1. Relying on Strength Instead of Technique

This is the most frequent and significant mistake a beginner makes. New students often try to use pure muscle to escape bad positions or force a submission. This approach has several problems.

Why It’s a Mistake

Jiu Jitsu is the art of leverage. It was designed so a smaller, weaker person could control and defeat a larger opponent. When you rely only on strength, you burn through your energy reserves very quickly. You also increase the risk of injuring yourself or your training partners. A skilled opponent will use your own force against you, making your efforts counterproductive.

How to Correct It

• Relax and Breathe: Make a conscious effort to calm down during rolls. Conserve your energy for explosive, technical movements.

• Focus on Frames: Learn to use your arms and legs to create space and structure. Frames use bone structure, not muscle, to keep an opponent’s weight off you.

• Accept Bad Positions: Instead of panicking and bench-pressing someone off you, work on your defensive posture and patiently wait for an opportunity to execute a technical escape.

Our instructors emphasize controlled drilling to build these habits from your very first class.

2. Holding Your Breath

When you are in a difficult position with an opponent putting pressure on you, the natural instinct is to tense up and hold your breath. This is a critical error that limits your performance and endurance.

Why It’s a Mistake

Holding your breath starves your muscles of oxygen. This causes you to fatigue almost instantly. Your mind becomes foggy, making it difficult to think clearly and recall your techniques. A lack of oxygen puts you in a state of panic, which leads to more mistakes, like relying on strength.

How to Correct It

Consciously focus on your breathing during every part of the class, especially during live rolling. Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Try to link your breathing to your movements. A steady breathing pattern keeps your mind calm, your body oxygenated, and your energy levels stable. This simple change allows you to think strategically even under pressure.

3. Focusing Only on Submissions

Every new student wants to learn the cool submissions they see in competitions. While submissions are an essential part of Jiu Jitsu, focusing on them exclusively as a beginner will stunt your growth. You cannot apply a submission from a bad position.

Why It’s a Mistake

Hunting for submissions without establishing a dominant position is a low-percentage strategy. You will often compromise your own position, opening yourself up to being swept or submitted by your opponent. True progress in BJJ comes from a deep understanding of control and position.

How to Correct It

Adopt the “position before submission” mindset. This is a core principle of Jiu Jitsu. Prioritize learning and achieving these positions:

• Mount

• Back Control

• Side Control

• Knee on Belly

Once you can reliably get to and maintain a dominant position, submission opportunities will appear naturally. The curriculum at Ceconi BJJ Cypress is structured to build your skills in this logical order.

4. Neglecting Defense and Escapes

Just as beginners focus too much on submissions, they often neglect practicing their defenses and escapes. No one enjoys being in a bad position, so they avoid training there.

Why It’s a Mistake

You will spend a significant amount of your early BJJ career in inferior positions. That is a simple fact. If you do not have solid escapes, you will constantly get stuck and submitted. This leads to frustration and can make you feel like you are not improving. Strong defense is the foundation upon which you build your offense.

How to Correct It

Embrace difficult positions during training. Ask higher-level belts to put you in side control or mount. Then, work methodically to escape. Learning to survive and escape builds resilience and confidence. A confident defense allows you to take more risks with your offense because you are no longer afraid of the consequences.

5. Having Too Much Ego to Tap

Tapping is not losing. Tapping is learning. Your ego is the single biggest obstacle to your progress in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Refusing to tap out of pride will only lead to one thing: injury.

Why It’s a Mistake

An injury can keep you off the mats for weeks or even months, completely halting your progress. A tap, on the other hand, allows you to reset, ask your partner how they secured the submission, and get right back to training. There is no shame in tapping. Every single black belt has tapped out thousands of times.

How to Correct It

View every tap as a data point. It signals a mistake you made that your partner capitalized on. Thank your partner for the roll, analyze what happened, and learn from it. A safe training environment is paramount, and our Cypress BJJ classes promote a culture of respect where tapping is understood as a vital part of the learning process.

6. Training Inconsistently

Progress in Jiu Jitsu is a direct result of consistent effort over time. Showing up to class once this week and three times the next will lead to slow, frustrating progress.

Why It’s a Mistake

Jiu Jitsu is a complex art with countless details. Long breaks between classes cause you to forget those crucial details. You end up re-learning the same things repeatedly instead of building upon your knowledge. Consistency builds muscle memory and reinforces concepts until they become second nature.

How to Correct It

Set a realistic training schedule and stick to it. Aim for at least 2-3 classes every week. Treat your training sessions like any other important appointment. Even on days when you feel tired, showing up to drill or just watch the class is better than not coming at all. Consistency is more important than intensity.

7. Comparing Your Journey to Others’

You will see other white belts who seem to be progressing faster than you. You might see someone who started after you earn their first stripe before you do. Comparing your progress to theirs is a recipe for discouragement.

Why It’s a Mistake

Everyone learns at a different pace. People come into Jiu Jitsu with different backgrounds, athletic abilities, and time commitments. Your journey is uniquely your own. Focusing on someone else’s path only distracts you from your own growth.

How to Correct It

Focus inward. Track your own progress. Are you better today than you were last month? Are you surviving longer in rolls? Are you able to execute a technique that you struggled with before? These are the only comparisons that matter. Celebrate your small victories and trust the process.