Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — Open Mat

Why They Are Great and How To Make Them Greater

Open Mat in BJJ camp in Sirince, Türkiye, August 2023

In this article, I want to talk about open mats, what it is, what makes it great, and how to maximize the benefits of open mats in your skill development.

Open mat is my favorite part of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. These two hours every Sunday are my ultimate weekly stress relief, community hang-out, training, and fun, all in one package. The atmosphere is very relaxed and laid back, everyone is free to spar, to rest, to chat, and to drill. It is where some of the most iconic trash talk in your team will happen.

Usually scheduled once, sometimes twice a week, open mats are a form of unstructured training. It is a unique component of martial arts training in that it offers the freedom to choose how you want to structure your time on the mats.

Here are a few reasons why open mats are valuable:

Self-directed learning. Open mats are the time when a jiu-jitsu school opens its doors for practitioners to train freely without a fixed class structure or instructor-led session. If you enjoy self-study, you will thrive in open mats. With the freedom to choose what to work on, practitioners can focus on specific areas, experiment with new techniques, work to address their weaknesses or refine their strengths. This autonomy in training helps get to a deeper understanding of BJJ concepts and principles as individuals take responsibility for their learning journey.

Diverse sparring opportunities. Open mats attract practitioners from various backgrounds, skill levels, and styles. This diversity offers individuals the chance to spar with partners of all kinds of ages, backgrounds, experiences, and body types, presenting different challenges and learning opportunities. It helps practitioners adapt to various techniques and strategies, enhancing their versatility and problem-solving abilities on the mat. You can test yourself, and test your techniques against someone big and strong, or small and fast, or long and flexible. You name it, we got it.

Community and networking. Open mats are where jiu-jitsu practitioners truly gel as a community. This is an opportunity for open learning and exchange of ideas, fostering a culture of mutual growth, exploration, and support. Open mats serve as a gathering point for the BJJ community, facilitating networking and friendships beyond one’s regular class schedule. It is open to experts and beginners alike. The regular classes follow a specific structure — usually the coach demonstrates several techniques, and students practice them. There is usually a free roll part at the end, but not very long. You get 4–5 rounds at best. In open mats, you can ask your coach any questions. You can also approach teammates who specialize in particular positions and submissions and they will (usually) happily share their insights. This sense of community not only enriches the social aspect of BJJ but also encourages knowledge exchange and support among practitioners.

Physical and Mental Conditioning. The less formal and often more relaxed atmosphere of open mats allows for extended training sessions, contributing to better physical conditioning. Furthermore, the variety of sparring partners and situations enhances mental toughness and adaptability, both crucial components of success in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. You can seek support from your teammates to help you prepare for the competition or just get in shape, by giving you tough sparring sessions that test your cardio. Try some shark tanks — not my favorite, but efficient nonetheless. :)

Maximizing the Benefits of Open Mats

To fully leverage the potential of open mats for faster improvement in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, practitioners should adopt a strategic approach to these sessions. Here are a few things you can try:

1. Set Clear Goals. Before attending an open mat, set clear objectives. Whether focusing on a specific technique, or defense strategy, or seeking to gain comfort in certain positions, having a goal ensures productive use of time.
2. Seek Out Diverse Partners. Actively look for sparring partners of different skill levels, weights, and styles. Rolling with higher belts can offer insights into advanced techniques and strategies, while training with lower belts or peers allows one to refine their skills and mentor others.
3. Experiment and Reflect. Open mats are an excellent opportunity to experiment with new techniques or strategies learned in class. Observe yourself in action, slow down if you have to. Try to understand why a technique does not work. Try. Try again. Ask questions. Reflect on your performance, identifying areas of success and those requiring further work.
4. Incorporate Drilling. While rolling is a significant component of open mats, dedicating time to drilling techniques can lead to substantial improvement. Repetitive practice helps ingrain movements to muscle memory, which will come in handy when you have to execute during live sparring.
5. Embrace Feedback. Engage with partners and seek feedback on techniques and strategies. Constructive criticism from diverse perspectives can unveil blind spots in one’s game and provide valuable insights for improvement. If someone regularly neutralizes your best attack, ask them how they do it. If no one can guillotine you, but this one guy does it regularly, ask what is it that he does differently.
6. Maintain a Learning Mindset. Approach open mats with an open mind and a willingness to learn, regardless of the outcome of sparring sessions. Each roll is a learning experience, offering lessons in technique, strategy, and resilience.

Open mats in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are more than just additional training sessions. Make sure you clearly understand that. Open mats are a cornerstone of a practitioner’s development and an embodiment of the martial art’s communal and explorative spirit. By understanding the value of open mats and strategically engaging with these opportunities, BJJ practitioners can significantly enhance their skills, understanding, and enjoyment of the sport. The freedom, diversity, and community aspect of open mats can accelerate your technical and tactical development. At the same time, open mats will also foster a deeper appreciation for the art, making your journey in BJJ richer and more fulfilling.

Now. So far, it has been more generic advice. Let’s go more specific. Here are some recommendations based on your belt level:

White Belt:

• Firstly, make sure you go to open mats! Often beginners think they are not ready for it and have to learn a bunch of techniques before joining open mats. That’s a mistake. The only thing you need to prepare is your ego — because you will have your ass kicked many, many times over. Much more than in the regular class setting.
• Don’t be shy! I sometimes see beginners sitting on the sidelines and watching, not daring to ask teammates for a roll. Just ask! If you get a no, ask someone else.
• Don’t try to win. Or rather, don’t try to win at all costs. Focus on trying to understand what is going on.
• Don’t try to not lose! Not tapping is one of the stupidest things you can do. Tap early. Tap regularly. Get used to tapping verbally. Practice tapping with your feet — your hands may not be available to you.
• Remember, Spazzy White Belt is not a compliment. You don’t know what spazzy is? Look it up…
• Focus on survival, defense, and escapes. Don’t try to buggy-choke me if you have been training for two weeks only.
• Focus on the most high-percentage techniques. For example, the only submissions you need to focus on at this stage are rear-naked chokes, guillotines, armbars, triangles, kimuras, and straight footlocks. That is it.
• Don’t go hard against other white belts just because no one is watching. No one cares if you win or lose. Let me say that one more time. No one cares if you win or lose.
• Ask questions. At this stage, most people in the team will beat you, but you will see that change over time. Seek out difficult, challenging opponents who you can learn from.
• Drill.
• I will shamelessly suggest that you read my article The Path to Blue Belt :)

Blue Belt:

• Firstly, remember! Open mats are not gladiatorial fights. Take it easy, slow down, this is an opportunity to learn, not to kill. :)
• This is where you already have some game. Make it better by utilizing open mats to experiment with techniques that suit your style and body type, and actively seek feedback on your performance. Work on identifying and addressing gaps in your knowledge, particularly in transitions and defense.
• Come to open mats with a plan. Decide what you are going to work on.
• Practice the techniques the coaches show you during class. Ask questions. Drill.
• Practice the techniques you are working on independently. Whatever you watch on Instagram or YouTube, or perhaps you are going through a Danaher instructional. Have a specific goal.
• Practice specific positions and work from there. Give your partners specific instructions — for example, I will try to escape from Mount, try to keep me here, use 50% of your strength.
• Roll with higher belts and ask them to help diagnose your problems. Ask questions to identify solutions.
• I find that the “Plus Minus Equal” system starts being very useful at the blue belt level and open mats are a great opportunity to do that.
• Read my article You are a Blue Belt, now what? :)

Purple Belts:

• This is a pro-level now. Which does not necessarily mean you have to go hard every open mat or anything like that. But it means you have to do things intentionally.
• Refine your strategies and begin to specialize in certain positions or submissions that you find effective, using open mats to test these against various opponents. Purple belts think, more than fight.
• Timing. Work on perfecting your timing.
• Set ups. Explore and experiment with your setups. You should no longer execute simple attacks. Baits, faints, traps. Play chess. Not checkers.
• Do NOT roll with everyone who wants to roll with you! This is true at every level, but it is especially true purple belt onward because at this point training means a lot for you and you don’t want a dumb injury derailing you for a long time. If someone does something stupid, like goes unnecessarily hard, yanks submissions, or almost knees or elbows you in your face — TELL THEM OFF. Politely of course. Then triangle their ass. Viciously. While smiling. :) Most people get the message. Those who don’t, well, you have a choice — every sparring with them will be war. If you want to, embrace it. Or just don’t spar with them. Move past your ego, and focus on your health. By this point in your jiu-jitsu journey, you probably have had some injuries, so you should appreciate it when you are healthy.
• That said, by now, most of the rolls in your team will be relatively easy. Make sure to give yourself a reasonable challenge every once in a while. Take on higher belts. Have your ass kicked. Being humbled is still necessary. So don’t just take the easy path of comfortable rolls. Unless you are old. Then do whatever you want. :)
• Embrace the role of mentorship, helping lower belts with their techniques, which can also deepen your understanding of BJJ fundamentals.
• Read my article I am a Purple Belt. Now What? :)

Brown and Black Belts:

I don’t have much advice to offer brown and black belts. They do a more refined version of all the things I’ve said above. The most important thing I see higher belts do is get more efficient. Their time, distance, weight, movement management, and economic energy consumption are what sets them apart. They seek to stay fresh and innovative, experimenting with new techniques in our always-evolving sport. They will try something out on an open mat, and then teach it the week after. And of course, they are the best people to ask questions to, helping all of us improve our understanding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Other than the belt levels, I believe there is a significant difference between the objectives of the hobbyists and competitive athletes. Especially if there is an age difference as well. Say, a 45-year-old hobbyist and 25-year-old competitive athlete, both purple belts, will have very different approaches to open mats. Let’s explore this angle:

Hobbyists:

• Concentrate on enjoying the art, getting good exercise, having fun, focusing on learning new techniques, and building relationships within the BJJ community during open mats.
• Prioritize longevity in the sport by focusing on technique and flow rolling, avoiding injuries, and maintaining a balanced approach to training.

Competitive Athletes:

• Use open mats as an opportunity to simulate competition scenarios, focusing on areas like speed, timing, and implementing game plans against resisting opponents.
• Analyze and refine competition strategy, working on strengths and shoring up weaknesses with targeted drilling and sparring sessions that mimic the intensity of a tournament.
• Test your endurance/cardio (use shark tanks).
• Especially close to competition time, design and practice specific scenarios, for example:
  - With 2 minutes to go, I am 4 points down;
  - With 30 seconds to go, I am 2 points up and need to keep the top position, and so on.

Whatever your belt level, age, gender, or level of interest in or commitment to jiu-jitsu, open mats are essential to your development. But just as in any jiu-jitsu class, some of the basic rules of being a good sparring partner apply to open mats too. This is not an exhaustive list, but just to go through a few:

• Keep yourself and your partner safe. Contrary to popular belief, using strength in sparring is, in fact, not so bad. Be careful when you use speed. That is how injuries happen.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Tap as many times as you need to. No one keeps the score. Let me rephrase that. No one whose opinion matters keeps the score.
• Take it easy — this is not where you go all in. Leave that for the competition. Go hard ONLY if you and your partner agree to do that before the round begins.
• Ask questions. Anyone can be a source of interesting information.
• Answer questions. Be a pro. Help your teammates get better. If you don’t know the answer, direct them to someone who does.
• Hygiene. Please.
• Remember at all times — you represent your gym. If you spar with an outsider who visits your gym for the first time, make sure they are welcome.
• Have fun.

Open mat is where learning through play happens. And play is important. As Roald Dahl said: “A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men”. Playful training is essential in helping us relax to be able to learn in the most efficient way possible. Play is key. Interestingly, the word school originates from the Greek word schole, meaning leisure. Not a lot of people know that. When we play, we are more likely to see ideas in a new light, we are more attuned to exploring new ideas. Not to mention that play is one of the key methods of dealing with stress.

Play is essential.

Here is another thought. It is no accident that one of the coolest things in jiu-jitsu is when we flow roll. Flow is also the concept that the state psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote a book about. He defined it as a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity. Remember the last time you rolled where it felt like your body was moving before your brain could plan and give it instructions? That is flow.

I saw somewhere that open mats are referred to as the ultimate BJJ playground. That is just perfect.

If you liked this read, check out my home page for articles about philosophy, learning, self-improvement, literature, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and more.

I have been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for over five years. I am a purple belt and I love sharing my experience to recruit more people into the ranks of BJJ practitioners and help everyone learn and improve as fast as possible. Here are my other articles about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:

• 7 Reasons To Do Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
• The Path to Blue Belt
• You are a Blue Belt, now what?
• Keep Improving While Injured
• Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). Rules and Tactics
• Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). Heroes and Takeaways
• How to Study BJJ Instructionals
• I am a Purple Belt. Now What?
• Down, Up and Down Again
• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a Team Sport