The Dr. Phil of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, “Chewy” Albin of Derby City MMA, takes on an issue this week that affects at least one guy every class but rarely gets addressed in group coaching sessions: being the guy no one wants to roll with.
ChewJitsu fan “Neil” is IDed in the video as a big guy blue belt: 6’5″, 240, 36 years old. In the situation described, Neil spars with a black belt around 170lbs., gets a dominant(ish) neck crank…and then squeezes and squeezes for minutes without getting the tap or moving to a different submission attempt. Neil explains that the black belt blows up, yelling he’s a “f***ing boring fighter” and then storming off the mats in front of the rest of the team. This is especially problematic for Neil as someone who already struggles to find training partners.
Chewy’s theory is that if you’re a grappler whose teammates scatter away “like cockroaches” when you’re looking for a partner, people probably feel unsafe training with you–not because you’re awesome, but because you’re accidentally reckless with other athlete’s bodies. This video reviews the problem with neck cranks and how to properly use them in live rolling sessions, then offers some heart-to-heart advice on how to transform from a pariah into everyone’s favorite rollmate:
