How long to learn basic BJJ? [Explained]

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Should I learn BJJ? and How long to learn basic BJJ? – These are the basic and normal questions for those who are starting BJJ. If you plan to learn martial arts the choice of combat discipline is an important step. Because it will become a part of your life that you will spend energy and time on.

Table of Contents

Should I learn BJJ?

Let’s move on to the subject with simple and obvious questions that appear before making the decision to train jiu jitsu or other martial art.

So you have stopped on the variant with Brazilian jiu jitsu without any background.

Good variant.

Why?

Because BJJ goes in every list of the top 10 most popular combat sports nowadays.

Most popular martial arts in the US

Below you can see the progress of the trend of engagement by people on the internet with the 5 most popular martial arts – mixed martial arts (MMA), BJJ, karate, kickboxing, and taekwondo.

The data is provided by Google Trends for the timeline from 2004 till the present in the US.

You can check it by yourself here and compare it with other martial art styles to have a complete picture. Spoiler: check the boxing to see the noticeable difference.

The red line stands for Brazilian jiu jitsu.

As we can see, compared to other combat sports BJJ is moderately and gradually gaining growth.

And here is the same graph for worldwide trends.

Most popular martial arts in the world

What does it mean and how does it correlates with the question of whether you should train in BJJ?

Very obvious explanation: The fact that jiu jitsu establishes itself in society over many years already means it is worth choosing it as a combat sport.

Also, BJJ is good for self-defense practice in combination with MMA or boxing.

How long to learn basic BJJ?

So you are at the stage of starting to train or you are already a jiu jitsu white belt.

How long to learn basic BJJ? And how long does it take to become decent at BJJ?

It’s not a homogeneous subject on how long it takes to learn basic BJJ. Because it depends on

how often do you train BJJ in a week as a beginner
what jiu jitsu training course has the school or academy you are training in

But still, there are averages we can talk about.

How long to get good at BJJ as a beginner?

If a person has grappling training experience, BJJ basics will take to learn 1-2 months depending on the existing skills.

With martial art background but not related to grappling or ground fighting it will take a couple of months to get used to the principles of BJJ and learn the basic techniques.

For a newcomer to BJJ and martial arts in general it will take about 6 months to learn the basic techniques and begin to feel confident in the “jiu jitsu rolling environment”. At this stage, a lot of white belts already take part in the tournaments.

How long does it take to become decent at BJJ?

If you have no grappling or any martial art background you may feel like an idiot when rolling after a certain amount of jiu jitsu classes. Even with other white belts.

It can bring a feeling that you are missing something.

Advice: At some point, stop feeling yourself this way. Better ask your coach or skilled teammates if you are really missing something or if everything goes on its way and there is nothing to worry about.

Imagine you followed this advice. Here is what is more likely you will get as answers:

Don’t expect something from 6 classes of training. Give it at least 6 months.

If you already know the basic BJJ techniques but lack practice, create a template to work out them.

For example: learn one guard break or pass and work it out for a time period. Repeat it with a certain sweep. Move on to a submission from closed guard. Etc.

No need to take every single guard pass, sweep, or submission technique. Take only one from each cluster. Even with this simplified training template, you will be ahead of your white belt teammates.

Do your first judgment after 6 months of training and the next after a year. Compare. Do conclusions.

Be prepared you will critique yourself on every jiu jitsu belt level – from white to brown belt for sure. It’s a good point if as a result, it brings you to the next belt color. Remember, the real reviewer of your skills is your coach who admits your skills in fact.

The improvement starts from day one.

Rolling with higher belts is not just practicing rolling but learning new techniques.

Techniques are knowledge but practice leads you to progress. Try not to skip the rolling time on the mats.

Try not to compare yourself with others because it tenses the mind and limits the vision. Better learn from them, get ideas, and inspiration.

How often should you train BJJ as a beginner?

Good question. That is why we already prepared answers and interesting facts to know from experienced jiu jitsu practitioners.

Check this article – How many days a week do you train BJJ? [Reddit Answers].

Is training BJJ 3 times a week enough?

It’s a question that in fact can be the answer.

Yes, it’s enough to train BJJ 3 times a week. Of course, we can put here a reasonable “But” to give a more extended answer. But it’s too obvious. Because everyone understands, that how much time a week is enough to train depends on what you want from training and your possibilities.

Anyway, 3 times a week is a good schedule to gain steady results in jiu jitsu.