Train As You Can For As Long As You Can

Training I feel is the only way to become a great BJJ player. Romullo Barral is famous for training an enormous amount and is truly one of the most incredible BJJ players out there.

You have to put the mat hours no matter how productive your sessions may be. It was often that I said to myself that by studying 2-3 times per week in private sessions that it was thesame as 20 ordinary classes. While this may sometimes be true, you have to really do both I feel to improve.

Train with fighters that are better then you technically and weaker and practice different things. Practice what you are bad at. Over and over I practice now a few things that I am not good at. Butterfly guard, spider guard, open guard with one foot in. You basically have to practice the positions you are bad at.

Competing really helps though. By competing you really test yourself and at the same time learn from your mistakes. I went to a competition last weekend and have learnt a lot since then by going through my mistakes in a private class thereafter.

You benefit a lot from your losses and I think while you practice new moves on beginners, you definitely should train as much as you can with fighters that are better then you. You pick up new things and it gets your head working on how you should improve even though your ego may suffer.

Of course from time to time you do go and train with someone weaker and you feel good, but it is better to improve then just stall your progress.

Practice your techniques, don't just sparr. Share with you partners the techniques that you have learnt and they will share their moves that work for them. This exchange I think is very useful and you develop. Not always do you have a teacher at your side and everyone has a different game. There is a lot to learn in jiu jitsu, and the sky is the limit!