, unless they have a good curriculum will throw a "move of the week", at you and don't drill or practice that move again for 6 weeks. Just focus on a few things... because Jiu-Jitsu is like a big 10,000 piece puzzle. 7:01 7. Take better notes. The goal of your notes, should be to jog your memory of what you learned and to help you unlock what you have forgotten.

[@JoelSnape1]

Lovely summary, my man. Thank you!

[@Fisj]

What helped me a lot is watching instructionals > make a .GIF of the move and make a short videoclip of all the key points > store these in Apple's "notes". So whenever i do a move (wrong) i first compare what i did with the gif and if i need more context of things i might've missed i check out the recap vid. If i really need to study it again, i ofc check the original instructional. Also, recording yourself helps a alot

[@tededo]

I've got a scoop for you sir. I've spent the last 5 years on defense. Now, like a viper, I can strike any chosen move and work on my offense. The fact that my defense is very good, makes my mate do moves that look like choreographed purposeless techniques that look good, but arent giving any results cause I don't tap to them. They mostly end up questioning if their jiujitsu is good. I keep my mouth shut. Its not that their grappling isn't good, its just that my defense got better with time and I have fun pummeling combining the layers of defenses in answer to the moves they offer me.

[@jasonrose6288]

Stumbled across your video and subscribed. I love your 'breezy' style. Really helpful and straightforward advice, too. I think back on my own journey: I had my first class in 1998 and only went back to training BJJ in 2012. I think my journey to BB will surpass yours in terms of years substantially!

[@danielashman1753]

Solid video. Good principles of learning. Thank you for posting.

[@Taekwon-Brando]

This video earned my sub, my like, and I’m sharing it with multiple people at open mat tomorrow. This was insanely helpful even for someone more experienced

[@JoelSnape1]

That's amazing to hear, thanks very much!

[@Rubicanteful]

When I got my blue belt I started going to Judo. Used my B and C game on the ground there and improved alot.

[@JoelSnape1]

Yeah the lesson I haven't put in here is 'start training standup as soon as possible'

[@ReisterJP]

Stand-up is so much harder. The ammont of drilling "uchi komi" you have to do to be able to throw a judoka is insane.

[@ep6026]

Hard to find judo places. I'm in amarillo and there's none around 😢

[@ReisterJP]

to be fare, nothing is around Amarillo

[@ep6026]

@@ReisterJP lol , so true 🤣

[@TrustYourguts-o4e]

I've rolled with black belts and brown belts for a whole year and felt stagnating, that's actually what discouraged me. This year i only trained with lower belts and my game changed drastically.

[@HKBoba]

Definitely feel the first point. I've been training for about 1.5 yrs now. Unfortunately, our gym doesn't get too many new people and I'm one of the smaller guys in the class (around 140lbs). So honestly, not too much "worse" people to even train with haha. I probably on the bottom 3-4 people. So, as much as I do agree the first point would be helpful. I have a hard time making it happen.

[@JoelSnape1]

That's rough, man. You've got a couple of options: 1. Hit the gym (BJJ shouldn't be about strength, but big guys who have strength to spare get to practice in the positions they want more than small guys of the same skill level, it sucks but that's how it happens). 2. Train with the other guys your level a lot - don't be afraid to turn down rolls from big aggro guys! 3. Try to find some better people who know how to chill: against our lower belts, I'll quite often play the sweep game I mention in this video - it evens things out, they get to practice their sweeping and actually have a chance to hit it, I get to practice my balance without it feeling too easy. Some people at your gym might be up for that. Good luck!

[@pingislife2653]

How about train with very advanced partners (high purple and above)? There's a good chance they're focused on working on only a few things, and that could let them be lax about giving up their positions and submissions so you have an opportunity to practice yours. Unfortunately, if the advanced partner has an ego (but hopefully that has been addressed and worked out by this point in their journey) there's a good chance they'll smash the less skilled. Have fun training!

[@Silokkes]

I must be mvp of my gym then. Only come one or two times a week, so im quite usually the worst on the mats lol

[@HKBoba]

@JoelSnape1 thanks so much for the reply! I've recently went to an open mat and had some luck there playing vs other beginners. I might try to do that more. Our gym is pretty small and most of the folks there compete so instead of an "advanced vs beginner" class. It's basically just only 1 class.

[@ron-kf8sf]

It’s also much much safer to train with higher belts. Most injuries occur because you’re training with a dangerous spaz white belt.

[@Pensivelyexpensive]

This video has me subscribing. Thanks friend!

[@simonroth8321]

Hi Joel, I have a couple of questions: 1) After writing distilled notes, do you then type those up electronically into a personal BJJ wiki for you to refer to? If not, how do you keep track of the content of your handwritten notes? 2) How important is it to drill a position from both sides? I'm trying to make sure that I do, but I have a natural tendency to favour one side. I remember back when I used to snowboard more often, that if I can learn to ride switch then the entire mountain opens up, would you say that it's similar in BJJ? 3) Do you have any tips on how to understand an instructional without a training partner? It might just be my naivety and lack of experience as a lowly white belt but I do find it tricky to put into practice what I've seen on videos during live rolling 4) How important do you think competitions are for progression? Appreciate any responses, and thanks for all your content, really enjoy it.

[@JoelSnape1]

Hey Simon! Great questions. 1. Nope, I keep them all in a notebook. The point of the exercise is really to distill the knowledge down as much as I can, so that (in theory) I can fit the broad strokes of everything I know in one book. I always wanted something like the Grail diary from Indiana Jones, and this is my version. :) 2. I'd say this depends on the move, but generally not that important. It's important to be able to *pass* to both sides, but the way you pass to each side can be different. If you're doing a berimbolo, I'd dump all my drilling reps into one side. That said, you need to drill escapes on both sides. 3. I've done another video about the importance of finding 1-2 training partners, and that really comes in helpful here - if you can find someone who'll show up early or stay a bit late to let you work moves, it's hugely helpful. If you can't, I'd say the best thing to do is to refresh the move in your head close to class, go for it loads, then rewatch the instructional after you fail to get it, for a refresher/troubleshoot on key points. 4. I'd say they're helpful, not crucial. Class can be pretty hard, but comps: a) Let you feel the intensity of moves when someone's going all out. b) Give you permission to go all out (so there's no excuse for going 'Oh well I was flow-rolling' when you lose). This is all stuff I'd cover in more videos, but I'm trying not to do TOO much BJJ stuff in case it puts the piano fans off. Tricky!

[@Jitsover50]

Hey that's me! haha. Cool video. I remember my jiu-jitsu based on principles. I was never a note taker though we all learn and retain things differently. At Marcelo's we weren't allowed to record video. Since I am at the my latest academy I am allowed to record my rolls. This has helped me immensely. Plus it allowed me to have a KZbin channel. Thank you for sharing.

[@JoelSnape1]

Oh thanks for this! I forgot I used some of your footage - I'll put a link to your channel in the description, thanks for the comments. Agree that recording really helps to see what you don't even realise you're doing wrong

[@Jitsover50]

It's okay brother! I just found your channel. It is great to see how multi faceted you are sir. I'm also a photographer, dj and I can sing. I think self development is the cornerstone of happiness. I'm honored that you used me in your video. Thank you.@@JoelSnape1

[@Jitsover50]

Also when being dominated you can see what your opponent is trying to do to you. :)@@JoelSnape1

[@deathstar2245]

Started with my 13 year old 3 weeks ago. 🎉🎉🎉

[@cillianbrown9044]

Thanks for the video, going to get my self a notebook now. Will be good to document and process some of the teachings on the matts

[@JoelSnape1]

It's worth the effort!

[@apurbabiswas7218]

Thanks for the advice! I like the conversational style and clips of the people rolling. The background KZbin music is a little distracting though - would happily listen to you without it (or something more toned down).

[@S18MMA]

Absolute gold cheers subbed ❤

[@MegaAwsometurtle]

Very mature and confident way of looking at the chess game of jiu jitsu.

[@push-to-talkpodcast2864]

Nice video! What were the graphics with the Japanese women hitting subs? lol

[@helimax]

I hate rolling with purple belts and above as a white belt- they either kill you or 'fake' letting you do things like a dead doll which is super counter productive. I like white belt rolls as it allows me to actually work to a plan from a position and see if it will happen - often it does. It's methodical and the pace is slower and you are not going to get tapped for posting an arm for a second or get swept if your base is not wide etc... Then the blue belt rolls are my proving ground - stuff that works on other white belt does not work on them - so becomes about speed and survival - they attack me and I defend then try to surprise them . Never tapped out a blue belt but can sometimes hold my own just fine and be a threat - so really same belt and above for me is best.

[@Mortsandmore]

Great video Joel

[@V1D30]

Hey Joel, any possibility of sharing your notes / documents you created?

[@pingislife2653]

This is very good advice, sir.

[@claudiodonato5764]

Great advice cheers mate

[@JoelSnape1]

Glad to help!

[@recursion.]

0:13 conclusion. don't have to watch full video.

[@anotherbloodyhypocrite960]

That first point is why I focus on working on late-escapes and submissions I'm less familiar with when I roll with new people. I'm a bigger guy with a good bit of experience so it feels like a wasted learning opportunity if I just sit in side control and arm-bar them for the whole round. I'd much rather have them trying new positions, doing techniques and in return I get to experiment with stuff that would just get me smashed if I was up against one of the more experienced people.

[@JoelSnape1]

Yeah, exactly this - smashing someone with your go-to subs means NEITHER of you learn

[@TrishCanyon8]

Thanks Joel. ❤❤❤

[@JoelSnape1]

Hope training's going well, Trish!

[@FaisalAli-ni3nc]

Amazing video 👍

[@StayinAliv3]

Great insight , thank you

[@JoelSnape1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ryantuleja7849]

I have been trying to take better notes on my training for a few years and have largely gone digital . Do you have a breakdown on how your notetaking is organized?

[@JoelSnape1]

Good question! I changed this about eight months ago and I'm actually hoping to drop a new video on it soon. For now, though, here's a condensed version: - When I'm watching instructionals I try to take notes (and screenshots) to get my head around the movements, and so that I've got an easy reference that I can check out before I try the moves in classes/open mat. - BUT I also have a document that's broken down by position, where I can make notes when my understanding about a position/submission OVERALL changes or I have something to add to it (so a good simple example would be the rule that *in general* you want to take the arm you armbar to the same hip/shoulder on your side). - I've also got a notebook where I've tried to condense my understanding of this stuff into a few pages, a la Feynman's physics notebooks, but I think that actually might be unnecessary. Stay tuned for the video!

[@jcmjcm2412]

I am 48 years old and started bjj about 2 months ago, I haven't learned shit. I am just trying to survive. I have no offense, and where I go, they just throw you to the wolves.

[@JoelSnape1]

Sorry to hear it, my man. Try to find some people in the same position as you and work with them before/after class. It's honestly a shitty position to be put in, and it doesn't help anyone's learning.

[@terminadorairgunsandoutdoors]

Training with worse people can have you less sore as well. Getting mauled is hard on your body, possibly reducing longevity.

[@Jesse-qk6wn]

I strictly do no gi and that bugs me cause i feel like im not REALLY practicing jiu jitsu but just some westernized grappling amalgamation. My question is this: Do you watch gi jiu jitsu for entertainment? I tried many times to just sit down and watch a Rafa Mendes match or a Cobrinha match but get so bored watching the grip fight between the passer and the guard player. I want to like gi jiu jitsu but cant even watch it lol. You know any way i can enjoy just watching gi jou jitsu more?

[@tomjones6347]

Watch judo lol

[@philiplemieux3358]

Everyone knows jiu jitsu isn’t fun to watch lol. Just put a Gi on and go to class

[@momsemaur]

Take a sip already!

[@JSMinstantcoaching]

Those are very interesting tips

[@DanielIvan707]

No drilling, no warm ups, just games.

[@josephrodriguez5765]

Are your notes available lmao. Thanks for the advice! Great vid

[@bengreen8054]

No chance we could get your notes, right?

[@L0stAtLast]

My coach says his coach taught him to follow the 80/20 rule. 80% against people you can experiment with and 20% against the savages.

[@JoelSnape1]

This sounds like a good plan TBH

[@dudes821]

Awesome video! Do you teach in London?? I've been training 10 years and only wish the approaches outlined here were common practice as opposed to the pick and mix approach to classes

[@JoelSnape1]

I train in Bath, my man! We always welcome visitors, though - drop me an email (info on the About page) if you're ever coming by

[@andrewmc2445]

I think I basically wasted my entire first year by being at an academy with the exact opposite problem of random people teaching random stuff. The academy in question has a curriculum. It takes 16 weeks to get through. Each week has 3 techniques in the first half and three in the second then you don't see them for another 16 weeks. There's no heuristics, no linking or understanding of how one relates to another so they try to teach 16*6 techniques which is double if you go left and right handed and no one can recall 192 techniques. I ended up doing privates at FZ and spent a year on collar sleeve, and movements from there and learnt more about other things because of the relationships than I learnt in the cult. (The cult was in fairness a safe place for a 47 year old to start).

[@spazda_mx5]

The cult?

[@JoelSnape1]

192 moves!? To get to blue belt?

[@andrewmc2445]

@@JoelSnape1 no, there's seem to be no specific thing. They just have a 16 week curriculum that covers 6 items a week. No one could absorb the info. Only once I'd been elsewhere did I realise how wacky it was. It's weird because I'm pretty confident that not all clubs in that team follow the curriculum.

[@andrewmc2445]

@@spazda_mx5 they are famed for the grift. Pay for seminars at grading. Charge for belts, uniforms blah blah

[@spazda_mx5]

@@andrewmc2445 Just googled it, Gracie Barra? I've been looking around for a local BJJ place and have to say the GB/affiliated ones I've seen did seem a bit like businesses first.

[@andrewkoehler4541]

My entire game is defence and escape. I'm absolutely shit at submitting.

[@shauncfraser]

urban kings was an amazing gym 🔥

[@dirtygeazer9266]

One thing i want to know is whats after escapes what should i slowly build up in the background and should when i roll start on feet or work on gaurd so many questions

[@cheesejkliop]

Each person has their own style and preferred techniques and game that evolve over time. Working on guard retention, framing and defending, escaping, sweeping, submitting, passing, standup, legs in that general order is my preference (obviously you learn a mix of everything through classes and rolling, but you can focus more or less on certain things at a time). As you can see, the general idea is defense -> role reversal -> offense. Passing is a complex art, so I like to have a handful of passes in mind but do a deep dive after my defense/escapes are more solid. Standup/takedowns/wrestle ups/wrestling/judo I also save for after defense. Then legs (again, learning some basics but saving the deep dive for later, since most competitions limit legs for white belts and they can present unique injury risk to noobs or spazzes). Find what works for you. I'm a lighter weight class so this made sense for me especially.

[@dirtygeazer9266]

@@cheesejkliop I wrestled for a year was terrible didn't finish the season it was sr year so I ain't get any after opportunity of wrestling I know my balance have some idea of takedown working on defensive wrestling rn with shot recovery and thinking about standing grip breaking for Russian tie should I switch my focus to ground work like guard I have been working and still will be positional and submission escapes I like escapes that don't put me in guard but on top so i can keep pressure what would you do for my circumstances im also a little heavier 5'6 180 was 220 wrestling record 2-22 the bjj transition was nice though im getting good scrambles i think don't know guard passes ground stuff at all really besides a little frames any final advise

[@loganwear9867]

Wow that guy at 0:14 has an amazing mullet 😉

[@BPchadlite]

I was skimming thumbnails and thought this said Train with Horse People

[@JoelSnape1]

And you clicked!? I should launch my BJJ For Centaurs course

[@jamesbarker2223]

I just started in September and am the newest guy at the gym. Where exactly do I find worse people? Lol

[@JoelSnape1]

Sometimes you're the nail, my friend. What I'm really trying to get across is, you won't necessarily get better by getting wrecked by purple belts, so try to train with the other white belts (or get the other guys to play games where they constrain their own options, if they're up for it)

[@mattreynolds5122]

Idk all I have done is train against guys better than me for 6 months and I have been smashed 1000 plus times I have learned how to adjust to their movements tho I feel like playing against worse peopwl would only slow me down

[@JoelSnape1]

Depends how you do it, my man. Glad you're progressing though - hang in there!

[@TriclopstheInfinite]

I’d love to roll with worse people but I’m one of 3 non female white belts that regularly attend classes. I’m Forced to only roll with blues and higher. I can’t tell if I’ve gotten better or worse.

[@tededo]

If you tap 5 times out of 10 defense techniques, you're 50% good. If you never tap them blues and higher, you're 100% better at defending their offenses. If you tap 9 times out of ten, you're bad at reading their game. The math is simple. Offense wise, if you can tap them ten times from 10 submission attempts, you're 100% better then them, and of you nail them only once out of 10 sub attempts, you're a grappler.

[@cheesejkliop]

Roll with female white belts and the other 2 white belts? Make some training buddies.

[@TriclopstheInfinite]

@@cheesejkliop I’d roll with the the female white belts but I’m 255lbs and I’m way too strong for them

[@bcar9706]

Did this guy copy Nicky Ryan? Or did Nicky Ryan copy him? Cause they both have the same advice today

[@robertusjames5084]

what is that inside your cup

[@JoelSnape1]

Er, probably black coffee or green tea, that's what I usually drink when I'm filming. Can't remember for this one, though!

[@4363HASHMI]

That’s foolishness, it’s like someone challenging you continuously to an fight but they don’t throw hands

[@JoelSnape1]

Plenty of fights are won without throwing hands, my friend

[@PhoenixTTV.]

Nice video man. I used to only roll with people that gave me a hard time and I felt like thats the way to get better but sometimes being tougher doesn’t mean better because I developed big holes in everything other than my best game. So, now I try to roll with people worse than me and I try to expose my weaknesses and man, its too humbling… I have to try to also just see it as a game and keep morale high since now I lose more to worse people to get better. Ahhhh

[@JoelSnape1]

Thanks man - and yeah, it's tough to 'lose': we have blue belts who can give me trouble if I go into their game and away from mine - but ultimately, it's a game, and the goal is to get better. Keep going!

[@reesemcgee708]

My problem is that it seems like nobody is worse than me LOL

[@warecamel]

I watched a video from a Joe Rogan podcast with Firas Zahabi (kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZfFdJaNrr6nnrM) yesterday. According to his view smart training pretty much boils down to shifting your emphasis over to consistency over intensity. This is training philosophy that is practiced in many countries where top athletes come from - say russian wrestlers and thai kickboxers.

[@JoelSnape1]

This is huge, good point

[@natef1212]

Yeah this is impossible as a new white belt. Everyone is way better than me.

[@mrlion8834]

Reminds me of Joe Rogans advice to destroy white belts and blue belts to really hone your moves in.

[@JoelSnape1]

Hahahah I think you can do it in a way that benefits both of you (especially if you gamify it)

[@jolin8493]

What are you trying to say?

[@lale5767]

3:00

[@Timst3R]

If I started BJJ in 2024, I'd do this... Quit and start Judo.

[@Raygun-w2w]

Should only get a brown belt after training five days a week for 10 yes. Do the math. Train 2 days a week for an hour you should never reach black in a lifetime of bjj. Simple

[@ron-kf8sf]

I totally disagree with training with lesser people. You develop much better defensive skills training with someone better. You have someone to push you. You get better by being smashed. By your logic it would be better to train with say a girl.

[@gatsbymovingrubber]

Both are beneficial. Training with worser people and better people because with worser people you learn how to go on the offense while better people you get better defenses. So in reality. Try to roll with anyone around your weight.

[@nj033]

No, train with people who's ability, knowledge and attitude is better than yours. Then, return the favor to lower belts than you. That's how YOU get better faster. Not looking for people to smash.

[@JoelSnape1]

The whole point is that NOBODY gets smashed, my man. Sorry if I didn't explain that better in the rest of the video.

[@nj033]

@JoelSnape1 fair enough, happy rolling!

[@gamingthesystem4252]

1st