Not BJJ but started Muay Thai 3 weeks ago. 6 sessions deep now, everyone who is advanced is always happy to help and eager to see you learn. It's like another family, love it.

@crazycontraptions1249

7 ай бұрын

Bro is dick and balls deep in the thai boxing rabbithole now. There is no escape.

@shannonsteven3982

7 ай бұрын

Honestly as someone who trains in MMA, Muay Thai and BJJ. Muay Thai is hands down the best to get started in, theres something about the community that is always hyper positive.

@TheAlexJimenez

5 ай бұрын

And that’s something you can actually use in real life. Can reserve jujitsu, they don’t want me to pick you up and just slam you. Which I can do very easily. So Brazilian jujitsu guys grow with this unearned confidence, because no one’s trying to hit you were really slam you and hurt you.

@Gojimaru

2 ай бұрын

@@TheAlexJimenez This 👍. Pure jiu-jitsu with no real danger is really doing you a disservice in terms of self defence. I'm tired of these pijama nerds thinking they can pull off their off the back, no threat, theoretical techniques on eveyone and everywhere. I'm talking in general. There are real wizards out there that have the toughness to pull if off but chances are if whoever is reading this... you ain't one of them.

Played rugby for 15 years, Muay Thai for 6. Now a blue belt in BJJ, 3 years in and love it

@NJ-500

7 ай бұрын

Do you still train muay thai? My only concern with striking focused martial arts is the envitable brain damage, besides that I really like boxing as well. I'm planning to start bjj soon, and get a boxing bag to train striking at home. Do you think it's possible to become a decent striker by just hitting the bag and shadow boxing? I don't care about being amazing, I think being good at bjj + being a decent striker is more than enough to take down majority of people in case of self defence.

@jaibambach3109

7 ай бұрын

You must be an absolute weapon

@howiseetheworld3581

7 ай бұрын

@@NJ-500 Boxing 3 years, Muay Thai 7 years, and BJJ 1 year here. I'd say for striking there is stuff you just can't learn by yourself. I've seen it when new people learn striking, and before they're allowed to try sparring, they get really good on the bag and pads. But when they start sparring, they crumble from the pressure.. The first real test if you want to get good at striking is taking a proper punch to the face, as it's a lot different when the bag hits back. That's where a lot of people quit. Brain damage you just have to work out where your cut off is. Some people stop when headaches get consistent after training, some after a few knockouts in fights etc. But if you want to get competent I'd say you would have to do sparring/fighting. Then once you have the striking IQ and experience, then you can get away with keeping the tools sharp with just hitting the bag and shadow boxing. Something to think about is - if you were backed into a corner and had to fight someone who had good striking, would you feel comfortable fighting back? There are countless people who have those skills out in the wild, I don't believe only shadow boxing/bag work will help you against them. My personal view is I train for self defence. So I'm willing to trade losing brain cells to be a competent fighter on the feet and on the ground. If I never get into a fight again, then all that training didn't go to waste, as I love martial arts & want to teach others what I know, helping people learn how to defend themselves.

@aureliocasillas7363

6 ай бұрын

@@NJ-500the answer is no, you cant be a decent striker without sparring and even that will take years. Bjj just like striking is hard to learn and in wrestling you will also hit heads alot so its brain damage either way but its very minimal. I trained and fought muaythai since i was 12 till like 22 and ive never experienced any head trauma.

@iamawuss

6 ай бұрын

@@NJ-500 no you need to go to a gym with good strikers to teach you foot work, technique, and how to condition yourself. Also you need to spar. You don’t have to go hard to the head but if you don’t pressure test your techniques against a wide variety of body types you’ll never really know where you stand.

I love the fact guys get together and roll or hold pads in combat sports, it feels like it's something we have always done and always should.. Keep up the good content James.

The hardest thing about starting BJJ is telling your parents that your gay

@diogo88387

7 ай бұрын

😂😂😂

@retardno002

7 ай бұрын

Ah sh*t you made eye contact didn't you?

@AED365

6 ай бұрын

You’re*

@dave9547

6 ай бұрын

Very true

@theginjaninja6885

6 ай бұрын

It was a hard conversation but they've been accepting.

I found Muay Thai 6 months ago and it’s become the bedrock of my week. The injection of routine has really helped me get myself together and I’m great full to have such a great gym, coach and training mates. Life changing

This is why I rate you so much James, a lot of the time I think your just a lad with some good knowledge but your grappling and BJJ shows you have the next gear 👊🏽🔥 big respect brother

Tried to get into BJJ a couple years back. Not for me. However, I found boxing was the sport that sucked me in. Found a great gym, coach and group of people. Been life changing for me

@onetwo9719

7 ай бұрын

Tbf you will probably have less chronic injuries

@The_Original_Hybrid

7 ай бұрын

BJJ is cool, but ngl I feel like most people who gravitate towards it are afraid of getting punched in the face.

@kanemoss4490

7 ай бұрын

@@The_Original_Hybrid not necessarily. Different strokes for different folks

@Azurech

7 ай бұрын

Well, some people don't like to have CTE lol@@The_Original_Hybrid

@Azurech

7 ай бұрын

yeah, only some CTE down the line@@onetwo9719

Thank you for being one of the influential online figures that pushed me to start BJJ a year ago. I loved this video and would love to see more BJJ content. Oss!

Love it mate very insightful

i train in wollongong with a coupe guys who go to garage regularly, nothing but great words from them about the gym, makes all the difference

Really enjoy the videos and hope you do more bjj as you content us great. Been training for 5 years, testing for my purple belt in December, I can't imagine life with out bjj now.

@dexterlar

7 ай бұрын

Wdym 'testing'?

@MrCraigHartley

7 ай бұрын

some places test for belts, it's a thing. never been a fan myself but some gyms do it.@@dexterlar

@lukedofboom6053

6 ай бұрын

@@MrCraigHartleyi wasn’t a fan either but D1 wrestling exists so it makes sense. for the average person there is no reason to test but if a d1 wrestler knows to submissions they can sometimes tap high level black belts so like what belt are they. that’s at least why my coach said he belt tests

Love it bro!

I'm 36 and started around 7 months ago. It's the most enjoyable hobby I've ever done.. wish I'd started sooner.

Thx man..... ..Im thinking about getting back into it ......this Video has helped me close that gap

The sum up at the end is very on point. Easily shows what makes BJJ likeable and why I enjoy it.

After lifting weights for many many many years, I decided to start doing MMA training and I must say this is the best decision I have made. All the training I now do has a purpose, training now is not just for looking good but also to smesh faces if need be.

The in the moment and being "the now" is one of the best bits about BJJ

I just signed in for my first ever BJJ lesson big ups for in the inspo ✨

started my first bjj class yesterday! so much fun cant wait for the next.

Your vids are awesome. And then you have lane 8 music on top and suddenly its EVEN BETTER 😁👌🏼

Got my first stripe 2 days ago, inspired by your jiu jitsu videos. Thanks pal

@YoutubeWatts

6 ай бұрын

Congrats!

@EmbraceTestosterone

4 күн бұрын

hows it going now?

Great video!

loving the lane 8 music!

I just started judo again, gonna go at least once a week. Going to look for people i can do extra ground grappling/bjj with outside of the lessons. Iv been doing boxing for decades, this is a nice addition

Haven't trained properly in 4-5 months but getting back to the mats on Friday at a new gym where the classes aren't taught in English but still gonna make it work! Shoutout for the Soma Gucci shorts too 👌🏻

never knew you where in the gong when you moved over here , top video as always

Been rolling for 3 weeks now since watching your video. It was the last bit of convincing I needed and I’m enjoying it so far. Great feeling being such a beginner again and knowing you’re not necessarily trying to hurt the other person. Random question: where are your shorts from? 😂❤️

Been training just over 4 years, got my purple in the summer & literally can’t see life without BJJ now. Like you said James about the self defence aspect I don’t even think about that part now, its a byproduct of a game of human chess, but it takes a while to realise that unfortunately with a huge drop out rate hindering the way- hopefully more people stick it out as it’s growing exponentially lately which can only be a good thing for the sport & everyone who’s participating l

this is a really good video like generally this was fun to watch for people that have thought about starting bjj

Was a complete bum at 22. Joined bjj and it gave me the sauce I needed in life. Now I just got my blue belt last weekend and have a successful ecom brand. If you are a young man, you need this

Love the content. Love BJJ. 44 year old Purple Belt. Been training for 5 years. But I the last year I decided to stop BJJ to improve my quality of life. (haven't decided if it permanent). It has been almost a year since I have stopped. I haven't felt that good in years. The pain in my neck, shoulder, fingers and knees are almost gone. Nowadays I do weightlifting and running mostly. I was loving BJJ but I had to choose between my quality of life and BJJ so I chose my health. I tried everything like flow rolling, no more competitions, choosing my partners to roll with, less wrestling but it was less fun and the damage on my body was done. I would call this the dark side of BJJ take care of your body young and let the ego outside. Listen to your body and not others. Especialy coaches they have business interest to keep you on the mats even if they are great people. Take care.

@lordsneed9418

7 ай бұрын

yeah, so often the accumulated damage gets done in the first few years when you're enjoying it and can't help but try quite hard during sparring. And certain positions that you're told are safe and shouldn't tap to actually cause significant wear and tear . like when someone grabs a guillotine but you get to cross side control so you're lying across on top of their body. You're told that position is safe so that's how you can defend the guillotine, but still if they keep a tight grip a hold of you and try to twist it still strains your neck and things like that over time cause damage and pain and lead to injuries that will never fully heal and will flare up easily. there are a lot of things I'd tell me when I first started that I never came across that info.

@Evolve1976

7 ай бұрын

Can I ask were you stretching if so how long for.

@JonathanHebert

7 ай бұрын

@@Evolve1976 arrived 15minutes before the session for years, warm up for 5 minutes on assault bike, dymanic streching for 5-10 minutes then the course starts with drilling, then techniques, then positional sparring then normal sparring.

@misevibre

7 ай бұрын

Very important perspective. More people need to be aware of this.

@Evolve1976

7 ай бұрын

@@JonathanHebert thanks for the info. I could be the most injured guy in bjj history started bjj about 10 years ago and probs only had half that time on the mat. Injuries are part of bjj and hard to avoid. I do think of giving it up as it takes so much out of your body even typing this up my necks in bits but I also feel I’ve put to much time into bjj just to give up. Think the important thing is to relax and pick your partners wisely.

Cool video - these are many of the reasons why I've been doing this since 2012. The only thing I regret is not doing it earlier... I started quite late than most at 27.

41 years old, 5 years in, I train 5 to 6 hours a week. I love it. Best thing I ever did in my life. It is therapeutic and keeps you fit. You will make many friends... and remember if you get too much damage, go lighter, ask your partner to go lighter, have fun, and be a good partner.

Your gym looks healthy. I was in a toxic cult gym and had virtually no options because North Dakota is lacking in variety. I was ostracized by the gym during covid because I trained with other people outside the gym who the coach didn't like, but when I tried to train with the blue belts they ignored my messages. But were all training together at the coaches house. It was a pathetic and unfortunate situation

@mr-iz8cx

7 ай бұрын

Sounds cultish. Plenty of them about

Did jujitsu for 2, stopped and now judo for 2 years, I started out as a self defence enthusiast early on but forgot about it, it is all for fun, I may know a few moves but all I care about is the mats your comment on it ringed so true to me

This video made me finally sign up! 5th class tonight 😇

yo, that's the video that I was waiting for, and boy was it an amazing one! 🤜🤛was the day you were filming a nogi/open-mat day? great gym btw

@JamesSmithPT

7 ай бұрын

Open mat

seems like such a good energi in that room.

Love it, I'm getting the itch 😁

Thanks legend

Great vi james

love it love-asawako💖

Could you make a video on how to make sure the workout tips you find online are from reliable sources? Maybe some sugestions with background from sports-science academia or something like that. Thank you

More BJJ content!! I started 5 months ago with my husband, and we're addicted now😀

Your videos are great. I started BJJ about three months ago and I love it. I won't compete (that's not my thing) but I have a great coach and a gym of awesome people. It also helps that your accent is similar to Neil Newbon's ^_^

First brown belt gi comp Sunday then black and brown quintet next week. Always fun signing up. Always wonder why the fuck I'm doing it on the day. I always remember why after the match. Couldn't live without it

Lane 8 - Sunday Song Nice track 👍🏻

Keep the bjj content coming mate, love it. Even if it's just rolling footage.

i've just joined the martial arts hype and my chosen art is Muay Thai, obsessed with the endorphins it gives! Didn't start with the intention to fight and now training to fight!

The end was epic

Awesome video, gotta do more Ju-jitsu content brother!

Thank you so much James! I started BJJ in August because of a video that you made I got my first stripe last week

@bennicolai9829

7 ай бұрын

Was it hard to learn? Or does it start with absolute basics.

@user-lo7it4ww1r

7 ай бұрын

@@bennicolai9829 most bjj gyms start of with basics so it shouldn’t be hard to learn at first for most people

@NJ-500

7 ай бұрын

@@bennicolai9829 Of course you will start with the basics, same as anything in life

James, I have to thank you for the video you did maybe 6-9 months ago on BJJ because I got into it after that and I can say hand on heart I fucking love it! Currently having a bit of a problem with some nerve damage from a guy that went full spaz on my neck but I’ll recover. Cheers mate and keep up with great work 🫡👊🏾

@TheConfusedTaco

7 ай бұрын

Research alpha lipoic acid for nerve damage recovery. Really cheap and does amazing stuff

@Dwyer1987

7 ай бұрын

@@TheConfusedTaco nice one mate I’ll check it out, might of spoken a little too soon as it looks like I’ve got a herniated disk pressing on a nerve 🫠👍🏾😂

@TheConfusedTaco

7 ай бұрын

@Dwyer1987 sounds rough pal wish you a quick recovery 🙏🏾

Great Video as always! Its got to be Kickboxing for me! I have spinal damage and nerve damage, I tried 1 BJJ class and and collapsed after one movement! Not for me unless I'm looking to get paralyzed haha!

@NJ-500

7 ай бұрын

Damn, you reckon kick boxing is safer for your body than bjj? Or is that just in your case because you have spinal damage and don't want to bend. Also ik I'm just a stranger but have you ever thought about quitting martial arts? Spinal damage is no joke man and life is too short, but hey if martial arts is worth becoming paralysed in your opinion, I can respect it

Lol, first thing I saw was Wollongong which is where I am. At least I know where to go if I want to check it out.

not my cup of tea, but i recently got into savate which is french kickboxing through an acquaintance of ours and it's the perfect addition to basic gym work-outs. nice bunch of people, boys and girls of all ages really, it's great fun learning things and seeing yourself get better with the movements and everything. it's also really exhausting, so cardio is finally being addressed, kinda. we warm up by playing football or basketball and do 90 mins of savate. should have started doing martial arts way earlier, i just turned 30.

started Taekwondo 3 years ago. now transitioning into boxing and getting to find a BJJ club. couldnt skateboard anymore was the reason i started. now im on my board again because of it.

Where is this magical gym? Only two people with with knee wraps! I've never heard of such a place

Jiu Jitsu is the art that equips your mind with solutions and teaches you how to solve the problems that come your way with learning and improving. A way I believe we can agree a successfull person should live their life :)

Trying out a new gym this week (free week type of thing) as my old one got closed due to building getting demolished. I went there for the first time on saturday to give it a quick look.. realized there's a BJJ studio right next door that has classes on monday around the time I usually finish my workout. Match made in heaven? Going by tomorrow to say hi and see whats up :)

I'm really keen in checking out BBJ. all the recent popularity has definitely piqued my interest. I'm a huge believer in martial arts for everyone. Everyone should do one to a decent standard for health, fitness, confidence, self defence, respect for others... the benefits are endless. How do you know if the BJJ gym / dojo you select is a good, credible one?

Awesome video James! *video uploaded 2 min ago*

My 21yr old lives and breathes BBJ…from football, rugby, fencing for GB (lightening quick reflexes) and add in all forms of martial arts, but BBJ has his heart (just got his 😈 belt…he trains 6 days a week and is ripped to shreds and beyond strong…you don’t want to mess with him…like some drunks tried recently…it didn’t end well for them…!!

If you ever come to the states let’s train!

Legend

broo, i love your videos about bjj, that helps a lot to grown the sport, tks and . I hope when you come to sunshine coast you can visit our gym and we can train luta livre osss

5 year white belt, waiting on blue someday. Our gym has insane standards, any visiting blue gets absolutely floored by our average white belt. Best sport out there, the hard work is rewarding

Started BJJ 5 months ago, at the age of 40, wish I’d started 20 years ago, absolutely love it!

@seandunne6005

6 ай бұрын

respect

I started bjj last year , I now have a snapped acl and taken me 6 months to just get assessed by the nhs. Now have to wait another year for an operation, if I had 8k I would go private so I could get back to bjj. Sucks being injured and I get jealous watching others now succeed which is a place I never thought I'd be in

@NJ-500

7 ай бұрын

Man that really sucks, I really want to start a martial art but I'm aware of the damage it can do to your body, that's why I was more drawn to bjj, but seems even with bjj damage is inevitable. May I ask how you tore your acl and did you hear about many injuries in the bjj gym?

@stepheng4218

7 ай бұрын

@NJ-500 unfortunately everything has risk. Having done some for of martial art throughout most of my life I've been ok and unfortunately got caught put on an electric chair move and didn't realise my knee was going to pop as I'd never experienced it before. A bitter pill to swallow but a smart person taps out before they get hurt

Really interesting video and impressive work! I personally couldn't get into any form of martlal arts as I don't like having skin to skin contact with other people!

@DrBased123

6 ай бұрын

It's not as bad as you think. Give it a try but if you don't like it then a striking art like Muay Thai.

I would love to try this sport but I am a big lad (don't mean fit like these guys) and i worry if my "body type" would fit in plus I have asthma so my breathing can be rather loud, I have played a sport to a decent level in the UK, American football, but this would be completely different to anything I have done before, I wonder if you did this before you left for Australia, I live in the town next to your home city and wonder if you can recommend anywhere to go and try this out because the thing i miss most about sport is the banter the comradery between everyone going for the same or similar goals, it becomes part of who you are, anyway another great video, stay strong

@nathantheophilus4856

6 ай бұрын

it's open for everyone. I'm short but stocky and i still get a good workout in, either grappling dudes massively larger than me or dudes half my weight.

Short fellas only, looks like. Good to see Carter Gordon back at it after the world cup.

Brilliant video, I'm in my BJJ gym every morning 6AM -ZOMBIE SQUAD!!!!

That’s it you’ve convinced me to take up fly fishing

I started Jiu Jitsu 3 days after watching this video

Nice triangle defence 😂

One step at a time James.. still looking for a place to rent in Australia first😂

Very much interested but closest martial arts gym is 36km away. Got a small boxing club nearby, i think I'll go for it. Atleast I've made a promise to myself that i will, within the next 3 months. And we'll see what we find in University, cuz they've martial arts clubs i guess.

MORE JITS CONTENT. ALWAYS.

best activity you will ever start, be warned, you wont want to stop.

You put Lane8 on top of Jiu Jitsu and I just like you a whole lot more;)

Looks like I'm in the nothing will category but good to see what it's like. 👍

Interesting stuff James. What's your take on injury risk? (Given that you're with a good gym with good people where certain rules apply). That seem to be one of the bigger concerns when I talk to my 40 year-old-dad-mates about starting out

@KenithCopeland

7 ай бұрын

Most injuries happen at lower belts because we simply don’t know what to do or where to turn or just do dumb stuff without thinking. Letting go of the ego and tapping early rather then trying to fight out of everything goes s long way with injury prevention too

@lordsneed9418

7 ай бұрын

There's a big injury risk, especially for 40 year olds, ESPECIALLY if you don't already have have a good level of strength and muscle from an athletic background (i.e. if you're a 40 year old average guy thinking "I'll get in shape by doing bjj for exercise" the risk is a lot higher than if you're a 40 year old who has been continuously weightlifting or comes from an athletics/sports background and has kept up his fitness). Just look at some of the videos of bjj practicioners and instructors on youtube talking about injuries and injury risk craig jones (one of the most successful competitors of the last few years) and others have done a few under the tag "jiu jitsu ruined my life". a 40 year old starting bjj or wrestling should probably be considered almost as bad an idea as a 40 year old starting playing rugby, the injuries just accumulate over the time span of a few years. You need to be very careful and disciplined with how you train and who you choose to train with as a 40 year old to avoid this , which is very hard since it's so fun. I wouldn't recommend starting it to any 40 year old , least of all someone with kids.

@MrAaronChatfield

7 ай бұрын

I'm a 53 year old black belt. Ive trained grappling for 24-25 years (31 years of martial arts), with the last 10 focused on just jiu jitsu. Injuries are part of a contact sport of this nature, but a good academy, choosing good training partners and going in with the right attitude will reduce the risk. So far, the only serious injuries I have had a meniscus and knee ligaments. Go give it a try....

@NJ-500

7 ай бұрын

@@MrAaronChatfield damn 25 years of grappling, you must be a beast. What belt are you? Im 19 and really interested in starting a martial art, I joined a boxing gym but quit after a couple months because I was becoming aware of the long-term brain damage. Now I'm more drawn to bjj but I keep seeing videos and comments about injuries. If I start bjj is it possible to not sustain any serious longterm injuries?-joints-ligaments? I'm an apprentice plumber so my joints already take alot of damage.

@MrAaronChatfield

7 ай бұрын

@@NJ-500 at 53, not so much of a beast these days! I’m a black belt. My first combat sport was boxing, in the early 90s. You can certainly do things to avoid any long term issues in BJJ. Taping fingers, knee supports etc… plus tapping early. Jiu jitsu is one of the safest martial arts, because of the ability to stop instantly by tapping. Find a good club and get started 👍🏻

Oss!

I’ve always been interested BJJ but I have a dodgey right knee that clicks out of place whenever it goes in a weird position

42 years old & will definitely be starting in January.

Always fancied this but I’m not flexible. Will this be an issue ?

Been trying to get my gf into this for ages!

Lane 8 my man!!! :)

I joined a trial class 2 weeks ago but it just too physically demanding to have to work for 8h, then walk for 1h to the bjj club and back and do calisthenics training in the gym. 😣

@obidiahhakes

7 ай бұрын

carry it on, drop the cali

@SantanaFPV

7 ай бұрын

BJJ *feels* a lot less physically demanding, at first your breething will suck, stick at it and you'll get more efficient with movements and learn how to breath while receiving huge amounts of pressure.

I started in 2017 and trained 3 years until now, still white belt 😆

Thoughts on push pull run?

Gi all day!

and lol you are great ;)

I want to do it but that dude got paralyzed his first time and I think about that happening it’s scary

Can we get a dedicated James Smith BJJ channel please, cheers

Undoubtedly an exciting sport and a friendly environment. But as I see half of the guys are wearing some kind of sleeves on one or both knees. So good luck with avoiding meniscus, acl, rotor cuff and neck issues... 😅

MORE BJJ VIDEOS PLEASEEE

Any advice to overcome social anxiety with Jiu Jitsu? I'm enrolled in a class but almost always struggle due to anxiety. 😮‍💨

@nathantheophilus4856

6 ай бұрын

Imagine you're rolling with yourself!! IF your opponent you need to be is "you from a day ago", then it really helps to make yourself grow. Also , idk if this works since i Don't have social anxiety, but once you're on the ground you can close your eyes. and grapple eyes closed.

Nothing will right now :-) but some day!