One aspect of jiu jitsu that I’ve always found interesting was the widely varying learning curves that exist for those who stick with the art. Everyone learns at different paces and it has a deep affect on the jiu jitsu experience. Here are some of the types of students that one may encounter:
- The slow but steady learner: This is not going to be the next adult black belt world champion, but rather will slowly improve and retain data over time. From what I’ve seen most people fit this mold, and that’s okay, the fact that jiu jitsu can be retained by this kind of person is what makes jiu jitsu so very special.
- The “phenom”: Ever have someone walk in the door and they already are doing a lot of stuff right? Some people instinctually GET grappling. They have the ability to see possible pathways. This sort of person can attend class less frequently but somehow seem to retain more knowledge.
- The Student of the Game: This is an individual who has studied so many different arts that their belt rank is irrelevant. This is the Sambo guy with a judo black belt who just started doing BJJ. Chances are this person has an unusually effective and unorthodox style.
- The Fizzler: This is a guy who will be gung ho about training and doing BJJ for increments of time. They will then take a bunch of time off due to injury, family issues or other personal issues and eventually make their way back. There’s nothing wrong with The Fizzler but it can be frustrating to watch their process.
- The Born Again Jiujiteiro: This is a rare and strange breed, someone who has trained off and on over the years and has picked up just enough to be effective but if you take the actual chronological amount of time they’ve trained, they’re not quite where they would be if they had trained that entire time. This kind of person will pick stuff up super fast when they train seriously and may seem to have quantum leaps in their skill set.
- The “hobbyist”: This person shows up to socialize, but isn’t really interested in getting very good at jiu jitsu. I like to think of this kind of person as someone who fell through the cracks. You’ll often see this person carefully selecting their training partners, as they are concerned about their own wellbeing. This sort of person will likely never be a high level practitioner but they can be cool to hang out with.
- The Nerd: This person can tell you how long you’ve been training by the model of your gi. This person has watched every single live stream since live streams became a thing. Their actual skill set will vary from individual to individual, but their love of jiu jitsu is very real.
- The Stuck in a Rut Student: This is someone who gets stuck for extended periods of time. Even once they reach higher belts they get stuck for a while being unable to address certain situations. Don’t worry if you’re one of these, just stick with it and you’ll eventually get unstuck.
These are just eight examples of student types. Are you one of these? If not do you think you fall into a category I haven’t listed?
