BJJ Training

I started training in BJJ about 4 months ago.  I basically make it to a gym about 2-3 times/wk.  The first hour is 15 min warmups, then 45 min learning and repping some different techniques.  The next hr is open gym.  I usually do about 30-40 mins of repping some technique or position I'm trying to get better at and then 20-30 mins of rolling.

My question is: what have you found to be the most effective use of your time in terms of training?  How do you break down your training time?  What are some of the things that worked really well for you when you were starting out in terms of helping you improve?

Also, did you read technique books or use on-line resources that helped you?  What do you recommend? 

So, I know this is a lot - basically, I'm looking for solid tips on BJJ training for beginners.  Any help would be appreciated.

Awesome website, btw.

i've been training bjj about four years under renzo gracie, on average about twice a week.  the class sessions are similar to yours, except the open mat portion of your class is built into our sessions, which run 90 mins with the last third generally set aside for grappling.  and more than anything else, i think it's the actual mat time spent grappling that is the most important, by far.  i think it's also good to train with guys of different skill levels.  while it's obviously good to challenge yourself against better competition, i also think it's valuable to train with weaker opponents.  they will do things that surprise you, and remind you that not every opponent will react to the same situation the same way.  it's also a confidence booster to see your techniques working and get to finish people, which is rare when you train with guys of equal and better skill levels.

eddie bravo's books are excellent -- check out 'mastering the rubber guard' -- the 10th planet system is quite different from traditional Brazilian style techniques.  i recommend any book by any gracie -- i have a couple from renzo and royler, and one from royler and helio.  the machado brothers write good bjj instructionals too.  and online, check out some of demian maia's instructional clips on youtube -- he breaks things down really well and it's eye opening to see how fine-grained his understanding of the human body is.  i'm sure the dvds he sells are excellent, but i don't own any.

I have not been I big person on books or videos. My biggest thing is live rolling and competing at as many tournaments as possible. Rolling with different people from different schools will help you improve rather than banking on improvement by comparing yourself to the person that may have started around the same time as you. There are many tangibles that goes into this.

I have hardly any training under a BJJ specialist, coming from mainly a striking background. I did compete in the NAGA Championships in New England in the Novice division this past Summer, but was submitted. I didn't realize people cut so much weight for grappling competitions.

While I don't have too much pure BJJ experience, I have a lot of experience fighting in amateur kickboxing and training in general. I personally don't use any books or videos for techniques, however, I do think it's valuable to read martial philosophy books or just philosophical topics in general for the mental aspect of the game, which is freakin huge, as I'm sure anyone on this site who competes will tell you.

With that said, as Jeremy said, I believe repping the techniques in live sessions is very important, and it is important to fight opponents both worse and better than you. In terms of striking, it can be more disconcerting to get lit up on the feet against a faster and stronger opponent, so it is important to spar with weaker/slower opponents as well to get some confidence.

Interesting that you guys recommend rolling with weaker opponents sometimes; I never would have thought of that as traditional wisdom is you should always try to roll with people slightly better.  Agreed that so far, in my admittedly very limited experience, live grappling has proved most useful. 

Skelliher, what books do you recommend on martial arts philosophy?

The school I train out of starts with a warm up, practicing/learning technique and then about an hour of rolling. Class usually lasts close to 2 hours. The technique portion of the class is usually a move or two ending in a submission.
I dont know if there is any single aspect of that class that is more beneficial than the rest. there are a lot of different styles out there. Another school I used to train at focused more on running drills and repetition. Part of that was useful but I personally feel I have improved in my skills more through live rolling. Rolling with a variety of people is very useful. When i roll with people I am better than it does build my confidence but that is only because I am given a better chance to attempt and pull new moves i have been working on. When rolling with people more skilled than I am i feel I learn new moves all time as well as getting a lot more practice working on my escapes. Most of the higher level people who train at the same school as me are very helpful and willing to help me learn. I ask lots of questions and some of them will given me live instruction while training. The live instruction is when I feel I learn the most.