White Belt Sparring: Getting Techniques to Work During Rolling
Ahh, white belt sparring… So, you’ve hit that spot where you know some moves, some great jiujitsu-ey ways to strangle a person or twist their arm in a compromising way. You perhaps know how to sweep or flip people in a few ways and how to blast past someone’s guard. The problem is though, you’re fine hitting them in class during drilling, but when it comes to sparring, they DON’T WORK!
The truth is, there is a gigantic gap between doing a move with no resistance and then trying the same technique against an opponent who is actively trying to stop you.
Training with realistic reactions and live resistance is at the heart of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The ability to go 100% in sparring and end the round with a simple tap is central to the power of BJJ.
Sparring is chaos.
It’s complicated, stressful, sweaty, uncomfortable, possibly painful, and frankly highly frustrating. White belt sparring is that and more.
Controlling the Chaos in the Beginning
When talking with white belts, either online, or those I coach in person, I find it best for the individual to learn the overarching nature of the game first – positional names, the idea of getting around the legs, followed by control, and a submission. This is then accompanied by the idea of learning one technique or movement from each position to start things off and ease the stress and confusion.
The closed guard may be a scissor sweep. Mount, an armlock. Back, bow and arrow choke, etc.
Thinking in this manner eliminates the dreaded “I don’t know what to do” panic and stress – which, let’s be honest, is a massive concern for all white belt students.
Simplify. That’s the key.
That’s all well and Good, But How do I get them to Work?
Having answers to guide you through the chaos, at least in an ultra-basic sense is fantastic, but how the hell do you get the moves to work?
The key is calming down.
As you rise through the belts, you’ll not only begin to understand the sheer grandeur of jiu jitsu, but you’ll also pick up a new set of skills. You’ll find you can “feel” people’s movements. You can anticipate reactions. It’ll become clear you can control the action and guide your partner to places you would like them to be without them knowing. Perhaps most importantly of all though, you’ll realize there are different energies/gears for different situations.
Let me elaborate.
There are times during a roll to be mellow. Times to chill and feel. Then there are the “get the fuck outa there moments”.
I recall my white belt sparring days; I would spar like a lunatic. This ended as you would expect – me completely done, dry heaving, and sweating profusely after the first round. I see it all the time with the new students I have. They use every bit of energy and intensity to muster any advantage in an attempt to “win”. Inevitably they hold their breath, strain, shake, and feel their heart rate skyrocket and their grips give out.
My point is that not only do you need to learn to be calm to get the most out of jiu-jitsu, but you can learn to use the techniques you’re trying to implement.
Grabbing, squeezing, pushing, and pulling like a madman will have you so stressed out and so hyped up, that all hope of technique goes out of the window. In a state of high stress like this, there are no motor skills or thoughts – just more chaos on the chaos.
Relax and Breathe, Breathe and Relax
Breath is the best metric of your calmness. If you’re panting and gasping for air through your mouth, it’s likely down to a mass need for oxygen due to inefficiency.
Breathing and relaxing, relaxing, and breathing during sparring is a must. When this becomes second nature, good things happen.
You’ll still get smashed. This isn’t some McDojo bullshit, but something special will happen. You’ll start to remember the movements and techniques under the duress of sparring. The more relaxed you remain, the more you’ll be able to feel and see and see and feel.
You’ll come to understand that the freaking out is actually putting blinkers on your training – obscuring your vision. Calming down, relaxing, and breathing will help you see clearly.
Putting Together a Plan: Three White Belt Sparring Tips
Tip number one for white belt sparring is as I mentioned above – breathe and relax, relax and breathe. Before you attempt anything else, learn to stay safe and find your calm. You’ll inevitably see things more clearly, trust me.
The second tip I will share with you is to try the moves you’re learning/focussing on/practising. I mean try them too. Not half-arsed, not wishy-washy, or casually, but commit to them. I’m not saying to go crazy. Nor am I saying try to kill your partner, but you do have to impose your will on your partner. Attempt your moves with intent and envision yourself completing your action in its entirety.
If you’re throwing up an armbar from closed guard, don’t trap the arm, open your guard and stop because you don’t think it will work – commit. Go, go, go. Start and finish the movement. If you’re passing guard, don’t stop halfway because it got a little tough, go, go, go – finish the move!
With your clarity and calmness of breath from tip one, add in intent, enthusiasm, and tenacity with tip two.
The final white belt sparring tip for today, number three, is to go into your sparring with a chosen set of movements. Jiu-jitsu is too broad, so narrow it down. You have been drilling a guard pass in class, then go into sparring with the intent to pass, secure a top pin, mount, and finish. Go away from the session with mental notes about where it was successful, where it faltered, where you fell short, and where it felt strong or weak. Become obsessive with getting that movement to work. Ask questions about it. Learn about it. Assess your data, return to the lab and experiment with it again, and see if the results differ and if so, better or worse.
Structuring your sessions and learning in this way will bring focus and confidence to your sparring and learning in general.
Trust me when I say, follow these three tips and you will succeed, quickly.
With number one brings clarity and calmness and tip two brings intent, enthusiasm, and tenacity, with tip three adds confidence and focus.
White Belt Sparring Tips Recap:
Relax and breathe – find clarity and calmness.
Try moves with purpose, intent, and tenacity.
Come in with a focus and obsess over it – systematic problem-solving is at the heart of this beautiful art of jiu jitsu.
White Belt Sparring Closing Thoughts
Hopefully, this has helped a little with those troubling white belt sparring days.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out something upon ending this though – that is, your best chance to find success with these white belt sparring tips is with your direct peers. You’re never going to catch a seasoned black belt because they have seen this before, time and time again for likely over a decade. This gets scaled back for the brown belts and purple belts, but the principle remains the same.
Focus on these tips and implement them diligently, but let it be known that tip two isn’t going to work on the higher-up guys. Tips one and three will last you a grappling lifetime though, so run with them.
Grappling is complicated and there are no clear-cut answers. Progression for each new student running through the dilemmas of white belt sparring will be different. That said, implementing the three tips outlined above will serve you well regardless of who you are.