So, at many schools of BJJ, like mine, there are different classes that focus on different things. At our school, we have a fundamentals class and an intermediate class that run four and five days a week respectively. We also have an advanced/competitor class that runs once a week. I've seen a trend at my school however and I'm curious about every one's thought process behind which classes they attend. It may have something to do with the times and scheduling conflicts, which are often unavoidable, but I wonder if there is more to it than that.
I often attend the fundamentals class throughout the week, and will attend the intermediate class on Fridays. Occasionally, I will stay after the fundamentals class during the week to get an extra Intermediate day in. For the most part however, I am a fundamentals kind of guy. Now, it's important to understand that unlike many gyms, our gym has a curriculum that it sticks to pretty religiously. The Fundamentals class consists of about 25 lessons, each containing 3-5 techniques, while the Intermediate class is about 30 lessons with about the same number of techniques. One major advantage to the intermediate class, is that they do roll a lot more than the fundamentals class, but the fundamentals class isn't really designed for that.
So the question comes, at what point do I start transitioning to focus more on the intermediate class. Of course, many of buddies try to get me to stay more often for the intermediate class, and many of them don't attend the fundamentals class anymore. I'm just not sure why. Both today and yesterday, we went over some things in class that I'm very familiar with, and could talk you through pretty easily (I've been through the entire curriculum several times), but I found myself wondering why, after seeing them so many times before have I not mastered these techniques, and why have I not included them in my game? I think the answer is really pretty simple, despite seeing them every few weeks, I still don't have enough reps on them to make their execution automatic and almost subconscious.
I think this is why I will still be attending the fundamentals class for a while. I personally, would rather master the fundamentals curriculum before adding too many techniques to a library that can't yet handle them all (my brain) and end up confusing some of the finer details. At the same time however, I do think it's important to see more things. I think that exposure in a sport like this is very important. Until you are faced with something new, you will never recognize the need to learn about it. So should I instead be flooding my brain with a million different techniques? Do I need to turn my focus 100% to the Berimbolo just because its all the rage right now on the BJJ scene? Or is it more important that I base my Jiu Jitsu in fundamentals. In techniques that are tried and true?
I think the answer to the dilemma, is the later. I think that more people in the sport should recognize that you have to have a strong foundation in order to progress. Otherwise, all of your Jiu Jitsu will be weak. I know a lot of schools still teach sporadic techniques without any form of curriculum, students come to class, get taught whatever techniques their instructor wants to teach them that day, and they roll. I think the problem with not having structure like this though, is that you may NEVER practice those techniques again. Unless it is something that you really liked, that you had a knack for right off the bat, you are almost immediately going to forget it. Certainly by the following week, and your instructor is certainly not going to remember every technique that he taught you.
So, as a family man, my ability to train is often limited by family obligations. I would like to train a lot more, but I think that for now I'm alright just training the fundamentals, because like I said, I haven't mastered them yet. Maybe I never will master them, but the more reps I get on them, the closer I will get to mastering them. And they are all good techniques both for self-defense and competition.
Happy rolling, remember, your support is motivating!
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