Since I'm not a blue yet, I don't feel I have the proficiency to start adding so much variety to my "game" other than basics + the warm ups. How proficient were you at BJJ or grappling when you started to get the most out of it?
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Since I'm not a blue yet, I don't feel I have the proficiency to start adding so much variety to my "game" other than basics + the warm ups. How proficient were you at BJJ or grappling when you started to get the most out of it?
I use things I learned from a Rigan seminar as a white belt. I have always gained something from seminars.
If you understand the basic positions you will learn from seminars. A seminar is just another lesson from a visiting instructor.
Every belt for sure I've gotten tons from seminars. It depends on the seminar of course. The Bmac seminar we just had was for more "basic" than the warm ups and probably most of the other "basics" that you were referring to. It was basically about the best way to frame and maintain posture. Everyone got lots from it though. I would not ignore seminars based on your belt. Think of seminars as allot like what you are already learning only in a denser chunk and of a different flavor (because its a different coach/instructor than your used to)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Gibbs
I think the key to getting the most out of seminars is to drill whatever it was that you learned as soon as possible.
I started taking seminars a couple weeks after I started. Later on, a lot of the stuff made sense. In terms of 'getting the most', try to make it your goal to take one or two gems out of a seminar and have it drilled enough that you can add it to your game. You might learn 7 or 8 moves but try to make your goal to take away one or two gems. Knowledge is never a bad thing. I learned a collar drag from Bill Cooper during my first seminar and to this day I still use it. It's nice to have in the arsenal.
I think it depends on the seminar. Some give better seminars than others.
This is true. I just try to soak as much up as I can. I usually cant implement anything right away, but I tend to be able to see all of it out over the next couple monthsQuote:
Originally Posted by Brent Smith
Usually, There's one detail that I can implement immediately. That one detail is worth the entry of the seminar. Then the other stuff starts to fall into place once you've drilled it.
I still use stuff from my first seminar, with Sean Bollinger
I've had light bulb eureka moments that have lasted for years and other times I've learned awesome techniques and because I didn't drill them enough forgot all I learned. Mostly I go to them to support the guys I like.
Already covered pretty well by more senior guys up thread, but I have a couple of staples in my game from things I learned in seminars as a white belt. It's always worth going in my opinion, just make sure you take notes/find a way to remember and drill the most important takeaways you got so that they stick.
Most of the time, I don't really notice anything from seminars until a few months or even years down the road. For instance, the first seminar I ever attended was with Carlos Machado at Triad when I was just a brand new white belt. I just started using one of the moves from that seminar recently.
"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear."
When you're body and skill set are ready to adopt the things you've learned, you'll find all those seminars start paying off.
And, as others mentioned, the guy giving the seminar is a big factor. Some guys "speak your language", whereas some really don't.
Well I started learning Jiu jitsu in the military. I wanted to have every advantage I could if I went to war and also for when I became a cop. Now as an officer who has been doing JJ for a while, I'd say the most influential belt was white. I went from being a fish out of water to being able to swim. I wasn't the best but that was the biggest transition. It was like being able to see for the first time. I never knew how helpless I was until I started. I have yet to feel that way about anything else in Jiu jitsu as I did in my first year as a white belt. Everything else has been fun and great to learn, but now it's about fine tuning and seeing what works for me.
From a cost perspective, you're spending upwards of $80-100 for a seminar, which is about the cost of a private with a brown or black belt. The seminar will probably give you 2-3 times the amount of technique, whereas a private will have a higher percentage of technique retention. In other words, you'll be exposed to fewer techniques but might have something stick a higher percentage of the time. My take; investment in your game will benefit you regardless.
I've gotten something from almost every seminar I've attend, at all levels. To me its all about the money move, If I can leave a seminar with one technique that fits, or will fit into my game , its money well spent. I'd easily pay $100 for a single technique that stays with me forever.
Already defeating EBI veterens & shit;)Quote:
Originally Posted by ErikLavigne
Hahahaha John Harris you know better lol
And, as others mentioned, the guy giving the seminar is a big factor. Some guys "speak your language", whereas some really don't.[/QUOTE]
This is so true!! Fortunately most speak the universal language; ) there are unfortunate bastards that dont medicate but even though they dont "speak your language " they understand it. I respect the ones that dont while others do (blatantly ). Ive hung out with some of these savages & the peer pressure is a mutha! :)
Thanks everyone for your input. I'll be looking for the next available seminar I can attend
John Botello was the instructor at the Altus seminar that just clicked with my ability to learn and retain his instruction. Tons of instructors there but he has some sort of Jedi style that makes you learn without trying. John Harris is on point about speaking your language
If you have a good person running it, then it's possible for everyone to get something out of it. If you have a bad person running it it might be possible for nobody to get anything from it. That might not be a helpful answer.