🥋 When is it time to ask for help?

Should Jiu-Jitsu students ask their coach for help, or struggle through on their own?

Jiu-Jitsu coaches often talk about the importance of letting students struggle through the learning process and figure things out for themselves...

...But as a student, you’ve probably felt the tremendous frustration of feeling unable to make a technique work, and wishing someone would just swoop in and “fix” it for you.

Sound familiar? I’m guessing yes. We all go through it.

This question of “when should coaches intervene” is an important one. It extends well beyond Jiu-Jitsu and into student/coach relationships in any field.

In the 1930s, the psychologist Lev Vygotsky introduced a concept to answer the question: When should teachers provide direct assistance to their students? There’s a good chance you’ve heard of this concept before...

The zone of proximal development

Mr. Vygotsky proposed that student tasks can be done in one of three performance “zones:”

#1: No assistance required: A student can complete the task without any help from the instructor.

#2: Can do with assistance: A student can complete the task, as long as guidance and support are provided.

#3: Cannot do: A student simply lacks the ability to complete the task, even when support is offered.

The second zone in the middle — “can do with assistance” — is what Mr. Vygotsky calls the zone of proximal development. This is where he proposes that the most effective learning happens.

Lev Vygotsky died quite young, and before he had the chance to fully develop or experimentally validate this concept by modern standards. That said, many adjacent ideas (such as the challenge point framework, which we’ve discussed before) have shown positive evidence. Mr. Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development” concept is a useful mental model that’s still applied today.

Applications in Jiu-Jitsu

As a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, you’ve almost certainly spent time in all three of these learning “zones,” and you likely understand why spending time in the zone of proximal development is desirable.

If rolling is too easy for you, you’re probably not challenging yourself enough. You might be too attached to your “A” game when you should be trying new things. If you can succeed without even trying, you’re NOT in the zone of proximal development.

On the other hand, if you’re always getting smashed, it’s hard to learn because you don’t get the chance to experiment. You’re just defending yourself against an onslaught by a more skilled partner. If you’re always failing, you’re NOT in the zone of proximal development.

That middle zone, where you’re comfortable but still challenged, is the best place for learning. If you’re able to succeed with a little support, you ARE in the zone of proximal development.

Best practices for staying “in the zone”

Here are some suggestions on how to spend maximum time in the zone of proximal development. These should be useful for both students and coaches:

Let them try it first.
Trying and failing is more valuable to a student than being told. If you’re a coach, resist the urge to explain everything up-front. Let the student try and fail on their own before you intervene.

Use the “least invasive intervention.”
Kabir Bath from Kaboom BJJ brought this teaching lesson to my attention, and it’s gold. If you do interrupt, do so in the least intrusive way possible. Maybe that means a verbal cue or a subtle hand signal. Stopping a live roll to explain everything is the least helpful option.

Only answer questions that have been asked.
This is a brilliant insight from ace Jiu-Jitsu coach Francesco Fonte. When a white belt is struggling, a black belt’s natural inclination is to answer every conceivable question they might have. Don’t. Only answer the questions they actually ask. Which leads us to the next point...

Layer details incrementally.
Don’t overload your students with every lesson; only give them the next lesson. There’s always time to learn more later. Stuffing too many details into a single session is the pathway to cognitive overload. Focus on giving them only the details needed for their next step.

Keep it playful.
In his zone of proximal development theory, Lev Vygotsky identified play as a crucial element for children’s learning. I think it’s just as important for adults. Play is a crucial element for Jiu-Jitsu skill development. It has to be fun.

If you’d like to dig into this deeper, check out Successful Kids Programs, an audio course we made alongside Kabir Bath. It’s a great resource, not just for kids, but for learners of all levels. It’s on BJJ Mental Models Premium; if you’re not already a member, shoot me a message and I’ll hook you up.