The Biggest Physical Mistakes New BJJ Students Make

The intensity of grappling can lead many beginners to rely on raw athleticism instead of technique. Avoiding these physical traps is vital for long-term consistency and health.

1. Overusing Strength and Forgetting Leverage

This is the number one mistake every white belt makes. Many beginners try to muscle their way out of bad positions or force submissions using only brute strength. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the “gentle art” for a reason. It is built entirely on the principle of leverage and technique overcoming size and power.

• Why it is a mistake: Relying on strength quickly leads to burnout and fatigue. You will rapidly exhaust yourself while your partner remains relatively fresh. Furthermore, strong-arming techniques prevents the development of true technical proficiency. Stronger students often plateau because they skip the foundational steps of proper body positioning and weight distribution.

• The solution: Focus on weight distribution. Concentrate on making your opponent carry your weight while using skeletal alignment and grips to neutralize their movement. Ask your instructor to correct your structure, not your effort.

2. Skipping the Warm-up and Stretching

A comprehensive warm-up is non-negotiable. BJJ is a full-contact sport that requires maximum flexibility and mobility in the joints, particularly the hips, neck, and shoulders. Beginners sometimes arrive late or view the warm-up as unimportant drill time. This significantly increases the likelihood of injury.

• Why it is a mistake: Cold muscles and stiff joints are highly susceptible to strains and pulls when put under the explosive pressure of a roll. Ignoring mobility work hinders your ability to perform movements like hip escapes or deep guard positions effectively.

• The solution: Arrive early. Dedicate time to dynamic stretching and mobility exercises, focusing on your rotational joints. A prepared body learns and performs better during every BJJ class in Irving.

3. Refusing to Tap Out (The Ego Check)

Tapping is not losing; tapping is learning. Beginners often let their ego take over, trying to tough out a submission past the point of safety. This stubbornness is reckless and serves no purpose.

• Why it is a mistake: A refusal to tap leads to serious, avoidable injuries like ligament tears or unconsciousness from chokes. The goal of training is longevity. If you get hurt, you cannot train.

• The solution: Tap early and often. See the tap as a data point. It tells you that your defense failed at that moment. Analyze why you had to tap, then immediately try to fix that vulnerability in the next round. Your training partners at the MA BJJ Academy rely on you tapping when caught.

Common Strategic and Technical Errors

Moving beyond the physical, several strategic mistakes frequently impede a beginner’s mental grasp of the art. These errors prevent the student from developing a coherent game plan.

4. Focusing Too Much on Complex Submissions

Many newcomers watch highlight reels and immediately want to learn intricate spinning armbars or rare leg entanglements. They bypass the basics in pursuit of flashy moves. This is the definition of putting the cart before the horse in Jiu-Jitsu.

• Why it is a mistake: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a layered art. Submissions are only effective if you can maintain solid positional control first. Trying to finish complex moves from inferior positions is a waste of energy and often results in losing your position entirely.

• The solution: Master the fundamentals. Spend your first six months becoming unbeatable in basic positions: side control, mount, guard recovery, and the straight armlock. Positional mastery is the foundation of all advanced submission success.

5. Ignoring Positional Escapes and Defense

Attack is exciting; defense is hard work. Beginners naturally gravitate toward offense, but they neglect the critical ability to escape bad positions. Defense is the most important skill for a new student. It dictates survival.

• Why it is a mistake: If you cannot escape side control or guard passes, you spend 90% of your rolling time crushed and defenseless. This prevents you from initiating any offense, making the entire experience frustrating. Good defense builds stamina and confidence.

• The solution: Dedicate specific practice time to escaping the most common pins: mount, side control, and back control. Your goal during rolling should not be to submit, but to survive and return to a neutral position. Survival is the precursor to attack.

6. Holding Your Breath and Rushing the Action

Panic breathing (or not breathing at all) is a classic rookie error. When under pressure, especially when defending a choke, beginners often hold their breath or breathe shallowly, triggering the fight-or-flight response. They also tend to rush their attacks, trying to finish submissions instantly.

• Why it is a mistake: Holding your breath drains your energy rapidly, clouding your judgment. Rushing an attack allows your opponent easy counter-opportunities. You need clear thinking to solve the human puzzle in front of you.

• The solution: Practice slow, deep, diaphragmatic breathing while rolling, especially when in a defensive position. When attacking, slow your movements down. Utilize the principle of “Patience, Pressure, Placement” to ensure every move is deliberate and controlled.

Mental and Etiquette Traps to Avoid

BJJ is a community-driven art. Certain mental attitudes and etiquette failures can isolate a new student and sabotage their learning environment.

7. Comparing Yourself to Advanced Belts

It is natural to look at a purple or brown belt and feel discouraged by the gap in skill. New students often forget that those advanced belts have dedicated years to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. They have thousands of hours of mat time.

• Why it is a mistake: Comparison is the thief of joy. Focusing on the skill disparity makes you blind to your own daily improvements. Furthermore, comparing your ability to someone who has been training for five years is simply irrational.

• The solution: Measure your progress against yourself. Did you survive two seconds longer in mount than last week? Did you finally execute that escape during a live roll? Focus on these small, incremental victories. Learn from the advanced students, but do not compete with them.

8. Skipping Drill Time for Sparring (Rolling)

Drilling is the repetition of specific techniques in a non-resisting environment. It is the practice of movements until they become muscle memory. Beginners sometimes believe that they learn more by rolling constantly.

• Why it is a mistake: Rolling without proper drilling turns into a chaotic scramble of strength and desperation. You execute moves poorly, reinforcing bad habits instead of good technique. Drilling provides the necessary repetition for speed and precision.

• The solution: Treat the drilling portion of the class as the most important part. Perfect the technique shown by your instructor before trying to execute it against a resisting partner. Quality drilling leads to quality rolling.

9. Ignoring Mat Hygiene and Protocol

Training at an academy near Dallas means you are part of a shared, close-contact community. Neglecting basic hygiene is disrespectful and dangerous to everyone on the mats.

• Why it is a mistake: Poor hygiene leads to the spread of common mat infections like ringworm, staph, and impetigo, potentially shutting down training for multiple people. Furthermore, it shows a lack of respect for your teammates and the academy.

• The solution: Always wear clean gear (Gi or No-Gi rash guard). Keep your fingernails and toenails trimmed short. Wear sandals or shoes when off the mat. Shower immediately after training. This is a foundational courtesy expected at every self-defense and martial arts gym.

10. Being Afraid to Ask Questions

Beginners often hesitate to ask instructors or training partners for clarification, fearing they will look foolish or interrupt the class. This silence is the quickest way to cement a misunderstanding of a technique.

• Why it is a mistake: If you do not understand the mechanics of a move, you cannot perform it correctly. Practicing the wrong way over and over is wasted time and creates bad habits that are extremely difficult to undo later.

• The solution: Ask simple, direct questions about the why and how of the technique demonstrated. Most advanced students and instructors at our MA BJJ Academy love to share their knowledge and correct minor details; they were all beginners once.