As a white belt, I asked you to trust the program. The last thing a coach wants to see is upper level belts who have poor fundamentals. By the time you reach blue belt, you will have seen much of our curriculum at least once, possibly twice. You will have gotten hundreds of rounds of rolling under your belt, and will have started to get a good sense of what kind of game you want to focus on. You need to make that game your own. As a coach, I recognize I don't have everything you need. I try my best to teach techniques far beyond my own style, but I know my own focus and skills have natural limitations. Its time to branch out! What does this mean?
Find a voice that speaks to you
BJJ is complex. Human brains are even more complex. Different analogies, stories, demonstrations, etc.... speak to us differently. I've watched instruction from world class BJJ athletes that never clicked, and random coaches that make the light bulbs go off. Find that person that speaks your Jiu Jitsu language, and absorb everything they have to offer. Chances are that over time this voice that speaks to you will change. Over the course of years you will likely be drawn to different voices at different times. Don't worry about what techniques, instructors, or athletes are popular. Just find what speaks to you.
Study athletes
Whatever aspect of Jiu Jitsu you are interested in, it is guaranteed someone out there is successfully competing with that style. Watch their matches. Follow their social. Watch their instructional content. Studying other peoples games helps you understand how individual perspective and style plays into our own Jiu Jitsu.
How do you study competition matches?
Quality over quantity. It is better to watch one match 10 times than 10 different matches. Focus on one thing at at time. Where is their head moving? What are their feet doing? What are their grips doing? How do they move their hips? What strategy do are they going for? What happens when that gets off track? Every question will make you watch the match through a different lens, and learn something different about the athlete you are studying. I often watch 30-45 seconds of a match at a time, and pick apart both athletes.
Film yourself!
This is an eye opening experience, and is the best thing not happening in most peoples journey. What we perceive in the midst of our casual battles, and what that looks like from the outside are two very different perspectives. You will learn a lot, fix a lot, and generally improve faster if you can watch yourself roll.
Also, post your rolls in our Facebook group, and ask for feedback! No egos here. Lets learn and grow together.
Ask for feedback
Branching out doesn't mean going coach-less. Ask for feedback, talk shop, and seek help from your coaches and team to better understand what you are studying. Chances are, someone else has been down the same road. If not, we'll learn it together.