I wrestled in college, and I'm now a competitive purple belt. If there's anything my 13 years of grappling experience has taught me, it's that the basics work at all levels. That's why they're the fundamentals. Your skill is determined by how sharp your technique is and how seamlessly you can string together fundamentally sound attacks.
I am a 41 yo former Greco/Freestyle wrestler that hadn’t done grappling in 20 years. I still hold my own easily as a 3 month white belt vs purple/blues. Roger Gracie closed guard drills for sweeps and smash pass are my skill set. Keeping it simple is plan for this Gi submission only absolute I signed my self up for next month. Just fun to try and work my game with different opponents.
As a Gracie Purple belt, I have to agree 100% each move in your arsenal has so many layers to it. Mastering it in every way is the pursuit. You don’t need all the tools in your tool belt, you need the highest quality of tools. Have you ever watched the NCAA wrestling championships? Lots of doubles, singles and half’s. All beginner moves, perfected.
This makes sense. I have been training MMA, Judo and BJJ over the last two years and I am a simple guy so I developed a simple goal: find 2 or 3 defenses, escapes and attacks in each position and continue working them until they are bulletproof. It seems like it is working so far, I see improvement. What is always impressive to me and how I can tell in No-Gi scenarios someone is a brown or black belt is they will start an attack, and I will know what they are doing, and they will know i know what they are doing, and still be able to apply it successfully even though I fight it my hardest because they have refined it that much. It sucks being on the receiving end, but it is always impressive and proves this stuff works so I just try to learn from it on how they execute the technique 🤷🏽♂️
@conorthompson943 just train and listen for now. Work on what's being taught. Then work on attack and defense. Survive right now. Try not to get tap. If u are in a position to tap then TAP!!!!! Don't feed EGO that a set up to get hurt. = you hurt yourself. So learn how to survive first. Then slowly work on what u would like to do.
Solid stuff. I still remember when our old training buddy Jimmy had an injury and spent his recovery time repping like 1000 triangle armlocks on a dummy every day. When he got back on the mat he was lethal with that move. It was terrifying how effective that technique was for him even when you knew he was going to do it.
Thank you. I’m a newly promoted Black Belt and I’ve preached and trained this concept for years despite the challenges from peers and students who want to learn something “sophisticated.” Truly mastering the fundamentals is the definition of sophisticated. Again, thank you for the confirmation that this training philosophy is the core of BJJ.
I'm a super new white belt (started the journey since last December) and someone told me something very valuable about the basics that really stuck to me and I remind myself of on a daily basis. He gave the visualisation of getting a tattoo with colour. In order to get to colour in you have to tattoo over and over and over the skin. He told me that when you get a certain part of the BJJ school's curriculum for the second, third, fourth etc. time we are just getting alittle bit deeper into the technique everytime. And this mindset really helped and made it so much more fun to learn something again/make new small adjustments accordingly :)
I'm a purple belt and my mindset is to just show up and "see what the boys have for me today," this applies to both drilling and rolling portions of the class. I'll always have a few moves I'm looking to work on, or look out for, but then every few months I'll get sick/busy/injured and have to take a week off. Whenever that happens I forget everything I knew and have to build back from the fundamentals. This has happened enough times that now my fundamentals are actually okay and I don't end up doing as much silly stuff.
Thank you for these vidoes. Im 42, and a disabled veteran looking for some exercise outside of lifting weights. I started 2 months ago. Im learning so much. What I had to learn, and am still learning is that growth and learning, at least for me in Jujitsu, isnt linear and is often incremental. If you measure success solely by wins and losses, taps and being submitted, it will become disheartening. My instructors and classmates say Ive improved, but it doesnt always seem like it to me, but I cant see myself through thier eyes or experience rolling against myself like they do. When you accept that getting better isnt just wins and losses, is when things start to change.
Great video. Thank you! I'm a 38 year old white belt, started in 2019 and I'm really enjoying this journey. I recognized myself in your statements about learning a technique that others don't know yet to get some sort of short term success rate. But it won't last. I needed to start thinking long term and just ride the waves of success and failure, learning as much as I can along the way.
Great video, I'm a blue belt and I have been training with a black belt quite regularly lately. He corrected my side control technique and demonstrated this on me including how to apply REAL top pressure and not the version I had been doing, really basic but a game changer 👌
My 4th degree black belt, high level competitor coach's best submission... is the X choke... from anywhere. He said "Once you get to black belt you really just learn that the X Choke and the Scissor Sweep are the best weapons we have, and that's day 1 stuff. It just needs refinement."
It really does come down to this. Coming up through blue belt with a consistent training partner, we were always looking for that sneaky move that they'd never see coming - my wristlocking phase. I would rarely go for the armbar, ever. During blue belt I could probably count on one hand the armbars I sought out and got. After growing out of that stage, armbars are by far the most consistently achieved submissions for me.
I got my Blue belt 2 days ago. I was definitely in the white belt mindset for over a year and couldn't seem to get past 2 stripes. I started teaching kids classes (as an assistant) and what I found was my skill increased drastically. I was constantly breaking down the basics to the simplest level and it strengthened my own skills. Now as a Baby Blue I will constantly pursue mastery of the fundamentals as my primary game. (And baseball bat chokes because they're fun)
That was an interesting definition of white belt mindset. For me the white belt mindset is always considering yourself to be a beginner so that you’re open to learn. Really enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Early stage blue belt here, and I'm thankful to have been taught the importance of really sharpening the blade of the basics. Better to have the moves they know, but cant stop than the hot new thing.
Rick, wise words. When I watch my instructor teach the most basic of moves that I might have seen him show a thousand times I watch it as if was the first time seeing that move. Breaking down small nuances to help make that technique more efficient. It also helps me when I teach it to our students. Thank you for breaking down that student’s frustration and turning it into a learning lesson about a healthy mindset.
Hi Rick, i watched your videos two years ago. I started my BJJ journey at 39 and I'm on my fourth stripe white now. Thank you so very much for all your content .God bless
44 year old white belt. 2 other students, my son and I get together 1 hour a week to work on the secret technique before class. It’s working, others have noticed and have started to join us. Care to guess the secret technique. It’s frames.
jiujitsu for me has been as much about un-learning ego and reorienting it as it has been about techniques. I've seen a lot of folks drop off because they can't integrate that part of it.
Rick, I am a 54 year old blue belt, myself and my young children, appreciate your videos beyond belief, so much that I purchased Old man style from BJJ fanatics. Thank you.🙏🙏🙏 and Bob Devils in the detail my friend.
2 stripe whitebelt been rolling since April 2023...quite a few of my peers have levelled up to 4 stripes at which point no gi is more of an option at our gym... and I am anxious to as well mostly to be able to roll no gi because my hands are always killing me ( 53 and came into this game with arthritis)...I have been focusing on really tightening up opening and passing closed guard and have gotten discouraged but this is so encouraging...recommit to mastery ....mount escape, closed guar retention, closed guard passing, basic sweeps. BJJ is the most frustrating love in my life.
Well !! Guess who’s watching a free Seminar tonight :) As an "older player" starting at this, your videos are helping me a lot and it makes me appreciate my time on the mat even more. Thank you
I laughed so hard at Bob’s comment because I remember the day I learned that everyone has the same moves, black belts just do them with precision and experience.
This black belt mind set teaching was so helpful to me. It is excatly the thing that i always felt when sparing with higher belts but i could not clearly explain it. But it is 100 % true and so helpful to understand to know and learn the technical moves deeply and train them over and over again with different partners. Thanks so much Rick.
This is so great and also applicable across other domaines besides Jiu Jitsu too, right? Some of the best guitar players of all time, are also masters of the blues. Beneath many a great painting is a great drawing. Great photographers or film makers, have a strong grasp on basic composition and basic story telling. When we understand the way broadly, we see it in all things. Great video!
As a purple belt I am very focused on mastering the basics right now. I discovered that there are so many details to the basic techniques that make them incredibly powerful and versatile when you work on them. But you cannot expect whitebelts to work on this stuff, they just won't see the difference. It takes time, we all started out like that. I now use the more advanced stuff in scenarios where you may get stuck with the basics and most importantly, because they're fun.
Another great video Rick. You are spot on! I changed my mindset a few years ago when I was a white belt and I have made lips and bounds beyond what I thought possible.
Thanks! I needed this. I've actually been taking a step back in my jiu jitsu as I've realized that there are techniques of certain situations I need to be more fluid in.
Great video. As a late stage blue belt transitioning to purple, I couldn't agree more. Better to have a few sharp knives than many dull ones. I have 16 sub wins in competition this year, all from variations of or setup from the kimura. I think it's ok to mess around with some flashy techniques to keep things interesting and fun, but the bulk of training should be spent honing and refining fundamental, basic, high percentage moves that have been proven to work time and time again.
As an older white belt, I have definitely fallen into this trap of trying to find that "next move" to give me an edge in a roll, especially against these younger and stronger kids. What I realized is that I need to pick something and invest the time in it, for months I just worked on defensive structures like not giving up under hooks and closing that elbow-knee space. I wasn't tapping anyone, but I was able to survive and defend against some pretty tough classmates. I still have more work to do, but now that I am more confident in my defense I find that my offense has gotten better. I will say that the "white belt mindset" that was relayed to me was the idea of being open and excited to learn new things from anyone ...and I think that is a good one to carry on. The best example of this is Bernardo Faria. Here you have a multi-time world champ but it's always a "huge honor!" for him to collaborate and learn from a wide range of practitioners.
This guy is at a beginner level for saying things like that. The more you advance in bjj you proud yourself in refining the basics and making them the main weapons in your arsenal. I enjoy more at my level in accomplishing a basic technique in a flowy and seamless way.
I came into BJJ already with an engineering background. Having a solid understanding of kinematics and area/mass moments of inertia made it easy to go straight to a good training mindset.
You’re more than right ; you’ve always added to me as a practitioner. As a man. As a individual. Thank you for always giving us this outstanding content. Wish for you to come to Belize Caye Caulker. Wish you’d have a seminar here.
very helpful suggestion, looking at the black belts in our gym, no fancy move but it is really hard for me to escape their setup, even I know what they are trying to do. simplest is the best.
Wow powerful. A new blue belt from 2021at age 59. It's helpful to hear this. I can focus on a couple things 1 or 2 attack from side control or half guard. 1 or 2 sweeps. I'm not a wrestler. Which is a extra point 😅 but I like simple. I get trap of wanting to do everything. I need this or I can do that. I just have to focus on me not on anyone else's progress. train and have fun. Enjoy my blue belt. Thank u for this.
I watch one of your video's the one that you say you are in your car with your instructor and you say to him that you don't need more techniques you want to master the technique that you already know.. then I understand what is this all about... I stop the fancy video's with flying armbars and those kibd of stuff and I focus on the basics. You already helped me I am 42 years old blue belt.oss
Basic techniques are generally taught first because they are the easiest to apply. More advanced techniques are useful if they are harder to escape/do more damage or simply mix up your options so that people cant use the best defenses for basic techniques
My reply toBob is that basics are the foundation of everything regardless if your a black belt , it’s always the basics that you go back to as a foundation
I really enjoyed this video. I'm 50 now and have a ton of wrestling experience and recently started BJJ (Again) after a 25 year break. Since I started back, my mindset has been about drilling, and drilling, and endless repetition. Just like when I was a wrestler.. I am in competition with myself and to be better than I was yesterday. When I started BJJ under Alan Goes and Franco DeCamaro in 1996, and Cesar Gracie in 99, there was no white belt curriculum.-you were awarded a Blue belt after you proved your guard was solid (about a 2 year process). Then the journey to the fancy stuff started. Now there are stripes on the white belt. I have no shame starting over. I know that mastering basic skills is fundamental to success. Thank you for putting this video out there.
I don't know what Bob was on about, I'm a white belt and about to go into my second comp and think your seminar is absolutely brilliant! Thanks so much for making it free :)
What a wonderful video! I'm a black belt and couldn't agree more. Roger Gracie became one of the most sucessful competitor of all times just doing the basics. Sweep, mount and so on.
I have always practiced this philosophy even back when I was still a white belt in BJJ. I credit it to the fact that I already had an extensive background in the traditional martial arts where discipline and repetition of basics was emphasized before I started BJJ so I already had the proper mindset for training. Before the pandemic, back when our instructor would assign a blue or purple belt student to teach class and share what we've learned to the novices on a certain day, most of the white belts used to groan whenever they find out I was teaching class that day because I only teach the basics repeatedly and never teach the fancy and flashy stuff. I've observed that the ones who say they need to learn a dozen techniques or submissions so they can confuse their opponent and win, are more likely to get confused themselves from all the complicated stuff they try to cram into a week of training. They are also the ones who are more likely to injure a fellow student because they think they need to go 100mph everytime they slap on a submission and go all out during a roll, just because they still haven't learned how to control an opponent with proper positioning. I've also always found it ironic that they laugh at other martial arts for teaching high kicks and fancy stuff which according to them, won't work in a real fight and yet they think teaching fancy and flashy acrobatic moves like flying armbars and berimbolo stuff to beginners is okay.
I’m a white belt with about 4 months of training 4-5x a week. I got this same advise from a brown belt at my gym about a month ago and it sounds crazy but it’s completely changed my game. I started focusing on my guard and defense from bottom side control, i went from getting submitted left and right trying to remember everything from every position at once to now I can submit pretty much all of the other white belts in my gym and even a couple of blue belts with triangles and arm bars from guard. I’ve also gotten to the point where I can pretty consistently escape from side control. 1% better every day. I chose those positions because I struggled in them and I train for my job (police) and those are the worst positions I think I could find myself in. Keep up the great content.
Regardless of someone's own definition of success, just keep in mind that the road to success is ALWAYS under construction. Dont give up "bob" just keep rolling.
All true master. See Roger Gracie example. The guy used only the basic to beat everyone. But the basics set in very solid foundation and worked, adjusted and refined in a depth that the most of us only dream of and scratch on the surface.
Well, just like with tv channels or streaming services; you (Bob) can always switch or turn it off. You are absolutely right, and I have to admit that as a white belt my frustration over getting my ass handed to me every time I roll, is always present to a lesser or greater extent. It's the elephant in my brain: Of course I secretly wish I could tap out that blue or purple belt, using my newly acquired sneaky-technique! I know that the techniques I have learned so far will never work on someone more experienced than myself; I'm still learning the alphabet and a few simple words whilst the others are constructing sentences or outright making poetry. Having watched this, I will force myself to acknowledge the elephant's presence, and try to think differently. I love the Norway seminar; please come back!
I always laugh when I think back to my white and blue belt self. I thought I knew a lot, but realized at purple belt there is way more that I don’t know. Now, at brown belt I find myself excited to learn more and make those little tweaks that can change everything.
The same applies to many things. I used to do parkour & freerunning professionally and I taught a class with a few of my team mates. Even in parkour, the fundamentals are key. Every single class we would open with stretches and then we would warm up by drilling all the fundamentals before moving on to anything more advanced. I try to maintain the same mindset in my BJJ training. Master the basics, the fundamentals, and then build on that foundation.
I never did really ever have this mindset you are speaking of. For me it was always trying to find the moves that were the most natural to me and master those, as I progress it’s mastering the skills most unnatural for me.
Ive been grappling for about 3 and a half years now, just got my purple belt. Biggest thing i've learnt is that the best guys just do the basics better than everyone else. Fundamental jiu jitsu isn't beginner techniques, it's techniques that work
I'm a purple belt. I think it's proof positive of what you just spoke on. I saw the title of this video and thought to myself "Am I exhibiting any of this white belt mentality?" The point is this. Focus on the basics. And keep watching for those small little things that will make your game that much better. Get rid of thinking that will prevent mastery over the bread and butter. Drill the "easy" techniques over and over.
...for millennia, people have searched for secrets that would make them invincible, able to conquer, unbeatable. The simple truth is mastery of the basics, application of the basics, experiences from applying and receiving those basics, is what those "secrets" are. Ones ability to modify on the move is what really works, but it takes time to recognize the when and how. Basic might be boring, but have a black belt put you into a choke slowly and feel the application of such a simple basic. Feel how solid the basic is. There are no secrets, just your ability to learn, apply, and modify the basics.
This video is 100% spot on correct. Recently I've run across a few videos of Roger Gracie's matches during his peak. By most standards, Roger is a legend and one of the best ever. In watching him roll, it became apparent he wasn't doing anything all that crazy. 90% of the moves he was making were basic stuff. Moves that were taught in the first 3 months of class. He was just better at execution of the moves.
Hey after watching this clip I started watching your seminar just wanted to say thank you I’m a white belt was cool to see a few different things. Im always keen to learn new things or better things I already know. As iv said from day one bjj is a marathon not a sprint race
Thanks for this. I always appreciate the higher belts that show up and are still totally cool with doing the basics, and a lot of them help us newer folks get the details right. I think we've done kesa with variations three times in the past month. :>p
I am a white belt. I started jiu jitsu a month ago after 19 years I first tried it for a couple months if I put in the 2 years I had subscribed at the gym, but I used to attend only no gi ( yes shame on me). Today I am more mature about it. I am not focusing on the submission. I am just looking at being good in my defense. I am just focusing on that right now. I just need to know how to escape from all basic positions and recognizing patterns.
and people still say that repetition training does not work (going back to that basketball example)! It is only live training nowadays. Chaining your techniques is a key to success. Never try to open closed guard on your knees. Knowing what works and what does not.
I just started my jiu jitsu journey, but I did fencing for years and was on my university fencing team. Most of the hits in serious fencing bouts were not crazy, obscure moves, but bread and butter techniques that you would learn in a beginner class. The difference was in the set-up and execution of the technique. I think this idea of mastering the basics is key to all combat systems. I think it was Bruce Lee that said don't fear the person that practiced a thousand strikes one time each, but fear the person that practiced one strike a thousand times.
I think white belt mindset is needed at initial stage, aka white belts/early blue. To explore more moves before solidifying some of them.🤔 I just don’t think it is a bad mindset to have early on. But I do agree as we grow we must narrow down and perfecting a move instead.
Against white belts I intentionally start with them in side control, I'll even let blue belts start there on me. Possibly the worst position for me to be in except mount, and I work on basic defense and escapes from side control. A lot of times it leads to me going into turtle and working out from there and it's made me a very solid defense player. I'm also 41 so I'm not trying to out cardio the 21 year old D1 wrestler. Simple, basic, fundamentals in the defense leads me a good number of submissions.
I have been a white belt since 2019 (had a 6-month break due to PCS) and I always look at trying to master fundamentals. I may never get to blue or whatever belt and that is fine. I just like to keep it simple and enjoy the drill, roll, and exercise.
I wrestled in college, and I'm now a competitive purple belt. If there's anything my 13 years of grappling experience has taught me, it's that the basics work at all levels. That's why they're the fundamentals. Your skill is determined by how sharp your technique is and how seamlessly you can string together fundamentally sound attacks.
I am a 41 yo former Greco/Freestyle wrestler that hadn’t done grappling in 20 years. I still hold my own easily as a 3 month white belt vs purple/blues. Roger Gracie closed guard drills for sweeps and smash pass are my skill set. Keeping it simple is plan for this Gi submission only absolute I signed my self up for next month. Just fun to try and work my game with different opponents.
6:19 Bruce Lee: *I fear not the man that knows 1,000 techniques, but the man that has practiced one technique a thousand times* (paraphrasing)
Indeed!
As a Gracie Purple belt, I have to agree 100% each move in your arsenal has so many layers to it. Mastering it in every way is the pursuit. You don’t need all the tools in your tool belt, you need the highest quality of tools.
Have you ever watched the NCAA wrestling championships? Lots of doubles, singles and half’s. All beginner moves, perfected.
This makes sense. I have been training MMA, Judo and BJJ over the last two years and I am a simple guy so I developed a simple goal: find 2 or 3 defenses, escapes and attacks in each position and continue working them until they are bulletproof. It seems like it is working so far, I see improvement.
What is always impressive to me and how I can tell in No-Gi scenarios someone is a brown or black belt is they will start an attack, and I will know what they are doing, and they will know i know what they are doing, and still be able to apply it successfully even though I fight it my hardest because they have refined it that much.
It sucks being on the receiving end, but it is always impressive and proves this stuff works so I just try to learn from it on how they execute the technique 🤷🏽♂️
By the way Rick, I bought your 'Old Man BJJ' course with the Side Control add-on. It is SO helpful to me! Thanks Big Bro!
Hi, I just started my first session the other day, any advice on which defences/escapes/attacks are best to start learning at this stage? :D
@conorthompson943 just train and listen for now. Work on what's being taught. Then work on attack and defense. Survive right now. Try not to get tap. If u are in a position to tap then TAP!!!!! Don't feed EGO that a set up to get hurt. = you hurt yourself. So learn how to survive first. Then slowly work on what u would like to do.
Solid stuff. I still remember when our old training buddy Jimmy had an injury and spent his recovery time repping like 1000 triangle armlocks on a dummy every day. When he got back on the mat he was lethal with that move. It was terrifying how effective that technique was for him even when you knew he was going to do it.
Oh, yeah, I had forgotten about that!
Thank you. I’m a newly promoted Black Belt and I’ve preached and trained this concept for years despite the challenges from peers and students who want to learn something “sophisticated.” Truly mastering the fundamentals is the definition of sophisticated. Again, thank you for the confirmation that this training philosophy is the core of BJJ.
Congratulations 🤚✊️🤙
good job man!
I'm a super new white belt (started the journey since last December) and someone told me something very valuable about the basics that really stuck to me and I remind myself of on a daily basis. He gave the visualisation of getting a tattoo with colour. In order to get to colour in you have to tattoo over and over and over the skin. He told me that when you get a certain part of the BJJ school's curriculum for the second, third, fourth etc. time we are just getting alittle bit deeper into the technique everytime. And this mindset really helped and made it so much more fun to learn something again/make new small adjustments accordingly :)
I'm a purple belt and my mindset is to just show up and "see what the boys have for me today," this applies to both drilling and rolling portions of the class. I'll always have a few moves I'm looking to work on, or look out for, but then every few months I'll get sick/busy/injured and have to take a week off. Whenever that happens I forget everything I knew and have to build back from the fundamentals. This has happened enough times that now my fundamentals are actually okay and I don't end up doing as much silly stuff.
Fantastic comment. Honesty on a whole other level. Respect from an ole blue belt.
Basics are everything, and mastering them is a sign of greatness.
Well said.
Thank you for these vidoes. Im 42, and a disabled veteran looking for some exercise outside of lifting weights. I started 2 months ago. Im learning so much. What I had to learn, and am still learning is that growth and learning, at least for me in Jujitsu, isnt linear and is often incremental. If you measure success solely by wins and losses, taps and being submitted, it will become disheartening. My instructors and classmates say Ive improved, but it doesnt always seem like it to me, but I cant see myself through thier eyes or experience rolling against myself like they do. When you accept that getting better isnt just wins and losses, is when things start to change.
Great video. Thank you!
I'm a 38 year old white belt, started in 2019 and I'm really enjoying this journey. I recognized myself in your statements about learning a technique that others don't know yet to get some sort of short term success rate. But it won't last. I needed to start thinking long term and just ride the waves of success and failure, learning as much as I can along the way.
Great video, I'm a blue belt and I have been training with a black belt quite regularly lately.
He corrected my side control technique and demonstrated this on me including how to apply REAL top pressure and not the version I had been doing, really basic but a game changer 👌
My 4th degree black belt, high level competitor coach's best submission... is the X choke... from anywhere. He said "Once you get to black belt you really just learn that the X Choke and the Scissor Sweep are the best weapons we have, and that's day 1 stuff. It just needs refinement."
It really does come down to this. Coming up through blue belt with a consistent training partner, we were always looking for that sneaky move that they'd never see coming - my wristlocking phase. I would rarely go for the armbar, ever. During blue belt I could probably count on one hand the armbars I sought out and got. After growing out of that stage, armbars are by far the most consistently achieved submissions for me.
I just started bjj last week and your videos are always so inspiring and helpful to me as a beginner, please keep up the great work
Thank you, I plan to. And congratulations on starting your BJJ journey. It'll change your life.
I got my Blue belt 2 days ago. I was definitely in the white belt mindset for over a year and couldn't seem to get past 2 stripes.
I started teaching kids classes (as an assistant) and what I found was my skill increased drastically.
I was constantly breaking down the basics to the simplest level and it strengthened my own skills.
Now as a Baby Blue I will constantly pursue mastery of the fundamentals as my primary game.
(And baseball bat chokes because they're fun)
I laughed when you explained the "white belt mindset", as a white belt I totally agree! 😂
That was an interesting definition of white belt mindset. For me the white belt mindset is always considering yourself to be a beginner so that you’re open to learn.
Really enjoyed the video. Thanks.
Yup! Never lose your white belt mindset!!
Been feeling overwhelmed as a white belt going to blue and this is good advice to just focus on refining what I already know and learn as I go
Early stage blue belt here, and I'm thankful to have been taught the importance of really sharpening the blade of the basics. Better to have the moves they know, but cant stop than the hot new thing.
Rick, wise words. When I watch my instructor teach the most basic of moves that I might have seen him show a thousand times I watch it as if was the first time seeing that move. Breaking down small nuances to help make that technique more efficient. It also helps me when I teach it to our students. Thank you for breaking down that student’s frustration and turning it into a learning lesson about a healthy mindset.
Hi Rick, i watched your videos two years ago. I started my BJJ journey at 39 and I'm on my fourth stripe white now. Thank you so very much for all your content .God bless
You're welcome! Good luck on your bjj journey.
Every morning I practice the tricolon-anaphora combination. Every morning I write it down. Every morning I get a little bit better.
44 year old white belt. 2 other students, my son and I get together 1 hour a week to work on the secret technique before class. It’s working, others have noticed and have started to join us. Care to guess the secret technique. It’s frames.
It's absolutely wonderful to have you back on YT, Rick!
Thanks, I'm happy to be back at it.
jiujitsu for me has been as much about un-learning ego and reorienting it as it has been about techniques. I've seen a lot of folks drop off because they can't integrate that part of it.
Rick, I am a 54 year old blue belt, myself and my young children, appreciate your videos beyond belief, so much that I purchased Old man style from BJJ fanatics. Thank you.🙏🙏🙏 and Bob Devils in the detail my friend.
2 stripe whitebelt been rolling since April 2023...quite a few of my peers have levelled up to 4 stripes at which point no gi is more of an option at our gym... and I am anxious to as well mostly to be able to roll no gi because my hands are always killing me ( 53 and came into this game with arthritis)...I have been focusing on really tightening up opening and passing closed guard and have gotten discouraged but this is so encouraging...recommit to mastery ....mount escape, closed guar retention, closed guard passing, basic sweeps. BJJ is the most frustrating love in my life.
The BASICS are the one thing professionals, greats, or elites; across all aspects of combat or sports do BETTER than anyone else.
Well !! Guess who’s watching a free Seminar tonight :)
As an "older player" starting at this, your videos are helping me a lot and it makes me appreciate my time on the mat even more.
Thank you
I laughed so hard at Bob’s comment because I remember the day I learned that everyone has the same moves, black belts just do them with precision and experience.
This black belt mind set teaching was so helpful to me. It is excatly the thing that i always felt when sparing with higher belts but i could not clearly explain it. But it is 100 % true and so helpful to understand to know and learn the technical moves deeply and train them over and over again with different partners. Thanks so much Rick.
This is so great and also applicable across other domaines besides Jiu Jitsu too, right? Some of the best guitar players of all time, are also masters of the blues. Beneath many a great painting is a great drawing. Great photographers or film makers, have a strong grasp on basic composition and basic story telling. When we understand the way broadly, we see it in all things. Great video!
As a purple belt I am very focused on mastering the basics right now. I discovered that there are so many details to the basic techniques that make them incredibly powerful and versatile when you work on them. But you cannot expect whitebelts to work on this stuff, they just won't see the difference. It takes time, we all started out like that. I now use the more advanced stuff in scenarios where you may get stuck with the basics and most importantly, because they're fun.
Another great video Rick. You are spot on! I changed my mindset a few years ago when I was a white belt and I have made lips and bounds beyond what I thought possible.
That's great to hear!
Thanks! I needed this. I've actually been taking a step back in my jiu jitsu as I've realized that there are techniques of certain situations I need to be more fluid in.
Great video. As a late stage blue belt transitioning to purple, I couldn't agree more. Better to have a few sharp knives than many dull ones. I have 16 sub wins in competition this year, all from variations of or setup from the kimura. I think it's ok to mess around with some flashy techniques to keep things interesting and fun, but the bulk of training should be spent honing and refining fundamental, basic, high percentage moves that have been proven to work time and time again.
Well said. Congrats on your comp success.
You the TEACHER and you know what you talking about. I thank you
As an older white belt, I have definitely fallen into this trap of trying to find that "next move" to give me an edge in a roll, especially against these younger and stronger kids. What I realized is that I need to pick something and invest the time in it, for months I just worked on defensive structures like not giving up under hooks and closing that elbow-knee space. I wasn't tapping anyone, but I was able to survive and defend against some pretty tough classmates. I still have more work to do, but now that I am more confident in my defense I find that my offense has gotten better. I will say that the "white belt mindset" that was relayed to me was the idea of being open and excited to learn new things from anyone ...and I think that is a good one to carry on. The best example of this is Bernardo Faria. Here you have a multi-time world champ but it's always a "huge honor!" for him to collaborate and learn from a wide range of practitioners.
This guy is at a beginner level for saying things like that. The more you advance in bjj you proud yourself in refining the basics and making them the main weapons in your arsenal. I enjoy more at my level in accomplishing a basic technique in a flowy and seamless way.
Great having you back. You are a huge part of my Journey
Wow, that's awesome to hear.
I came into BJJ already with an engineering background. Having a solid understanding of kinematics and area/mass moments of inertia made it easy to go straight to a good training mindset.
You’re more than right ; you’ve always added to me as a practitioner. As a man. As a individual. Thank you for always giving us this outstanding content.
Wish for you to come to Belize Caye Caulker. Wish you’d have a seminar here.
Wow, I'm honored. I've been to Belize once. Beautiful country.
very helpful suggestion, looking at the black belts in our gym, no fancy move but it is really hard for me to escape their setup, even I know what they are trying to do. simplest is the best.
Wow powerful. A new blue belt from 2021at age 59. It's helpful to hear this. I can focus on a couple things 1 or 2 attack from side control or half guard. 1 or 2 sweeps. I'm not a wrestler. Which is a extra point 😅 but I like simple. I get trap of wanting to do everything. I need this or I can do that. I just have to focus on me not on anyone else's progress. train and have fun. Enjoy my blue belt. Thank u for this.
Thank you for all you do. Please keep it up.
24+ yr bjj hobbyist here... I think you are spot on Rick. Oss
I watch one of your video's the one that you say you are in your car with your instructor and you say to him that you don't need more techniques you want to master the technique that you already know.. then I understand what is this all about... I stop the fancy video's with flying armbars and those kibd of stuff and I focus on the basics. You already helped me I am 42 years old blue belt.oss
100% agree with this! Thank you for all of the effort you put into these videos in both quality and beauty. The effort shows brother. Keep going.
You're very welcome!
Basic techniques are generally taught first because they are the easiest to apply. More advanced techniques are useful if they are harder to escape/do more damage or simply mix up your options so that people cant use the best defenses for basic techniques
My reply toBob is that basics are the foundation of everything regardless if your a black belt , it’s always the basics that you go back to as a foundation
I really enjoyed this video. I'm 50 now and have a ton of wrestling experience and recently started BJJ (Again) after a 25 year break. Since I started back, my mindset has been about drilling, and drilling, and endless repetition. Just like when I was a wrestler.. I am in competition with myself and to be better than I was yesterday. When I started BJJ under Alan Goes and Franco DeCamaro in 1996, and Cesar Gracie in 99, there was no white belt curriculum.-you were awarded a Blue belt after you proved your guard was solid (about a 2 year process). Then the journey to the fancy stuff started. Now there are stripes on the white belt. I have no shame starting over. I know that mastering basic skills is fundamental to success. Thank you for putting this video out there.
I don't know what Bob was on about, I'm a white belt and about to go into my second comp and think your seminar is absolutely brilliant! Thanks so much for making it free :)
What a wonderful video! I'm a black belt and couldn't agree more. Roger Gracie became one of the most sucessful competitor of all times just doing the basics. Sweep, mount and so on.
I have always practiced this philosophy even back when I was still a white belt in BJJ. I credit it to the fact that I already had an extensive background in the traditional martial arts where discipline and repetition of basics was emphasized before I started BJJ so I already had the proper mindset for training. Before the pandemic, back when our instructor would assign a blue or purple belt student to teach class and share what we've learned to the novices on a certain day, most of the white belts used to groan whenever they find out I was teaching class that day because I only teach the basics repeatedly and never teach the fancy and flashy stuff. I've observed that the ones who say they need to learn a dozen techniques or submissions so they can confuse their opponent and win, are more likely to get confused themselves from all the complicated stuff they try to cram into a week of training. They are also the ones who are more likely to injure a fellow student because they think they need to go 100mph everytime they slap on a submission and go all out during a roll, just because they still haven't learned how to control an opponent with proper positioning. I've also always found it ironic that they laugh at other martial arts for teaching high kicks and fancy stuff which according to them, won't work in a real fight and yet they think teaching fancy and flashy acrobatic moves like flying armbars and berimbolo stuff to beginners is okay.
this is a golden video you are 100% right my friend
I appreciate it!
I’m a white belt with about 4 months of training 4-5x a week. I got this same advise from a brown belt at my gym about a month ago and it sounds crazy but it’s completely changed my game. I started focusing on my guard and defense from bottom side control, i went from getting submitted left and right trying to remember everything from every position at once to now I can submit pretty much all of the other white belts in my gym and even a couple of blue belts with triangles and arm bars from guard. I’ve also gotten to the point where I can pretty consistently escape from side control. 1% better every day. I chose those positions because I struggled in them and I train for my job (police) and those are the worst positions I think I could find myself in. Keep up the great content.
Regardless of someone's own definition of success, just keep in mind that the road to success is ALWAYS under construction. Dont give up "bob" just keep rolling.
All true master. See Roger Gracie example. The guy used only the basic to beat everyone. But the basics set in very solid foundation and worked, adjusted and refined in a depth that the most of us only dream of and scratch on the surface.
Well, just like with tv channels or streaming services; you (Bob) can always switch or turn it off. You are absolutely right, and I have to admit that as a white belt my frustration over getting my ass handed to me every time I roll, is always present to a lesser or greater extent. It's the elephant in my brain: Of course I secretly wish I could tap out that blue or purple belt, using my newly acquired sneaky-technique! I know that the techniques I have learned so far will never work on someone more experienced than myself; I'm still learning the alphabet and a few simple words whilst the others are constructing sentences or outright making poetry. Having watched this, I will force myself to acknowledge the elephant's presence, and try to think differently. I love the Norway seminar; please come back!
Thoroughly enjoy your content and the way you represent Jiu-Jitsu. Keep up the great work!
I always laugh when I think back to my white and blue belt self. I thought I knew a lot, but realized at purple belt there is way more that I don’t know. Now, at brown belt I find myself excited to learn more and make those little tweaks that can change everything.
The same applies to many things. I used to do parkour & freerunning professionally and I taught a class with a few of my team mates. Even in parkour, the fundamentals are key. Every single class we would open with stretches and then we would warm up by drilling all the fundamentals before moving on to anything more advanced. I try to maintain the same mindset in my BJJ training. Master the basics, the fundamentals, and then build on that foundation.
I never did really ever have this mindset you are speaking of. For me it was always trying to find the moves that were the most natural to me and master those, as I progress it’s mastering the skills most unnatural for me.
Haha.
I'm guilty of the white belt mindset. Thanks for another great video.
"Kill The White Belt" Mindest
Love your content Rick! Always educational ✍🏽👌🏾
Ive been grappling for about 3 and a half years now, just got my purple belt. Biggest thing i've learnt is that the best guys just do the basics better than everyone else. Fundamental jiu jitsu isn't beginner techniques, it's techniques that work
Best advice on the internet right now
I'm a purple belt. I think it's proof positive of what you just spoke on. I saw the title of this video and thought to myself "Am I exhibiting any of this white belt mentality?" The point is this. Focus on the basics. And keep watching for those small little things that will make your game that much better. Get rid of thinking that will prevent mastery over the bread and butter. Drill the "easy" techniques over and over.
I'm a purple belt and it's always been the basics that I tap people out with.
Another great one Rick. Love this focus on mindset lately!
Thanks Ken! You've been doing some great content on your channel.
...for millennia, people have searched for secrets that would make them invincible, able to conquer, unbeatable. The simple truth is mastery of the basics, application of the basics, experiences from applying and receiving those basics, is what those "secrets" are. Ones ability to modify on the move is what really works, but it takes time to recognize the when and how. Basic might be boring, but have a black belt put you into a choke slowly and feel the application of such a simple basic. Feel how solid the basic is. There are no secrets, just your ability to learn, apply, and modify the basics.
This video is 100% spot on correct. Recently I've run across a few videos of Roger Gracie's matches during his peak. By most standards, Roger is a legend and one of the best ever. In watching him roll, it became apparent he wasn't doing anything all that crazy. 90% of the moves he was making were basic stuff. Moves that were taught in the first 3 months of class. He was just better at execution of the moves.
Great insight as always sir!
Great topic. Truly a lesson in the art of skill.
Hey after watching this clip I started watching your seminar just wanted to say thank you I’m a white belt was cool to see a few different things. Im always keen to learn new things or better things I already know. As iv said from day one bjj is a marathon not a sprint race
Thank you! I really appreciate your content. Very articulate
I read this as "Kill the whitebelt" mentality. I was like, damn. Poor white belts getting killed oof. Maybe Im just paranoid since Im a white belt.
Thanks for this. I always appreciate the higher belts that show up and are still totally cool with doing the basics, and a lot of them help us newer folks get the details right. I think we've done kesa with variations three times in the past month. :>p
ive been watching your channel for a long time and i really enjoy it please dont ever stop making videos :)
Thank you!
I am a white belt. I started jiu jitsu a month ago after 19 years I first tried it for a couple months if I put in the 2 years I had subscribed at the gym, but I used to attend only no gi ( yes shame on me). Today I am more mature about it. I am
not focusing on the submission. I am just looking at being good in my defense. I am just focusing on that right now. I just need to know how to escape from all basic positions and recognizing patterns.
and people still say that repetition training does not work (going back to that basketball example)! It is only live training nowadays.
Chaining your techniques is a key to success.
Never try to open closed guard on your knees. Knowing what works and what does not.
The whitebelt can only hit submissions from a specific position, but the higher belts can do it from more positions.
I just started my jiu jitsu journey, but I did fencing for years and was on my university fencing team. Most of the hits in serious fencing bouts were not crazy, obscure moves, but bread and butter techniques that you would learn in a beginner class. The difference was in the set-up and execution of the technique. I think this idea of mastering the basics is key to all combat systems. I think it was Bruce Lee that said don't fear the person that practiced a thousand strikes one time each, but fear the person that practiced one strike a thousand times.
Thank for this, I have that white belt mindset. Maybe this is what I needed
Another top level video Rick. Thank you for the advice. 🥋🙏
You get a 'like' for your initial response to 'Bob'!😂😂
Nice work man ❤
Mastery vs Novelty. I love it.
Surely I wasn't the only one who was fully prepared to learn about the mindset of killing the white belt
I needed this.
Thank you very much, professor.
Oss!
Thank you professor Rick.. great content as always 🙏🙏👌
This was a phenomenal video! Thank you for that advice 🙏🤝
Needed this today. Thank you
I think white belt mindset is needed at initial stage, aka white belts/early blue. To explore more moves before solidifying some of them.🤔 I just don’t think it is a bad mindset to have early on. But I do agree as we grow we must narrow down and perfecting a move instead.
Excellent Rik. Another great video
Thank you man
As a white belt, I found myself trying to focus on what I know and not trying to learn anything new unless they teach it in class.
Against white belts I intentionally start with them in side control, I'll even let blue belts start there on me. Possibly the worst position for me to be in except mount, and I work on basic defense and escapes from side control. A lot of times it leads to me going into turtle and working out from there and it's made me a very solid defense player. I'm also 41 so I'm not trying to out cardio the 21 year old D1 wrestler. Simple, basic, fundamentals in the defense leads me a good number of submissions.
I have been a white belt since 2019 (had a 6-month break due to PCS) and I always look at trying to master fundamentals. I may never get to blue or whatever belt and that is fine. I just like to keep it simple and enjoy the drill, roll, and exercise.
Great attitude. You'll definitely progress.