Meta's come and go. I'm sure you will do just fine sticking with the (for lack of a better word) "fundamentals". Roger didn't do so bad.

Maybe this is a personal take, but if you're pushing yourself to do more than is possible given your current life structure it seems like you're headed towards burnout. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I can only get on the mat 3x a week and only for the classes I teach (at 6am). I'm a father of 5 with a full time job. I told my students today that without a focus on fundamentals and basics there is nothing to evolve from. You build off of a foundation. When your foundation is strong is gives you the freedom to explore what jiu jitsu can be, and i believe that's how some of these newer techniques and ideologies get developed. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our students is work the fundamentals and basics until they're as normal as breathing. Also, I love your growth mindset brother. Your students are lucky to have you. But we all have to sleep sometimes. Make sure you're taking care of yourself and not spreading yourself too thin. That's what's best for you and your students. Coach gets burned out and everyone suffers.

Youre among friends brother! As long as youre doing your best its always enough.

I think it depends on your goals in BJJ. If you're mainly interested in self-defense or MMA, then old-school BJJ will serve you pretty well and you won't need to constantly watch YouTube and BJJ Fanatics videos to master the latest technical innovations. If you want to compete in gi or no-gi sport grappling, you're going to have to keep up with the current "meta." I don't have time to scour the Internet looking for cutting-edge videos about Inverted Pterodactyl Guard™️ and the Floating Totoro Guard™️, so I just stick to the fundamentals. Many of the speciality techniques that work really well in a pure grappling environment aren't as effective when strikes are allowed, so I only train things that work in vale tudo. People with different goals will probably take a different approach, which is great. Jiu-Jitsu is for everybody.

There are two hearts beating in my chest: on the one hand I train and teach „Jiu Jitsu vs the world“, like fundamentals and vale Tudo, cause I need it for my job in law enforcement, on the other hand I also like to train „ BJJ vs BJJ“ because it’s just fun and relaxing for me (mentally). I am in the same boat: I really have no time to watch instructionals, as I have family commitments and shifts on weekends. I am at a point where i am totally ok with what I train, teach and learn under the given circumstances and prerequisites. Although we are a recreational team, some of us even win medals in local competitions and even NAGA, so it’s ok for me and our team….😉🙌! Are there teams who train more and have better coaches? Yes , for sure! Are we doing the best under the given circumstances on a recreational level? Yes, we are doing ok!

Hi Mirco, From what I know of you and the team, I think you have found the 'right' BJJ for your needs. Your context determines the techniques so those will be the ones you train and focus on. I doubt you will ever need to use a berimbolo to inside ashi, leg pummel into crab ride back take then spin under for a reverse Woj lock in your line of work. It will be a fun exercise but your profession isn't the place to hold a gentlemanly test of skills. There will always be the latest 'flavour of the month' and in a few month's time something else new will pop up. Follow your instincts and they will point you to concentrate your efforts where it's needed. Happy training!