i lurk.
i have not trained in a school in around three years. and i haven't competed in two. i have 3 years of solid bjj, and do still roll with my brothers, but am a shell of what i used to be.
i guess my question is how hard is it to come back to? and am a foolish to walk in a reputable school, as "the new guy" with the blue belt i once wore proudly? it matters not to me, but what would some of the more senior members advise?
solis, andre, anyone?
-sf
Man, I think you should wear the belt you were given. The skills will come back quickly once you are learning again and rolling with the upper belts. No one will doubt your belt, but it doesnt hurt to mention that you've been out for a long time.
Get back in there and wear your blue belt!
its like riding a bicycle man...
I came back after a couple year layoff. I was a 'good' blue belt and when I came back I kept my blue belt at the advice of my instructor. At first it was really tough. I got subbed or swept by all the blues and some better white belts. But that literally lasted like 2-3 months and then my progress took off.
I think when I came back there were a few issues. I was out of shape and everyone was in very good shape and young. They were also sharp and had game plans where I was just kind of doing whatever.
Everyone played positions I hadn't worked much. Before my layoff 1/2 guard wasn't real popular where I trained but a lot of the guys had developed great half guards and spider guards. Now though I think I have a good half guard, and while my spider guard isn't so good I learned some great passes and handle it well now.
Just stick with it. The first 4 weeks are gonna be depressing if you're worried about who you tap to, etc. But just remember to have fun and learn and it won't be long before you're doing good again.
I agree too about mentioning the layoff....though a lot of people will still try to go all out on you. But that works both ways. How many times has some guy told you he's just coming off a layoff only to slap hands and blast into a flying triangle like his life depends on it...hahaha
Taking off your blue belt would be sandbagging. Telling everyone you've been sidelined for a while would be whining. IMHO part of representing well is to wear the belt you earned and if you suck for a while you suck for a while but if people think you are easy meat and try to abuse you during rolling, just bide your time until you are good again then put it back to them.
Most people don't ask questions because they don't want trouble back.
(This doesn't mean the mat isn't a friendly place, it just means none of us have the luxury of explanations or excuses when we are "off" or gloating when we are "on.")
wow - i read the first post and thought I would respond ...then I read scrappy's and that is exactly what happened.
I am about 2.5 months back in after a 2 year layoff (I rolled once in 2 year). I was a fairly new blue when I stopped.
I was actually pretty nervous the first day - new school, I didn't know anyone, I didn't speak the language (spanish). But everyone was cool as hell (oh yeah, bjj is like that....) and now my skills are starting to come back together.
But pretty much everything scrappy said matches my experience - right down to 1/2 gaurd being way more popular.
i roll tonight.
i will post tomorrow, or late night.
and on shen's advise i think that i will wear my new alligator wing tip. it's brown and it lets the others know that i'm all class.
-sf
Don't listen to Andre. He told me the same thing and I've been getting abused by 1/2 the class.
That being said, after a few months the rust should start coming off and you should start getting your game back.
A: "Hey"
B: "Hey. So you're new?"
A: "New here. I trained for about 3yrs then took 2 off. I'm rusty as hell."
B: "Cool. Let's take it easy?"
A: "Yeah. I ain't got nothing to prove"
slap hands
LOL.
Right.
More like:
A: "Hey"
B: "Hey. So you're new?"
A: "New here. I trained for about 3yrs then took 2 off. I'm rusty as hell."
B: "Cool. Let's take it easy?"
A: "Yeah. I ain't got nothing to prove"
slap hands...and B immediately arm-drags A and gets his back in a heartbeat and slaps on a very tight RNC
A: "Cough...can't...breath...vision...getting...dim...et...tu...Brute?!?!"
slap hands...and B immediately arm-drags A and gets his back in a heartbeat and slaps on a very tight RNC
A: "Cough...can't...breath...vision...getting...dim...et...tu...Brute?!?!"
I literally LOL'ed at that, now I feel like a bjj nerd.
I took a year off from training and felt like I nearly died the first time I got back on the mat. I didn't feel close to death the second time, but my BJJ cardio was still off to the point that I got tapped by a guy who was probably a white belt (I'm a blue, but we were rolling no-gi). After the third time, I felt much better, but still have a ways to go cardio wise -- the moves are still in my head, and I know how to do them, but without the cardio behind it...Long story short, have the humility to admit to being a blue belt while possibly getting tapped by white belts.
skills wil come back quick its the cardio youre going to have trouble with.
actually, a lot of my cardio came back real fast. I had a bad first couple of weeks. It is my tech. that still does not seem as sharp. I have literally forgotten a lot of techniques and setups that use to be bread and butter.
But the feeling of stuff coming back is great. I got caught in what used to be one of my fave chokes a few weeks back. It was like a lightbulb went off in my head, and I started catching guys with it all over the place....