I'm always surprised when new students start Jiu-Jitsu and think that they will be able to master it in a short time. It's like they expect to be able to tap people out after just a few weeks of training, and then they become frustrated when they can't. I want to say to them "Hey, try doing it for a couple of years and still not be able to submit anyone, like it was for me when I started!" Okay, I did tap a few people out in those first couple of years, but I know it's mostly because I got lucky, or they were taking it easy on me.
I think part of the problem is that Jiu-Jitsu looks pretty simple from the outside. When newbies watch people roll, they really have no understanding of all the intricacies involved. One new white belt who watched me grapple with Adam said they couldn't believe I wasn't beating him because he was so "slow". Um, Adam is The Incredible Hulk, and no one of any rank, age, or size in our Jiu-Jitsu class can easily beat him, let alone a 120 pound woman who is twice his age, and who ranks below him. If I ever do submit Adam, it will probably signal the Apocalypse.
There are no easy answers or quick fixes, learning Jiu-Jitsu requires a lot of patience and time. Even the new students who do have success at the beginning will often find themselves on a plateau when they realize that they cheated their training by relying on strength, instead of actually learning the details of the techniques. It will become apparent when they roll with someone who knows enough to not let them get away with it (Conan, Greg, Ray), and then they won't understand why things they thought they "knew" aren't working.
Our women's teacher Amy tells me that I am lucky that my ego was crushed so completely and thoroughly at the beginning of my Jiu-Jitsu training, because I understood that in order for me to be successful I was going to have to take the time to learn it the "right" way. That is the only way it will ever work for me. Amy's early Jiu-Jitsu training involved grappling with a couple of MMA guys who would submit her in 15 seconds every time they rolled, but instead of becoming discouraged and giving up, she made it her goal to last 30 seconds, then a minute, then two minutes, etc.
If you could come into a class and tap out everyone there after just a short amount of training, why would you even want to do it, what would it have to offer you? The fact that new people can't submit me, and I can submit them, should not upset them, it should prove to them that what we are learning in our class actually works. I'm not using strength, or superior athleticism, or Jedi mind tricks, I'm just using Jiu-Jitsu. It's taken me three years to get to the point where I feel like I know a little something, and I'm fully aware that it's just the tip of the Jiu-Jitsu iceberg.