This is what I needed. Thanks! 47, Brown belt (training for 8 years).

I've been shocked by how hard everything has gotten in the last 2 years. From 40 to 44, I felt fine. I thought everyone was just whining about old age. But, 45 hit hard. It has been demoralizing.

I'm about to head off to class. I'll open up and explore more.

This is the best Jiu Jitsu video I've ever watched.

I started at 52 and was training in Danaher’s morning class until I was 58. In JD’s class Garry Tonon would tap loudly and that made a massive impression. The best grappler in the world at the time tapped with no ego. I am about to turn 64 and still train. I try to take the attitude I learned from an older Matt Serra black belt who told me to train in order to help my training partner.

As I've gotten older (I'm 49 and started training in my early 20's) I've felt the pressure of younger competitors for quite some time.  I've been married for 20 years, have a full-time job and have two teenaged kids.  Many of the young blue and purple belts still live at home and have no responsibilities, so they can train and compete as much as they want.  I can't.  I have to be very purposeful with training as well as my diet.  I'm a type-A guy and it took me awhile to come to terms with the fact that I can't hang from an athletic standpoint with guys that are 20-25 years younger than me.  My training and my sparring had to evolve.  I have learned how to frustrate overly aggressive youngsters and capitalize on their mistakes (like the older guys did to me when I was coming up).  Martial Arts is no different from everyday life, we must evolve and adapt as we get older.   Great topic guys, thanks.

Getting older I really appreciate good partners who won’t rip things and let the game move so we both learn.

Great information. Thank you!

47 yr old black belt here, been training since the age of 16.  I've gone through my physical prime and sadly watched it slowly but surely wane starting at around age 37.  It is a sobering experience once being one of the fastest guys on the mat at ~145 lbs from 1997 to 2015 and experience beginning to lose that edge against the current late teens / young 20 somethings in 2018, with the gap increasing every year.

The biggest takeaways here, and from my own experience, are to train with people you trust to not smash/grab/torque on whatever they can, especially much bigger people, and to tap early and often if you are caught.  These days I love to play around and try new sweeps and subs that are new to me in live rolling, even if I *uck them up and end up in bad spots.  If I can make them work, I try to become proficient at them, then move to something else, all while trying to keep the absolute basics honed as much as possible.

65 yr old 130lb purple belt here.  Being defensive and "hunkering down" enables me to survive and continue training.  But how I do that has matured over the years.

I think everyone should start focused on defensive concepts and principles.  Now it includes being more mobile, taking risks, but with a solid defensive foundation to build on.

Incorporating basic Gracie self defense and using them while rolling is one of my current goals.  I find it opens up more opportunities to take risks and go for more offense.  Sound contradictory,  I know, but that is my experience.

I also have taylored my approach for different types of training partners.  How I roll with a newer,  "spazzy" white belt my size may be very different than with a larger, more experienced partner.  Being willing to take risks and lose/ tap more often helps.  Having to tap multiple times during around resetting is much more beneficial than just hunkering down, enduring, smashed under someone several minutes just to avoid tapping.

Nice to hear the truth from other 40+ black belts. This is the truth for natural athletes.

I started BJJ in November 2025. I'm 48 now, greatest physical shape I've ever been in. Still weight train 3 days per week. In BJJ, in almost every roll, I'm stuck in defense mode trying not to lose, which is not a great habit. I get smashed in pretty much every roll but I love the sport, I have a lot of fun with it. I need to learn to go easy, breathe steady and try to learn more escapes and offensive skills, etc. Glad I found your channel.

I started training jiu-jitsu at 30 and already had the 40 year old mindset ❤

I’ve been training since 2019 and I learned quick to do this on my terms. I don’t look at rank I look at fitness and technique. I can care less about competitions and being competitive, I’m happy I’m just involved

59 year old black belt. 5'7" 180,  28 years on the mats still rolling with everyone. I get caught and i get exhausted by those younger purple and brown belts and sometimes the really big young blue belts. And I will wrist lock anyone i can. Tricks of the Trade are still a part of the trade. And wrist locks are a great equalizer, when your opponent has nearly 100 pounds on you and 25 to 30 years younger. Its not my only move, I prefer chokes, I also use them to force reactions and cause reluctance and then take advantage of your hesitation.
For me the most important thing to longevity is refusing to roll with everyone every night (15 years ago *around your ages) I made it a point to try and roll everyone in class. Today....no i will still roll the monsters but maybe only once every other week😅 I also find that starting on my back takes less of a toll belive it or not. Allowing them to start from the top and then working my way to the top and staying there.  Great content guys!

There’s nothing I can’t stand more than grapplers that won’t engage, and just try and “not get submitted.”  Engage, play the game, and if you end up somewhere difficult, deal with it.

Fantastic video! Great reminder for me personally as a bb in his 50’s. I’m going to share this with some friends who need to hear it. Thank you.

I'm only 34 but can relate to the points in this video. I've been training for 10 years and my primary goal is to continue to develop/implement an effective skill set while preserving my body because I am completely unwilling to compromise my health for BJJ. Not caring about winning or losing in training and being unapologetic about choosing a schedule/class types/training partners that work for me, has been huge. Luckily, I train at a gym where I feel my perspective and approach is positively received. Just because you are an upper belt does not mean you need to do competition classes or have to dominate every lower belt or go to war with every upper belt at your gym.

Best advice I received when I started bjj at 48 yrs old . Roll with purpose, do not roll just to win.

This is very true ,i have got stuck in the defensive mindset, i dont know if its because im trying to help lower belts or im just older (49 year old brown), what i try to do now is go totally offensive on open rolls.

51 years old and started 2 months ago.  Love it and need to adjust my expectations:)

58 yr old BB 18 yrs of training.  This is solid advice for those starting and progressing who aren't even old farts like me.  For the OFLM it will be more fun and you will learn and adapt more quickly as you protect yourself from injury if you follow this advice.

Preach!