Why flow roll in BJJ?
BJJ Mississauga | Was reading a discussion forum online and the conversation veered into what is flow rolling? How hard you should really go if practicing your jiu-jitsu in this fashion.
What usually happens with “Flow rolling” is one of 2 things.
Either you say you are flowing and start slow + things quickly turn into the BJJ royal rumble.
Or the training is a silly, unrealistic back and forth exchange of techniques that would never happen if taken seriously.
There are some that do it right and top of mind for me is Atos BJJ ace Andre Galvao.
Andre Galvoa’s got multiples gears on the mat
Now Andre Galvao is someone i’ve always studied deeply in regards to training.
Even as one of the arts premier competitors in all my years of watching him he’s clearly understood the meaning of game speed vs skills training. Often turning it down a notch yet for your partner, while keeping things realistic at the same time.
I Had to dig into the BJJ video crates for this one but I pulled out some great footage of him rolling at TT academy.
TT Team | An important Bit of BJJ history
For you new jiu-jitsu practitioners this was a short-lived but very influential academy headed up by legends Terrere & Eduardo Telles.
TT Academy was home to many of today’s big names in big (Cobrinha, Andre Galvao, Langi , Telles, Terere and others)
Long story short when it comes to BJJ/ grappling and combat sports training in general, flow rolling comes down to a move for move exchange of technique.
When flow rolling if you are caught without an answer you tap vs going to the power & athleticism you might be able to, and probably would use in competition or when it really mattered.
Training like this is easy on the body and certainly has a place in the art when done right .
p.s
We are still down as a result of the covid situation but back on the mats asap once the government gives the ok
thanks
cp