Anyone here train?

[jr]

I wasn't sure where to post this...

Is anyone experienced with training at a gym especially in one particular form of martial arts?
I'm 100% beginner when it comes to anything martial arts/fighting related (never been in a fight in my life haha) and I'd hate for the people in the gym to have a bad impression on me if I go into a BJJ gym with very little knowledge about BJJ etc.

I've been looking at BJJ cause I'm a short guy (5'5) and I've always liked submissions/ground game whenever watching MMA (which admittedly I don't watch much of to be honest).

I have found 1-2 gyms from a quick online search that are BJJ oriented and I might check them out when I find out if I have time to fit training into my schedule.

I believe something like this could be very beneficial for me. Does anyone else have any experience?

Thanks for any replies!

PS: If it matters, I have no intentions of competing in any kind of tournaments etc.

[p0d135]

jr, thats great to hear!

I wrestled in h.s and did jiu-jitsu not too long ago and ended up leaving cuz of school & being a broke *ss. I was about 2-3 months prior to starting prep for a blue belt test. (only 5 belts in JJ: white-blue-purple-brown-black) I am now concentrating on getting in shape to go back (not that its necessary)

I too liked the submissions aspect of mma but make sure you're ok with sport jiu-jitsu (wearing a gi) its vastly different than no-gi. About half the techniques are lost when not wearing the gi. I hated it at 1st cuz it neutralized half the wrestling background I had, the other was gone cuz we'd spar starting on the knees. I was taking down blue-belts all the time (literally double-leg pickups) on the rare occasion we started on the feet or did no-gi. It doesn't make sense but it was kind of a trip to nearly rag-doll other fellow jj newbs who were black-belts in tma (Karate, tae Kwon do) w/ only h.s wrestling.

some general tips:
-work on your flexibility; it can be done anytime time  - sittin watching tv, get a stretch in before sitting down & leaving lecture etc.
-drill techniques your weak side (non-preferred side) make it strong. I found I was a righty for sweeps (I sweep to the right) & I pass (guard) to the left. I've found that after being shown a technique, 1st drilling it on my weak side helps me dissect it/break it down step-by-step and commit it to memory better than using my strong, natural side 1st.
-have fun when sparring but think EVERY time:
 -What are my tendencies?
 -Why specifically am I susceptible to this/that: armbar/triangle/sweep?
 -If/when you develop a go-to move, dissect WHY its your specialty & how to apply that process elsewhere.
 -a beginner tip: to help you get thinking about how its a chess match - if you want to pull opponent's arm in, then push it out at first, then use his natural reaction of opposing you (by him pushing back) to aid what you really wanted. My first big reversal I rolled over a guy 1.5x my size from side-mount position cuz he "helped" me so much.

 

[jr]

Sick!

Thanks a lot for the reply, glad to hear from someone with experience.

Unfortunately the only thing keeping me from digging in right away is that I'm still very busy with school/work and it'd be hard to find time for everything (but you know how that is judging from your posts). So right now it's still just something I'm thinking about.

Any advice on which stretches in particular? Or maybe what muscles/groups/areas I should focus on?

In my spare time I'll watch some videos and maybe find a book on BJJ so I'm more knowledgeable for when I can actually start learning/training.

Thanks again for the reply, it makes me feel even more optimistic about it
jr

[p0d135]

I hope you can schedule it on the regular.

stretches - mostly butterfly stretches, do whatev you can get away with wherev you are. I've heard certain ppl say that a goal to shoot for is getting to this position without aid of hands. I left before really getting a chance to do all I told you. I was just having fun in spar not really analyzing and only doing my basic stretching to warm up, not stretching for sake of flexibility so much. Got this dvd for stretching when I decided to go back. Its particularly for grappling, dunno how it is but I'll get to it and send you a dl.
other prep - your grip can always be better, gi or no-gi. So, wrist curls, rev wrist curls, stuff like that. & you already know: good cardio, strengthen your core, no matter the sport - be a squat master, etc.

[jr]

Thanks again p0d.

I'm going to try to get in shape over the summer (lose some weight and increase flexibility mostly!) and will be continuing to "research" BJJ with various sources online...I doubt I'll walk into a gym until after August. I'm hoping to find some sort of means to "train" or "practice" alone without someone to grapple with but it seems that for everything you definitely need someone else to work with...which is why, from what I've read, it is recommended you are in the gym 4 days a week if you really want to improve...

I was told this is a great book for beginners so I'll be getting this:
"Jiu-Jitsu University"
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0981504434/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I found out that a 7 time world BJJ champ has a gym roughly an hour from my house, so that makes me even more excited to start...I just hope I can afford it (both time and money)! 

(I also understand that BJJ is a life long journey, with most people taking at least 10 years to get their black belt, so I'm keen to start as soon as I can)