One of the best ways to get better at BJJ Miami is to roll with as many people as you can, as often as you can. However, if you’re the kind of partner who is overly aggressive, doesn’t offer enough resistance, or smells like moldy cheese, people won’t want to roll with you. Here a few suggestions to make sure that people feel comfortable and want to be your partner
1. Always respect your partner
Always assume the best of everybody. Never underestimate a person’s ability because of his or her size or level of experience. Treat everyone with respect and try to keep things positive. The more you try to help others improve, the more likely they will be to want to help you improve! Always try to be the kind of BJJ partner you would want to roll with.
2. Keep it light
While nobody wants to roll with a flopper, people also don’t like to roll with someone who might injure them. There’s no reason to go full force in training; if you are using force and strength to get a move, you are doing yourself and your partner a disservice. When you crank moves forcefully it gets dangerous. Also, using too much tension to prevent your partner from getting a move is counter-productive. You and your partner will improve more from using detailed movements rather than force.
3. Wash your gi! Nobody likes a smelly gi at Jiu-jitsu Miami
This is a big one. It doesn’t matter how nice you are or how good your Ezekiel choke is if you smell terrible. Washing your training clothes, especially your gi, is a big part of showing respect for your teammates and creating a clean and healthy training environment. Do whatever you need to do—hang your clothes out to air out overnight, throw an extra stick of deodorant in your bag and slap on a little extra right before class—whatever it is, the less offensive you smell, the more partners you’ll get.
4. Don’t flop!
Practice using the right amount of resistance while drilling. Would you just go limp and flop face down on the floor in a real fight? Then why would you do it in practice? If you become like a ragdoll, you are holding your partner back by preventing them from learning the move at Jiu-jitsu Miami.
If you want to get better at Jiu-jitsu Miami, it’s not only important to show up to practice as much as you can, but also to roll with as many different partners as you can. The more people you roll with, the more diverse your arsenal of attacks and counters is going to be. So make sure that you are a courteous, respectful, patient and helpful partner so that others, especially women and new students, feel comfortable rolling with you. Basically, aim to be the kind of partner you would want to work with and you will get the most out of your training.
