Black Belt 1: When I was training with my good friend -------------- (its a black belt world champion), about 2-3 months before a major tournament, I would see him roll close to twenty times in one night.
Black Belt 2: Oh yeah, well its easy to roll twenty times in one night when you're always winning.
(everyone laughs)
Although this was just a casual conversation, it allowed me to see that a jiu-jitsu player's biggest weapon is not his/her encyclopedia of techniques, but his/her ability to conserve energy by limiting their movements and executing proper technique. To be honest, nobody should even be doing crazy guards and cartwheel passes, because those aren't as efficient as the simple techniques.
Go in any gym and just watch each belt level spar starting from white to black. I guarantee you 9 times out of 10 you will notice the higher belts will have far more energy than the lower belts, even if they just ate an Outlaw burger before class and smoked 30 cigarettes. Its all due to a higer efficiency rating, with black belts being at the top.
How many times have you seen a guy rolling with someone with a good open guard and they immediately start by holding their arms so tight to their side that they have a vein popping out their head? Meanwhile, you look over at the black belt and he's passing guard like he passes gas, easy...second nature...didn't even break a sweat. Or how about when you roll with a black belt and you feel like you are in quicksand, and he is on the phone talking to his wife.......sigh.
How can I get to the point where I can talk on the phone while rolling?
Of course the first answer that pops in anyone's head is mat time, but let's dig a little deeper. As humans, our bodies (blame it on our bodies) tend to want to always cheat a little bit in any given task. Carry a shitload of bags up a few flight of stairs and I guarantee you will stop a hundred times to figure out a way to make it easier or less strenuous . We do the same thing in jiu-jitsu, not knowing that with enough practice and drilling of a particular technique, our bodies will eventually become naturally efficient at it. Instead as mentioned earlier, we do some weird shiet (maybe because we are freaking out or spazzing) that seems easier at first but really it is expending way more energy than we think. Before you know it, you are laying in a pool of your own sweat watching the steam blow of your head.
Here are some tips to improve your efficiency:
1. Drilling makes things like efficiency develop faster: When you roll, believe it or not, you are fighting for your life...especially in this sport. So it is really hard, unless you have been training a long time, to do techniques correctly. The muscle memory isn't all the way there. Getting a move into your muscle memory helps cease all unnecessary movement. So drill.
2. Staying calm and controlling your breathing: I rolled with a white belt the other day who had the veins popping out his head and everything. The fool wasn't even breathing let alone moving. This is the number one way to burn energy fast, and once your juice runs out you forget jiu jitsu and go into survival mode. This is why you see even the most experienced competitors die in the ring within the first minute. Don't let this happen to you. Stay loose and breath.
3. Conditioning: Jiu-jitsu is great exercise, but just showing up to class and rolling 2-3x a week won't get you the conditioning that you need. Supplement your BJJ with high intensity circuit training or something like it. Remember, the more gas you have in the tank, the farther you can drive. Nobody likes that guy that can only go for 2 minutes before he coughs up a lung.
4. Paying attention in class and ask questions: How else will you know how to do that sweep that doesn't involve the little kick you somehow added to it? By actively listening in class and asking questions on how to do a move correctly. It is imperative that we learn how to do moves correctly, or else drilling is pointless. If you are trying to emulate what Professor Charlie is doing, but it takes you 8 minutes and takes him 8 seconds...ask him what he is doing that you are not. Simple.
5. Train: Mat time will eventually fix everything. 10,000 hours.
I still spaz out like a dog under a blanket at times too, it is natural, especially when you have no idea what you are doing in a certain position. Hopefully, these little tips and hints will help someone out there or at least encourage them to think a little more about why they are not as efficient as they can be and what they can do to fix it. Thanks for reading.
