Drills and Good Training Partners Make Good BJJ Classes

Had another good class last night thanks to a series of drills, a new asthma medication, and some strategic rest during rolling.  Instruction was great with the usual protracted warm-up (running and calisthenics) modified to add a protracted set of drills.  I read that nowadays there are some schools that really focus on drilling and its my belief as a lifelong athlete and participant in many sports, that drilling increases competence more sharply than any other form of practice.

I'm not dismissing the value of the "skills" portion of any class, or the live sparring we all look forward to at the end of every session.  But the process of drilling in brazilian jiu jitsu conforms to ideals about competence and  learning described in such diverse works as Josh Waitkin's The Art of Learning and Daniel Coyle's The Talent Code.

My school has a weekly class devoted to just drilling.  The one time I attended, I thought it was both brilliant and unfortunately, beyond my physical capacity.  I still can't do a wall drill.  But the more I work it, the better it gets.  I recently bought Andre Galvao's Drill to Win hoping that reading the book might give me some insight.  I also expect that working some solo drilling at home will help improve my BJJ movement and sensitivity.  Hopefully at some point I'll do enough work through the book to give it a review here on this blog.

At any rate, last night's drilling gave me a proper warm-up and when it came time to roll, I was able to work a half-guard sweep we learned in the skills part of class.  By resting after one or two rounds, and by figuring out how to grab some recovery in the midst of a round, I was able to stay relaxed enough to feel comfortable underneath, even under some pretty good pressure/coverage.  Might I have crested that hill of claustrophobia that's plagued my return to BJJ?  Could be.  Nice to have cool upper belts in class, egos in check, willing to "present" openings for skill taught during drills or to provide enough space to enable me to avoid the panic tap.  I am so happy to be back at Foster Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.