Answering Dumb BJJ Questions You Might Have As a White Belt

Your first few months of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can be tough, and you might have questions you don't know the answer to. No question is dumb, and we are going to answer the most common white belt questions that white belts have, such as those that they are too embarrassed or too awkward to ask. Questions are a good sign because you can only have questions if you take something seriously. You will have more questions if you are more interested in learning and training BJJ. At first, you cannot say whether any question is dumb because you are new. You don't know anything. You should get answers to all of your questions. So, let's dive into this.

The following are the answers to all common questions that most BJJ white belts have in mind when they start BJJ for the first time.

You are not old, out of shape, or unathletic for starting BJJ because Brazilian Jiu Jitsu attracts people from all walks of life, different shapes and sizes, ages, and strengths. And these people need people to grapple with, too. So your training helps them out, and their training helps you out. And most gyms have a good culture.

So even if your physicality does not match someone else's, maybe they are younger, stronger, and more athletic, they will most likely treat you right if you are at a good gym. It is normal to see some 15-year-olds rolling just fine with 40, 50, 60-year-olds because they know how to treat their training partners.

It depends on personal perspectives, but two to three times per week is ideal for most people. When you go beyond that, it is usually for competitors or people who are very much in love with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and obsessed with it. And that can be good, but it can also lead to burnout, injuries, or overtraining in general.

One time per week likely isn't enough in most cases. It is better than nothing. But for most, two to three times per week is that sweet spot of being enough, but not too much. But it depends on your goals and what you want from the sport.

This is the most common question many beginners in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ask. Yes! It is entirely normal to feel lost in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Because when you are starting in BJJ, you have so much to learn. You don’t know anything. Everyone gives you different opinions about where, how, and what you should focus on.

You become confused and don't know what to do. But this is one step towards becoming better in BJJ. You eventually learn what you should focus on. What should I learn? So this is how you become perfect in BJJ step by step.

It's not that hard. You just need not to stink and be a good person. Hygiene is number one. People will not want to train with you even if you're a good person, but stink. And if you smell good, but you're a complainer, you hurt people, or you're just someone who isn't in an enjoyable role, people will likely not want to train with you. So, it's like all things in life. Don't stink and be good; people will probably want to be around you.

It depends because it can be beneficial to attend and watch a class. But oftentimes, people show up to class injured and just can't help themselves. They end up rolling, and they might end up hurting themselves. This is something that's happened to me. Suppose you hurt your ankle badly and show up to class. A week later, you might break your ankle even worse than it already was, and you would have to take more time off than you would have otherwise. 

It's not rude to ask a higher belt to roll. But simultaneously, it should be interpreted as rude for a higher belt to say no. Sometimes you just want a hard night. You may want to roll with people who will push you and make you work. And you always feel bad saying no. But you need to look out for your training, too. But there are nights when you don't care who you roll with and are more than happy to roll with a new person. But it just depends on what you want out of that specific night.

Communication fixes most things in life. So, you need to communicate with them and tell them they're going too hard. But that doesn't mean that they are going to listen. And if they don't listen, the best thing you can do is tell your coach. It's their job to ensure they provide a safe training environment. But it can be hard for a coach to know someone is being unsafe if nobody tells them.

If someone is unsafe and you tell your coach, that can also help ensure they don't hurt somebody else and be dangerous with somebody else, because other people might be too shy to tell their coach. So, if you can, you should tell your coach, and they can deal with it.

It's okay and even encouraged. Most coaches love it when people ask questions. It's so much more of a conversation and dialogue that way, rather than your coach just doing a monologue. You're paying to learn jiu-jitsu. And if something is unclear, you should ask so that it is clear. And maybe other people have the same question you do, but are too shy to ask. So asking can help them. And again, most instructors appreciate questions.

The easiest way is just to make an excuse. Don’t lie, but also you should not hurt somebody's feelings. You can just say, "Oh, I already have a partner, or I'm taking this round off," or whatever you need to do. And eventually, they will get the hint if you never say yes. Or you can just tell them directly why. Maybe, oh, you are too big for me. I'm a very small person. But, be mindful of their feelings when you say no, and it should be no issue.

Just apologize and mean it. You should not just apologize and act like it's no big deal. They should know that you genuinely feel sorry. And you have to learn from your mistake and not make that mistake again and hurt other people the same way. Learn from this. Learn never to force a hip throw and to make sure that somebody's foot comes off the mat when you're hip throwing them. And try to talk about that a lot. Let people know this is a danger that can happen if you are not careful.

You should wash your BJJ Gi and belt every time you use it. This is very necessary for you. But some people have the opinion that you should never wash your belt because all the skill and expertise that you have attained over the years will be lost when you wash your belt. But obviously that is not true.

This is a complete myth. Your BJJ Gi and belt contain a lot of bacteria and other germs that need to be removed; otherwise, you will get an infection. You can only remove germs by washing your BJJ Gi and belt. So just wash with the thought that you are removing all the nasty stuff from your BJJ Gi and belt, not your skill.

You can stomp the mat. You can say tap. And just in general, saying tap is the safest way of tapping. But regardless, it's your job to ensure your training partner knows you're tapping. So, say tap, tap them, hit the mat out with your foot, and do whatever you need to do; you need to make it obvious. Sometimes the music is loud, or you have a quiet voice. So, you can't just assume that your training partner knows you're tapping. You need to make it evident to them to keep yourself safe. 

The most common infections are ringworm and impetigo. The chances of getting it are pretty low and not something to be super concerned about, but obviously, take steps to avoid it. It also depends on your hygiene and how much you care for yourself. Take some steps, such as showering after class, being very hygienic, and going to a gym that takes hygiene and cleanliness seriously.

But at the same time, a gym should be very clean, but if someone with something comes on the mats, it doesn't matter how clean the gym is and how clean the mats are; they can spread something. So, it's the gym's and the people at the gym's responsibility to ensure that they don't let anything spread.

You should be worried enough to be careful and mindful to take care of your body, but not too worried where it affects your enjoyment of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Injuries are rare in Jiu Jitsu. Like, rarely do we have someone get hurt in our classes, but it happens occasionally. But it's not something that's just recurring all the time.

It is not the case that Jiu Jitsu is more dangerous than most sports. And not doing sports is risky, too. If you sit on the couch watching Netflix all day and don't use your body, you are doing damage to your body. And if you use your body for things like Jiu Jitsu or other sports, you risk getting hurt, and that's just a reality.

Usually, it is just best to match the intensity of the person you are rolling with. Some people like rolling hard, some people like rolling light. So, it depends. You may like rolling hard and have no problem with someone rolling hard with you, but you should not impose yourself on someone else. You should not roll hard when you can tell they don't want to roll hard.

You should match their intensity, but if they want to roll hard, let's have a good time. You want to avoid using your strained face as much as possible, which should indicate that you are not overly exerting yourself.

One and a half to two years is the average, but it depends on the gym. It depends on the individual. Although you should chase skill and not the belt, it definitely feels good to get a blue belt, which is something to be excited about. So, there's nothing wrong with wanting a blue belt or being excited about it, but prioritize skill first and foremost.

It's normal. Everyone goes through this. You may have felt claustrophobic at times and, in the past, tapped that feeling of claustrophobia. But over time, you would learn to survive it. And that is proof that you don't need to tap when you feel that way. So when you are feeling that way, you have that proof. You should believe you can go through this and not have to tap. But first, if you tap once in a while, because you have to. Don't feel bad about yourself. But try to give yourself that proof that you don't need to tap in those situations.

A variety of both is ideal, but overall, it's best to roll with people who are worse than you but not way worse than you, just a bit worse. So you can still work on things without too much consequence. At the same time, they're not just wrecking you, or you're not just wrecking them with ease.

Some people will, but don’t roll with them if they do. People have egos in the sport, and they are losers.

Everyone has their comfort levels, and some women don't want to roll with men, and that's fine. And some men don't want to roll with women, and that's fine too. You roll with who you want to roll with, and you don't roll with who you don't want to roll with. And should you be trying to win every role? Not every role, and you need to understand that we are just training.

But at the same time, there's this misconception in Jiu Jitsu where it's always just training, and you shouldn't try to win. But this should not be your thinking. There is a time and a place to be competitive. Like, that's what makes the sport fun. There are guys you train with, you are trying to beat them, and they are trying to beat you. If you beat them, good for you. If they beat you, good for them. But make no mistake, we are trying to beat each other.