Symptoms Of A "SPAZZ"

To anyone that has been reading this blog for awhile, or has listened to my podcast, then you will know that I am very passionate about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but with all of the positive things that BJJ brings to the table (i.e. Great Exercise, Fun Community, Self Defense, etc.), there are still one or two negatives that manage to dwindle their way in... one of these negatives... is .... THE SPAZZ!

Last night, I was rolling with some elite level blue belts, but all of these guys were fun to roll with, we were rolling aggressively but no one was trying to injure eachother... after all it was a training session NOT ABU DHABI. There is a guy in the class that no one really likes, due to the fact that he is OVERLY AGGRESSIVE, but this is one of those cases where he says something like "Hey man let's go light" getting you to put your guard down, then treating the roll as though they are fighting Marcelo Garcia! Another thing that he does that people don't typically tend to care for is he will go for foot locks/heel hooks (but instead of either giving it a little pressure and letting it go, or slowly adding pressure to give you enough time to tap) he will crank it for all its worth.

Although its hard to objectively describe a Spazz, here are some symptoms/commonalities:


#1- GO TOO HARD.

#2- EASILY EXCITABLE... meaning if they get a submission, instead of finding the right angle, they will crank it for all its worth.

#3- DON'T WANT TO TAP- well I'll be the first to admit... nobody likes to tap, but these guys will let their limbs snap before tapping...... except for not in a tournament, in a class in which the only person that will see their "courage" is an instructor/professor who is probably shaking his head, but who is also relieved, that he won't have a SPAZZ in his class trying to hurt people.

#4- TAKES NO ACCOUNT FOR ANYONE ELSE'S SAFETY- This goes with #3, however this guy is attempting to rip your head off no matter what... its Abu Dhabi time in your gym...

#5- WILL CRANK HARD DURING DRILLING- Most people or experienced people (I should say), will slowly apply pressure until they get the tap... NOT THE SPAZZ HOWEVER, they are taking every chance they get to bust a limb or put you to sleep.

Now there is a difference between a BJJ Newbie and a Spazz... a BJJ Newbie is COACHABLE, they are just simply making mistakes, but are willing to accept the suggestions that are made to them. The SPAZZ, just doesn't want to risk failure... when failure is what it takes to get good (or so I'm told, I'm just a blue belt :)  )