How do you organize your jiujitsu knowledge?

My solution has been to try to connect all ideas in to a unified theory. So all new instructionals are just tweaks and refining previos knowledge.

crossover, post: 61351, member: 10990

My solution has been to try to connect all ideas in to a unified theory. So all new instructionals are just tweaks and refining previos knowledge.

I find myself having a much easier time retaining something if I actively try to use what I’ve learned in upcoming classes. I also try to stick with one position or submission or concept at a time. Of course eventually stuff gets lost along the way so I like to rewatch and reread videos and books every now and than to refresh myself.

I may not be the most accomplished person in the room but I am trying to develop my A game in every position. I always do the same routine, then some adjustments as opportunity comes and just try to study and apply what I think is applicable. There's really too much to study out there, If anything fails, I go turtle or tap. lol.

gregflanders, post: 61354, member: 16104

Very interesting, could you elaborate?

gregflanders, post: 61354, member: 16104

Very interesting, could you elaborate?

gregflanders, post: 61354, member: 16104

Very interesting, could you elaborate?

I just started so I obviously don’t have the extensive knowledge that you have, but I write down notes once I get in the car after training and I go back later to asses what I should look into. I already have a notebook that is filling up. I can only imagine all of the content you have.

I try to drill down to the core mechanics that actually make the technique work or fail and look for other places the same mechanics are employed.
For example all strangles basically work the same way, by putting pressure on the carotid. Understanding this helps me to quickly diagnose why a new strangle technique I'm learning is working or not working for me so I can correct or improve my technique. This also helps cut down on the amount of separate things to learn.

crossover, post: 61391, member: 10990

I use Rop Biernacki's approach mixed with SBG.

Rob Biernacki has a YT channel. It’s a good place to start and ofcourse he has a primium site. SBG should be easy to dind also. It’s just one way to group concepts. Every one has a system. For me Rob and SBG just tells it in a very understandable way.

I don’t think I am the right person to go deeper to their systems. It’s always better to learn from the source.

Check out Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer. It’s a book about memory and it’s almost scary how well the retention techniques work

I'm thinking a lot about this having just graded brown belt. I will be assisting in teaching our kids in the future and obviously teaching forces you to work it out in a way that can be worked. I'll let you know when I make progress on it. One thing to beware of is that the cycle of unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence to unconscious competence can be quite discouraging until you realise that conscious incompetence and competence is still progress! If I make it to black belt I already know that in a way it is one ongoing learning and adaptive journey and there will always be more to hone and learn. My personal inspiration is Roger Gracie who imposed his game on everyone using things we ' learn' by blue belt but doing it so perfectly that it is unstoppable. I'm focusing on GG as my only ongoing resource .

I did use the Grapple Flow on here, but they seem to have disappeared.

boulge, post: 61986, member: 18527

I did use the Grapple Flow on here, but they seem to have disappeared.

Blue belt here. Right now my priorities are 80% defense, 20% Standing defense. I have a google docs document where I put in my own words what I learn from GG or dvd's so I can picture easily in my head what I learned. It's organized by Categories: (position escapes, submission escapes, guard retention, judo, wrestling). It's very minimalistic and raw but it works for me.

In the future I would like to make my own Flashcard set with these topics. Just need a graphic designer to work with.
Can you pass me your excel sheets and index cards (if digital) please? I'm sure I'd find them useful.

Cheers,

gregflanders, post: 61348, member: 16104

Just got my purple belt, and I'm still frusterated with my inability to keep it all together. I've tried paper journals, Evernote, Excel to track my DVDs, GG flowcharts, little index cards to bring with me to class. I've got hundreds of hours of DVD content on my hard drive, I've got videos streaming from BJJ Fanatics, GG, Judo Fanatics, Wrestling Fanatics, and youtube. I've got reddit saves, facebook saves, and probably other systems I've already forgotten about. Luckily I never went down the instagram rabbit hole..

What do you do with all your thoughts, notes, dear diary entries, your DVD collections, etc.

How do you make sense of the madness. How do you drink from the fire hose?

I suppose my body is slowly picking up what it can, and forgetting the rest, but I can't help thinking I'm just wasting my time with trying to keep it all organized.

Any help?

As a Purple Belt, I’d assume you have your fundamentals down. Now you just need to find what your game is and expound working on those techniques and chain them if you can.

crossover, post: 61913, member: 10990

Rob Biernacki has a YT channel. It’s a good place to start and ofcourse he has a primium site. SBG should be easy to dind also. It’s just one way to group concepts. Every one has a system. For me Rob and SBG just tells it in a very understandable way.

I don’t think I am the right person to go deeper to their systems. It’s always better to learn from the source.

Need to make things instinctual. If you think, you're slow, if you're slow you use strength, if you use strength you tire, of you tire you're dead.

Take what works, discard what doesn't, add something uniquely your own.

Both these quotes can be applied by breaking your training into meso and macro cycles. Dedicate your training to a few concepts for a month. Then do a few different concepts for the next month. If you keep the thread going, in a year you can develop more than most do in 3-5 years. Focus and build mastery.

Don't be afraid to scrap stuff that doesn't fit your game. At least be willing to put it on the shelf for later. Think in terms of concepts. Just started getting back in after many years away and breaking out the books and finally using this site. Thinking conceptually is common in all those sources. Jason talks about it in fundamentals.

Best of luck in your training.

I'm purple as well. I've used the notepad on my iphone to list techniques from class, but I generally forget them within a couple of classes. Lately I've found a technique that helps me. I'll watch a technique on Instagram, then before class, I'll drill it with a partner. The same goes for any new technique I learn. I try to use them before or after the NEXT class. I've found that by doing this, I can recognize them when I'm rolling. Also, think about the signal or entry to the technique. For instance, if you see your opponent's hand on the mat, it's the signal for a possible kimura. I'm still not chaining my moves together well, but when I see a particular signal, I just go for whichever move is appropriate. Lastly, I'll pick something to work on during rolling. Recently I've been working on improving my side-control escapes. Yes, I'll let them pass my guard. Ha ha.. I have a habit of using the same technique time after time so this time, I'll try a few new ones during the roll. That way, the roll is productive even if I don't submit them. I've tried these new techniques (and many times) succeeded in escaping. That's a win for me and helps cement the move in my memory. Good luck!

I have < 2 years experience in the sport so take this for what it's worth.

This has been something I struggled with from day 1. Understanding is about building an interconnected and cohesive web of knowledge. You can know a hundred jiujitsu techniques or concepts. Without understanding if and how they relate, your understanding will suffer. This is applicable outside of jiujitsu.

To start your web, you need some foundations. In the very beginning, I used Stephan Kesting's BJJ Roadmap. Here I learned the different positions and their place in the positional hierarchy. Next, I wanted to learn a couple techniques from each of those positions. This site's fundamentals course was very useful for that. Stephan Kesting and Rob Biernaki's "The BJJ Formula" taught me the concepts of jiujitsu. I supplemented that with the concepts courses on this site. While drilling in class, I'd try to break down the technique using the Biernaki method. With this, I was able to develop a strategy for what techniques I wanted to do in each position. During class, I'd see which positions and techniques felt right for me at my current skill level and body type. If they felt right or I thought they were cool, I'd try to use them during rolls. Some classes I knew I wasn't ready to integrate the technique into my game. I'd still drill them to have a basic understanding of how another player might.

My web was taking shape, but still pretty haphazard. This is to be expected, especially in the beginning. I'm not a professional competitor. I'm not a teacher. I do this for fun!

Of course, I still wanted to build an interconnected and cohesive web of knowledge. Lucky for me, I found Lachlan Giles here on the Grappler's Guide. He doesn't just teach techniques from a position. He shows you the path and why you'd want to take this path. He shows how your opponent may try to counter you and how to troubleshoot those problems. His instructionals are the epitome of an interconnected and cohesive web of knowledge. Giles is the gold standard for organized jiujitsu.

That's all fine and dandy, but at the end of the day, you have to make it your own. To do that, I take various kinds of notes. I take free form notes while watching instructionals and after class. I journal from time to time, noting what worked, what didn't, and problems I ran into during rolling. I'll make mind maps, similar to the aforementioned grapple flows. None of this with perfect consistency. Again, I do this for fun.

Watching instructional and taking notes helps the mind. But then I have to teach my body to do what my mind "knows". This is a matter of some drilling, but primarily trial and error during rolls. I don't do a lot of drilling. It's boring and you don't get real skill acquisition without variation and resistance. This is why positional sparring works a million times better than mere drilling. I go out of my way to roll with people who have less experience than me and are near or lower in weight. With them, I try to force a given situation so I can practice what I've learned.

My goal with watching instructionals and taking notes is to go through the learning cycle.

1. Unconscious Incompetence: my natural state
2. Conscious Incompetence: watching instructionals
3. Conscious Competence: positional sparring and light rolls
4. Unconscious Competence: hard rolls or competition

Form a foundation. Integrate what works from a couple experts and make it your own. Ignore everything else.

kimbah805, post: 61362, member: 31337

I find myself having a much easier time retaining something if I actively try to use what I’ve learned in upcoming classes. I also try to stick with one position or submission or concept at a time. Of course eventually stuff gets lost along the way so I like to rewatch and reread videos and books every now and than to refresh myself.

jprichter, post: 62245, member: 27333

I have < 2 years experience in the sport so take this for what it's worth.

This has been something I struggled with from day 1. Understanding is about building an interconnected and cohesive web of knowledge. You can know a hundred jiujitsu techniques or concepts. Without understanding if and how they relate, your understanding will suffer. This is applicable outside of jiujitsu.

To start your web, you need some foundations. In the very beginning, I used Stephan Kesting's BJJ Roadmap. Here I learned the different positions and their place in the positional hierarchy. Next, I wanted to learn a couple techniques from each of those positions. This site's fundamentals course was very useful for that. Stephan Kesting and Rob Biernaki's "The BJJ Formula" taught me the concepts of jiujitsu. I supplemented that with the concepts courses on this site. While drilling in class, I'd try to break down the technique using the Biernaki method. With this, I was able to develop a strategy for what techniques I wanted to do in each position. During class, I'd see which positions and techniques felt right for me at my current skill level and body type. If they felt right or I thought they were cool, I'd try to use them during rolls. Some classes I knew I wasn't ready to integrate the technique into my game. I'd still drill them to have a basic understanding of how another player might.

My web was taking shape, but still pretty haphazard. This is to be expected, especially in the beginning. I'm not a professional competitor. I'm not a teacher. I do this for fun!

Of course, I still wanted to build an interconnected and cohesive web of knowledge. Lucky for me, I found Lachlan Giles here on the Grappler's Guide. He doesn't just teach techniques from a position. He shows you the path and why you'd want to take this path. He shows how your opponent may try to counter you and how to troubleshoot those problems. His instructionals are the epitome of an interconnected and cohesive web of knowledge. Giles is the gold standard for organized jiujitsu.

That's all fine and dandy, but at the end of the day, you have to make it your own. To do that, I take various kinds of notes. I take free form notes while watching instructionals and after class. I journal from time to time, noting what worked, what didn't, and problems I ran into during rolling. I'll make mind maps, similar to the aforementioned grapple flows. None of this with perfect consistency. Again, I do this for fun.

Watching instructional and taking notes helps the mind. But then I have to teach my body to do what my mind "knows". This is a matter of some drilling, but primarily trial and error during rolls. I don't do a lot of drilling. It's boring and you don't get real skill acquisition without variation and resistance. This is why positional sparring works a million times better than mere drilling. I go out of my way to roll with people who have less experience than me and are near or lower in weight. With them, I try to force a given situation so I can practice what I've learned.

My goal with watching instructionals and taking notes is to go through the learning cycle.

1. Unconscious Incompetence: my natural state
2. Conscious Incompetence: watching instructionals
3. Conscious Competence: positional sparring and light rolls
4. Unconscious Competence: hard rolls or competition

This last bit is much less sexy, but it's critical. It's very easy to get distracted. There's instagram, how-tos on youtube, a plethora of knowledge on this site and bjjfanatics. Pick a couple people that speak your language and stick with them long enough to soak in their approach. This helps with both connection and cohesion. When you learn an armbar, then a buggy choke and later a turtle escape from randos, your knowledge is going to be unorganized.

Form a foundation. Integrate what works from a couple experts and make it your own. Ignore everything else.

I am playing with a program call Notion that is very similar to Evernote for trying to document my Jiu Jitsu game.

Trying to create a personal Jiu Jitsu hub for the following

• Class notes and techniques
• DVD collections linked to notes around individual techniques
• Jiu Jitsu Goals - Long term and short term
• Instructors and people in Jiu Jitsu. Will be able to pull up techniques by my instructor, someone on youtube or online, or through products I have purchased by instructors.

[URL unfurl="true"]https://fog-reaction-f34.notion.site/Grappling-Notebook-97701aea14184f4a97dd6e0e8ef9d6af

If you are interested in notion, https://notion.so

I seeded it with minimal data but give me feedback if you like it (or dont).

gregflanders, post: 61348, member: 16104

Just got my purple belt, and I'm still frusterated with my inability to keep it all together. I've tried paper journals, Evernote, Excel to track my DVDs, GG flowcharts, little index cards to bring with me to class. I've got hundreds of hours of DVD content on my hard drive, I've got videos streaming from BJJ Fanatics, GG, Judo Fanatics, Wrestling Fanatics, and youtube. I've got reddit saves, facebook saves, and probably other systems I've already forgotten about. Luckily I never went down the instagram rabbit hole..

What do you do with all your thoughts, notes, dear diary entries, your DVD collections, etc.

How do you make sense of the madness. How do you drink from the fire hose?

I suppose my body is slowly picking up what it can, and forgetting the rest, but I can't help thinking I'm just wasting my time with trying to keep it all organized.

Any help?

gregflanders, post: 61348, member: 16104

Just got my purple belt, and I'm still frusterated with my inability to keep it all together. I've tried paper journals, Evernote, Excel to track my DVDs, GG flowcharts, little index cards to bring with me to class. I've got hundreds of hours of DVD content on my hard drive, I've got videos streaming from BJJ Fanatics, GG, Judo Fanatics, Wrestling Fanatics, and youtube. I've got reddit saves, facebook saves, and probably other systems I've already forgotten about. Luckily I never went down the instagram rabbit hole..

What do you do with all your thoughts, notes, dear diary entries, your DVD collections, etc.

How do you make sense of the madness. How do you drink from the fire hose?

I suppose my body is slowly picking up what it can, and forgetting the rest, but I can't help thinking I'm just wasting my time with trying to keep it all organized.

Any help?

gregflanders, post: 61348, member: 16104

Just got my purple belt, and I'm still frusterated with my inability to keep it all together. I've tried paper journals, Evernote, Excel to track my DVDs, GG flowcharts, little index cards to bring with me to class. I've got hundreds of hours of DVD content on my hard drive, I've got videos streaming from BJJ Fanatics, GG, Judo Fanatics, Wrestling Fanatics, and youtube. I've got reddit saves, facebook saves, and probably other systems I've already forgotten about. Luckily I never went down the instagram rabbit hole..

What do you do with all your thoughts, notes, dear diary entries, your DVD collections, etc.

How do you make sense of the madness. How do you drink from the fire hose?

I suppose my body is slowly picking up what it can, and forgetting the rest, but I can't help thinking I'm just wasting my time with trying to keep it all organized.

Any help?

gregflanders, post: 61348, member: 16104

Just got my purple belt, and I'm still frusterated with my inability to keep it all together. I've tried paper journals, Evernote, Excel to track my DVDs, GG flowcharts, little index cards to bring with me to class. I've got hundreds of hours of DVD content on my hard drive, I've got videos streaming from BJJ Fanatics, GG, Judo Fanatics, Wrestling Fanatics, and youtube. I've got reddit saves, facebook saves, and probably other systems I've already forgotten about. Luckily I never went down the instagram rabbit hole..

What do you do with all your thoughts, notes, dear diary entries, your DVD collections, etc.

How do you make sense of the madness. How do you drink from the fire hose?

I suppose my body is slowly picking up what it can, and forgetting the rest, but I can't help thinking I'm just wasting my time with trying to keep it all organized.

Any help?

Hi there. I'm a visual learner and especially with something as interconnected as BJJ I find my notetaking is best organized in an interactive flow chart rather than a notebook or typical app. I used the Miro site to create a flow diagram of all the major positions, sweeps, submissions, and defensive counters. It's one of those infinite zoom sites so you can add as many items as you want without worrying about running out of space. I also add arrows to help me process how it all works together.

Whenever I learn something new I add it in, and occasionally before class I will choose one area to review (submissions from side mount, for example, if that's the series we are working on) and try to practice those moves while rolling. I think applying the moves is really the key for retention...once you drill an armbar 1,000 times you don't really need to look at your notes anymore to remember how to do it....but since I can't spend enough time in the gym to drill everything I learn 1,000 times, the flowchart helps to remind me what I need to work on.

www.miro.com

You essentially need to stop drinking from the firehose and just get a regular hose, more or less. Or adjust the firehose nozzle to where it's a more directed source rather than a wide spray. Think of = vs <. I realize it's not a great analogy, but you need to go from flashlight to a laser.

I teach our fundamentals class. First thing I tell people is to remember what works intuitively for them. I spent way too long in the first half of my BJJ journey (which is around 11 years now) trying to be someone that I'm not. You're going to see and rep the moves you don't remember in the future and hopefully you'll understand them better by then. But focus on what is working for you in the immediate rather than trying to force something because it looks "cool".