Mat time is paramount in getting proficient, fluent and excelling in Jiu Jitsu in a number of ways from training on the mats here in Lake Nona to conquering Worlds

Location: Lake Nona, FL.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Photo by: Tabatha Graham

Jiu-Jitsu is an activity where you need mass amounts of practical application to fully understand each intertwined system that encompasses the entirety of the martial art. There are so many different lessons to be learned, ranging from pressures, movements, and applications of strangulations. 

Jiu-Jitsu is a healthy addiction that only worsens once you uncover the veil of the martial art and start to see the darker, more intricate underbelly. It takes years to get to the point of understanding what it means to be fluent. Often I am asked, “How do I get better? What do I need to do to get to the next belt level?” The answer I give is simple, mat time.

Grappling Mat Time

Mat time is a hard-earned currency that allows you to gain a wealth of experience. It enables you to collect valuable resources and spend them on rewards and attributes that are not easily bought without the currency. To reach the stage of black belt, for example, you will need to have accumulated a vast amount of wealth which will allow you to live comfortably on the mats. 

There is no easy way around the fact that you will need to put in your precious time and your hard work to gain the invaluable asset and become efficient. Certain skills learned, such as timing, technique fluency, and proper reaction to training partners, cannot be attained any other way. Finding success in these movements and reactions is added as a permanent fixture in your game through the arduous journey of repetition.

New skills and techniques 

The importance of mat time allies in the elemental benefits you will gain from being present and attentive on the mats. During this time, you will gain new skills and techniques that will help forge a clear path for the future, which is amplified with consistency. Along with acquiring new fundamental skills, you will be able to fine-tune preexisting skills and other skills and abilities. There are so many different facets that you will need to explore that you will never truly be able to comprehend until you are further along in your journey. 

Having the ability to create systems and put yourself into less advantageous positions will be shaped by continual practice and development. Through a lifetime of training, high-level competitors develop a position and find ways in which their opponent will be able to escape. Through trial and error, a system is developed to combat the reactions of opponents and training partners.

Last person on the mats

One of the keys to gaining a large quantity of mat time experience is to be the last person on the mats. This simple rule is what I attribute to most of my success in Jiu-Jitsu and grappling. I would always stay until the bitter end rolling, working on technique, or simply soaking up the variety of conversations to be had. I advocate working with as many different partners as possible to maximize the amount of variety you receive. 

The wonders of Jiu-Jitsu are the hierarchical system set up with the belt levels and how each belt level brings a new array of game. You want to try and work with various belts to gain a greater insight into the variation of strengths and weaknesses, such as guard retention, reaction, and space management. The more mat time spent with others will help them strengthen and develop their game creating problems for you to deal with and inadvertently help you build your game to combat the stressors. 

No greater currency in Jiu-Jitsu… Mat Time

There is no more sumptuous currency than MAT TIME in Jiu-Jitsu for both Gi and No-Gi. The more you take your technical foundation and apply it with practice, the greatest gains in your game you will experience. Skill development, timing, and learning how to link the complicated systems of Jiu-Jitsu together takes mass amounts of time and effort to become fluent. You need to put in work time and time again without expecting quick results but understand the more you put in, the more you will gain. 

Simply put, you must put in hard work to become proficient at Jiu-Jitsu over a period of time. Mat time is the most essential and valuable currency that must be attained in grappling. You can become rich and reap great rewards from gaining a wealth of the mat time currency or remain poor and pay in taps… the choice is yours every time you step onto the mats; choose wisely and stay hungry!