Warming Up:

If your warm-up is full of push-ups, ask yourself—what part of your jiu-jitsu actually involves bench-pressing your training partner? Warm-ups should mirror the movements, timing, and coordination you actually need on the mat and be done with good form. You don’t see someone about to bench-press warm up with cartwheels, or someone about to squat warm up with hip escapes, so why would you press-up or squat to get ready to drill kimuras?

The technical portion of class is your warm-up. Start with standing work, then follow with a ground sequence, adding a few variations to tie everything together. This will give you 35–40 minutes of productive movement—enough to get your body and mind ready, and entirely specific to the tasks at hand.

The problem comes when “story time” sneaks in and you cool down—physically and neurologically—right before live rolling. A traditional warm-up won’t fix that (nor would any warm-up performed long before the main task). The key is pacing: never rest for more than a few minutes at a time. If the class flows properly, everyone stays moving, stays warm, and stays sharp.

During the technical session, everything should be slow, smooth, and controlled. Students should repeat the coach’s anchor points as they drill. This improves recall, accuracy, and execution—but also forces control. You can’t rush if you’re focused on technique, and you can’t be smooth if you’re white-knuckling each movement.

Think of it like cutting down a tree: methodical, deliberate, precise—every swing matters. When you act with clarity and intent, your technique lands exactly where it should.

If you feel coordination, strength, or power dropping, stop. Continuing past that point only patterns bad habits into your nervous system.

You can follow this up with short, specific training rounds: mount escapes, turtle recovery, takedown recovery/finishes, closed guard, open guard passing/sweeping, and standing. Progressing from the least to most athletic positions warms the body further while burning off nervous energy and agitation before hitting live rounds.