#378 10 Rules for Surviving White Belt
From I Suck At Jiu Jitsu Show by Josh McKinney
June 11, 2026 · 1h 15m
About this episode
This episode provides essential advice for BJJ white belts to avoid common mistakes and improve their training experience.
Every BJJ white belt needs this. When you start Jiu Jitsu, you don’t know the positions, you don’t know the rules, you don’t know the etiquette, and worst of all… you don’t know what you don’t know. So after 18 years of training and 13 years of teaching beginners, I made the White Belt Survival Guide I wish someone gave me on day one. These are the 10 white belt mistakes that keep people confused, injured, frustrated, annoying to train with, and worst of all… stuck at white belt forever. If you’re brand new to BJJ, trying to get to blue belt, constantly getting smashed, addicted to YouTube techniques, scared to ask your coach questions, rolling way too hard, or wondering why everyone else seems to be improving faster than you, this episode is for you. This is not just “beginner advice.” This is how to survive white belt, stop sucking faster, avoid quitting, and actually become dangerous on the mats. Watch this before your next Jiu Jitsu class! Subscribe to the I Suck at Jiu Jitsu Show for weekly BJJ advice, mindset, training stories, and questionable life choices that help you suck just a little bit less at Jiu Jitsu. Get my free ebook The Competitor’s Journey…
People in this episode
Host: Josh McKinney
Topics covered
- BJJ white belt advice
- beginner mistakes
- training tips
- jiu jitsu etiquette
- mindset for beginners
Keywords
- BJJ
- white belt
- training
- jiu jitsu
- beginner advice
- mindset
- techniques
- rolling
- competition
Sponsors
Datsusara
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: simplifyingjiujitsu.com, bjjmentalmodels.com, dsgear.com
Products: The Competitor’s Journey, jiu jitsu for imbeciles
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