I'm looking to practice some basic white belt drills (mainly breakfalls at this stage) but I don't have a partner nor a grappling dummy or any gym mats. Any ideas? How do you guys practice at home?
Shrimp, shrimp, shrimp, then shrimp some more. When you get tired of shrimping, bridge, brdge, then bridge some more......wash rinse, repeat!
You can practice transitions (e.g. standing to knee on belly) and moving round a partner using a heavy bag on the floor or even a foam roller or stability balls. Ask your instructor if he can recommend anything. This book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drill-Win-Months-Brazillian-Jiu-Jitsu/dp/0981504485 has some good solo drills in it. Also wokr on your core strength.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXjP50SOwK4"]33 Solo Grappling BJJ Drills in 7 Minutes - Jason Scully - YouTube[/ame]
Buy mats for solo drills, or buy a Swiss ball to work your core and improve you top position flow. Or do judo.......
Visualization is an amazing tool. You can practice throws and takedowns on a heavy bag or any vertical object with a belt tied around it for arms. You can place shoes or bricks down to represent feet to drill footwork around. Sprawls, shrimps, get ups, rolls, bridges, shots can all be drilled alone on level ground. Stretching and cardio. Studying footage whether it's instructional or competition. Moving around in stance. Practicing the 90 degree turn for armbars. I've even seen people practice Achilles locks by breaking sticks with them.
Watching (good) videos and reading books is in no way a substitute for mat time, but they can be a good assistance to your class time. Also, and I know this goes against a lot of what you will read about BJJ online, but 2 times a week is plenty for the average person. A guy who trains at a local Gracie Barra recently got his black belt, and he trained on average about twice a week due to a chronic injury (he couldn't do any more). Ok, it took him almost 16 years to get his black belt, but he still got it training twice a week!
Consistency is the key, you see a lot of guys who train 8 plus hours a week for a few months, but being regular, and having an learning approach to rolling is the best way to get good long term.
