Beginner to Expert

We all start from somewhere, and Symbiont has developed a comprehensive beginner to intermediate to expert curriculum to match your level of expertise and allow you to grow over time. The beginner curriculum is focused on positions, specific techniques, and fundamental movements. The intermediate builds on these and expands the techniques. The advanced transitions techniques into systems of movement, expanding on the concept of seamless transitions from one position to another. In the Curriculum Guidebook, you can find details on every element of the development process and discover the concept of 'becoming expert'. While the Guidebook offers a structured approach, much of the teaching will follow its guiding principles but then structure the teaching based on the needs of the students.

What to Look For

The key to development in any martial art is the Professor's ability to convey concepts in a simple form. The difference between an average and a good instructor is in their ability to transfer complex concepts in a way that brings the student with them along the journey of compounding discrete lessons into a comprehensive system. In the Beginner series, we focus on the positions (Guard, Half Guard, Side Control, North-South, Mount, etc). We center on guard retention and escape. The cornerstone of Jiu-Jitsu is in your ability to maintain a defensive posture and prevent your opponent achieving an advantage. All students and I'll say it, especially former wrestlers, need to become comfortable on their backs during guard retention. Once you master this, and become comfortable on your back with pressure by your opponent, the rest of Jiu-Jitsu becomes less stressful. 

We have seen, and I personally (Timur) have experienced wrestlers who are athletic and have 'great hips'. All their lives they have competed and now they are reluctant to place themselves in a seemingly disadvantaged positon (pulling guard). Consequently, the thing that gave them strength, their athleticism, movement and hip movement, now prevents them from developing that critical skill set because psychologically, they can't allow themselves to 'start from scratch'. This limits their development. Our approach is to confront the most uncomfortable position from the getgo and overcome this for all students. We work on guard retention, escape and then we overlay this learning with focused movements that will add up to the development of sound principles. 

As the student progresses, focus on the other positions, additional techniques, transitions from one to the other and then systems of movements become the staple of development.