Brazilian Jui Jitsu for Musicians (part 2)
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can present a very structured system for learning connected skills (as outlined in the first part of this series). But in order to get the most out of BJJ you need to spend time in the complex and unpredictable environment of “rolling.” In the classes and training I did, these sparring sessions would usually open up after all of the instruction and structured learning and experimentation occurred in our regular 50-60 minutes class, and it was not for everybody (at first). More experienced students would regularly go at each other and grapple using no prescribed starting sequence (unlike our in-class practice sessions), so partners could start standing or seated and simulate something more like a match in a tournament until someone tapped out. Many people rolled together regularly, but there wasn’t much of a discussion about what level each grappler was at before they started. The expectation was for each person to try to use the moves and counter-moves they knew and play it out without stopping. When our class instruction was done, I usually scampered out to my car as soon as the closing partner practice sessions were over. I missed a lot of observation and possibly a chance to try rolling in my first couple weeks of BJJ. When we ended class early one day, I thought I’d give it a shot. I hadn’t practiced in class with the guy who was available to roll with me, and as the match began he quickly showed himself to be a more experienced grappler who knew a lot of BJJ skills. As he quickly attacked my limited defenses I reacted with my newbie adrenaline by being as tense and “strong” as I could to win at all costs. My partner also knew Newton’s Third Law of Motion (for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction), and when I tried to push as hard as I could against his grip he turned my own energy against me, flipping me through the air and then onto the mat HARD on my ribs. I had enough awareness to lie there like a wounded possum so he could pin me. I definitely lost. I made a couple of mistakes:
I was afraid of losing, even though I had plenty of practice from class.
I tried to control the outcome (WINNING) instead of responding to the situation I was actually in.
These two points of ignorance are part of learning anything, but they can be remedied through more experience, curiosity, and feedback. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, like most activities, is not a chaotic street fight where anything can happen and people are trying to kill you. Because of my inexperience (both as an observer and grappler) I thought that I had to fight hard and WIN. Fortunately I had time to reflect over the next few weeks while my ribs healed and I didn’t go to class, and I developed a few key observations that would help me upon my return:
There is a lot of push and pull, grab and escape, feign from one side and strike from the other side in these sessions, almost never a straight line of force to victory. Rolling doesn’t follow a predictable sequence from A to Z, but a lot of active observation and response in the moment. This is the real “game” that Coach talked about when he implored us to “play the game” in our partner practice (detailed in the previous article).
The rolling sessions would always end, and they would almost always end with one person tapping out (not from exhaustion after hours of stalemate). Therefore, there was always a “loser” in the basic sense of the term. But after the match, the partners almost always talked about what happened during the match, usually with a bunch of smiling and joking as they recalled near-misses. Then they rolled again! And again! By the end of an exhausting 15-20 minutes, almost everyone in the gym had “won” a match, and nobody kept score in any way. It was basically the same level of intensity as a match in a formal tournament but without the need to keep any sort of scoring system.
Any time Coach and the more experienced players rolled together they were having SO MUCH FUN. They were having fun not because they “won” or showed off their radical skills and flexed their fierce glutes to show off, but because they were “playing the game” to the best of their ability (and games are fun).
In my time off from training I reflected on my time in class, wrote down notes about the skills I remembered (and texted Coach many, many questions asking for clarification and resources to watch and learn more), and eventually could move around well enough to practice a bunch of solo drills at home. I came back to class with a lot less “angry chimpanzee energy” and much more curiosity and awareness to have fun getting my ass kicked (which actually hurts a lot less than thinking you aren’t going to get squashed). In hindsight, this article and videos on rolling would have been very helpful.
Chris. What about jazz?
Rolling in BJJ is as essential as jamming in jazz IF you want to have a deeper experience in the way that professionals and your jazz heroes do. The repetitive journey that starts with observation and listening, learning new skills, and practicing until you know them (by yourself or with a partner). Then it culminates by putting yourself in an interactive, responsive setting like a good jam session (with friends or strangers). That is how you test your knowledge and see how others with more or different experience deploy those skills and most importantly, listen to and respond to each other to have meaningful musical experiences as a group. Do you need to “know” a skill perfectly to try it out in a jam session? No way! Just be ready to learn more about how it fits (or doesn’t fit) into the context you’re playing in and enjoy what’s actually happening with the musicians who are there with you. Do you need to go to a jam session that’s a performance in front of an audience? No way! Just call up some friends and get together to play a few tunes you all know. Jam sessions can be treated as win or lose performances (in our heads and in the reality of how they are run, especially in public). The classic jazz jam session story is of a young Charlie Parker getting on stage with better musicians, playing some “wack licks,” and having drummer Jo Jones throw a cymbal at him. I’m not going to lie, many jazz musicians I’ve encountered treat this scenario as a great lesson and learning experience and have used it to force their students (and themselves) to endlessly practice skills for hundreds of hours until they are worthy of playing with other people in a jam session. If I can give you one thing to take away from my BJJ story it’s this: If a gym full of legitimately dangerous humans can make the pinnacle of their training “playing a game” where they all have fun and are inclusive of a wide range of experience (beginners as well) not to mention age, gender, race, and background, musicians can prioritize having fun in jam sessions with friends (and strangers). Make jam sessions fun again! While I do continue to recommend that some people should give BJJ a try, it’s one of many activities you can learn a lot from individually but you get even more out of trying it with a group on a regular basis. Same as with running. Same as playing jazz.
If you can give up control of the outcome and try not to be afraid of “losing at jazz” (or at least not be 100% focused on winning) you’ll start to inhabit more of the traits that professionals and icons have. Most people are just as scared as you are, pretending not to be, or experienced enough not to care. Control what you can control. Open yourself to be curious, and listen to music and learn skills with attention and focus. Practice regularly on your own and with others. Show up to a jam near you or organize a session. Go into the jam with the intention to have fun, play a song you’ve practiced enough to listen to what’s going on around you, and then talk about the experience with the other folks. You’ll probably have a good time and you probably won’t bust your ribs on the floor. Then go home and apply what you learned to begin the practice>jam cycle again.
Chris Teal, IfCM Co-Director