How to Keep a BJJ Journal (With a Free Template)

Details from a BJJ class are easy to forget if you do not revisit them. A training journal is the simplest fix: a short written record of each session that you can read back later.

This guide covers what to put in a BJJ journal, when to write it, how to keep it short enough to last, and how to use it once you have a few weeks of notes. A copy-and-paste template is at the end.

Why keep a BJJ journal

A class gives you a lot in an hour: a technique or two, a handful of small details, and several rounds of rolling where you find out what works against resistance. Much of the fine detail slips away unless you go back over it.

A journal helps in three ways.

• It captures details before they fade. The grip, the angle or the weight shift that made a technique work is the first thing to go. Writing it down the same day keeps it.
• It makes patterns visible. One bad round tells you little. Ten notes that mention the same escape you keep failing tell you what to work on.
• It makes you recall what happened. Trying to remember a sequence, rather than just rereading it or rewatching it, is one of the more effective ways to learn it. Writing a note from memory is a small version of that.

None of this needs a long entry. A few lines after each class is enough to be useful. If you want help deciding what goes in those lines, see what to write after BJJ class.

What to record

Aim for a handful of fields, the same ones every time. A fixed structure makes the note quick to write and easy to scan later.

Session context. The date, gi or no-gi, who taught, and the class type (fundamentals, advanced, open mat, competition prep). Without this you cannot tell later whether a note came from a gi class or a no-gi one, and that matters for many techniques.

The technique, as a sequence. Write the steps in order. For a knee cut pass, that might be: get an underhook or crossface, slide your knee across their thigh, then settle your chest and hips down. Short steps in your own words are better than a polished description.

The details that made it work. Pick the two or three key details. For a scissor sweep: pull them forward with your sleeve and collar grips, keep your top shin across their torso, and chop their base with your bottom leg as you turn. For a cross collar choke: get a deep first grip on the collar, then secure the opposite collar with your second hand before you finish. These details are what you will lose first, so they are what to write.

What happened in rolling. Note what you tried, what worked, and what went wrong. Include the failures. Something like "got passed whenever they got a knee between my legs" is more useful than "rolled okay".

Questions for your coach. Anything you did not understand or could not make work. Next class, you will have a specific question instead of a vague one.

One thing to try next time. A single, concrete goal for the next session, such as "frame earlier when they start to pass" or "hit the first collar grip before pulling guard".

If you only record two things, make them the key details and the one thing to try next time.

When to write it

Aim to jot down the key details within an hour of class. If that is not practical, write what you remember later that day.

Some practical options:

• On the way home or in the changing room. Five minutes while it is fresh.
• Right after class, before you leave the gym. Good if you have a few minutes while you cool down.
• Later that day. The fallback if you cannot do either of the above. Write what you remember before you go to bed.

Pick one routine and attach it to something you already do, such as sitting down on the train or making a post-training meal. A habit tied to an existing habit lasts longer than one that depends on remembering.

If you miss a day, write a shorter note from what you remember. A partial note is worth more than none. If you miss several days, skip that class and start fresh. Do not let a backlog stop you from writing the next one.

Keep it short

Long entries make the habit harder to keep. A note that takes 20 minutes is easy to put off after a long day; one that takes three minutes is not.

A few ways to keep it light:

• Set a size limit. Three to six lines for most classes. Write more only when something clicked or something went badly wrong.
• Use fragments. "Knee cut: underhook first, then pin far hip" is enough. Nobody else will read it.
• Skip empty fields. If you did not roll, leave that part out.
• Write the details, not the whole class. You do not need to record every warm-up drill or every round.
• Do not edit. Spelling, order and neatness do not matter. Getting the information down does.

A short note you write every class beats a thorough note you write twice a month. Consistency matters more than depth.

How to review your notes

A journal you never reread is only a diary. Reviewing is where the notes turn into progress.

Before your next class. Read your last two or three entries, especially the "one thing to try next time" lines. This takes two minutes and gives you a plan for the session.

Once a week. Skim the week's notes and look for repeats. Which position did you get stuck in more than once? Which technique keeps showing up in your questions for the coach? Pick one to focus on next week.

Once a month. Read back through the month. You will usually find two or three themes: a guard you keep getting passed in, a submission you finish more often, a sweep you never complete. Use these to choose what to drill.

Before a lesson or a competition. Search your notes for the position or technique you are about to work on and read what you wrote the last time.

Reviewing works best when you try to recall first. Before you open a note on the scissor sweep, try to list the key details from memory, then check. The gaps tell you what to practise. For more on this, see how to remember BJJ techniques.

Paper, a notes app or a dedicated app

Any format works if you will actually use it. Each has real strengths and weaknesses.

Paper notebook.

• Free, no battery, nothing to open or sign into.
• Fast to jot in, with no typing.
• Hard to search. Finding every note that mentions the knee cut pass means flipping pages.
• Easy to leave in your gym bag at home, and easy to skip when it is not in front of you.

A plain notes app on your phone.

• Free, always with you, and works offline.
• Searchable, so you can find a technique by name.
• Without a structure, entries turn into an unsorted list, and typing on a phone after a hard class is a chore.

A dedicated BJJ journal app.

• Can add structure for you, so each entry has the same fields.
• Search and review are usually better than in a generic notes app.
• Another app to learn, and it may cost money.

Jitsu Notes is one option here. You talk through your class by voice on your iPhone after training, and it turns that into a structured note you can search and review on the web. It suits people who find typing or writing the barrier. If writing is not the problem for you, a notebook or a notes app is a perfectly good choice.

The best system is the one you will still be using in three months. If you are unsure, start with paper or your phone's notes app using the template below, and switch only if you run into a real problem, such as being unable to find old notes.

Common mistakes

Writing too much. Long entries lead to skipped entries. Keep each note to a few lines.

Writing only the techniques. A list of moves without the details or the rolling is a syllabus, not a journal. The details and the failures are the useful part.

Recording only the wins. Notes that only say what went well hide the things you most need to fix. Write down where you were passed, tapped or stuck.

Waiting too long. A note written three days later is mostly guesswork. Write it the same day.

Never rereading. If you do not review, the journal only helps through the act of writing. Put a short review in your routine: before class, and once a week.

Using a different format each time. Changing the structure makes notes hard to compare. Use the same fields.

Vague goals. "Get better at guard" cannot be checked. "Hit the scissor sweep from closed guard twice this week" can.

Treating a gap as failure. Everyone misses weeks. Pick it up again with the next class rather than abandoning the journal.

A free BJJ journal template

Copy this into a notebook, a notes app or a document. Fill in what applies and leave out the rest. Most entries should take a few minutes.

DATE:
GI / NO-GI:
INSTRUCTOR:
CLASS TYPE:

TECHNIQUE (steps in order):
1.
2.
3.

KEY DETAILS (the 2-3 that made it work):
-
-

ROLLING (what I tried / what worked /
what went wrong):
-
-

QUESTIONS FOR MY COACH:
-

ONE THING TO TRY NEXT TIME:
-

Use the same template for every class. After a few weeks, read back through your notes and look for repeats. If you want to go deeper on what goes in each field, see what to write after BJJ class.