Take BJJ seminar notes without missing the seminar

Quick answer: At a BJJ seminar, ask the host what note-taking and recording are allowed, then write during an approved break rather than through the demonstration. Capture the starting position, one detail you were working on and the question you still need answered. Mark gaps honestly instead of turning an uncertain memory into instructions, and keep your partner's drilling time intact.

You can leave a BJJ seminar with six pages of notes and still be unable to set up the first position.

A full notebook is easy to mistake for a successful afternoon. But the guest instructor may have changed a grip while you were writing the previous sentence, and your partner may be waiting to take their turn while you finish describing yours. The useful note is the one you can recognize when you return to the position.

A seminar that restricts recording makes those choices more visible. You have to decide when to watch, when to practice and when a short note will help. A small format, used at the right time, keeps the notebook from becoming another thing to manage on the mat.

Ask about notes before assuming the phone is allowed

Recording policies can be precise. Marcello Monteiro's official seminar-hosting guidelines prohibit video and audio recording equipment and direct photographs to a break or after the seminar. An audio memo is therefore not an alternative that gets around that published rule.

Other hosts may make different arrangements. Ask what is allowed for the seminar you are attending, including handwritten notes, phone notes and any later group photograph. If a phone must stay in the changing area, plan around that answer instead of arriving with a note-taking method you cannot use.

Academy rules can matter too. Academy Jiu Jitsu's code of conduct requires instructor permission for phones and other electronic devices on the mat. Permission to attend a seminar does not settle every question about where your device belongs.

These are practical questions to send the host before the day. Our guide to choosing a BJJ seminar covers the broader fit. Here, the goal is smaller: turn up with a permitted way to make a short note, and know when the teacher wants questions.

Decide what a useful note must contain

Do not design a form that asks you to document every movement. Start with three things: the position you began in, the detail you were trying to get right, and what remains unclear. You can add the technique's name if the instructor gives one, but a name alone will not recover the setup.

For example, guard pass describes a large area of jiu-jitsu. A note that identifies which leg was caught and how the partners began gives you a more specific place to return. Use words you understand; an abbreviation that looked clever during the seminar can become a puzzle when you open the page later.

Choose a way to mark uncertainty before you need it. A question mark beside an uncertain grip is enough. It tells you that this part needs checking, rather than presenting every line with the same confidence.

Keep the format small enough to use standing beside your bag during a break. A notebook that requires an elaborate diagram for every repetition has probably asked too much of the afternoon. You are attending a lesson, with another person depending on you as their partner.

Watch the demonstration before trying to describe it

For the first demonstration, put the notebook away and follow the whole assignment. Notice how the partners begin, what changes and where the instructor stops. If you miss a detail, mark it as a question later rather than trying to reconstruct the sequence while the demonstration continues.

When it is time to drill, you and your partner need to know the same starting position. Use that as the first check. A technique name at the top of the page does not resolve a hand position that neither of you caught.

If neither of you can, ask for help before spending the whole block rehearsing a different setup. You can explain the missing piece directly: we did not catch where the receiving partner's arm begins. That is a smaller question than asking the teacher to repeat the entire lesson.

Wait for the host's approved moment to write. It might be a scheduled break, or another pause the teacher permits. A short note then can describe something you have attempted, including the part that actually stopped you. That is more useful than a page of directions written before your first repetition.

Write a note you could use to restart the drill

Here is a proposed note for a hypothetical seminar lesson about opening closed guard. It records the starting arrangement and the questions a student still needs answered:

• Starting position: partner on their back with closed guard; I begin kneeling.

• Assigned task: practice the standing opening shown in this lesson, then reset.

• Detail to check: I missed which hand establishes the first grip.

• What stopped my rep: we began standing before agreeing on that grip.

The note is incomplete on purpose. It identifies the hole rather than filling it with a version from another class. A coach reading it has a specific question to answer. You also know where to restart once that question is resolved.

After clarification, add the teacher's explanation in your own words and mark that it has been checked. Do not leave the uncertain version and the correction looking equally current. Your future self should not need a detective's notebook to work out which one you meant.

If a short diagram helps, draw only what you need to identify the position. Elaborate artwork can wait until the seminar is over.

Turn the missing detail into one respectful question

There is a difference between asking about the lesson and introducing a different technique. If you cannot establish the demonstrated grip, ask about that grip. A long account of the variation you saw online can bury the actual difficulty the guest teacher could help with.

State the part you understood first, then name the gap. In the hypothetical closed-guard example, that means explaining that you understood the kneeling start but missed the first hand position. The instructor can decide whether the answer belongs in a quick correction or another demonstration for the room.

Use the question arrangement the host has set. Some teachers invite interruptions; others collect questions after demonstrating or while circulating. Ask the host if that is unclear. You do not need to compete with the room for the earliest possible answer.

If the teacher is helping another pair, keep your question ready without making your partner wait indefinitely. Work on the portion you have been instructed to practice, or pause and seek the coach's direction if the missing detail prevents it.

Keep note-taking out of your partner's repetitions

Your partner came to the seminar to practice too. Before the drilling block starts, agree how you will alternate turns according to the teacher's instructions. Finish the agreed exchange before heading back to the notebook, unless the instructor has stopped the room.

If one detail feels worth preserving, give it a short label you can write at the next permitted break. Avoid asking your partner to hold an awkward position while you compose a paragraph. They should know whether they are receiving the technique, performing it or taking a normal reset.

You can compare observations briefly, but do not make two uncertain memories into a confident correction by agreement. If both of you missed the first grip, that is a good reason to ask the instructor. It is not evidence that whichever version sounds familiar must be right.

Watch how much of the block the notebook is taking. If you repeatedly miss your turn, shrink the note format. The useful outcome is a position you have practiced with permission and a few words that help you return to it. More pages do not repair a skipped exchange.

Leave with a readable sequence and a visible gap

Before putting the notebook away, label which lesson each fragment belongs to. A page containing three unrelated grips and two arrows may be difficult to separate later. Give each sequence its own small space, with the starting position at the top.

Keep unanswered questions visible. You can bring them to your regular coach when there is an appropriate opportunity, explaining that you are unsure of the seminar detail. Do not present the page as a complete set of the guest instructor's directions if it is not one.

Consider the notes' destination as well. Notes made for your own practice are not automatically a ready-made public tutorial. Ask the host or instructor before posting detailed seminar material or sharing a reconstruction as their lesson.

Once home, a separate seminar follow-up plan can help you choose what to revisit.

The takeaway

A seminar note earns its place when it helps you identify the starting position and the next question. You do not need to capture the afternoon word for word. You need enough detail to return to a particular piece of the lesson without silently supplying the parts you missed.

Agree the note-taking rules with the host, watch the demonstration and use the permitted breaks. Leave your partner their turns. A small page with one clarified sequence is a useful thing to bring home from a seminar.

Find a seminar that fits your training

Browse BJJ seminars on Let's Roll, then ask the host about the level, format and note-taking policy before booking.

FAQ

Can I take written notes at a BJJ seminar? Ask the host or instructor. Confirm when and where notes are welcome so writing does not interrupt demonstrations, drilling or another participant's turn.

Can I record audio if video is prohibited? Check the actual policy. Marcello Monteiro's published seminar guidelines prohibit both audio and video recording equipment. Do not assume an audio recording is allowed because it has no picture.

What should I write if I cannot remember a detail? Mark the gap as a question and describe the starting position or repetition where it matters. Ask for clarification rather than inserting an unverified version into the sequence.

Should I write after every repetition? Only if that fits the teacher's arrangement. The approach here is to keep drilling turns intact and make short notes during approved pauses, adjusting the format if it repeatedly takes you away from practice.