In this episode, David Figueroa-Martinez explores the traditional "one-coach" model versus the modern approach of learning from multiple instructors. He delves into how diverse perspectives—from collegiate wrestlers to high-level guard players—can fill technical gaps and prevent emotional dependency, ultimately leading to a more well-rounded and personalized game.
3 Key Takeaways
Diverse Problem Solving: Exposure to different body types and specialties (like wrestling or specific guard styles) provides multiple solutions to the same technical problems.
Filling Technical Gaps: No single instructor is an expert in every facet of BJJ; secondary coaches and workshops help bridge the gap in areas your primary coach may not specialize in.
Healthy Training Culture: Moving away from "loyalty" myths fosters an environment of shared knowledge and prevents the stagnation often found in isolated gyms.
Chapters
0:00 - Introduction: The case for multiple coaches
1:18 - Lessons from Gracie San Diego: Wrestling and Open Guard
2:36 - The limitations of being a primary instructor
4:18 - Encouraging students to train with different demographics (Men vs. Women)
6:14 - Learning through workshops and peer relationships
8:18 - The benefit of different body types and "Vantage Points"
10:30 - Real-world example: Transitioning gyms and the "Hip Control" revelation
13:10 - Debunking the "Disloyalty" Myth and Gym Red Flags
15:52 - Closing: Sports parallels and community resources
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Stay tapped in,
David Figueroa-Martinez
Founder, DFM Coaching Bjj
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Transcripts
(0:00) Welcome to Tapped In. My name is David Figueroa Martinez of DFM Coaching, and today we’re going to be discussing why having one Jiu-Jitsu coach is not ideal. The reason I think this really matters is because having multiple coaches, in my opinion, creates better problem solving because you're giving multiple approaches and opinions on how to deal with something. It creates a healthier culture, stronger personal ownership over the material in your own game as a whole, and a less emotional dependency on one person.
(0:50) Coming up, we generally had one, maybe two coaches at a gym. Now the smaller gyms probably had one main coach and they taught all or most of the classes. When I went over to Gracie San Diego, we had multiple coaches with varying styles and approaches. I personally loved it. I loved the fact that I can go to a class by a collegiate wrestler and get a little bit of a look on the stand up. I love that I can go to a class with someone that had a superior open guard. And then I can go to another class of an instructor that had just a great top pressure.
(1:50) So you understood all the different facets because of the different classes that you can go to. I don't think that's beneficial to have just one coach. And that's me saying that as the primary instructor of a morning program. I am going to give you a broad sense of Jiu-Jitsu and I'm going to have my own interpretation of it, and I think I'm pretty good at covering a lot of different topics. But I'm not an expert in all of them, and I just can't be.
(2:45) And sometimes a coach might—let's say that not that they're a bad coach—but maybe the way they explain things at a certain level speaks to you a bit more. Maybe what they cover is a bit more fundamental or maybe it's a little more specific to the higher belts. Maybe it's a little bit more specific to being more athletic or being less athletic. There’s a whole host of things that coaches cover or their approach that might speak to one student or another.
(3:40) And it's beneficial to gain it all. Like your primary instructor might be solid. He might be great, he or she might be great to learn from, they have most of the bases covered, they create a great environment for you, it's fun to be around, you love the class, you love the instructor. Doesn't mean that you shouldn't get a couple of different opinions from other people. Because again, we're subject matter experts in a few things; we're broad experts or broad knowledge in a lot of other things.
(4:40) So for me, I have a student that I push to go to other gyms and learn from women and train with women. I'm a guy, my approach in the gym that we're at, in the program that I run, is mainly men. Understood. The way men roll is different than the way women roll. So I obviously am good at instruction, but there's going to be a little bit of a gap where how a woman approaches a specific guard or Jiu-Jitsu is not going to be something that I'm well-versed in. And I'm safe to admit that.
(5:40) So I go push. Go. Go to the open mats with the women, go check out women's class somewhere, go check out classes where there's more women to roll with because that's part of that development that they need. If I have a student who is, for example, not—yesterday but the year before—I had a student that was doing a lot of mount, and I saw a workshop or a seminar in town, and I paid for it and sent them. Because again, I'm good at the position and I'm solid, it's one of my favorite positions, but this gentleman over here I know is even better at the position. Go get whatever you can learn from that and better your Jiu-Jitsu.
(6:50) If you have the opportunity to go to workshops... I put on workshops at two different gyms, and I love the environment at both. Very similar, family-oriented, everyone’s laid back, and they support each other in a way that it’s authentic and fun to watch. And so I now have people from different gyms that go to these workshops regularly. I don't know them on a deeper level outside of that workshop, but it's fun to see them travel and get more instruction than from their normal Jiu-Jitsu instructor. Because it fills in certain gaps.
(7:50) It bridges your understanding of Jiu-Jitsu; you get multiple approaches or looks at it. And something I’ve had to maybe state a couple of times in my workshops is: I’m not here to replace the approach that your instructor showed. I’m just here to show maybe a different approach or a different possibility. I solve the problem this way with my body type. They might solve the problem a different way with their body type and experience. None of them is more right than the other; it’s just different.
(8:45) So let’s say like, I’m short, I’m 5'4". I’m pretty flexible. I can get butterfly hooks in places that most people do not. And I understand that if I have taller athletes, my game may not necessarily translate one-for-one. So they might search for someone who is taller who is doing workshops. It makes sense. Their game might understand and reflect better because of the body type.
(9:30) And I would say the same for me. If you're 120 pounds and you're learning from someone who is 230, 210... like, their Jiu-Jitsu might be great, it might be spot on, but their body type allows them to do certain things that your body type will not allow. So if you can get to workshops or seminars or a class taught by someone who is more your body type, add it. It’s going to be a great addition because that vantage point is not the same vantage point as your instructor’s.
