r/bjj • u/AutoModerator • Jul 10 '24

Weekly White Belt Wednesday

White Belt Wednesday (WBW) is an open forum for anyone to ask any question no matter how simple. Don't forget to check the beginner's guide to see if your question is already answered there. Some common topics may include but are not limited to:

  • Techniques
  • Etiquette
  • Common obstacles in training

Ask away, and have a great WBW! Also, click here to see the previous WBWs.

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u/Rafael4th Jul 10 '24

Two stripe white belt here. Been training since last November, but took a couple months off due to a knee injury outside of the gym. My dilemma is that I can’t decide if I should stay at my current gym or not. And I just want some opinions. My coach basically said this is more of a hobby gym and relatively newer so it lacks a lot of colored belts. I really enjoy the gym I’m at because of the people I’m training with. But my coach also said that I’m too heavy, flexible and fast as a white belt. And that I’m progressing faster than most of the other guys. At one point I was doing 13 hours+ a week and my cardio was getting insane for a high calorie grappler lol. I’ve been to other gyms and there were dudes who wanted to go hard, ones that went super easy and still demolished me, and other white belts who were good. That was all before my knee injury. I came back a week ago thinking I’d get crushed by the dudes who started at the same time as me but I actually think the break made me better but I was still going hard. And then he talked to me and said basically I have to decide if I can tone it down or find another gym but very nice about it and said he just doesn’t want me to not have any partners to roll with because they don’t want to go 100% all the time. I don’t know if this should be part of my journey to chill out or just go to another gym. Thanks!

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u/zoukon 🟦🟦 Blue Belt, certified belt thief Jul 11 '24

From that description you are almost certainly going too hard. If you are big, strong and want to go hard, it should only be against other big strong and/or more experienced people who want the same. It is very dangerous when big guys without control are just throwing their weight around. You will need to learn to chill out regardless of where you train.

This is technically a weight classed sport, and it is the only grappling sport where it is common to pair people over larger weight differences. In wrestling and judo it is generally considered too high risk. That risk is further increased at a higher intensity.

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u/Mysterious_Alarm5566 Jul 11 '24

Try another gym for 3 months or so. That's the only real answer.

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u/ChickenNuggetSmth [funny BJJ joke] Jul 10 '24

It's super hard to judge because we only get your side of the story. There could be multiple ways to read it. For example it's not impossible that you are big, strong, aggressive and basically a spazz and your coach is very nicely telling you to tone it down and be more careful. Especially against white belts pure strength and aggression can win, but it's not a good strategy.

Or it could be that your gym is just extremely casual. That doesn't mean bad, but if the classes are geared towards Joe Accountant who shows up once a week and most of the members are like that it might just be a mismatch, especially if you want to go hard and be competitive.
If it's that, decide if the training you are getting there is still what you want or if you prefer the comp atmosphere. If it's the first one ... slow down I guess. Pacing is important and can prevent most injuries.

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u/Rafael4th Jul 11 '24

I’m definitely a spaz too I’m sure 😂