People often think they learn the most from rolling in BJJ. I beg to differ. You discover a lot when rolling, and you can learn some things but actual learning is done in other parts of the class. That said, you could structure your sparring sessions in a way that will help you learn more. And, it doesn’t have to be about learning techniques. Sparring can serve a bunch of different purposes, from simply having fun and messing around, to polishing up your BJJ skillset.
Rolling in BJJ is the best part of the training. It is wild, chaotic, there’s hardly any meaning to it, and no way of ever knowing what is about to happen. And yet, that is exactly what we try to do. We try to tame it, bring order to the entropy, and try to figure out what and why everything happens. In that process, we pick up a thing or two. However, if you’re looking to actually get something out of your sparring in terms of learning and retaining knowledge, you need to apply a bit of structure to what you’re doing when rolling. Don’t expect to tame that best though – many have failed before you.
Different Types Of Sparring
When people slap and bump, it is time to start trying to kill each other. Cool, but that‘s the white, perhaps blue belt way of thinking. No offense. Purple belts will look to pull a move or two off against anyone, forgetting that there’s a lot more to Jiu-Jitsu than the latest Keenan-inspired lapel guard. After brown belt, people start to focus on what is really going on in a roll, and that’s when rolls become infinitely more fun and way better learning tools than when they’re all our wars. But why wait until you’re a brown belt to start getting the most out of sparring?
There are different types of sparring in BJJ, and some of them have nothing to do with rolling. In fact, rolling in BJJ should not be the explanation for sparring. Rolling is just a form of free sparring that we do. Other types of sparring, like drilling, for example, or position sparring are much more focused on teaching you something, rather than you going all out. And many times, this type of controlled sparring is very needed in Jiu-Jitsu.
Drilling should be where you start with moves you already did in technical training, but now want to incorporate in rolling. Sure you could go and try to execute them straight away, but that often doesn’t really work out. You’ll learn how to catch a move live much easier by drilling it first, going through position sparring next, and perhaps, trying to pinpoint how everything would work during flow rolling. Try this sequence, spending, say a week on each of these, and then try doing the move while you’re live rolling in BJJ.
Goal Management
A very important thing in your sparring is the actual goal. Of course, if you just want to go for a war, there’s not much you need to consider, apart from injuring yourself or your training partner. There are different categories of goals you can have in rolling, from training for competition to specializing that one moves you love.
The first thing to focus on when you’re trying to roll with a purpose is whether you’ll try and go for concepts or techniques. Yes, they need to go together for you to truly make BJJ work, but when you’re’ learning them, you need to go one by one. Focus on either concept that you’ll look to apply in sparring or technical sequences. Once you’re satisfied where you are with one, go for the second, and only then try and combine them tougher in a roll.
How would that look? Well, a great conceptual way to think about things is to start off with defensive postures. Think of a boxer’s guard. The first thing they learn is to tuck the chin and raise the arms. If you can’t get knocked out, you can mount offense that makes sense. It is the same in BJJ – figure out a starting point where you’re safe, and start building from there.
That would be a concept. The techniques you apply off of a solid defensive posture would be the next step. Your focus is going to determine whether your “offense” is going to be about escapes, transitions, or submissions.
Strategy And Gameplan
So far, we covered that different forms of sparring in BJJ are how you start incorporating a new move in your game. Later on, through goals in the form of concepts or technical details, you can find ways of applying those moves in the chaos of a real roll or a match. Speaking of matches, if you are a competitor, you will also need to factor in a few more variables that you add on once you’ve mastered everything about a move in the manner we discussed previously.
To begin with, you need to focus on strategy. It is not just about learning how to do the move against resistance or figuring out concepts that will allow you to see the move up. More experienced opponents will have ways out of everything, and you need to factor that in. For example, you decide to learn a D’arce choke. You’ll do some drills first, followed by position sparring and free rolling. Concept wise, you’d want to make an opponent weaker before attacking, so practicing how to open people’s elbows will teach you both this, and how to enter the D’arce in a creative way. Finally, you throw in all the possible technical details of a D’arce, based on opening the elbow. Now, you’re pretty good with the choke and can pull it off on most people when rolling in BJJ.
Pulling it off on everyone, though is going to require strategy as well. People will defend your D’arce, especially if they know it is coming. So, you need to mas it with other moves, set it up from the bottom or other unexpected positions, or create sequences of reactions that lead to the opening you need whoever you imitate them, but seemingly have nothing to do with a D’arce when you begin.
Strategy-wise, you also need to factor in all the athletic abilities someone possesses. This is especially true and important for competitors. Factoring in that someone is stronger, a lot more flexible, or faster than you will help you anticipate these qualities rather than being surprised by them.
In Conclusion
Rolling in BJJ doesn’t just have to be bout chaotic wars. It can be a very valuable learning tool, one that will teach you to think you can’t figure out when you’re only practicing techniques. To achieve that, though you have to categorize sparring in BJJ and figure out a sequence that will help you learn something in a way that is quicker than trying to simply apply it to anyone when going all out.
It turns out, dedicating yourself to addiction can really be tough on others. Even if you try and justify it by saying you’re doing things for them. Suddenly facing “grown-up problems” I threw myself into BJJ even more, trying to provide for the family via the addiction. I guess I already knew that I would never stay in a 9-5 job my entire life, and was looking for a way to make what I love my way of earning for a living. It didn’t bode well for my marriage though. Even though BJJ was not the only, or main reason for divorcing, spending so many hours in the gym, planning classes, drilling, teaching, rolling, etc certainly factored in. My marriage was over, but it also brought about a big revelation – it was easy to overcome.
That said, there are several things that I guess everyone should know before they start training. It is not that these things will change people’s lives, or they’ll have a much harder time if they don’t know them. Most of us never knew them, and we turned out okay…sort of. These are things that will help people understand different aspects of Jiu-Jitsu that don’t necessarily have to do with how you execute an armbar or a guard pass. Simply put, they’re stuff I wish somebody told me before I started.
This is something that all kinds of people, of all belt levels, struggle with. We all know that we shouldn’t train/roll injured, and yet, we still do it thinking it is not a big deal. However, stopping yourself from rolling in Brazilian JIu-JItsu training can sometimes be the most important part of a class. there are those days when things just aren’t working for you. It may be that your mind is wandering, or you’re just off with your timing, techniques, etc. The best thing someone could tell you to do is stop. After class is over, skip the rolling, preventing injuries to yourself and/or teammates. Just walk away and come back to the next class.
This is probably obvious, but sometimes, people like to say that a position or move is the ultimate solution to something else. In other words, they say it like it is the end solution when it is not – BJ evolves on a daily basis. people thought leg locks didn’t work, then everyone started doing them, and calming they’re undefendable. Fast forward a bit, leg locks are now just another submission that we know works but is ales not hard to defend. There are plenty of examples like this and it needs to be clear that during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training, what works today, might be redundant tomorrow, and there are definitely no “silver bullet” moves.
One example of poor gut health everyone can relate to is “leaky gut”. This refers to situations where the intestinal lining is damaged, and part of the food passes through, causing inflammation in the body. This causes stress to the body and the release of stress hormones that make things even worse. Such an imbalance can be the reason why people have allergies, skin conditions, intolerances, etc.
The first step would be to remove a lot of the things you normally eat and which can cause trouble in your gut. These include processed foods, sugar, alcohol, saturated fats, and similar things. In fact, you should remove anything that affects the balance of your microbiome and your gut health, even if it is not a “bad food”. Intolerances are highly individual, like for example, with caffeine.
L-glutamine is one supplement that is particularly useful for gut health. It also helps with recovery after training. Fish oils, as we mentioned earlier are very important to gut health. They help battle inflammation, which is something that often happens in pour guts when we just cram stuff in there without giving them a rest. Probiotics also fall under the supplements category.
A frame in Jiu-Jitsu is every structure that allows you to create and maintain space between you and your opponent, without having to rely on muscular power throughout it. Frames can be created with just about every moving part of your body – head, arms, and legs, and all possible combinations of them. In BJJ, we mostly use hands to create frames, especially in situations when we’re defending from the bottom.
Once again, in relation to frames, levers are the more offensive part of the BJJ frames and levers concept. What that means is that levers are ways in which you manipulate limbs or any other part of the body that has a joint. In terms of anatomy, levers go past beyond just arms, legs, and the head. The spine, hips, and even the entire body in certain situations (takedowns/sweeps) can be seen as a lever and manipulated as one.
However, the best use of BJJ frames and levers is when you turn one into the other. This is especially important when you’re attacking. It can be really hard to get past a stiff arm, if you’re trying to complete a Torreando or over underpass, for example. A stiff arm represents a frame but a long one. The longer the frame, the less of an angle it coves with its intended role – do not give way space.
The key principle of the BJJ leg drag pass is that it allows you to point the knees and feet of an opponent away from you. This is one of the key aspects of getting past the legs in BJJ. Not many other guard passes can offer the same thing. Even better, the leg drag pass also provides you with a pressure component. Category-wise it is a tight pass that takes you around the legs. In that sense, it combines two categories that usually do not go together. Most passes that go around the legs, (X-pass, 
The arm that is in front of the opponent goes on the bottom lapel, grabbing fairly low (at the level of the collar bone). Then, you just look to touch the elbow of that arm to the knee of the same side leg, which is the leg stapling their leg to the ground. The other arm goes into an “underhook ” position, palm on the mats. Alternatively, you can use the “underhook” arm to gab the pants, and further control the hips.
The Mendes leg drag is not very different to the Galvao variation. What Rafa and Gui did was modify the leg drag position because they’re lighter than Galvao, and they got pushed back with the top leg by stronger opponents. So, in order to kill that leg, the brothers extend the leg Galvao uses to staple. That pushes the bottom leg of the opponent, extending it completely in the process, and taking away all power in both legs. The knee of the other leg goes to the mats, to provide balance. Grips remain the same, but the position provides a lot more pinning than direct pressure on top of your opponent. Especially useful for using the BJJ leg drag pass against larger opponents. Given the leg position, back takes and side control are the options when passing with this setup.
The grips stay the same, a low lapel grip and an underhook. Given that your weight is further forward with this variation, you’ll need to place your head on the mats, right next to the opponent’s head. Also, this variation places you nearly into the mount from the get-go,. Back takes are also a possibility, but side control is harder to get.
I’ll kick things off with something in regard to BJJ giant slayers that is still fresh in everyone’s memories. I’m talking about Lachlan Giles and his astonishing performance in the absolute division of ADCC 2019. Lachlan went in after a loss in the first round of his division, and in all honesty, not many people expected to see him get ahead. His first opponent was Kaynan Duarte, the man who won the heavyweight division in the same tournament. In a true David vs. Goliath performance, Lachaln submitted Duarte with a slick heel hook in what appeared to be one of the upsets of the tournaments. Only, he wasn’t finished.
Mikey Berimbolo-ed past Jacopo Pasquini in the first round, which was “easy” for Musumeci given that Pasquini is a Medium-Heavyweight. The second round saw Musumeci enter a now-legendary match against Seif Eddine-Houmine an ultra-heavyweight that made Mikey look literally like a little child in relation to a grown man. He beat the giant via negative points for Eddine-Houmine, which means the match went to full time – an even more impressive feat. Unfortunately, Musumeci couldn’t get past Aly in the quarter-finals, even though the match was really close.
Caio Terra not only accomplished legendary feats as one of the best smaller framed grapplers ever but also made a name for himself by fighting and beating large opponents on a regular basis. He has so many matches in the absolute division, both Gi and No-Gi that it is hard to pinpoint his best efforts that landed him in the BJJ giant slayers club. His epic performance against Bruno Bastos pops up straight away, while his battle with Robert Fonseca was just as impressive, if not more. Given that terra actually won the No-Gi Worlds Absolute in 20013, I think he proved beyond a doubt that he has the knack for “big game hunting” in BJJ.
Marcelo Garcia is another name that’s easily relatable to giant-killing in BJJ. One of the GOAT title contenders in the sport, Garcia actually made heavier opponents feel scared of him when he was in his prime. Marcelo actually built his entire game around moves that were equally as effective against bigger, as they were against smaller opponents. Stuff like arm drags, the X-Guard and back attacks are still some of the most useful tools that BJJ Giant Slayers use. Some of the “larger” victims of Marcelo’s efforts include Andre Galvao, Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, Xhande Riberio, Thales Leites, Gabriel Gonzaga, and many others. He has a few bronze medals in the IBJJF Worlds absolute divisions, but even more impressively, has a bronze and silver medal from ADCC absolutes.
“The Gracie Hunter” and arguably, the most entertaining Japanese fighter/grappler to watch was always going to end up in a list that focuses on BJJ Giant Killers. He has beaten plenty of huge names, along the lines of Royce and Renzo Gracie, and Vitor Belfort. While Sakuraba made his name slaying giants mostly in MMA, he did it with grappling tactics. His Kimura trap game is out of this world (broke Renzo’s arm), and his nasty armbars brought down giants like Kevin Randleman with apparent ease. His efforts with the low single leg takedown against people of Igor Vovchanchyn’s caliber are also the stuff of legends.
Mackenzie Dern was never one to shy away from grappling anyone. Her matches against Gabi Garcia, who is probably the largest female in the sport, are nothing short of extraordinary. It was a rivalry that lasted for years, with Gabi walking away as victorious against the IBJJF and UAEJJF World champ Dern. It took Mackenzie several occasions, but she finally managed to slay her giant during a legendary match at the World Pro in Abu Dhabi, where she managed to finally beat Garcia via a penalty.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has a lot to give to people, apart from the chance to simulate life or death combat several nights a week. There’s something I like to call the BJJ attitude that is a much bigger lesson that people learn on the mats. And it has nothing to do with some philosophical concepts or moral values. Of course, everyone is free to focus on their own values, but in a BJJ academy, the atmosphere is everything. It only takes a couple of people to ruin the atmosphere for everyone, on the mats, and in the dressing room. Sometimes such behavior is intentional, in other situations it is not.
Positive feedback. It is very easy to see someone rolling, or trying to do something and criticizing or “fixing” them. Unfortunately, it is what higher belts tend to do. Yes, there’s always something to teach others, and instructors n particular have countless things to say about every little detail of the art/sport. However, there’s much more value in praising someone for what they did right than trying to fix what they did “wrong’ We’re training for that reason anyway – to fix and learn things. Hitting a move just right is actually something we achieve less than making mistakes. And it should be recognized and commented upon, especially by higher belts.
An MMA record od 35-8 at the highest level of the sport further demonstrates Josh is not one to mess around with. His legendary submission of Dean Lister in Metamoris via a catch wrestling 
The final portion of the “Championship Level Catch Wrestling” Josh Barnett DVD is the one containing the most chapters. Given that all the entries, finishing, and holding mechanics have already been covered, it is now time for some practice applications of all that knowledge.