Top 5 Reasons Why In Jiu Jitsu Your Partner's Safety is Your Responsibility
The relationships you develop with your training partners are some of the most pure you will ever have.
Why? Because just imagine. Think about how much trust you have to have in your training partner who can totally hurt you if not careful and mindful with your safety and well being.
If you tap, and your partner keeps pulling your arm, or neck and does not let go, you will be injured. Sometimes severely. Ever seen somebody do a heel hook they did not let go? Its horrible.
Words To Remember Forever
YOUR PARTNER'S SAFETY IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY when you train Jiu Jitsu. This is a mindset and a culture that is bred and enforced from the TOP DOWN. One of the biggest responsibilities of a Head Instructor is to make sure that the training environment is as SAFE as it can be.
Not only safe because you have wall mats and the pole is padded. But because it is made very clear to every single student that we are here to build each other up, forge each other all while keeping each other safe. This has to be a PRIORITY.
Here Are The Top 5 Reasons Why In Jiu Jitsu Your Partner's Safety is Your Responsibility
There are many more than only 5 reasons but the ones that we outlined in this article will definitely give you a great head start in understanding the importance of being the best training partner and student you can be.
Reason #1 - Your Training Partners Have to Go to Work the Next Day
Most people work and do something that puts food on the table. Training Jiu Jitsu should add joy and pleasure to the lives of every student and not suffering and pain from injuries sustained due to partner's negligence and fault. Accidents do happen but many can be avoided if both students know that ultimately safety is priority.
Reason #2 - Make Friends Not Enemies
The worst thing you can do is make enemies with other students due to a situation that happened during rolling which never should have been. First there is one, then two, then four then a group of students who simply don't care for you and that is all your fault. You have a choice. Make the choice to create friendships vs the latter.
Jiu Jitsu is a very humbling experience. Some people cannot come to terms with the fact that another human imposed their physical will and submitted them without any say in the matter. Thats powerful. Thats humbling.
During rolling everybody experiences something different and the effects can cause some not very bright decisions and reactions. Many insecurities rise to the surface and rear their ugly heads in the form of un-sportsman like actions that can be classified simply as dirty. If you do dirty moves, remember, this will make enemies faster than you can even blink your eye. And they will do it right back to you.
Worst of all, karma is a (You Know What)... You will most certainly get back in greater form than what you dish out so be aware during training and even drilling technique. You will get so much more out of your training. Suggestion - Make Friends!!!
Reason #3 - Create an Honorable and Humble Reputation for Yourself - Be Helpful.
Always embrace the new student. Offer the odd man out to roll and you will go next time. If you see two white belts confused about technique, help them. You get the point. During live sparring do your best, but don't over do it. This is NOT the UFC and you are not doing MMA. You have to focus on being like water. Smooth. Bottom line. This way other students will want to roll with you because they will feel that each roll came with many great lessons and experiences.
In the long run working towards building this type of reputation will do so much good for you individually because thats what Jiu Jitsu is all about. The more you give, the more you will get and thereby the more you will be able to give. Think about that.
Jiu jitsu is the ultimate mechanism through which you can simply GIVE. And by GIVING you will create the most honorable and noble reputation for yourslef regardless how good, great, ok, or not so good you think your Jiu Jitsu is or isn't.
Reason #4 - Awareness During Rolling is Essential
Just because you are rolling it does NOT mean that everybody around you has to beware. It is YOUR respomsiblitly to be aware to the point that you do not hurt the pair of students to your left or right and around.
Always practicing awareness creates much more useful and lesson filled rolls and technique sessions because you retain a lot more than when you are there but not present.
Being aware also can play a very important role in avoiding injuries. Whether you saw in the corner of your eye that the pair to your left were too close for you to sweep that way. Or you saw your partner's foot got caught in your Gi as they are passing and you stop. Or you simply let go of the heel hook you trapped your partner into, but anticipated they will roll so the only thing you could do to save their knee from tearing is to let go since they didnt want to tap and concede.
The more you practice awareness, the better you will be at being aware. Especially when NOT trianing Jiu Jitsu in regular life. That is where it really matters and you will feel it.
"It is where we are most UNCERTAIN that we will SUFFER most. To ELIMINATE suffering, you have to seek and find CERTAININTY. The path to certainty is awareness. Simple as that.
Reason #5 - Always Strive to Be the Best Training Partner You Can Be, You Can Always Improve
No matter how good you think you are at Jiu Jitsu, you can always improve. You will never get to the end of this endless and infinite road.
Your personal Jiu Jitsu abilities are one aspect of several that your Jiu Jitsu journey is comprised of, which we will go into in another article.
Simultaneuosly, you have to work on always being a great training partner who understands what the goals are of the other students at the moment. Some want to work on passing. Others want to practice escpaing side control while others want to practice the latest choke they learned and are perfecting. Endless examples here so lets elaberate
Learning new techniques, refining learned technieques, and simply getting better at Jiu Jitsu requires drilling with your partner.
How productive you and or your partner will be during the technical session of your training depends on your partner, and you as the partner.
If you or your partner are TOO RIGID and are creating too much resistance, then neither partner will ever learn how to do the technique shown the right way, regardless of how simple or complex.
If you or your partner are TOO RELAXED and feel lifeless, then neither partner will ever learn how to do the techniqe shown the right way, because its simply not realistic with a lifeless partner thats TOO RELAXED just laying there as if they are dead.
When drilling, you have to give feedback to your partner, and they have to do the same for you. If you hand or shoulder or body is not in the right position, or choke doesnt feel tight enough, then you have to convey this to your partner, and suggest the needed ajustments that should be made.
To be a good training partner, required focused effort and learning what that really means. If you are only striving to be your best when you are "Rolling" then you are missing out on a huge and very important part of your Jiu Jitsu journey and overall development. As well as your partner's.
Being a good training partner also requires you taking the time to understand what every student you typically train with is working on, perfecting or simply learning. This will help you expand your Jiu Jitsu vocabulary big time. Some are working on spider guard. Others are working on butterfly guard. Then there are those who are working on techniques chains and flows. Endless you hear me? ENDLESS!!! lol...
YOU GET THE POINT - JUST BE A GOOD PERSON AND STRIVE TO DO YOUR BEST
As Master Carlos Machado says, "Train Smart, Be Humble". It's as simple as that. Also, be Helpful. Be grateful. Be mindful. Communicate with your training partners. Inquire how they are doing and what they are working on. Inquire if anybody needs help with anything you may know and you can be certain that others will do the same for you if they already haven't.
The tips in this article will help you get the most out of your Jiu Jitsu journey in the most full of ways. There aren't too many things worse than bad training partners, who violate the fundamental aspects addressed in this article.
BE YOUR BEST. ON AND OFF THE MAT.... THE JIU JITSU STARTS, WHEN THE TRAINING STOPS!!!
Carlos Machado Jiu Jitsu Mid Cities Texas
2843 Central Drive., Bedford, TX 76021
Call/Text/Email 817-888-8082 - CMJJMidCities@gmail.com
www.CarlosMachadoJiuJitsuMidCities.com
Article Written by: Greg Hamilton, Carlos Machado Black Belt & Head Instructor of Kids and Adults Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
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