White Belts – Fear Of The Unknown

Let’s face it, everybody cracks on white belts. But if you’re a white belt, we love you, we promise. We only make so many jokes because we’ve been there. We know what you’re going through, and we laugh because we went through the same things. That’s also the reason we invite you to classes, help you out while we roll, teach you cool moves, and work with you after class. Deep down inside, we want to see you succeed. We want to see you learn and grow. We want you to be just as passionate about jiu-jitsu as we are. And don’t worry, you’re not alone. The black belts clown on all the rest of us.

One of the most common things people point out about white belts is that at first, they tend to think jiu-jitsu is all about strength. Almost everyone who starts jiu-jitsu has this belief, and they try to use as much strength as they can to gain positions and get submissions. They’re trying to impose their will on their partner. After a while you realize that jiu-jitsu isn’t about trying to force your opponent to do what you want, it’s about adapting. You pressure your partner to make him move, to make a mistake, and then you exploit it to come out on top. A basic move we learn is the armbar from the mount. A lot of guys try to pull the arm up with all their strength and go for the armlock, but what do the experienced guys do? They just put all their weight onto you, and pressure you until you start to push up against them. Once you start extending those arms, all of a sudden you find yourself in an armbar. That’s jiu-jitsu.

So what is it that makes white belts rely on their strength? Well, obviously most of us have no concept of weight and leverage when we start jiu-jitsu. We have this preconceived notion that strength is how you get stuff (read: expletive) done. And that’s true to a certain point. Strength is how you get a lot of things done, but it’s not the most efficient. And jiu-jitsu is all about efficiency. When you really start to analyze how beginners roll, they use strength, yes, but even more than that, they use strength to hold on to a position. There are guys that use strength to get the submission, but white belts don’t know that many submissions. They’re not even sure of all the positions yet. So what happens when you see white belts roll? If they’re not trying to push you off or hold you down with all of their might, quite frankly, they just sit there. You know those guys that train and use lots of movement? They have a good flow? This is the complete opposite. A lot of beginners just hold on for dear life, using every ounce of strength possible. They’re afraid to give up they’re position, even if it’s a bad one. They don’t want to end up in an even worse position.

What it boils down to, is a fear of the unknown. They might be in side mount, squeezing the guy on top of them as tight as they can. They’re afraid to even try and escape – “what if he mounts me, what if he submits me?” They’re afraid of what might happen next. When I roll with some of my favorite training partners, there is a lot of movement. We might go through every position two or three times. We can do this because we’re not afraid of being submitted, or being in a bad spot. At a certain point, you realize that to get out of a position, you have to take a risk, and you might end up in an even worse position. After a while, you don’t fear giving up a position, even if it’s a good one, because you’re confident in your own ability to re-establish control.

So what do you do if you’re a white belt? How do you focus on technique instead of strength? You have to let go of the fear. Your guard will get passed, and you will get submitted. I absolutely guarantee it. It happens to everyone, and it will continue to happen to you even if you become a black belt. Tapping out is not a big deal. Neither is someone getting good position on you. Don’t focus on submissions and positions, focus on transitions. This is probably the best thing for white belts to do. If you can transition from position to position with relative ease, even if you’re in a bad position you’ll know how to get out. This will force you to become comfortable in all positions. There’s no need to practice submissions when you still can’t control a position. You can keep trying to kimura people from sidemount, but if you can’t keep a person in sidemount, it’s kind of pointless.

If you’re a white belt, chances are you’ll be on your back a lot. That’s fine, work on transitioning from sidemount, to half guard, to full guard to mount. If you get mount and get swept right away, it’s okay. Don’t try and hold on to mount with everything you’ve got, watching as your opponent slowly escapes. Move to another position! Go to sidemount, go to knee on belly. If someone has you in sidemount, go to turtle. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but learning lots of movement and how to easily transition in and out of positions will help you out later on in your jiu-jitsu career. If you move a lot, you force your opponent to constantly react to what you’re doing. You’re creating pressure through constant motion, and creating opportunities for yourself. Once the element of fear is eliminated, your training will have a lot of back and forth movement, instead of staying in the same position. Once that happens, you’ll realize how fun jiu-jitsu really is.

Oss! See you on the mat.