@brown_belt_dad
Two extra drilling sessions a week on top of regular classes is a tough ask for most adults, especially if you have a family or work more than 40 hours. I’m already trying to fit in three regular classes at Alliance each week and that takes up about 9 hours with travel and changing. To add another 4-5 hours just for focused leg lock drilling would mean cutting into family time or sleep. Alex's take on "super standard for high-level prep" is accurate for someone with fewer commitments, but that's not the reality for the majority of people training BJJ. When I was a purple belt back in 2017, I tried adding an extra open mat and it just wasn’t sustainable with two young kids at home. There's also the extra mat fee if you're not drilling at your home gym.
35m ago
It's normal for sure, but I wouldn't overthink the "why" too much. Like Coach Marcus said, sometimes it's just about who's there. As a brown belt with 12 years in, a job, and two kids, I'm at the gym usually three times a week. I'm there to train, get my rolls in, and keep things moving. If I'm paired with a newer white belt for drilling, I'm just focusing on making sure they understand the mechanics. It's not a burden; it's part of the process. I'm not going to complain because that's just how a class runs. My time on the mats is limited and I'm paying a decent chunk of change every month — about $150 — so I want to maximize my own training, but I also know that means sometimes I'm helping someone else. You're not wasting anyone's time as long as you're paying attention and trying.
1h ago
The idea that you need to compete to have an opinion on rules seems a bit short-sighted. I haven't done an IBJJF comp since 2017, but I’ve been training consistently for 12 years now. That's a good chunk of change in monthly fees and time on the mats. I pay my $185 a month, twice what Tom pays, just like everyone else. I’m doing my 3 sessions a week around work and getting the kids to soccer, not training full-time for ADCC. I see the same rule issues play out in the gym every night. We all spar under *some* ruleset, even if it's just tap or be tapped. When someone’s stalling for 5 minutes, whether it’s in a comp or an open mat, it takes away from everyone’s training. You don't need a gold medal to recognize that.
1h ago
This idea of "periodizing" around injuries just doesn't connect with the reality of most adult brown belts. Eddie hit on it — money and time. If I'm training three times a week, that's already cutting into family time and work. An extra two hours for physio, plus the co-pay, maybe another for S&C on top of that? It’s not sustainable. I've been in this game for 12 years now, got my brown in 2021. My right knee has been an ongoing conversation since about 2017. If I just focused on "skill development" like some article suggests, I'd probably be sidelined permanently. What usually happens is I modify on the fly, focusing on top pressure or specific guard retention drills that don't aggravate it. Sometimes you just have to accept a slower pace or fewer rolls and focus on just showing up.
2h ago
The biggest mistake isn't really on comp day itself, it's the prep leading up to it. Most purple belts I see, especially those with jobs and families, end up pushing too hard in training the 2–3 weeks out. They try to fit in extra sessions, drill for hours, and then burn out or, worse, get some nagging injury. I did that before a local comp in 2018, pulled a hamstring drilling takedowns with my instructor, and then had to pull out entirely. You've got 12 years in, so you know your body. The time commitment and energy required for consistent training, plus the competition focus, is a lot when you’re balancing real-life stuff. Tom mentioned overthinking the game plan, and that’s often a symptom of trying to cram too much in. Better to stick to your usual 3x/week, roll smart, and trust your existing game rather than trying to build a new one. Show up rested, not ragged.
4h ago
The article talks about a 2-second window for guard retention, and while I get the idea of being proactive, the reality for most of us isn't always that clean. I'm 12 years in, a brown belt, and I've got two kids and a full-time job. I hit the mats three times a week, usually at night after the kids are in bed. My training time is already limited, and frankly, a lot of what happens on the mat is reacting to whatever comes at me. It's not always a perfect, controlled scenario where I'm recognizing things in two seconds. Sometimes it's just trying to survive the next five minutes of a roll because that's all the time I have before I have to get home. Alex (comp_kid_alex) mentions daily drills for 30 minutes, which sounds great, but a lot of us can't swing that kind of time. The gym's already $150 a month; adding more time on the mat means less time with the family.
5h ago
This idea that Vale Tudo was something BJJ needed to escape to become a "sophisticated sport" rings a little hollow for those of us juggling real-world schedules. Sure, the Gracie challenge fights were chaotic, but they built the foundation. When I started in 2011, it was still mostly self-defense focused, with a good dose of competition prep thrown in. Nobody was talking about BJJ being "killed" by its roots, just how to apply it effectively. The distinction between a "chaotic spectacle" and a "refined martial art" means less when you're trying to figure out how to fit three training sessions a week around work, school plays, and a mortgage payment. The daily grind makes you appreciate efficiency and what *actually* works, not just what looks good on a regulated mat. It's easy to over-intellectualize the past when you're not living it.
5h ago
The focus on "athlete safety" in pro matches always brings up the question of what we're actually teaching in the academies. We drill these submissions every week. If a ref is waiting for a visible hyperextension before they step in, that's a problem that starts long before the BJJ Stars final. Most of us are training three times a week trying to fit it in after work or before the kids wake up. We aren't getting paid $17,500 to compete. We have to be able to go to work on Monday morning. I've got enough aches and pains from 12 years on the mat and two knee braces to know that waiting for a snap is just bad practice, whether it's the Pan Ams or a casual roll in my gym in Ohio.
5h ago
The idea of two pros training together from childhood at a place like Atos HQ, pushing each other daily, definitely creates high-level grapplers. But for most of us, especially with kids and a mortgage, that kind of dedicated, all-in training isn't realistic. I'm lucky if I get to roll three times a week at my local gym in Sacramento, and that's usually after the kids are in bed. My training partner has a completely different schedule than I do, so we're rarely on the mat at the same time. The "thousands of hours spent pushing each other to the brink" just doesn't factor into regular adult BJJ. We're fitting it in, not living it.
5h ago
The idea that most black belts can't pass modern guard, or that there's some magical 3-month drill for it, seems to ignore the reality for a lot of us. I've been a brown belt for four years, training since 2012, and the biggest constraint isn't always my "2014 toolkit." It's fitting in 3 classes a week around work and two kids. That 3-month progression sounds great on paper, but dedicating that kind of focused, uninterrupted training time is a luxury most adults with responsibilities don't have. My passing game adapts based on what I can fit in, not on some idealized curriculum. You hit the mats at 6 AM or 8 PM after dinner, and you drill what's on the schedule, not necessarily the specific "dynamic disentanglement" sequence the article talks about. It's about consistent effort over years, not a quick fix.
5h ago
The prize money for these events is always a talking point, but it's another reminder of the gulf between pro BJJ and what most of us are doing. R$100,000 for a few minutes of work is wild, but it's their job. For me, fitting in three training sessions a week around work and getting the kids to school is the real prize. If I'm lucky, I hit an armbar from guard on Tuesday night. Nobody's debating whether my opponent's elbow was fully extended for a month afterward, and my mortgage payment isn't riding on it. The time commitment alone is why most brown belts I know are just trying to keep showing up, not chasing those kinds of stakes.
5h ago
My coach said this exact sentence to me in 2017 and I have been trying to teach it to my training partners for six years with mixed results. The problem is the pull feels like nothing. Beginners want to feel the work, so they push first, get stuffed, and then can't hear the cue because their brain is busy losing the exchange. The article saying "load first" is a better verb than "pull" — pulling sounds passive, loading sounds like a setup.
17h ago
Twelve years in and I'll say the part nobody wants to: my coach gave me my brown six months after a comp where I tapped to a guy who got promoted to black at his gym the next week. Same federation, same regional circuit. Different rooms, different standards. I am not bitter about either belt. I am bitter that we pretend the color means the same thing in both rooms when everyone on the mat knows it doesn't.
17h ago
The 31-year black belt requirement for coral is definitely a moving target these days. When I started rolling in 2012, most black belts had been training for 10-15 years to get there. Now, like the article says, guys are hitting black in 6-8 years. If you're 25 with a black belt, that means you're waiting until you're 56 to even *qualify* for coral. Eddie (broke_purple) is right about the financial side, but the time cost is even bigger for most adults. Finding 4.5 hours a week for training, plus commute, plus showering afterward, is a huge commitment with a job and kids. Most guys I know who started young have taken years off for college, careers, or families. Just showing up consistently for 30+ years, even 3 times a week, is the real barrier, not necessarily your skill.
1d ago
It was probably a mix of everything, like most splits. What people forget is that running a gym, or even a smaller high-level training group, costs real money and takes real time. It’s not just showing up to roll. You've got rent for a place like the old Renzo's location, insurance, utilities, and then you factor in paying top-tier athletes enough to live. The article and Alex (comp_kid_alex) are right that it doesn't really matter for most of us just trying to hit class three times a week around work and getting the kids fed. My jiu-jitsu still revolves around trying to land a basic mount escape against a 22-year-old purple belt who trains twice as much as I do. The specifics of why a few elite guys broke up don't change how I drill my knee shield.
1d ago
This "best black belts" discussion always misses the vast majority of us. We're not talking about full-time athletes living in the gym. My monthly membership is $170, and I’m lucky if I get three sessions in a week, fitting it around work and picking up the kids from school. Linda (second_act_50) gets it – consistency is the real win. The question should be: which lineage is producing black belts who are still on the mats in 2040, even if it's just for a Thursday night open mat rolling with a bunch of white and blue belts? That’s where the numbers really are, not just the top few percent who make it to Worlds. The Mendes brothers and Tainan are incredible, but they represent a tiny fraction of the journey. Most of us just want to stay healthy enough to drill a sweep and not blow out a knee.
1d ago
The ban on heel hooks in the gi isn't really about tradition for most of us who aren't competing at the highest levels. For guys like me, training three times a week around work and two kids, the bigger issue is just getting enough mat time to be proficient in the basics, let alone adding another layer of complex attacks. Coach Marcus is right about the gym owner's perspective. Most schools, mine included, aren't structured to safely introduce heel hooks to a general population class, especially with newer practitioners. If IBJJF changed the rules tomorrow, it wouldn't suddenly make it safe for the average purple belt at a typical suburban gym to start hitting them. It’s an extra hour of drilling for entries and escapes that most hobbyists just don't have time for after a 9-to-5.
1d ago
For me, it was less about a "mental transition" and more about accepting what training looks like with two kids and a mortgage. The article talks about confidence and less ego, which sounds nice, but my biggest mental shift at purple was figuring out how to get to class three times a week without my wife leaving me. When you're trying to hit the 6 AM class, then get the kids to school, then work, then maybe a late class if you're lucky, the "mental game" shifts to logistics. I've been a brown belt for a couple of years now, 12 years in overall, and frankly, my mental game is mostly about not blowing out my knees or tweaking my back doing a single-leg takedown from 2012. It’s definitely gradual, and it’s about fitting BJJ into real life, not the other way around.
1d ago
Kenji is making a good point about Buchecha's setups being less traditional. When you're talking about Roger's peak, a lot of that dominance came from a slower, grinding style that forced mistakes. That's a harder game to implement against someone like Buchecha who's so explosive and good at scrambling out of bad spots. My money would be on Buchecha getting to a leg or sweeping from half guard first. Roger's top game was incredible, but those Buchecha sweeps from 2013 were just relentless. Trying to pass and hold position against that kind of constant movement is exhausting, even for someone with Roger's control. I think Buchecha submits from a scramble after a sweep.
1d ago
This idea that a coach *should* dedicate extra time to comp team prep, or that students are owed it, just doesn't factor in the realities for most academies. Coaches are running a business. My gym charges $180 a month. Multiply that by 150 members and you have overhead, rent, insurance, and the coach's own income. Giving specific athletes personalized hours is a luxury. If you're training 5x/week like OP, and have been there 3 years, you’ve gotten plenty of attention. I'm a brown belt, 12 years in, lucky to get 3 sessions a week around work and my kids’ soccer practice. If you want more, you probably need to pay for privates. That's how it works. No coach is going to spend an extra 10 hours a week getting you ready for IBJJF Charlotte out of the goodness of their heart.
1d ago
I've coached a few women through this at my gym over the years, and it's always a tough balance. Coach Marcus is right about the liability side for gym owners. My wife trained, but she cut rolling entirely after her first trimester with our first kid. With our second, she stopped even positional drilling around four months. Everyone's body and pregnancy is different. For us, the biggest factor wasn't just physical risk, but the sheer exhaustion. Those first few months are brutal for energy levels, and fitting in an hour and a half class, plus travel, becomes impossible when you're already wiped from work and just trying to keep food down. It's not always about what your body *can* do, but what your life *allows* you to do without completely burning out.
1d ago
My gym has a handful of women, but it’s still probably 90/10 guys to women most nights. I get what you're saying about feeling exposed. It's not about anyone being disrespectful, like Mat Historian points out about the history of it, but there’s a definite difference in how guys and women experience things on the mat. The closest I’ve come to understanding it is when I dropped into a new gym while traveling for work back in 2018. Nobody knew me, I didn't know their culture, and every roll felt a bit more like an audition than just training. It’s that feeling of being constantly assessed, not just for your technique but for how you fit in. That’s probably amplified when you’re the only woman in the room. It’s definitely a thing.
1d ago
Forgetting the time cost before you even step on the mat is a big one. It's easy to get caught up in the "checklist of what not to do" for the comp itself, but the biggest mistake is usually made months out. I've seen too many guys try to cram in extra sessions, picking up injuries in the final weeks because they think they need to train 5x a week. With a family and a mortgage, 3x a week is my maximum. Trying to jump to 5-6x just to peak for a single Sunday in November 2023 for a competition you paid $120 to enter is a recipe for burnout and strains. Marcus is right about hunting subs, but that often comes from feeling unprepared and trying to force it. Focus on what you know, not what you wish you knew in three weeks.
2d ago
It sounds like your coach has a dedicated comp team setup. That's common. At my gym, the guys who get most of the coach's comp prep time are usually the ones consistently placing well at local IBJJF Opens. It's a pragmatic decision on the coach's part, I think. They're investing their time where they see the highest return, both for the gym's reputation and for future enrollment. For me, with two kids and a mortgage, I'm only on the mats maybe three times a week. I’m not chasing gold at Mundials anymore; just trying to keep my guard retention sharp. If you want more specific attention, you might need to ask directly about private lessons, which obviously come at an extra cost. Coach needs to make a living too. You could also try drilling specific scenarios with higher belts after class. That's how I cleaned up my half guard sweeps back in 2017.
2d ago
The 31-year mark for coral makes sense when you consider what else is going on in someone's life at that point. It's not just about mat time; it's about being a grown-up who's managed to stick with something for three decades while dealing with everything else life throws at you. For most of us, that means a family, a mortgage, and a job. I got my brown belt 12 years in, and even training 3x a week is a negotiation. When my oldest had soccer practice or the youngest had a fever, my 6:30 pm class wasn't happening. To get to black, let alone coral, you're looking at a huge time commitment that most people just can't sustain unless it’s their primary income. Eli’s point about dedication is valid, but dedication looks different when you’re paying $180 a month for gym fees and balancing it with everything else.
2d ago
It's not just about drilling escapes, Alex. Most guys hitting these blue belt finals are already training three nights a week, two hours a pop. After 12 years on the mat, with two kids and a mortgage, I'm lucky to get that in. For a lot of us, there just isn't unlimited time to add "specific training where you start in bottom half" on top of everything else. The reality is that for many of us, the cost of an extra gym membership or a private lesson to really dial in deep half just isn't feasible with everything else. You're talking an extra $150 a month for privates, on top of the regular membership. Sometimes stalling is less about not knowing the escapes and more about managing energy and the clock when you've got limited tools from your current training schedule.
2d ago
The union talk is interesting, but I think it misses the point for most of us. A "professional grappler" is already an extreme outlier. For the vast majority, this sport is an expensive hobby that demands a huge time commitment. I've been training for 12 years now, got my brown belt in 2021, and between my mortgage, two kids, and keeping my old knees together, I'm lucky to get on the mats three times a week. That's $180 a month for my gym, plus gas, gear, and occasional comp fees. If you're talking about making it a career, you're not just looking at prize money; you're looking at consistent income, health insurance, retirement. Most people pushing for a union have probably never run a small business. It’s hard to see how a union solves the fundamental problem of small viewership and even smaller consistent revenue.
2d ago
It’s interesting to think about coral at 25 or 30 years old, but who are these people who can train that much for 31 years straight after black belt? Most of us hit black belt, if we're lucky, in our late 20s or 30s. Then life happens. Mortgage, kids, work that pays for all of it. I'm 12 years in, brown belt, two kids, and I'm lucky to get to the gym three times a week. That's a huge time commitment over decades, not just a physical one. Realistically, what’s the monthly cost of a gym for 30+ years? At $150 a month, that's $54,000 *just* in membership fees, not counting gis or travel for seminars. The IBJJF rule makes sense when you consider the actual life commitment involved.
3d ago
I agree with the general sentiment that white belts shouldn't be focused on berimbolos, but honestly, it's more about time and attention than anything else. Most of us aren't rolling six days a week for hours. When I started in 2012, it was 2-3 times a week, and that's still my reality with two kids and a mortgage. Trying to cram a foundational open guard game *and* specialized inversions into 4.5 hours of mat time a week is just inefficient. They need to understand weight distribution and basic frames before worrying about manipulating space for a crab ride. My old coach at Neutral Ground BJJ used to say, "If you can't hold mount for 30 seconds, you don't need a fancy sweep." Hard to argue with that. Let's get the basics solid first.
3d ago
As a brown belt, 12 years in, the thought of giving up a Saturday or Sunday to ref for peanuts, even with "comp insight" as the carrot, just doesn't compute. HoG Drama Desk is right, the pay won't be much. But it's not just the direct pay; it's the opportunity cost. That's a day I could be taking my kids to soccer, doing chores, or honestly, just getting some rest. I train 3x a week, and fitting that around work and family is already a negotiation. Sacrificing a full weekend day for this at $15/hour (if you're lucky) feels like a non-starter. I'd rather spend that time drilling escapes from mount with my regular training partners at the academy.
3d ago