Stop Trying to Remember Techniques as a BJJ White Belt

Summary

In this video, the host addresses Sarah's query about retaining techniques as a white belt in martial arts. Drawing from his wrestling coach's advice, he emphasizes the importance of mastering three fundamental skills: a takedown, a pin combination, and an escape reversal. He shares personal experiences to illustrate that focusing on a few techniques that work well can lead to success, even against more experienced opponents. The host encourages beginners not to feel overwhelmed by the vastness of martial arts knowledge, but to find and hone techniques that suit them, assuring that not everything needs to be remembered and that mastery comes with time and consistent practice.

Takeaways

• 📚 Focus on mastering a few key techniques rather than trying to remember everything.
• 🤼‍♂️ In wrestling and jiu-jitsu, having one solid takedown, a pin combination, and an escape reversal can lead to success.
• 🏆 Mastery comes with time and practice, not by learning every technique quickly.
• 🧠 Don't feel guilty if you don't retain all the information; it's normal to forget and learn over time.
• 🤺 Personalize your learning by identifying techniques that work for you and focusing on them.
• 💡 The analogy of 'drinking through a hose' illustrates the overwhelming amount of information and the need to selectively learn.
• 🌱 Allow yourself to learn and grow at your own pace, knowing that jiu-jitsu mastery is a long-term process.
• 🛡️ Develop a strong foundation with basic positions and techniques such as escapes, submissions, sweeps, and guard passes.
• 🔑 Recognize that having a few 'go-to' moves can be more effective than knowing many techniques superficially.
• 🚀 As a beginner, concentrate on the essentials and let additional techniques enrich your skills over time.
• 🌟 Remember, being an effective practitioner doesn't require remembering every detail, just being proficient with the basics and your chosen techniques.

Q & A

What is the main advice given to Sarah for retaining techniques and information as a white belt?

The main advice given to Sarah is to focus on mastering three fundamental techniques: a takedown, a pin combination, and an escape reversal. This advice emphasizes the importance of quality over quantity in learning martial arts techniques.

Why did the wrestling coach suggest focusing on only three techniques initially?

The wrestling coach suggested focusing on three techniques because they address the three main positions in wrestling, and mastering one of each can be enough to win matches, even against more experienced opponents.

What is the wrestling coach's analogy for learning too many techniques at once?

The wrestling coach's analogy is drinking through a hose on full blast. It's not necessary to put your face in the middle of the jet stream of water; instead, you can catch a little bit off to the side, which is more manageable and pleasant.

How did the advice from the wrestling coach apply to the speaker's experience in jiu-jitsu?

The advice applied to the speaker's experience in jiu-jitsu by helping them focus on a handful of techniques that worked for them, rather than trying to remember everything. This approach allowed the speaker to fare better in competition even when facing opponents who knew more techniques.

What is the speaker's personal experience with learning techniques against more experienced wrestlers?

The speaker recalls a time when they were at a wrestling camp and faced a more experienced opponent who knew many techniques. Despite this, the speaker was able to win a match against this opponent by focusing on their own set of well-practiced techniques.

What should a white belt's main focus be according to the speaker?

A white belt's main focus should be on learning the basic positions and finding techniques that work for them, rather than trying to learn everything. This includes an escape from major positions, a submission they can focus on, a sweep from the bottom, and a guard passing combination.

Why is it not necessary for a white belt to remember everything they are taught?

It's not necessary for a white belt to remember everything because martial arts mastery takes decades, and the goal as a beginner should be to establish a solid foundation with a few techniques that they can reliably use and build upon over time.

How should a white belt approach learning new techniques?

A white belt should approach learning new techniques by trying them out and identifying which ones feel good and work for them. They should then focus on practicing these techniques until they become second nature.

What should a white belt do if they don't retain all the information from their training?

A white belt should not feel guilty if they don't retain all the information. It's normal to forget things, and the focus should be on mastering a few techniques that are effective for them, rather than trying to remember everything.

How does the speaker describe the process of learning in jiu-jitsu?

The speaker describes the process of learning in jiu-jitsu as similar to trying to consume water from a jet stream. Instead of trying to drink from the middle of the stream, it's more effective to catch a little bit from the side, which is a metaphor for focusing on a few techniques and not trying to learn everything at once.

What is the analogy used to explain the feeling of being overwhelmed by the amount of techniques to learn in jiu-jitsu?

The analogy used is 'drinking through a hose on full blast,' where the overwhelming amount of techniques is compared to a powerful jet stream of water that one cannot possibly consume all at once.

Outlines

00:00

🤼‍♂️ Focusing on Mastery Over Memorization

The speaker addresses Sarah's struggle with retaining techniques as a white belt by sharing advice from his wrestling coach. The essence of the advice is to focus on mastering a few key techniques rather than trying to remember everything. The speaker emphasizes the importance of having one reliable takedown, combination, and escape-reversal in wrestling, which can lead to victory despite facing more experienced opponents. This strategy worked well for the speaker in both wrestling and jiu-jitsu, where he found success by focusing on a handful of techniques that worked for him, rather than trying to learn an overwhelming number of moves.

05:01

📚 Embracing the Learning Process in Martial Arts

In the second paragraph, the speaker continues to offer guidance to Sarah and other white belts, suggesting that it's common to feel overwhelmed by the amount of information to learn. He reassures them that it's not necessary to remember everything and encourages them to find and focus on the techniques that suit their style. The speaker uses the analogy of drinking from a hose to illustrate that one doesn't need to be in the middle of the information 'jet stream' to learn effectively. Instead, they should catch the 'spray' on the side, which represents learning at a comfortable pace without the pressure of mastering every single technique. The speaker concludes by reminding Sarah and viewers that forgetting is normal and that the goal is to find and focus on the techniques that work for them, allowing for gradual improvement over time.

Keywords

💡White belt

A 'white belt' refers to a beginner in martial arts, particularly in disciplines like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or wrestling, where the belt system denotes the practitioner's rank and experience. In the video, the term is used to address Sarah, a beginner, and to emphasize the advice's relevance to those new to martial arts.

💡Techniques

Techniques in this context are the specific moves or methods used in martial arts for offense, defense, or grappling. The video emphasizes the importance of mastering a few key techniques rather than trying to remember all possible moves, which is overwhelming for a white belt.

💡Takedown

A 'takedown' is a wrestling term for a move that aims to bring an opponent to the ground. In the video, the coach advises focusing on mastering one effective takedown technique, as it is one of the fundamental positions in wrestling.

💡Penny combination

The term 'penny combination' is not a standard martial arts term, but it seems to refer to a specific combination of moves or techniques that the speaker found effective. It serves as an example of how one should focus on techniques that work personally well.

💡Escape reversal

An 'escape reversal' is a move used to counter an opponent's escape attempt, turning the situation to one's advantage. The video mentions it as one of the three key techniques to master, illustrating the importance of having a reliable move for each main position in wrestling.

💡Mastery

Mastery in the video refers to the high level of skill and understanding achieved over time in martial arts. It is mentioned to highlight that becoming proficient takes decades and beginners should not be discouraged by the vast amount of information to learn.

💡Submission

A 'submission' is a technique used to force an opponent to submit by applying a hold or lock that causes pain or discomfort. The script suggests focusing on learning a reliable submission from certain positions as part of the foundational skills.

💡Sweep

A 'sweep' in martial arts is a technique to reverse an opponent's position, often from a disadvantaged position on the bottom. The video mentions mastering a sweep as one of the basic techniques for a white belt to win matches.

💡Guard passing

Guard passing is a set of techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu aimed at overcoming an opponent's guard to gain a more dominant position. The video script includes it as one of the essential techniques to learn and master.

💡Retention

Retention in the context of the video refers to the ability to remember and recall techniques and information. The advice given is that beginners should not feel guilty about not remembering everything, as it's normal and part of the learning process.

💡Jiu-Jitsu

Jiu-Jitsu, specifically Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is a martial art focused on ground fighting and submission holds. The video uses it as an example to convey the message that mastering a few effective techniques is more beneficial than trying to learn an overwhelming number of moves.

Highlights

Advice for Sarah on retaining techniques as a white belt, focusing on mastering a few key moves rather than trying to remember everything.

Repetition of a wrestling coach's advice that served well in both wrestling and jiu jitsu.

The importance of learning a takedown, a pin combination, and an escape reversal as fundamental techniques in wrestling.

Personal experience of overcoming more experienced wrestlers by mastering a few techniques.

The realization that knowing more techniques does not always equate to success in wrestling or jiu jitsu.

The analogy of learning jiu jitsu to drinking through a hose, emphasizing the futility of trying to consume all information.

The strategy of focusing on a handful of techniques that work for the individual, rather than trying to learn everything.

The idea of not feeling guilty about not remembering all techniques, as mastery takes time and is a gradual process.

The concept of finding basic positions in jiu jitsu such as escape from mount, back mount, and side control.

The suggestion to learn a reliable submission and a sweep from the bottom as part of the basic techniques.

The reassurance that having a solid foundation of basic techniques allows for winning matches and further learning.

The encouragement to let additional techniques come naturally over time without the pressure of immediate retention.

The notion that not all techniques taught will stick, and that's okay as long as the basics are mastered.

The advice to focus on techniques that feel good and effective when practiced, as an indicator of what to stick with.

The reminder that everyone forgets techniques and it's a normal part of the learning process in martial arts.

The final advice to Sarah and other white belts to start with the basics and not worry about remembering everything.

Transcripts

[Music]

today we got a question from sarah who's

asking for my biggest piece of advice

that i would give to a white belt like

her who's struggling to retain

techniques and information so check this

out sarah i'll give you the advice that

my wrestling coach gave to me it served

me well in wrestling and it served me

well in jiu jitsu i think i've said it

on the channel before but doesn't hurt

to repeat myself because it's a damn

good lesson so when i first started

wrestling i remember our coach told us

to all the new people coming in all the

new athletes he said listen

there's going to be a lot of stuff

you're going to have to learn a lot of

stuff you're going to learn a lot of

techniques you're going to be taught

you don't need to remember everything

what you need to remember is three

things

a takedown a penny combination and an

escape reversal you just need to become

good with one of each one of those three

things and you can win wrestling matches

because those kind of address the three

main positions in wrestling

and so he said that

and i took that to heart and i remember

in wrestling it served me very well

because there were times where i was

faced against other wrestlers who were

much more experienced than me i remember

one time going to a camp my junior

summer going into my senior year and i

remember there was this one guy that i

got partnered with and this dude at this

campus from another school came from

more more affluent part of town had a

lot more resources was going to all

these different camps and he was good

knew all knew all this stuff well i i

was talking to him and he was telling me

about all these different wrestling

moves i didn't know anything about

now later on when we can we ended up

competing against each other later on

that year and i i beat him in a

wrestling match now it wasn't because he

he who knew more moves he knew a lot

more stuff than me but i had my three

things and a few extras that were tacked

onto those down really well

and when i got to jiu jitsu i never had

this problem of trying to remember

everything because i mean granted i did

feel sometimes like i was the stupid

person in class because some of the

other guys in the gym could like rattle

off techniques like an encyclopedia and

so initially that made me feel like i

was kind of stupid or slow or something

but then there was a situation where

they would know a lot more stuff than me

but i knew this little handful of

techniques that i found that seemed to

work for me and i really focused on

those and when we would compete or when

we would roll i would generally fare

better than them

and so that kind of reinforced this idea

and this is what i'm trying to get to

with you

you don't need to possibly remember

everything and you're not going to

especially as a white belt remember

people take decades to get good at this

stuff to really master this stuff you're

not going to do it in a couple years as

a beginner right

but one of your main focuses as a white

belt should not be learning everything

it should be saying okay i'm trying to

learn the basic positions right so an

escape from all the major positions like

mount back mount side control that you

can reliably use a submission that you

can focus on a sweep from the bottom

and a guard passing sort of combination

right those are your basics right there

if you get those things down you can win

matches you can be people enrolling and

you can always add on to it but if you

have those basics down it's a lot easier

and so what your goal at least in my

opinion sir should be is to focus on

finding techniques that seem to work for

you and you'll know when they are you'll

know when they're like your moves as

soon as you start playing around with

them you're like oh man this feels

really good let me stick with this for

one for a while and as time goes on

you'll be taught lots of different

techniques you'll learn stuff through

the internet everything else and

sometimes it'll stick sometimes it won't

and the thing is don't feel guilty if it

doesn't don't feel guilty if you don't

retain the information it doesn't matter

you're not going to remember it all

a lot of times people use this idea

of learning jiu jitsu is like drinking

through a hose right basically some

person's got this hose on full blast and

there's this jet stream of water going

through right well if that analogy

that's the analogy that sort of clicks

in your head consider this

if you're thirsty

you don't need to stick your face in the

middle of that jet stream right you can

just come off to the side and there's

going to be spray coming off here and

you can just catch a little bit to the

side or you can scoop out a little bit

with your hand you don't need to put

yourself in the middle of it because you

can't possibly consume all of the water

that's coming through but you can catch

a little bit off to the side

and it'll be a much more a pleasant

situation won't it and it's the same

thing with jiu jitsu you cannot possibly

consume everything that's going on it's

there's so much right i mean you think

about the way that people are developing

positions and techniques and stuff

there's just so much stuff to to

consider so you're not going to consume

it all anyway so don't try so instead of

what you do is you say you know what i'm

going to try to find the techniques that

work for me and that's what i'm really

going to be focused on especially as a

beginner and then i will let the other

stuff come in because i'll consistently

try to learn stuff but again i'm not

going to feel bad about it if it's not

my move or if i don't retain it right

now i'll give it time and let things

develop over over the course of decades

because that's what happens with all of

us and so sarah that's my biggest piece

of advice to you focus on the handful of

techniques that you need to cover the

basics

start with that

and if you don't retain it don't feel

guilty about it we all forget stuff it's

normal i forget stuff everyone does and

again to be an effective judiciary

practitioner you don't need to remember

everything anyway so hopefully that

helps you and hopefully it helps some of

you other other people that are watching

this because i know this is like a

common white belt problem and i'll talk

to you guys next time

[Music]