A very common question among beginners to Jiu Jitsu is “should beginners watch BJJ instructionals ? Below lets break down the pros and cons and common pitfalls for a beginner to BJJ

The simple answer is yes but you should watch online instructionals, social media clips and Youtube content cautiously.

Why? Instructional content can help beginners, but it can also slow progress if used in the wrong way.

Lets break down the pro’s first

1. Reinforces what you already learned in class

If you watch something that matches what your coach taught that week:

•1 Your brain recognises the movements faster

•2 The concepts stick better

•3 You feel less lost during live rolling

Example: If class covered closed guard basics, watching a simple closed guard video helps reinforce it.

2. Builds mental familiarity

Before your body learns, your brain needs exposure.

Seeing positions repeatedly:

•1 reduces overwhelm

•2 helps you recognise positions during sparring

•3 speeds up learning curve slightly

3. Helps visual learners

Some people need to see technique multiple ways before it clicks. at Apex BJJ Parramatta we encourage it for thjis very reason. We suggest clips and content as a guide. This shows the technique but explained differently, and with additional details we may have missed or not had time to show.

However here’s where watching content goes wrong…

1. Watching too much advanced content

Beginners jump into:

1 leg lock systems

2 advanced guards

3 competition highlights

Problem:

You don’t yet have positional understanding, so it becomes noise instead of learning.

2. Watching unrelated content

This ties into the point above. Watching content that does not tie into what your coach is currently teaching or focusing on can do a couple of things

a) Slow your learning as you jump from technique to technique without any clear roadmap. Long term you become somewhat proficient in a stack of techniques but never actually any good with any of them.

b) Give you unrealistic tools in your tool belt. Meaning some techniques are considered low percentage and are not viable when actually rolling or sparring. A good coach can tell the difference, looks at competition stats and studies the data.

C) Takes you away from a well thought out program that your coaches have developed to help you progress for your current ability. A good coach also watches their students carefully. Identifies weakness in their abilities and looks to strengthen those weaknesses with a strong curriculum.

d) Annoying your coach or coaches.

This will ring true with so many Jiu Jitsu coaches out there. So many times students will come to me and ask about a technique such as the infamous “buggy choke” or maybe the “octopus guard”. Moves made famous by the likes of Craig Jones or some elite level grappler. All the while not being able to escape a basic side control or keep someone in their closed guard. Their fundamentals are severely lacking especially as a white belt, but they insist on advanced techniques usually reserved for progressive blue belts and above.

2. Conflicting coaching

Again expanding on the points above. Different instructionals teach different details. There are many different ways to implement a basic technique. The devil is in the details as they say. But once there is conflicting coaching from an unknown source it does a few key things

Beginners may:

1 second guess their coach

2 mix techniques incorrectly

3 stall progress

Your coach’s system should always come first.

3. Trying to learn everything at once

This is an obvious one. The jack of all trades master of none saying becomes relevant here. The brain can only retain so much. And whats more is you need these techniques available to you with split second timing. That only comes about through coaches facilitating drills, situational sparring and of course live rounds

Below are the key points to think about:

1 overload

2 hesitation during rolls

3 slow reaction because brain is searching an overloaded memory bank

So what should a beginner do?

Here are the simple tips and strategies to use for online content

Best way beginners SHOULD use instructionals

Simple rules to remember:

Watch ONLY what relates to what you trained that week. If the position of the day week or month is closed guard, then watch closed guard concepts. Not just moves. Body positioning, posture, balance and limb placement are all things to think about

Good beginner structure:

1 Choose 1 position (mount escape, closed guard, side control survival etc)

2 Watch short beginner-focused content

3 Look for concepts, not fancy moves

4 Test ONE detail in your next session

This would be a fantastic start to using tools such as Google, Youtube and BJJ Fanatics to your advantage

A beginners journey is difficult make no mistake about it. But being overwhelmed is a real pitfall for many BJJ newcomers.

If you have any doubts talk to your coach, get a game plan together and follow a beginner pathway program. Coaches are there to accommodate your progress.

• Dont get fooled by the empty promises and hype. Some online coaches guarantee things they really shouldn’t with a dynamic sport like Jiu Jitsu