5 Common BJJ Beginner Mistakes and How to Overcome Them

Are you a beginner in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu feeling overwhelmed by the learning curve? 

You’re not alone. Many BJJ beginners make common mistakes that can hold back their progress. 

From focusing too much on speed and strength, to neglecting the importance of rest and recovery, these mistakes can be detrimental to your training. 

But don’t worry, with the right mindset and approach, you can avoid these pitfalls and excel in your BJJ journey. 

In this blog post, we’ll be diving into the top 5 mistakes every beginner makes in BJJ, and providing practical tips on how to overcome them. 

If you read through to the end, you’ll save yourself wasted time and unnecessary struggle, and will enjoy the start of your bjj journey much more. 

Let’s go! 

Beginner mistake #1 in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu  – Go hard or go home

As a beginner in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it’s easy to fall into the trap of going all-out and using brute force.

 But, in reality, BJJ is a sport that relies heavily on technique, leverage, and strategy.

 It’s important to remember that just because you may be physically stronger or faster, that doesn’t always translate to winning on the mat.

where does the aggression come from? 

When we’re new we might associate fighting with aggression.

Thats understandable, if we consider how humans like all animals have had to fight for survival with intense furiosity to escape the predators talons and teeth. 

When we consider fighting not from a survival perspective, but from a standpoint of learning and self development on the other hand.. 

That same aggression that help us survive, will hold our progress and learning back. 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a sport where athleticism has a major role, but you can pit a relatively tiny person against an armwrestler heavyweight monster:

And the outcome is obvious, at least for anyone who has done Jiu jitsu for a while. 

It is obvious because zahabi has learned Jiu jitsu, and how to take his aggression and utilize better tools, such as leverage, timing, strategy, angles, pressure, tightness, and everything else we learn in Jiu jitsu. 

Devon on the other hand, does what most  Jiu jitsu newbies do. He has only the headlock he learned in school and his (otherworldly) strength, but still falls short. 

Under the same category of things we need to do less of as complete beginners of Jiu jitsu, is speed and strength. 

Both speed, strength, and a controlled and calculated afression, are invaluable tools in a competitive situation. 

But this is the thing:

As a beginner in Jiu jitsu, it’s too soon to test your limits by going all in, and going full rtrd.

You need the Fundamentals first. 

You will have to work and learn and unlearn a lot, before you can safely experience the joy of releasing all breaks and do full on hard competition level fighting. 

Until then, work on learning how to move your body, when to tap, when to counter, when to get back to half guard, and learn to breathe. 

In short, when you have taken your first bjj class, it’s important to take the time to learn the fundamentals and develop a solid base before trying to test your limits and go all-out. 

With patience and dedication, you’ll be able to safely experience the joy of full-on competition level bjj class in the future.

BJJ beginner mistake #2 – not taking rest days 

As a beginner in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (also ironically called the gentle art) , or any grappling martial arts, it’s important to remember that rest is just as important as training. 

This is probably not an issue for complete martial arts beginners, but it definitely applies to everyone who has Been infected by the “mat bug” and go to BJJ training more often than their body can tolerate. 

This is a big differentiator between a professional. Martial arts athlete, and an white belt amateur/enthusiast.:

Okympic level athletes put as much weight on recovery as they do on training hard. 

They would never get away with loving by the popular bjj  phrase “every day porrada”, because of this simple fact:

The BJJ Training breaks you down. 

Recovery builds you up stronger. 

Rest, recovery, nutrition,yoga, sleep, hydration, stretching, and unwinding the mind, is as important to your progress as lifting weights and working the stair master. 

In addition to rest days, new students / white belts starting bjj also prioritize things like nutrition, yoga, sleep, hydration, stretching, and mental unwinding.

It’s essential for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu beginners to take at least one day a week completely off from hard physical exertion. 

This means no sparring, no drilling, no heavy lifting. Instead, opt for a chilled yoga class or a forest hike as an alternative to “every day porrada” 

In short, as a beginner in BJJ, it’s important to remember that rest and recovery are just as important as training hard. 

Prioritize taking time off to allow your body to recover, and make sure you’re also taking care of yourself in other ways, such as through good nutrition and sleep. 

By doing so, you’ll be able to train harder and make more progress in the long run

BJJ class beginner mistake #3: focusing on the opponent 

When you’re new to no gi, or BJJ in general , it’s easy to get caught up in worrying about what your training partners is going to do. But this is a common mistake, and can actually hold you back in your development. 

Focusing on what your training partners are doing is not something you should do in your first class, but rather one of those things that can be incorporated much later in your bjj development. 

What you need to do when you’re new is learning fundamental positions, how to move your body efficiently, without spending excessive energy. 

Your biggest problem in bjj when you’re new, might seem to be your training partners trying to Choke you unconscious. 

But, we argue, that your biggest opponent of your bjj game is your own mind, attitude, and restricted movement options. 

Leaving the mindset discussion for its own, in depth series, the topic of body control, fancy name proprioception, is as underrated for beginners /a white belt as basic positions. 

For new students, doing summersaults and push-ups is not preparing you for Jiu jitsu techniques like hip escapes, or even basic bjj positions like armbar from closed guard. 

What nobody tells bjj beginners , is that moving effortlessly with intention, is one of the keys to mastering jiujitsu. Nobody, except us of course. 

YogaforBJJ and bulletproof BJJ are two examples of services that specialize in helping bjj beginners learn how to move. 

Doing a slow, carefully designed, training session with the intent of mastering the transitions between bjj techniques, is priming you for training bjj,and extend your grappling career. 

Remember, your office job or modern lifestyle may not be very conducive to great martial art ability, so you’ll need to make a conscious effort to work on mobility and body control in order to train BJJ well. 

Grappling martial arts Beginner’s mistake #4 – high expectations / short time frame 

As a beginner in a martial art , it’s important to remember that progress takes time. Only about 1 in 1000 people who start BJJ end up getting a black belt, and for most people it takes at least 10 years of consistent training to achieve this level of mastery in this martial art. 

We think we know why:

Aside from injuries and life priorities, one of the biggest reasons people quit this martial art before their blue belt is very likely that they set their expectations too high. 

On average, getting a bjj black belt takes 10 years. 

Even just a Stripe on your belt might take 6 months to a year depending on how regularly you show up. 

This is vastly different compared to other martial arts like taekwondoo, where you graduate at least yearly. 

This fact, coupled with an inflated self confidence or just impatience, is probably one of the most common reasons why bjj beginners quit jiu jitsu. 

Apart from bjj  belts and graduations, learning bjj techniques like a triangle Choke, rear naked Choke, or guard techniques like closed guard or a basic guard pass well, and have it work consistently on different styles and skill levels, can take bjj students 3-5 years. 

3-5 years.. In that time you could get a university education, or 3 kids! No wonder bjj beginners give up because they feel untalented when they keep getting hammered in someone’s closed guard after 7 months of bjj classes. 

It’s important for bjj beginners to remember that getting a black belt BJJ is a lifelong journey and progress is not always linear. Progress for bjj beginners takes time and consistent effort, so it’s important to have patience and to celebrate small wins along the way

BJJ is not something you master overnight, and progress for bjj beginners might seem ridiculously slow, unless… 

you have a relevant background. 

And that’s a perfect bridge to our last point for this post:

Bjj beginner mistake #5 – Comparing yourself to others

When you’re doing your first month at the bjj beginners class, you will definitely see that some advanced students are excelling at the sport, and take to the challenges like a duck to water. 

What this does to BJJ beginners, is that instead of inspiring us, it demotivates us and makes us consider our own lack of talent. 

This is a common mistake and unfortunate in more ways than one. 

When we consider it, it’s obvious that bjj beginners have different starting points and backgrounds. 

It’s important to remember that every student that start training comes to BJJ with their own unique background, experience and life situation that can affect their progress. 

Some may have prior self defense or martial arts experience, an athletic background, or physical advantages that may make their journey seem easier. 

Some have busy life commitments such as work and family, while others have unlimited time to binge watch bjj Fanatics DVDs on rear naked Choke, playing guard, fundamental techniques and will always know more techniques than you. 

Comparing yourself to these bjj students would be a common mistake unfair to yourself and to them, as everyone’s journey is unique and progress at different rates

To combat these negative effects of this common mistake comparing apples to oranges, 

it’s a better idea to focus on your own path in BJJ and be ok with improving at your own pace. 

Instead of getting frustrated by the achievements of your peers, try to enjoy their successes and use them as motivation to learn more techniques and work harder on your own BJJ journey.

You could also try to see their improvement as a resource, since they more than likely will be happy and flattered by you asking them for advice on how to get to a dominant position, how to attack the turtle position, control escape, hip escape, over under pass sweep from spider guard so well. 

 It’s also important to concentrate on gratitude for the progress you have made and for the support of your coaches and training partners. Nobody learns bjj by themselves. 

Remember that everyone progresses at different rates and that BJJ is a lifelong journey of continuous improvement, so stay focused on your own goals and enjoy the process.

In conclusion, as a beginner in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it’s good to remember that progress takes time. 

By being aware common mistakes such as going all-out and using brute force, neglecting rest and recovery, and comparing yourself to others, you set yourself up for success and fun times. 

Because let’s face it, watching a mosquito submit a heavyweight monster is just too funny!