Who Makes A Great Training Partner
A great training partner in my oppinion is someone that has the same goals as you. A good training partner does not have to have the same abilities as long as they have drive. Here are a few things that I think make a good or bad training partner in bjj.
When your learning a new technique it does not matter if your partner is a white belt or a brown belt, you are both learning the move. What does matter is if your partner is so gung ho on resisting that you never get to completly do the move that is being taught. No one likes to get put in the triangle twenty times in a row. It's uncomfortable and all around not fun. If I am with a training partner that puts me in the triangle twenty times and then will not let me practice it on him I just wasted my time. Always make sure you allow your partner to apply the technique on you during drill times that is the only way they will learn the technique it requires to execute the move.
Having a partner who is a higher rank than you is always a plus but not always possible. When you are fortunate enough to be paired with someone that has knowledge take advantage of it. Pay attention to positioning, grabs, turns, and everything else they are willing to show. Most training partners are willing to explain why you should turn this way or that way. A good training partner will tell you how to get out of a submission they have you in.
When you are live rolling that is a time for you and your partner to practice what you have learned. Try to pair up with someone that is about your same size. If your the biggest guy in the gym do not always try to go with all of the smaller guys just so you will dominate. That hurts you. If you are always practicing with the smallest guy in the gym you are not having to struggle very hard to complete your techniques. I am usually the smallest person in the gym. I train with mostly adults. I know when I am rolling with one of my teammates who weighs 200 pounds there is no way that I am able to sweep them without some assistance from them. That makes a good training partner. They will resist enough so that I have to work to get the move done, but then they allow me to finish the move.
The last thing and to me the most important thing about being a good training partner is your cleanliness. Please, please, please, wash your gi. It is nothing worse than to have a partner that is funky. It is bad enough that everyone is already dripping sweat by the time practice is over but it's nothing worse than to have someone dripping sweat on you that stinks. During Jiu Jitsu you are really close to the person you are rolling with. If you havent washed your gi since the last practice and you just balled it up and threw it in a bag then please don't roll with me.
