Tips to Learning BJJ Faster
One of the questions I get asked most as a BJJ instructor is, "How do I learn this stuff faster?" It's the natural reaction to falling in love with Jiu Jitsu — you see it as a martial art, a…
About the author: Sam Joseph is a second-degree black belt, head instructor and gym owner.
One of the questions I get asked most as a BJJ instructor is, "How do I learn this stuff faster?" It's the natural reaction to falling in love with Jiu Jitsu — you see it as a martial art, a full-body workout, and a whole lifestyle all at once, so you want to absorb it as fast as humanly possible. The catch is that learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a lot like building a house: rush the foundation and you'll pay for it later. Letting your body and your understanding catch up takes time. But there are ways to make that time count for more. Here's how to speed up the process — without skipping the parts that matter.
Learn techniques in combinations.
Drill the individual move and its little details, always. But the moment you start learning that move alongside the next one — the technique that answers your opponent's most likely response — your learning accelerates. Combinations don't just add options, they multiply them, because now you're taking what your opponent gives you instead of forcing what isn't there. Learn a sweep, then immediately learn what you do when they defend it. That's how you start "setting traps," and the more traps you can set, the more your game opens up. Stacking technique on situation like this is the fastest honest way to level up.
Train both gi and nogi.
We talk about gi and nogi like you have to pick a side. You don't. You'll have a preference — that's fine — but training both makes you a far better grappler. The gi teaches "position before submission" beautifully, because all that fabric gives you a huge menu of grips and control. Nogi tends to teach leg-lock attack and defense earlier and more thoroughly. Embrace both and you strip away the artificial ceilings on your growth — the lessons from one constantly feed the other. Look at the athletes with the most complete games and you'll almost always find beautiful gi and nogi. Just because you don't love one today doesn't mean you won't later. I tell my students about quitting piano as a kid and regretting it for the rest of my life — don't make the grappling version of that mistake.
Take care of your body.
There's a saying in sport: the best ability is availability. You can't maximise your learning if you're too banged up or too exhausted to be on the mat. Consistent body maintenance, decent nutrition, and actual recovery are your allies in the fight to keep training. Stretching, mobility work, sleep, the occasional massage or adjustment — these aren't just for pros. The degree to which you build them into your week directly decides how much quality mat time you'll actually get. A high-performance engine needs good fuel and regular servicing; so do you.
Borrow from other grappling arts to grow your Jiu Jitsu.
The story goes that the triangle choke was "rediscovered" in BJJ when one of Rolls Gracie's students found it in an old judo book and started tapping the whole room with it. Now it's as fundamental as anything we do. If cross-pollinating was good enough for the best of his generation, it's good enough for us. Jiu Jitsu was founded on doing what works — the Gracies were constantly testing and adjusting based on what they found. So hold tight to the fundamentals, but stay open to wrestling takedowns, judo throws, the modern leg-lock systems, and whatever the next generation is innovating. All it takes is a willingness to learn from what actually works.
Test yourself.
Pushing yourself is what triggers the real jumps. Tests come in many forms — competition, rolling with higher belts, sparring more athletic teammates, training with new partners at another gym. The key is to walk toward those tests instead of avoiding them. When your goal is faster progress, even setbacks become useful: they answer the questions you had about your game. That mindset is freeing, and it tends to unlock exactly the kind of progression we're all chasing.
Jiu Jitsu, like most things worth doing, is hard — especially at the start, when there's a whole universe of information and your enthusiasm can curdle into frustration. These tips will speed up your BJJ learning and keep that frustration, which is the real enemy of progress, at bay. See you on the mat.
Originally published in Jiu Jitsu Style by Sam Joseph. Refreshed for 2026.