Most jiu-jitsu beginners think that being stronger then the opponent will help them win. Contrarily to the common knowledge, this isn’t always exact. You can’t rely on pure athleticism to practice BJJ… What you can do is to start by learning the basic techniques and practice them as much as you can. Below are the six most common BJJ mistakes.
6 Common BJJ Mistakes you Should Avoid
Hip movement
One of the most common mistakes made by beginners in BJJ is that they do not move their hips. In case you have seen a BJJ tournament, for instance the Worlds, you will notice that the competitors in the high divisions have great hips movement. They use their hip movement to move away from locks and therefore preventing submissions. If your hips don’t move well, then none of your moves will work. If you’re a beginner, it will take a lot of work for you to start moving your hips properly, even years to do it like the top professionals.
For example, to escape side mount, you must shrimp out using hips and slide your knee in. To get away from the mount, by knocking up your hips up. If you want to get away from the half guard, you have to hurry your hips out to convey your knee out in order to pull guard.
The point here is that your hip is one of the most important parts of your body when it comes to BJJ. A few practitioners will figure out how to use the right hip action quickly, others might take more time. However, don’t get disheartened. Just invest the effort needed and you will see your BJJ techniques improved. For hip mobility check this LINK.
Elbows away from the body
In Jiu-Jitsu, position in which the elbow ought to be far from the body make you open to all sorts of attacks. Keeping your elbows close to you implies staying away from armbars, kimuras, and other submissions.
Terrible posture
The stance is something all the white belts need to focus on since the very first start. Great stance will spare you from being lopsided, cleared and submitted. You should figure out a way to hold your back straight when you are inside somebody’s guard.
Likewise, make sure to keep your toes twisted and stuck on the mat. This will keep you from being pushed easily. For more posture tips check this video.
Overlooking self-defense
Try not to overlook self-defense methods. Or, on the other hand, do you plan to end up plainly a black belt who doesn’t know how to escape a simple choke? Rehash the essentials toward the start of your training so you can warm up. You should make up to 30, 50 moves for each side, and then see your Jiu-Jitsu streaming significantly quicker.
Competition in training
You need to know that the mat of your gym is not meant for competition fighting areas alone. If you do that, you will be limiting your game. During your training, you have to drill, tap often, lose and with that learn. By losing, you will discover your weakness so that you can work on fixing them and become a complete fighter.
Look at your collar
In a sparing or competition, when your opponent attacks you with a choke, always try to put your chin on your chest and never look towards the collar. If you keep looking at your collar, you will eventually end up turning to the direction of the choke or making the choke even more effective. Take a look at your opponent’s elbow, then pull his arm and shoulder so you can relieve the pressure and then quickly rotate your hips in order to get the right to escape.
