Jiu Jitsu Training | What Makes A Good Jiu Jitsu Sparring or Rolling Partner?

Jiu Jitsu Kit is now JiuJitsu.RyanPeterson.me. New domain and look, same author. Enjoy!

I was recently thinking about the different people I have rolled with at this point in my Jiu Jitsu career and the characteristics of a good rolling partner. On the one hand, the answer I came up with is “it depends” – it depends on (your) mood, what you and your partner are looking to get from the session, energy levels, etc.

On the other hand, there does seem to be some things common to good sparring partners.

Desire To Learn (Not Just About Winning)

Winning is always fun, but for rolling, it’s not always the goal. We all have fights with high intensity where both participants want to win – badly. These fights can be fun and invigorating. It is one of the things I love about the martial art.

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But there is a collection of moves that are good for winning but are more appropriate for tournaments or the street. Two examples of these kinds of moves are putting pressure on someone’s nose to set up a rear-naked choke and covering an opponent’s nose and mouth with an available hand to try to force someone to move.

I often enjoy myself the most when my sparring partner and I are both trying to learn or apply new moves, when trying to win at an agreed or implied intensity. In these sessions I often learn new techniques and improve the context of moves I already know. This is a huge part of my training: when I am complimented on my progress by other students, I’ll normally tell them it is greatly because of them – because of training, practicing, and rolling with them.

Being Relaxed

“Tweaking out” seems to be endemic to most people brand new to any type of grappling. I was guilty of this when I first started Jiu Jitsu. I have obviously moved on, but I think we have all experienced this in a sparring partner: you are rolling with a (likely new) Jiu Jitsu student, and he/she is wiry and excitable.

A good sparring partner is typically relaxed because they are comfortable. In contrast to “tweaking out”, their movements are under control, even though they may not know what to do next (should I try to escape? should I go for a kimura?), it is mostly intentional. Unintentional, spazmatic movements can be unsafe, which bring me to the next item that makes a good rolling partner.

An Appreciation Of Safety

While being a “spaz” certainly makes for less safe sparring session for both participants, so does trying specific holds or submissions without proper training. I am referring to moves such as ankle locks, knee bars, and wrist locks. The odds of injury are greater if you aren’t trained in them. At my school, people are usually cleared to do these moves at some point after white belt (typically blue, I believe).

Personally, I don’t mind when I am put into one of these positions by someone who knows what they are doing, such as a teacher or an advanced student. I do get concerned, however, when someone puts me in ankle lock without the context or training they should have before trying the move. It is not safe and probably not a good idea. Just like anyone else, I don’t want to get injured.