I do, man!! What did I not reply to?
AND WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? COME TRAIN IN THE MORNING, YOU LAZY BASTARD.
MMT.
More mat time. The answer to every single jiu-jitsu question (except "how do I get rid of this pesky MRSA infection?")
Same way, Rhymenoceros.
It's not just sparring time, it's being on the mat learning time. Seeing other people make mistakes, spar, or ask questions you didn't think to ask. It's being exposed to the same technique you learned before, perhaps taught with a different bit of emphasis this time so that it completes the picture. It's also sparring and drilling a lot so that the details of the techniques you learn begin to have a context because you see the exact moment when not using that detail causes you to lose the position.
It's also just the sheer experience of being in the position. As Jean Jacques Machado said in his book: "When someone gets my back, I don't panic because I've been in that situation 1000 times before."
What part do you disagree with?
Wait...are you assuming that I mean only more "sparring" time?
yo man did you ever get my email?
It's about time you updated!
Rhymenoceros - It's easy for black belts to say "MMT."
But how do blue belts get better?
MMT.
See? Answer to every question.
Not necessrily train more. Drill more. Move on the mat more. It's not a sport that can be learned in theory.
Steve72 obviously has missed the true understanding of BJJ.
Great stuff Andre.
Agreed. More mat time is the only way to get better. There are hundreds of other factors that help you make the most of that time but you can't do it from you couch or your office.
Rhymenoceros -andre - Wait...are you assuming that I mean only more "sparring" time?
I assume you mean I need to train more, which I totally disagree with.
Yeah, blue belts usually know more about the sport than black belts.
Notice he also alluded to just being around the mat and observing helps you get better too.
im getting some kind of error message when i click on the link, perhaps i should try it on a different browser
Rhymenoceros - Anyway, I was really kidding when I was saying that I disagreed with Andre. I thought it would be such a ridiculous proposition for someone to say that mat time wouldn't make them better at jiu-jitsu that it would be obvious to all that it was a joke.His busy screenwriting schedule keeps him away from his adoring fans.
In truth, I always enjoy reading the blogs and articles of people like Andre, Aesopian, Stephen Kesting, etc. Even when I can't be on the mat it's nice to read the words of others who have had such success.
I only wish Andre would update his blog more often than 4 times per year!
Aesopian has the best BJJ blog around, but he doesn't update as much as I'd like either.