Start With a Beach Ball
You do not have to get every part right immediately.
You do not have to get every part right immediately. Start with one part of the move, practice it, and give yourself a chance to learn.
You watched your coach demonstrate the move. You remember where you are supposed to end up. But when you try it, something gets stuck, your partner does not move the way you expected, or you realize you have no idea where your other hand belongs.
You try again, and it still feels wrong. That can be frustrating, especially when you thought you understood what to do.
You might understand part of it already. You might also need more practice, another explanation, or help with one particular step. You do not have to get every part right immediately.
Start With Something You Can Catch
I once asked my coach, Wade, how he teaches a move to kids, then adds more detail for teenagers, and even more detail for adults. He compared it to teaching a kid to catch a ball.
You would start with a big beach ball. It is easy to see, gives you plenty of room to get your hands around it, and is soft and forgiving when you miss. A softball gives you a smaller target. A golf ball is even smaller and harder to catch without much practice.
If you start with the golf ball, catching can seem pretty difficult. The beach ball gives you a chance to figure out the basic idea first. You can practice watching the ball, reaching for it, and catching it without everything needing to be exactly right.
And when you catch the beach ball, you caught it. That counts.
One Part at a Time
Learning a jiu jitsu move can work the same way. At first, you might be learning which direction to turn or where to move your hips. Once that starts to make sense, you can pay more attention to your grips, your balance, or what your partner is doing.
Those details matter, but trying to remember all of them at once can be difficult. Sometimes you fix where your foot goes and completely forget what you were doing with your hand. There are quite a few body parts to keep track of.
That is a good time to ask your coach for help. You can show them where you get stuck and ask which part to work on first. Then you have something specific to practice on your next try.
Maybe you still can’t finish the whole move. But this time, you turn the right way and get your foot where it needs to go. That is something you can build on.
There Will Be More Details
As you get more comfortable, your coach might give you another thing to work on. You might wonder why there is suddenly another step when you were just getting the first ones right.
Think about the balls again. Once catching the beach ball gets easier, you can try a smaller target. You are still catching. You are learning to do it with a little more control.
The same thing happens with your jiu jitsu. You learn the main movement, practice it, and start noticing smaller things that make it work better. You do not need to rush through all of that in one class.
If you are frustrated, ask your coach to help you find your beach ball. What is one part of this move you can work on right now? Start there, and give yourself a chance to learn it.
See you on the mats.
Parent’s Note
Joshua is the owner and head coach at 608 Jiu Jitsu in Cross Plains, Wisconsin. He writes about learning, problem solving, and becoming a better training partner through jiu jitsu.