(featured image obviously is from 2019, taken by @skipperjiujitsu)
Governments around the World are keeping jiu jitsu illegal, while people are becoming more obese and depressed every day. I have a slight suspicion many of you still train BJJ in lockdown in your living rooms, basements and sheds, so this post is for the warriors that (want to) keep on training. In this post I want to give you a 4-step plan to keep improving and come out of this situation better than you entered it. We’ll talk about location, training partners, creating a training plan and finding outside guidance.
Disclaimer: Of course, I would never do something illegal, but this guy I know, lets call him Bunda, has become a true expert on the topic of underground training sessions during the last year. I’ll use him as an example. I would also definitely not recommend you guys to do anything like the things I describe below, it’s purely for entertainment purposes.
1. Location
All you need to train BJJ in lockdown are a few mats and the space to put them.
The bare minimum is 6m2. What I recommend is 9m2.
If you go for the minimum of 6m2, this doesn’t allow for a lot of hard sparring. Drills and specific sparring from positions that are not so dynamic is possible though. During the first lockdown in the Netherlands my friend Bunda did a lot of specific sparring from the back mount for example.
If you do have 9m2 (or more) of mat space, regular sparring becomes an option. Make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings. Safety is more important than scoring that sweep. Because of the small mat space, you’ll be forced to engage, which is a good thing. You have to settle for less than optimal grips often, giving you a chance to work on your guard retention and on passing difficult guards.
When choosing mats, I recommend puzzle mats. They don’t slip as easily, and there won’t be any cracks between mats every time you move around. Get them second hand or through a fighting goods store. 2cm thickness is minimum, 4cm is very comfortable.
2. Training Partner
Back when things were normal, you could pick a new training partner every round, giving you the chance to roll with lighter, heavier, less experienced and more experienced training partners. Now you’re often stuck with one or two training partners. A few more if you’re lucky enough to have a big underground dojo. That means that you must be picky.
My friend Bunda has the luxury to train with a few different people throughout the week. Some days with lighter training partners, other days with heavier training partners. He trains mainly with training partners that have a similar understanding of jiu jitsu. As a 65kg brown belt it wouldn’t be very useful for him to train with 100kg white belts, so he focuses on training with training partners with at least a blue belt and that aren’t too much heavier.
Whatever belt level you are at, try to pick main training partners with a similar level of experience and a similar weight. 10kg to 15kg more or less shouldn’t be a problem. Of course, A training partner is better than NO training partner.
3. Training plan
Having a plan is important. If you’re just sparring hard for months on end, chances are you keep getting stuck in the same situations. Even though regular classes are not possible yet, you should still aim to learn something new every training. Preferably in a structured manner. An example of a good underground training session can be: 5 minute warm-up, drill the techniques you want to work on for 10 minutes each, specific sparring from positions you need to work on (you pick one, your partner picks one, you pick one etc.) and only then free sparring. This way you won’t get stuck doing the same thing over and over.
What techniques to work on and what positions to spar from can be picked by yourself, or even better, by getting guidance from an expert. See next paragraph.
4. Guidance
If the pandemic and it’s measures brought one good thing, it’s that online jiu jitsu has grown tremendously. In jiu jitsu it was always possible to meet and train with your idols. I’ve shaken Buchecha’s hand several times and learned from him directly. Now imagine a football fan getting a class from Messi and hanging out with him afterwards. Not likely.
Now your idols are even closer. Many jiu jitsu pro’s are offering online classes, and many of them have released high quality DVD’s teaching you their competition proven techniques. (shameless self-plug alert) Like my guillotine DVD that will be released on BJJ Fanatics soon.
Getting a high-level competitor to help you with your classes is a great way to improve your jiu jitsu. I have several online clients I teach on a weekly basis. Even though I was skeptical about online classes at first, I’ve seen the value they can bring. So do my students. Here’s a review one of my online clients left me: “The online classes were engaging, fun and I worked out a sweat too! … I am glad to have such amazing private lessons from Daniel, I know I improved my jiu-jitsu during the pandemic. “
If you want to improve your underground jiu jitsu training, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me here.
I’d be happy to help you and your training partners out with (online) coaching.
Conclusion
Hope that helps. Stay strong, and hopefully you can test your skills in competitions again soon. If you have any questions in regards to training during the lockdown, don’t hesitate to ask me.