Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a challenging and rewarding martial art that requires consistent training and dedication. One of the most important aspects of training in BJJ is selecting the right training partners.
Training with partners who have a positive attitude, are reliable and consistent and have a diverse range of skills and sizes is crucial for growth and improvement in the sport.
In this article, we will explore the importance of different training partners in BJJ and provide tips for choosing partners who can help you reach your full potential in the sport.
Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just starting out, selecting the right training partners can make all the difference in your BJJ journey.
The Importance of Different Training Partners
When it comes to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having a diverse group of training partners is crucial for developing a well-rounded skill set.
Training with partners of different sizes, strengths, and skill levels exposes you to various techniques and styles. This diversity of training partners helps you learn how to adapt to different opponents, develop new strategies, and expand your overall game.
Choosing Partners of Different Sizes and Skill Levels
As just said, it’s important to train with partners of different sizes and skill levels:
- Smaller partners can teach you how to deal with quick movements, while bigger partners can help you improve your defense against pressure.
- Training with partners of different skill levels also exposes you to new techniques and approaches to the sport.
- Rolling with someone more experienced than you can provide you with valuable insights while training with someone less experienced can help you hone your fundamentals.
Selecting Partners with a Good Attitude
When it comes to training partners, attitude is everything. It’s important to seek out partners who have a positive and helpful attitude.
These partners are more likely to share knowledge and contribute to a healthy learning environment. Training with positive-minded partners can also help you stay motivated, develop a stronger sense of camaraderie, and make training more enjoyable.
Finding Partners Who Are Reliable and Consistent
Consistency in training is crucial for progress in BJJ. It’s important to seek out partners who are dedicated and show up to practice regularly.
Reliable training partners can help you maintain a consistent training schedule, which is key to developing and improving your skills. They can also provide you with a steady source of motivation and support.
Also, did you know that to be consistent in training you need to sleep well?
Avoiding Injury-Prone Partners
Injuries are an unfortunate reality of BJJ, but you can minimize the risk by avoiding injury-prone partners. It’s important to be cautious when selecting training partners and to avoid rolling with someone who has a history of causing injuries or is overly aggressive.
Training with reckless partners can put you at risk for injury and negatively impact your progress in the sport.
Prioritizing safety in training will ensure that you can continue to train and improve in the long term.
Diversify Your Training Partners for Growth and Improvement
In summary, diversifying your training partners is essential for growth and improvement in BJJ:
- Choosing partners of different sizes, skill levels, and attitudes can help you develop a well-rounded skill set and a supportive training environment.
- Finding partners who are reliable and consistent can also help you maintain a consistent training schedule and make progress in the sport.
- Lastly, avoiding injury-prone partners will help you stay safe and injury-free, ensuring that you can continue to train and improve in the long run.
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BJJ Training Partners: every gym has one of those
It seems every gym has at least one, that guy or gal who acts like they’re in the finals at Abu Dhabi every time you roll with them.
It’s as if every positional change defines their life, and however, they deal with it is what makes them a success or a failure. Yes, if not in every gym, I’m sure everyone has dealt with somebody like this at some point.
Beating up on your training partners isn’t the goal of rolling in-house, seeing as it’s practice and all. In a different sense though, these members of your BJJ gym team seem to be as big of a necessity as the smaller opponent, or the relaxed roller in their own ways.
Overall, there is an important place for all types of grappling partners, and we’d like to discuss the use of these different types.
The Flowman: Practicing Fluidity and Transitions
The Flowman is someone who doesn’t seem to want to actually roll, but more go through the movements of rolling.
Focusing on using only technique and little to no strength, you get a fluidly smooth motion as you work from position to position easily.
If you are resisting when rolling with this person, it shows. You can easily overpower anything they go for because they aren’t trying to stop you. This can be both a blessing and a curse.
The Fun Guy: Playful and Enjoyable Partner
As relaxed as the Flowman is, the Fun Guy makes the most ridiculous rolls of the night by far.
The Fun guy is the person you roll with more than anybody. A good pal in the gym, along with a good Jiu-Jitsu game has made him an awesome partner.
They won’t completely force their movements or transitions, but they don’t easily take no for an answer. If you see a submission open, you’re willing to dive into it for several reasons.
The Abu Dhabi Finalist: Dealing with Aggression and Pressure
Ah Abu Dhabi, the great trials of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have been an inspiration to us all. Though it seems some… more than others.
Separate gyms have separate ways of training. Most gyms though seem to like keeping it at least a bit light, so as to not injure your training partners. In almost every gym I’ve attended, there has been at least one person who seems to want to beat me more than anything in the world.
This person can easily be seen as a problem partner, but there are definitely some gains to the draws of having an aggressive training partner.
Diversify Your Training Partner for BJJ to achieve Growth and Improvement
At the end of the day, each of these types of training partners plays a big part in your Jiu-Jitsu journey. Though they each might have their downsides, they all also have pluses. When it comes time to choose training partners to take each of these into account because each person is worthy in some way. In fact, we would go as far as saying that you want to train with all these types of training partners as it will diversify and improve your game.
To extend this further, we are also proponents of training with and testing yourself against as many training partners as you can. You can learn something from just about everyone. Although less likely, sometimes even from less experienced practitioners. By increasing the number and blend of training partners your overall experience and game will grow.
To end, we would also say that the more training partners you roll with the more “friends” you will meet so stay safe, and stay healthy, but stay improving too. At the end of the day, choosing the right partner is essential to growing in BJJ, but it is not the only thing that matters.
We wrote a huge free guide on how to improve at BJJ fast (even faster than your training partner). You should give it a look!
And that’s all my friends. Now tell me something about you. What kind of training partner do you think you are? Leave it in the comment section!
OSS!
