Looking Back on Week 1

What a week!


My shins are sore. My right quad is killing me. I've learned a lot and I keep going back for more!

The Academy I train at is a Gracie certified school, so we start with the Gracie Combatives curriculum. I haven't looked too far into that, but apparently it covers essential BJJ techniques. My class is for white belts only(although on the first day of week 2 a couple blue belts visited to brush up on some techniques), and it's not an intimidating environment at all.

My Professor is a second degree black belt- rolling with him is like rolling with God, and I very much appreciate having the opportunity to train under a black belt in a white belts only class.

Our first week focused on Kimuras and Guillotines. I learned how to do a Kimura sweep, Kimura by posting my outside leg, rider variation on a Kimura, and the Guillotine as a counter to an opponent driving into you on a Kimura attempt. We did some light training on sprawling, and how to counter a sprawl when you shoot.


I would expect any white belt at a Gracie Academy to have a similar week 1 experience, although the technique studied just depends on where they are in the curriculum when you join.


This blog is intended to focus on experience right now, so I won't go too far into the techniques themselves, but I will say this: There are some large guys in our class, and it is very hard to Kimura someone with much wider shoulders than you!


As far as the experience goes, we did very little true rolling. We spent a lot of time doing what our professor calls "down and ups," where one person starts on top in an opponents guard, and the goal is to provide about 50% resistance to the person trying to accomplish some technique. The white belt students tend to get carried away though, and its easy for 50% to turn into a fight for your life, no holds barred grappling contest for champion of the day.


I did this my first couple of days, and I've learned to let that go.


The point of Jiu Jitsu is to learn proper technique- and the point of a down and up is to get a chance to try it on a live opponent. To my fellow newbs: just relax. Put forth some effort, but focus on learning.


The down and ups come after about half an hour of drilling the technique against a willing opponent, and this drill period is performed after a ten minute combination of calisthenics and various BJJ drills(shrimping all over the place, hip forwards, etc.)


I can say after my first week I truly look forward to continuing. BJJ is a fully engaging sport- it's a mental and physical game. As I write this, I'm about to attend my second class of week 2. My advice to anyone considering BJJ is to just give it a go! For an experience similar to mine, attend a Gracie certified academy.

Day 0: My First Gi

So, a new thing for me given my background in striking sports that use no Gis was getting a white-belt and a Breakpoint Gi.

For starters, I had no idea how to tie the dang belt, but thankfully I found a great video from Renner(pronounced "Henner") Gracie on how to do that. I also came across a useful video on how to wear the pants. Both are below:

How To Tie A Belt
How to Wear BJJ Pants

I'd like to think I wouldn't have needed the second link, but I'm glad I came across it before I showed up to class.

So, now I know how to put my pants on and tie my belt, but I've still got an unshrunk, colored Gi(mine is black).

In this case, I was instructed to make sure to set my colors and shrink the Gi.

In case you don't have instructions on how to do this, I've spelled out my experience for you step by step:

1: Fill a bath tub with cold water and a few cups vinegar.
2: Allow the Gi to soak in the bathtub for half an hour(this is to set the color).
3: Wash in cold water.
4: Hang/Fluff Dry(DO NOT USE HEAT)

This strengthens the fibers, sets the color, and pre-shrinks the Gi slightly. It was a simple process, but you may not know about it if you buy a Gi on the internet with no guidance from an instructor. The material is very thick, designed to prevent ripping, and does not dry quickly, so plan ahead.

In the end, everything turned out fine, and I can't wait to start class in two days! I may need to get a couple more Gis, since I can train as much as I want and shouldn't dry it in the dryer. Don't want to roll with a funky Gi!

Thanks for reading and best regards,
-Eric.