How to review your BJJ match footage (and what to look for)

Filming your rolls is easy. Learning from the footage is the hard part. Most people watch once, wince at a mistake and close the video. Here's a simple way to turn a match or a roll into a short list of things to work on.

Film it so it's worth watching

• Ask first. Check your partner is happy to be filmed, and that your gym allows it.
• From the side, both in shot. About waist height, far enough back that you can see both bodies the whole time, including the legs.
• Steady. Prop the phone on a bag or a water bottle, or ask a friend to hold it still. Landscape works best.
• Say something at the start. "Me in the black rash guard" saves confusion later, especially with similar kit.

Watch 1: just the story

Watch the whole thing at normal speed without stopping. Then write three lines:

1. How did it start? (Takedown, guard pull, scramble.)
2. Where did most of the time go? (Which position, top or bottom.)
3. How did it end, or who was ahead?

That's it. You're building a picture of the match before you judge any single moment.

Watch 2: find the turning points

Now look for the two or three moments that changed the match: a sweep, a pass, a back take, a submission attempt, a scramble you lost. Note the timestamp of each. For each one, ask:

• What happened just before it? Usually the real mistake or the real win is two or three seconds earlier: a grip you gave up, a frame you lost, a foot you left behind.
• Was it something they did, or something you didn't do?
• Did you have an option you didn't take?

Watch 3: what went well

Go back through and note what worked. It's easy to skip, but it tells you what to build your game around. If your knee shield held off three passes, that's part of your plan now.

Turn it into three things

Finish with a short list you can take to your next class:

1. One fix: the moment that cost you most, and the detail you'll change.
2. One missed chance: an opening you didn't take, and how you'll recognise it next time.
3. One strength: what worked and how you'll get to it more often.

Then find an instructional or a match that shows the fix, and ask your coach about it. Our guide to learning from instructionals covers that part.

Scouting an opponent

If you're watching someone you'll face, flip the questions:

• How do they usually start? Pull guard, wrestle, or wait?
• Where do they score most of their points or submissions?
• Where do they look uncomfortable? That's your opening.

Then build those answers into your game plan.