How to Get Better at BJJ Faster — 8 Practical Tips
Getting better at BJJ isn't just about mat time — it's about how you use that time. Here are 8 practical tips from a Kaizen Academy black belt in Venice, CA.
Every BJJ student wants to improve faster. This post shares 8 specific, actionable strategies that accelerate development at Kaizen Academy in Venice, CA — from drilling methodology and partner selection to video review, mental approach, and the one habit most students skip that makes the biggest difference.
More mat time helps. But the students who improve fastest at Kaizen Academy aren't always the ones training the most hours — they're the ones using their time most intelligently.
Here are eight practices that consistently accelerate development, based on years of teaching at Kaizen Academy in Venice, CA.
1. Focus on One or Two Techniques Per Week
The temptation in BJJ is to try to learn everything. The reality is that trying to retain ten new techniques per week means retaining none of them. Each week, pick one or two techniques from class and drill them until they feel automatic. Narrow focus produces deep retention.
2. Roll With People Better Than You
Rolling exclusively with people at your level or below is comfortable and produces limited improvement. Rolling with more experienced partners — even when you get submitted constantly — forces you to develop specific defensive skills and exposes your gaps more clearly than anything else.
3. Review Your Weak Positions Intentionally
Most students avoid their weak positions. The student who seeks them out — who asks to start from bad spots during positional drilling — closes those gaps faster than anyone who avoids discomfort.
4. Ask Your Instructor for Specific Feedback
After class or after a round of rolling, ask: "What's the biggest technical issue I have right now?" A specific answer from a qualified instructor is worth more than hours of self-directed drilling. At Kaizen Academy, our instructors are on the mat and accessible — use them.
5. Watch High-Level BJJ (But Not Too Much)
Watching world-class BJJ — ADCC matches, IBJJF worlds, high-level submission grappling — exposes you to technique application under real pressure. But watch actively: pause, rewind, ask yourself what just happened and why. Passive watching produces minimal improvement.
6. Keep a Simple Training Journal
After each class, spend two minutes writing down: (1) the technique covered, (2) one thing you did well, (3) one thing to focus on next class. This simple habit compounds dramatically over months of training.
7. Prioritize Sleep and Recovery
Adaptation — the actual improvement — happens during recovery, not during training. Students who chronically underrecover plateau faster, get injured more, and lose motivation earlier. Eight hours of sleep is a performance tool.
8. Show Up Consistently Even When You Don't Want To
This is the most important one. The students who improve fastest aren't the ones with the most natural talent or the most athletic background. They're the ones who show up on the days they don't feel like it. Consistency is the single variable that most reliably predicts long-term BJJ development.
Kaizen Academy is at 2014 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291. First class is free.