The "That Guy" Phenominon (Updated)

Everybody knows or has seen "that guy" if you‘ve spent enough time in a jiu-jitsu school, wrestling room, or really any sort of combat sports establishment. Everyone hates “that guy”. He may have been on the football team in high school, built himself a nice set of beach muscles, and in a different world could have been the next epic bar fighting legend. Now he's seen the UFC in all its violent splendor and decided that he is the next light heavy weight champ. All he has to do is sharpen up that “jew-jitzu” skill they keep talking about. I mean how hard could that be? It’s all just smashing and rolling around on the ground anyway right? Now he is in your no-gi class, because we all know that “those white pajamas are only for those karate homos”. Every roll is his championship match, he’s not tapping just let it snap, and why can’t he neck crank you? In a real fight he would just pop your head off your shoulders Jack Bauer style. Every person in the class knows this guy won’t make it longer than a week but for now you have to train with him. Forearms in the face, flailing legs, fingers persistently in your face, he is “that guy” and nobody likes “that guy”.

Me rolling before the hair fell out with at blue belt so new it still has creases.

I understand that bjj is a rich tapestry of people. All levels of grappling experience, backgrounds, and mindsets make up the populations of a jiu-jitsu school. When you’re newer you always feel like you have more to prove. New competitors never want to tap and always want to roll 100%. If you’re reading this odds are you are committed to growing as a grappler. When I say “that guy” it shouldn’t read “new guy” it should read “grappling dummy” or if you prefer “the resident gym a-hole”. Note that just because you train hard doesn’t make you “that guy”, just because you are new you’re not “that guy”, but if you read this and are concerned that you are “that guy” realize it’s never too late to repent and change your ways.

Rodolfo Vieira Photo via bjjheroes.com

Brazilian Jiu-Jitus is art, it’s sport, it’s combat and on occasion it’s brutal. When it was labeled “arte suave de Brazil” it was only “sauve” compared to traditional martial arts that require strikes to the head to subdue your opponent. Watch Rodolfo Vieira’s recent performance at the IBJJF European nationals, his match with Braulio Estima hurts me and I’m just watching. Vieira uses crushing topside pressure and some vicious transitions to dominate Estima until the match reaches its inevitable conclusion. You might look at that and say it is probably awful to train with that guy because he is just out to smash you  in to submission. I would guess that he probably mastered that type of game by finding out what kind of pressure he needed to control an opponent. He probably has a stable of fantastic grapplers that want to train with him because there is a certain give and take of knowledge that benefits both people. He probably isn’t “that guy” in the gym.

When someone decides to roll with you there should always be a certain understanding between the two grapplers. Each gym will have its own culture, standards, and instructors. The things I find as acceptable in my classes and the things I allow to go on during rolling might be different than your gym. There are a few guidelines that I think should be universal in the grappling world though.   

1.  In lieu of a referee I am trusting you with my physical safety. I trust that you are not going to intentionally do anything that is going to cause me any long term injury and that you are executing techniques with only the best of intentions.
2.   I trust that you are attempting you use this time to advance as a jiu-jitsu player. In training I’m not interested in who can take the most punishment while rolling or how fast you think you can tap me. I’m training to get better and I expect the same from all of my training partners. If you’re not about improvement then I’m not interested.
3. I trust that you know how to control yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. If you and I are rolling you’re an adult, or close enough to one, conduct yourself like an adult. Just because you get chin control does not mean you should put my head on backwards. Don’t flail, flop, kick, punch, slap without purpose. Don’t throw a fit if you get caught in a submission. 
4.  I’m trusting you to protect yourself. In training I tap early and I tap often because I like being able to do it five to six times a week. I trust you to do the same. Nobody gets a medal for blowing up their elbow fighting and arm bar in training.  

T-Town MMA Class 2012

I hope Brazilian jiu-jitsu becomes the largest sport in the world some day. I hope that gyms open in every medium sized town in America and we dominate it as an Olympic sport. I hope that one day the doors of reputable jiu-jitsu schools are overflowing with grapplers yearning to learn, but I will sacrifice all of that to make sure that the sport is filled the right people and not “that guy”. Remember take care of your training partners and they will take care of you.

Please feel free to email or comment with questions or input otherwise, I will see you all on the mats.

(Update: The match I was thinking of was Rodolfo Viera vs. Victor Estima. I mentioned the wrong Estima earlier.)