Finger grabbing.

I don't really have an issue with pulling individual fingers or anything like that, but one problem I seem to have is sometimes I will grab someone's hand or wrist or something and then work on something else and their hand slowly slides out until I'm just holding their fingers. Usually it progresses from wrist to hand to four/three/two fingers. I'm not really pulling them back but I'm still trying to hold them which I'm sure could be dangerous.

This problem seems to be worse in no gi as everything is so slippy and you can't grab the Gi.

I have been called out for it three times now (twice in the same roll), no one was mad but they just said watch the finger grabbing.

I understand that this isn't ok but damn it kind of feels like sometimes they create the issue by sliding out partially. It also doesnt really feel like small joint manipulation as I'm not purposefully bending their fingers back I'm just not letting them go.

Any advice on this? Just want to be a better training partner

I want to start training bjj but I wear a hair unit/toupe. Do you guys have any tips for making it stay on? How would it hold up while practicing?

Most people at my gym go through an informal shark tank when they're promoted to a new belt. It's a normal training session but they get left in for every round and at some point it dawns on them what's happening, which is fun. Towards the end they have to do some punch defense, which consists of the coach swinging lazy shots at them from standing or ground and pound, while the student works their survival stuff (part of what we train).

However, I was chatting to the coach the other day and he said he'll grade people however they want to be graded. He's done it in a private, in a small session with just a couple of training partners, in a more structured 'demonstrate your moves' setup etc. I think this is really cool - the coach knows when someone is ready, so the grading is not a test, and he wants it to be a fun experience for the individual.

What do others think?

I can reliably do the arm drag in terms of getting the arm across my body, usually well across the centerline (and I'm fairly tall so this usually ends up with their face near my chest or collarbone). However, I can't actually get the backtake from it. What should I start looking at to troubleshoot this?

Has anyone ever used Isami belts? I’m trying to decide between the soft belt/stiff belt and was hoping someone could give me some insight.

I recently signed up to go to a gym, after signing, hours later I get a message from the owner saying they want me to sign a non-compete in order to train there.

Small local school, they actually broke off from another school and took a bunch of students with them in oder to start their gym.

Anyone else have a school try to have you sign a non-compete in order to train at a place you are paying to train?

Yes I was paying and no I wasn't asked to reach. I was just signing up to have a place to train.

Basically

No poaching

No offering privates

No recommending other schools

• your instructors require you to address them by the title of Professor, not coach/names
• pay for test/belt promotions
• require school uniforms/patches
• have a picture of Helio Gracie
• require to say Oss
• won't let you spar until 6 months of training or more
• get into your personal businesses

Anything else that I miss?

Hi everyone,

I'm seeking platforms or resources in which you can have your roll footage analyzed and critiqued with useful feedback for strengths, weaknesses, areas of improvement, etc.

The two that I know of are BJJ Mental Models and DFM Coaching.

Jordan Teaches Jiu Jitsu appears to have discontinued his rolling review service he offered through Patreon.

Anyone know any others too? Always good to have some options :)

Thanks!

What's today's deal??

Hey y'all, I used to do judo so my hips throws are decent and its naturally for me to throw and land in kesa katmi. I feel comfortable here but often they get a better position on me here, sometimes a back take. Is going to kesa katmi worth it? I enjoy the position, or is it not a good hold for higher level grappling? I compete at my college so it'd be good to know whether to remove it or explore it more. Thank you.

How can I be more confident in my roles, and outside of the mat. Any tips that helped you be more confident would be appreciated. 2 stripe blue belt

So I get to my gym like every other day. Ready to train and drop bodies. I pair up with this one stripe whitebelt who should be ever so grateful that a blue belt of my calibre decided to roll with him. As we begin rolling my intensity is at about a 6/10. (You don’t want to see me go to 10) I had him in side control and he suddenly taps. I was thinking he was patting me on my back for how awesome my side control was, but by the third time I realized this snowflake couldn’t handle my top pressure. I stood up and told him he shouldn’t be training BJJ if he’s such a softie. Felt like I was talking to my son. My coach was standing off to the side trying his hardest to contain his laughter over tapping from side control. I told this white belt to leave before I start seeing red, after which, he left. My question for all of you in this situation is, if you had the chance, would you switch to Geico to save 10% on your car insurance?

Hi everyone

Will soon be moving to Abu Dhabi. Not sure I'm missing something but I thought this city would be a BJJ hub given the whole history between the Gravies and the royal family, but from my Google searches it seems there are only a handful of BJJ gyms, most of which seem to have a limited schedule. Guess BJJ it's not actually popular there outside of schools.

I can see Dubai is full of options (Alliance, Nogueira Brothers) but sadly I won't be there, Abu Dhabi it is.

Can any UAE redditors recommend a BJJ gym in Abu Dhabi?

I will be up in NYC next week to visit for the first time ever and I wanted to drop in to a gym or two while I’m in town. Any recommendations on fun gyms to check out while in the city?

Seriously, I wish this stupid fucking ‘tradition’ would stop. I’ve been to two gyms and can’t look at some of my training partners in the same way afterwards. First of all, being hit and not being allowed to defend yourself doesn’t prove your toughness. It goes completely against the ethos of martial arts. Second, it doesn’t create community like some coaches will claim. If hitting someone with a belt is the only way you can create a sociable atmosphere at your gym then something needs to change.

Some examples I’ve witnessed of why the gauntlet is retarded:

•A young woman who used to get a lot of unwanted advances from male training partners. 2 or 3 guys, some almost double her age, were whipping her on the butt on purpose

•White belts throwing multiple overhead shots and stepping into the middle to do so, hitting people on the back of the head and neck

•Training partners telling me how ‘satisfying’ it is to hit people and laughing if they show pain

•Bloodstained Gis when they’re put back on

Great community building. Borderline sexual harassment and misogyny, excessive force and hygiene issues.

Fuck the gauntlet.

And for those who have trained under multiple schools - do you regret switching, or not switching sooner, etc

Going to be in Vegas for a few days in January and want to treat myself to a private lesson.

Any recommendations on teachers or gyms? Also open to other disciplines (muay Thai, mma, etc)

Competed in my first tournament today. I felt pretty good going in, been working hard in the gym these past few months, so I felt like I was ready both physically and mentally.

As soon as the match started it almost felt as if I was watching everything go down without being able to control it. We hand fought for a while before he eventually took me down. By the time I ‘woke up’ I was mounted and immediately in a head&arm choke, to which I tapped.

I’m still really glad I tested myself and competed but I’m wondering if there’s any way to prevent this happening again. Has anyone else ever experienced something similar?

Sup guys, long time lurker here. I wanted to ask this question because this has been kinda sitting on me for a while and I’m not sure what to think of it.

So background, in 2019, I started training at a karate and Japanese jiu jitsu gym and started their jiu jitsu program around August 2020. At the time, I was a high school student just looking to learn how to defend himself against bullying as I got bullied a lot in middle school, but for the most part, the material wasn’t all bad and had some useful stuff that translated well into BJJ, but one issue is we never really sparred, like once a month at best, although some of the brown and black belts would spar with eachother every class.

In around summer 2023, I had stopped going there when I left for Marine Corps bootcamp and when I came back home, I decided to try something different and more intense, so I decided to train at a MMA gym a bit north of me. When I got there, I had realized how little I knew about jiu jitsu as evidence by the amount of times I got my ass kicked my first day, so I decided to stay there.

Fast forward a few months later, I thought of stopping by at my old Japanese jiu jitsu gym, but my instructor there said that he wouldn’t allow me in as long as I’m training BJJ, because he doesn’t allow cross training of any kind and essentially he said that for as long I was with him, it’s disrespectful to go to a different gym. On one hand, I try to understand what he means, but I think that as a grown adult I should be allowed to train any martial art I see fit, and it’s not like I’m going to another gym of the same martial art, BJJ and JJJ are pretty different from what I’ve experienced. I asked one of my friends over at my current BJJ place and they’ve told me I’ve been training at a McDojo and not allowing cross training is a bad sign usually, but I also know that place had very traditional Okinawan values.

I dunno guys, I kinda wanna know y’all’s thoughts on it, because I was given the option on either doing BJJ or JJJ, and so I decided to train BJJ since I have way more fun, feel more independent there, and made many friends quickly while taking opportunities to compete now and try out at different gyms across my city. It kinda sucks because I do wanna go back to that old JJJ school since I did like the people there, but I think not allowing cross training is a load of bullshit and makes me wonder why they don’t want me exposed to other gyms.

I know I’m just kinda rambling here, but what do you fellas think?

Edit: I also currently train judo under a guy who’s from Korea and he carries much more traditional values, but he literally asks me how BJJ is going and supports me, so this is extra weird for me.

I’m a white belt, female, 158 cm, 47 kg have been training for about year and a half will be competing in few weeks. The closer I get to my competition the more nervous I get, the issue is my weight class is up to 55 kg, which is significantly higher than I’m. My coach says to relax and be confident in my skills, because I’m already smallest in my gym and roll with both guys and ladies of all possible weights and body types. But it’s my first time, and I’m really nervous, I was expecting the tournament to be small and regional, but turned out that Tap Cancer Out, is becoming quite popular. Any advice how to overcome stress, and to handle first competition in general?

The title says it all guys. Some guy (blue belt) who doesn’t let go when I tap because he “didn’t choke” me tries to fight me at jiujitsu yesterday in front of the coach. I told him to stop and get off after the 3rd time I tapped, which he then got up and pushed me. He was cursing at me and telling me I’m too soft for jiujitsu and all other crazy shit. He even tried to fight me and continuing disrespecting me like I’m his son or something. He’s a heavyweight blue belt and I’m a lightweight one stripe white. I was trying to deescalate and told him to be professional and that I’m trying to be a good teammate which he continued disrespecting me asking me “what am I gonna do about it”. The coach was watching and he heard everything happen and saw everything yet he stayed quiet and didn’t intervene? I don’t really know what is going on. The blue belt is the coaches first student and I think they have a close relationship but this was the first time this has ever happened to me. I left early that day before we usually shake hands before we go. This was the first time this has ever happened to me.

Edit: Guys the gym is in Arlington called v-fit house of champions. The coach is a ufc fighter victor altamirano. I figured it would be best to train under a ufc fighter but it seems he’s not all that good of a coach. I’m very disappointed

Can I wear grappling socks in competition?

My feet sweat A LOT to the degree of leaving a sweat trail anywhere I step on.

Are they allowed in grappling industries?

I have a relative who is a 13 years old whom is living in east London close to Heaththrow. He is interested in testing BJJ and I wonder if there is any BJJ gyms in east London who are good at teaching kids around his age?

Hi so im trying to get into more tradiotional half guard(no knee shield, no butterfly half) more like coyote guard and im trying to study some live matches of people doing it, i have bernando faria in mind any more recommendations someone could give?

For the last couple months I’ve avoided my leg lock game to focus on others areas where I need to improve but last night gave in and decided to slap one on. Rolling with a spirited purple, I’m in top half, he knee shielded when I postured up, and I reached back and locked a toehold. I held consistent pressure and placed the foot behind his butt but when he extended his leg to try and escape everyone heard a snap, tear, snap, snap. I was afraid of that exact thing happening and was the reason I just held instead of increasing pressure gradually. He told me after he should have tapped instead of trying to escape but now I almost don’t wanna leg lock anyone in training anymore unless someone is actively going for my legs. And even then, it seems people become even less aware of their own leg danger when they are attacking my legs so that seems like a catch 22. I really care about my training partners well being but I also care about the progression of my game. Maybe I should just let people be responsible for their own safety? Or do I need to ask everyone I roll with if they are gonna tap when they’re in serious danger? lol That seems ridiculous.

Compito en 20 días y necesito consejos, no es la primera vez que cómpito (la segunda), que podrían recomendarme y que técnicas creen que sería bueno utilizar (soy White), ante mano, gracias 👌🏻👌🏻

They will roll but not work with me. After a year of this....im going elsewhere!!! I'm a woman and can't find decent women to roll with in my area. The very few places are either cults or this....'bro-culture' where men just don't know how to function with women or are overly insecure about touching a boobie. Either way I'm out! Go ahead and tell me it's my attitude. I don't care. I'm done! Just venting! ✌️

My studies so far were Keenan centered, and I dont think Keenan really talked about the Galaxy guard.

Anyone by chance went through Estimas galaxy guard? Did Keenan left it out because he doesnt find it as effective?