How to Perfect Your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Skills at Home
Whether you’re a novice or an expert, it’s always good to keep working on and improving your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) skills. However, you might not be able to get to the gym at times due to other commitments. If that’s the case, here are some ways to perfect your Brazilizn Jiu-Jitsu skills at home.
Practise Visualisation
Do you know that visualising practices help you improve your BJJ skills? Whenever you have some free time, start thinking about training. Specifically, try recalling your most recent sparring sessions, the techniques you learned, and what you would like to improve on.
Visualising practices have a calming effect and help you to focus on positive outcomes.
Strength and Conditioning
Strength and conditioning training is an excellent way of improving your BJJ skills. It mainly focuses on enhancing your strength-to-weight ratio. The objective isn’t gaining weight – instead, you aim to become fitter, stronger and more agile.
Some of the exercises you can practise to improve your strength include lifting weights, squats, pushups, pull-ups, etc. Regarding stretches, you can practise yoga and perform resistant band activities.
Build a Home Gym
You can convert your basement, garage or any unused room in your home into a small gym. After creating the space needed, purchase roll-out mats or make them yourself. You can also add other gym equipment like dumbbells, weights, resistance bands, etc.
Once you have the required equipment, you can start training. Even better, you can invite friends over to get you motivated. However, it’s vital to get the insurance that will cover you in case of an accident.
Keep a Training Journal
Many beginners struggle with retention, and this hampers their progress in BJJ. It’s essential to note down what you learn after every training session. You can also write down what you think about when visualising. If possible, try taking notes right after training.
Keeping records makes it easier to track your progress. You’ll see the techniques you currently know, and more importantly, you’ll see where you need to improve.
Set Objectives
It’s impossible to track your progress when you don’t have specific objectives. So, in your training journal, write down where you aim to be after a month, three months, and at the end of the year. Ideally, you should set milestones that lead you towards achieving your main goal.
For example, you can start with improving your defence before working on your attack techniques. Doing this repeatedly eventually make you an all-rounder martial artist.
Study BJJ Instructionals and Footage
Another way of upping your BJJ skills is by watching videos. These resources are available online and on DVDs. That said, you should follow up on what you see with hands-on training and sparring.
Besides instructional videos, you can also watch and critique footage from previous BJJ tournaments. YouTube has thousands of videos, both highlights and full matches, where you can learn new techniques.
Eat Healthily
Your diet significantly influences your fitness, which is crucial if you want to succeed in BJJ. Increase your intake of foods rich in fibre, and avoid consuming too much fat and salt. More importantly, drink a lot of water.
Also, ensure that you get adequate sleep. This helps speed up your metabolism and gives you the energy needed for the next day’s training.
Wrapping Up
While there is no replacement for on the mat training, there are steps you can take to improve your technique from the comfort of your home. With the simple tips mentioned above, you can become a much better opponent.
Lastly, it’s helpful to partake in activities other than BJJ. Taking an occasional break to swim, ride a bike or go for a hike can enhance your grip strength and improve balance and coordination.