In the smaller classes we reap the benefits of rolling with the same people with greater frequency.
In the bigger classes of prime time full on classes or open mats, we reap the benefits of a wide variety of skill sets and experience.
The smaller classes push us to quickly evolve up very specific branches of evolution along the same training partners, seeing the same story problems over and over. We adjust ever so slightly, ’til both us and our partners have explored just beyond where we’re comfortable, with narrowly specific detail adjustments to walk away with. We run up and down the similar paths of each roll. During this type of training we’ll see a mid-level belt holding their own quite well with a higher belt they’re commonly paired with, only to get schooled by a lower belt they seldom roll with. They’ve been up whatever pair-specific branch of their rolling countless times, to develop a highly tuned knowledge of what’s coming next, and evolves quickly a response to each detail, through their repetition, that allows them to keep up much easier than the belt disparity normally shows. What we gain in finely polished paths, we lose in diversity of other paths.
The bigger classes allow us the diversity of the whole. We train for months alongside many of our training partners without ever sharing a roll with them. Each roll is completely different, exposing us to infinite looks to explore. What we gain in diversity, we lose in path repetition.
In these bigger classes we should be working on the ability to take any number of routes, polishing and fine-tuning many routes simultaneously.
Both classes are great, testing our BJJ against a wide range of partners, gives us a nice breadth of options, increasing the chances of finding paths of interest. Repetitive training with the same partner(s) helps polish details along each branch.
Many of us are blessed with some combo of large and small classes, giving us the organic combo and chance to practice both paths of breadth and depth.
Limited to training only in the smaller classes?
Make no excuse not to roll with everyone in that class to get as much diversity within it.
Limited to only the slammed classes?
Pick a few fun rolls to repeat each class to benefit from the isolated repetition.
