So I got my Blue Belt...Now what?

by Joshua Perales
(Houston,TX)

Hey Coach,

First off I just want to say thank you so much for the promotion, I feel honored that you consider me worthy of wearing the rank of blue. Now heres my concern, now that I have my blue, whats expected of me at this level? What should I focus on? I know trainignt he basics is key, but what other advice do you have for me as a new blue belt? I know the competition gets tougher at this level, so how do I better prepare for them? Well again, thanks to you coach Jeremy, and Coach Joel for all the help and advice you've given me, I promise to keep working hard. Oh and by they way, cool feature you have here, expect to hear from me often!


Hi Josh. Congrats again on the BJJ promotion. Great question. First and foremost you need to realize and believe that you deserve the blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and although it's new, you have the skills to back up the belt. Now, how to move forward. At this point in your progression you have a solid game from top to bottom and your basics are sound. There is so much you can do to continue to improve from this point on, far too much to discuss in 1 simple e-mail. So, I want to share with you just a few simple yet brilliant ideas that will really help your game by leaps and bounds.
When you train with lower level students, make it a point to put yourself in challenging positions so you can really work your defenses. Try to always start in an inferior position against someone you know you can escape from. Also, challenge yourself to only go for one technique when sparring with beginner level guys. For example, when training with a white belt, if you have been working on a particular sweep from guard, only go for that sweep. When you succeed, let the game flow back to your guard and work it again. This way your training to specifically improve in one area. You can do this with any BJJ submission or transition. Of course, this is just one of many ways to improve and you shouldn't do this 100% of your time, but adding it to the mix will certainly help. Continue to focus on correcting your mistakes, improving your cardio and flexibility, and strive to become a true student of the game. Study the BJJ greats, both competitors and teachers. Learn from their victories as well as their defeats and you will progress much faster than the average grappler.
I hope this give you something to think about and go to work with. Best of luck Josh and let me know how this works for you.

Professor Travis Tooke