bad days on the mat

[kiddbjj]

hey all

i recently got my blue belt but since then my rolling has been really inconsistent and i feel completely unfocused. now i'm starting to get paranoid about 'defending my blue belt' if that makes any sense, which really annoys me because one of the main reasons i enjoy BJJ so much is that the proof is in the pudding and how you roll is basically the measure of your skill. when i was a white i just rolled for fun and wasn't afraid to take risks and try new techniques cause even if they failed and i got reversed or tapped...big deal.

recently i got tapped by a high white belt and got positionally owned by two other big guys who were white belts. normally i wouldnt care less but since i got my blue i'm feeling self conscious.

any of you have problems with consistency?

[danfaggella]

we all do, there is no real help anyone can give you here, help yourself. I recomend you get back tot he basics and what you like best, what you are confident in, know that you are a good grappler and show it. inconcistency happens to the best of us, dont worry.

[jubaji]

we all do, there is no real help anyone can give you here, help yourself. I recomend you get back tot he basics and what you like best, what you are confident in, know that you are a good grappler and show it. inconcistency happens to the best of us, dont worry.

Kid, do you really feel qualified to be giving advice now?

[danfaggella]

buddy, this isn't the field of rocket science, this happens is all sports, to all people, you don't have to be a psychologist to give this kind of basic advise.

[lopezma]

kiddbjj
So you got beat by white belts! Big deal! That only means that you are at a good school. I would have to assume that you probably also tapped at least a blue belt once or twice when you were a white belt. That is part of the game. When you lose is when you either learn more or quit! Don't quit!
I respect you for putting this up. Hey, at least you don't live in denial!
There is a challenge for you here, try to not get tapped by them again. Be careful not to get over zealous and hurt them.

[SamuraiGuy]

Dont worry about it man.... I'm still a white belt, and probably will be for a long time... in one roll (approx 8 minutes) I was tapped by a purple using only one of his arms (he had hurt one of his shoulders) about 20 times in total... at one point in the match, I grabbed his ankle, fell back and arched... he tapped... dont think it phased him, he just tapped me out a few more times with ease...

I felt pretty good though eh... lol...


Dont worry about "defending" your blue belt.. especially if you just got it... getting tapped by a high white belt... thats like.. what a month or two of difference between you?.. a high white belt is almost a low blue belt...

The odd submission here and there shouldnt bother you... apparently a blue at my school tapped our brown belt instructor once... he told me he was shown who was the boss after though... just take it to them (without trying to hurt/injure them)... show em whos boss...

[jubaji]

buddy, this isn't the field of rocket science, this happens is all sports, to all people, you don't have to be a psychologist to give this kind of basic advise.

You didn't answer my question.

[aseepish]

Everyday is a bad day on the mat when it's your first week after not training BJJ for about six months!

Speaking as a relatively new (and sadly out of shape) blue belt myself, I know exactly what you're talking about. I think there's a shift in our mentality when we spar as new blue belts - we are VERY conscious of tapping to the whites. I know that I will try to force techniques and waste a lot of energy defending my belt, where I was much more relaxed as a white belt. I have to keep telling myself that it's just sparring and that every class I step off the mat a little bit more skilled than when I stepped on.

[SweepEm]

don't let your ego get in the way of just going out, training, learning and having fun.

There is such a pre-occupation with the color of your belt compared to the next guy......
You will get beat by guys "lower" than you and you should be able to catch guys that have more experience then you too.

Training is training, if you don't risk going for certain moves, you won't get better. Training is where you lean from your mistakes. And we all make mistakes but that's a part of learning to get better.

Even in tournament competition, if you get beat, shake the hand of your opponent and learn from your mistakes.
If you win, enjoy the moment and I'm sure you didn't do everything perfect and strive to keep going and doing better.

[nygrappler]

It's easy to lose focus in training, especially if you have many things clouding your head outside of the mats. Grappling is a mental sport as much physical. Just enjoy and don't add the extra pressure of "getting tapped".

[Hermosa]

The consistancy problem is universal and it's easy to remedy. It always results from the same thing.

Your mind is no longer free. It is crystalized on a particular aspect of your game. Go back to "beginners" mind. Let go and allow your mind to float in the sea of infinite possibilities with no attachments. Your game will come back to you.

[blitz]

I'd say keep rolling with them, the more practice you get, the more you expect them to execute something. And confidence is a big part of winning.

[Penance]

Personally I hate belts. I wish everyone wore white belts all the time. Or none at all.

Colored belts only came about through tradition. This is how my karate instructor described it to me:

Everyone at the temple/dojo always wore a white belt and over time you would get grass stains, dirt, mud, grime and sweat on it. Thus the green, brown, black, etc.

The highest compliment you could give a grandmaster when they died was to bury them with a white belt. Why? To represent that they were so good that their belt never got dirty from hitting the ground.

Belt color adds too much psychological crap to the game. I would much rather stay a white belt forever and just always go in and do my personal best against someone else's personal best. I want to respect people for who they are and how good they are, not for what color belt they have.

[SamuraiGuy]

The last post kind of reminds me I guy who recently recieved a "brown belt" in kickboxing.... now im not sure if its the norm to give out belts in kickboxing... but the people at the school dont treat it that way... the belt shows your level of expertise.. but as the instructor will say...

"take your belt off before you step into the ring, its not gonna block any kicks or punches for you"

There isnt a problem with belts showing a higher degree of knowledge... thats what they are there to represent...

Besides, belts help you know who to stay away from in class, haha just joking, I love getting beat down for a good 8 minute round....

[kiddbjj]

cheers for the replies guys

i must say that i have definately been focused on going back to a beginners mentality. its funny becasue i often see people get beaten by people they think they will wipe the floor with, mostly big guy newbs, and then they are the people that never come back because their ego cant handle it. i always felt sorry for those guys being so constrained by their emotions that they would give up something they could really enjoy and get something out of rather than 'leaving their ego at the door' as they say.

i have no intention of quitting or dodging the guys that got me. quite the contrary they'll probably be sick of rolling me pretty soon because now i need to figure out their game and find out where i went wrong. the end result will be me with a stronger game (even if i have to lose a few more to get there)