Training BJJ & The Music That Makes You Roll

The music that moves you while you workout can help move you as you train BJJ.

 One thing that drives people during the sports they play is the music they listen to. How many times have you been running, and you make a specific running playlist that gets you going to the beat of the music? Or how many times have you had that favorite song in your Zumba class that you know all the steps for? You can’t help but to show out and groove!   Jiu-jitsu, to me, is the same. The music you might hear during training or before a competition is there to fuel you, get you in the mood and the mindset to roll and motivate you to do your best.  This post is about some of the music you’ll hear in your BJJ gym and the times you’ll hear it. Of course, every gym is different and maybe you’ll come across a gym that doesn’t like to play music.  Just note that that gym has no soul, and you probably won’t feel any passion for jiu-jitsu.

  Depending on your coach, you’ll hear a variety of music.  In my experience, I’ve had coaches who have had such an eclectic and mixed taste in music. I’ve heard everything from Brazilian Funk to symphony music.  There is nothing off-limits on the mats (for the most part…I would question if your gym started playing Sexxy Red, especially if they offer kids’ classes). The types of music that you’ll generally hear at jiu-jitsu gyms are as follows:

    There is something about hip-hop that makes you want to roll and move! It gives you the energy you need to push through. Depending on the age group and “vibes” of your gym, the music will range from old-school hip-hop to music you’ll hear on a TikTok video (if you have “older” people at your gym, they will refer to that TikTok hip-hop as “noise”). For me, the lyrics of a few hip-hop songs make me think about pushing through and doing my best.  Think Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA”.

   I am grouping rock music together as a whole because there are so many styles of rock you’ll hear at a gym.  Everything ranges from your 80s hair glam rock to hardcore heavy metal.  I think you get more of the 80s and old-school rock during class time and the hardcore metal during rolls. Again, I think that metal makes you want to thrash out when you roll. I don’t want to say it’s anger or the desire to hurt someone, but it turns you into a monster on the mats.

   Sometimes, if the owner of the gym/the coach wants people to feel their rolls and have a chill time, you’ll get some alternative music.  I don’t think you often hear alternative music on the mats, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you do hear it.

   Everyone has their likes and styles of music, so these types of music range from reggae (looking at the 10thPlanet people), Latin pop (which makes my Zumba heart happy), chill lo-fi beats, and meditation music.   Music does something spiritual to people, so every coach has their philosophy on playing the music they play.  Sometimes, it won’t even be the coach playing the music. It is sometimes a free-for-all when one person connects their playlist, and you get to hear what kind of music they’re into.

    Since we’ve talked about what kind of music you’ll normally hear in a BJJ gym, let’s talk about the times you’ll hear the music.  Keep in mind that every gym is different.

Your coach might want to set the vibe before class even begins.  You might walk into your coach’s random playlist or some other music to let you know you’re walking into a jiu-jitsu gym, and it is time to work.

Depending on how your coach feels about music during class, you might hear some tunes played during class time. They might play some music for warm-ups or as you’re doing your first few warm-up drills. When it comes to the techniques, what generally happens is that the coach will turn down the music before they show the technique of the day, and then after you break off into pairs to drill, they’ll turn it back up. Just because it is a lot of back and forth, some coaches avoid doing this unless they have someone near the music to adjust the volume every time.

After the techniques are all good and done, and it is time to actively try what you’ve learned in class, then the tunes will blare all through the speakers as you roll.  That’s when you can get pumped (or relaxed) from what your coach is playing.

Usually, open mat time is where someone besides your coach might put on some random playlist and play something that gets everyone rolling.  This might be the time you’ll hear some of the random stuff that people like and gets some of your own music inspiration.

People get motivated and moved by music especially when they’re about to compete. There is something about your favorite motivational music that gets you ready and pumped to kick butt! Just put on your favorite music and blast it through your headphones (Within reason. Not too loud. There is no reason to go deaf while trying to get motivated).  In these cases, I think it’s best to have over-ear, noise-canceling headphones that block out everything before you compete.  Just make sure that you don’t miss your mat call time. You don’t want to go through hyping yourself up just for you to lose by not showing up.

   The best thing about music is that no matter what you look like, where you’re from, or who you are, music is something that most of us can share and agree on.  Sometimes you hear a song in your gym that you’ve never heard before, and it makes you ask someone what the song is to add it to your playlist.  Music is one of the drivers that can add to an awesome jiu-jitsu experience.

Question: What songs or music gets you hyped to train jiu-jitsu? Tell me in the comments and of course you can tell me on my Instagram @blackgirlwhitegi_bjj.