I realized early that understanding why a technique works makes it easier to figure out how to make it work for me. So I became a conceptual learner.
Another factor in that choice of focus came as a result of a method that my coach, Mike Moses, used to use often when he taught. When he wanted to focus your attention on the concept of the technique, he would say if you take nothing else away from this class remember this.
It worked.
I would always remember the concept when he did that, and I noticed that once I had the concept down the method wasn’t that far behind. It was an incredible thing.
At some point, I can’t tell you when, I also realized that it made intuitive sense to split technique up into two separate components. Obviously, one of them had to be the concept, and then on the other side there was the movement.
The next logical step was to think about those two components in the larger framework of Jiu-jitsu as a whole. It made sense to believe that there was a one-to-many relationship between those two components and technique.
The reason is simple.
One concept can be applied to be many techniques. The same is true of movement. So these individual building blocks have a wider range of effect than individual techniques. Why not focus on them?
Of the two, concepts are easier to learn. That has been my experience. More than that though, the question of why is so interesting. Why does it work? Why are you using that grip? Why do you move that way?
There’s endless avenues of inquiry, and I recently pursued one myself.
I was in the advanced class at Evolve and Master Mike was teaching. He went over a series of attacks from the underhook half guard. One of the techniques was the knee tap. I’m familiar with that. I’ve been doing it since I was a white belt, but his setup was different from any of the ones I use.
I drilled it, and it didn’t feel right to me. So I started asking questions because I wanted to know why. That process helped me identify possible uses for the variations, and that’s far better than just discarding it.
That example illustrates why you will benefit if you explore why things work.
The next time that you’re in class, speak up and starting asking questions. If your goal is to improve, focus on understanding the concept behind things. Why does this work? Why do you grip there? What if I did this, what would happen? Ask away. Your instructor will probably love it and you will benefit.
Today, I’m going to talk about the lesson I learned the very first day I trained at Evolve Academy.
I drove over an hour to get to the gym and I got lost at the end, since it was located off the main road. By some miracle though, I will still early.
So I signed all the waiver forms and did my intro. It’s amusing to me now to think about that intro since I had some absolutely horrendous kicks then. That’s no longer the case.
Next, I went into the class. It was like nothing else I had ever experienced before. I was really out of shape at the time, and the workout was extremely physically demanding.
I didn’t quit though, and I made it through.
Afterwards, I went up to Master Mike, and I told him that I really wanted to do this but I didn’t know if I could. His response was straightforward; he just told me that if I wanted to perform better in the gym I had to do work outside.
I learned that lesson a year before I started training #brazilian jiu-jitsu, but I can point to several instances where the application of it has helped me to improve.
The most notable example when I was a white belt was when I taught myself the granby roll. I had seen people on youtube playing inverted guard and granby rolling, and I thought why can’t I do that. So I made a project for myself.
Using drills I found on Chuck Anzalone’s instructional set, I taught myself how to granby roll and wall walk. That little project has reaped so many benefits, but it required initiative on my part.
Since then, I have had many other projects, and they have all contributed to my growth. It all started though with the idea that I had to take responsibility for my own training.
Intuitively, I’ve felt that the answer was a clear and emphatic no. The issue was that I only had my own experience to draw from.
Now from two different sources within a very small time frame, I’ve been introduced to a concept that has the potential of answering the question once and for all.
Deliberate Practice
I recently read Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin and The Unexpected Champion by Dan Fagella. Both books reference Anders Ericsson’s research on skill development.
He coined the term Deliberate Practice to describe the method that top performers utilize in order to become great. In order for practice to be deliberate though, there are four conditions:
It is focused on improving performance in specific areas
It is thoroughly challenging mentally
It is repeatable over a long duration of time
It isn’t always enjoyable.
Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? It’s definitely not easy though.
If you take a moment to think about it, there is an activity in BJJ that fulfills most of those conditions. It’s drilling.
Speaking personally, there comes a point when drilling just isn’t fun. It doesn’t take long to reach that point either. It’s one of the best methods of improving within specific areas in a short amount of time though.
One thing that is really interesting to me every time that I go down to TLI HQ in Camp Springs is how they incorporate drilling into the class structure. They actually have classes that are focused only on drilling.
I’ve never seen that anywhere else.
Does This Really Relate Directly to BJJ
I don’t think it is possible to become really good with just drilling alone. It may be possible to do so in non-fighting sports like baseball or swimming but not BJJ.
Rolling is essential, and no roll is ever the same.
There is a way to practice deliberately even during rolls though. It’s also the main way that I’ve learned personally.
Go in with a plan
Be aware of everything that is going on during
Do a mental review afterward
I applied those methods recently. I had been thinking about training experiences when I was a white belt, and I decided to try the ezekiel from more positions.
During a great training session a few days ago, I got the choke from side control, half guard, and closed guard. I don’t usually go for that choke in any of those positions, but I made the conscious decision to do so.
Back when I was a white belt, I was consistently partnered up with three upper belts. Their names were Tyler, Sulaiman, and Coleman.
The things I learned from each of them had a formative impact on me. So what I’m going is to go back and relive those experiences to some degree and highlight the lessons learned.
Tyler
I probably rolled with Tyler most of all in the first year or two. He was good. Imagine rolling with someone who is big and strong but also technical. That was Tyler.
Our rolls mainly consisted of me getting smashed in those early days. He used to play a kind of open closed guard. It was strange. It was almost like he was initiating a scissor sweep but he didn’t often use it to sweep. Instead he caught me with some sneaky and fast armbars there.
Without question, the worst situations to be in were those times when he passed my guard. I had some truly terrifying experiences when he would snap on americanas from mount or side control. The speed with which they went from possible threat to legit danger was lightning fast.
I was never hurt, but it was just so quick.
Dealing with that level of pressure forced me to develop half guard. All the other positions were too difficult to get to consistently. So I started working half guard, and it started getting better and better and better til it started to work.
Sulaiman
Every roll with Sulai was a sprint when I was a white belt. He was so explosive that he forced you to match that pace or be run over.
The one thing I remember most of all was the hellish experience that was known as his closed guard. He was always so active and aggressive that it was a constant fight for survival. Armbars, cross chokes, and hip bump sweeps over and over again.
It was relentless.
I attribute to him my defense in the closed guard. I’ve spent some thinking about it, and I can count on one hand the times I’ve been submitted by cross chokes or armbars from closed guard within the last two years or more.
Coleman
I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Coleman was a bully. He seemed to take some personal enjoyment from all the pressure he would bear down on you from positions like mount, half guard, and closed guard.
Within that pressure, like a snake, his hand would slide across your throat and lock in the ezekiel. He mastered that choke, and he could do it from almost every position. There have even been times when he has submitted people with the ezekiel from the bottom of mount.
I was on the wrong end of that choke many times, and those experiences taught me its effectiveness.
I learned that lesson well.
From All of Them
I took a lot of beatings in those early days as a white belt, but it was great for me. It significantly increased my threshold for discomfit, and it made matches with most other white belts seem effortless.
Those experiences are a major factor behind the success I had competing when I was a white belt.
Think and Grow Rich was highly recommended to me. So I read once, I read it twice, and then I read several chapters over again. Now I’m going to take those 13 concepts of success and apply them to BJJ.
First, let’s start off by listing the thirteen principles:
Desire
Faith
Auto-Suggestion
Specialized Knowledge
Imagination
Organized Planning
Decision
Persistence
Power of The Master Mind
The Mystery Of Sex Transmutation
The Subconscious Mind
The Brain
The Sixth Sense
Fuel the Flame
Are you passionate about Brazilian Jiu-jitsu? Do you have definite goals that you want to achieve in the art?
It is time to stoke that flame into an inferno. Your passion and desire have a significant effect on what you can achieve. That black belt might seem so far away on your first day when you’re getting smashed by everyone, but if you’re enthusiastic about the process of learning, you’ll be surprised at how fast you improve.
The concept of desire is all about that passionate drive to achieve clearly defined goals.
Have An Unshakable Belief In Yourself
Alright!
Now we’ve already talked about the desire to achieve definite goals. There is another side of that coin. It is the absolute belief that you can turn the dream into a reality.
Let’s stay with the goal of becoming a black belt.
It’s often said that black belts are just white belts who didn’t quit. I would amend that and say this: Black belts are white belts who had faith in their ability to master the art.
The reason for that amendment is simple. Faith and desire are the elements that fuel persistence. If you don’t believe in yourself, or you don’t desire to achieve a certain outcome, the chances of you crossing that finish line are quite low.
Hammer It In Deep
Auto-suggestion can be summed up pretty easily. It is the transfer of conscious thoughts and actions to the subconscious through repetition.
In BJJ, we perform auto-suggestion without defining it that way. One of the best examples of this is when you drill a technique over and over again til you can just do it without any thought or hesitation.
That’s one reason why Helio said that “Learning jiu-jitsu is something for the subconscious, not for the consciousness.”
You can also apply this by reminding yourself of concepts over and over again to instill them in your subconscious. An example is “I will control the head when I triangle, I will control the head when I triangle, I will control the head when I triangle.”
Area Mastery
It can be said that every day when you step on the mat and learn technique that you’re getting specialized knowledge. I mean you’re definitely not going to learn all these strange movements and submissions in a college classroom (that’s a shame though).
With that said, I prefer to add a nuance to the relationship between BJJ and specialized knowledge.
What you learn in class is general knowledge. You’re learning individual pieces of the puzzle, and depending on your instructor some of those pieces may get connected for you.
It becomes specialized when you focus on small circles or subsets of BJJ. You can also think of this as game development. It’s when you start developing deep knowledge about specific positions or submissions and then build out from that strong foundation.
Think Big and Let Your Imagination Run Wild
Imagination is something we all understand, but do you have faith in the idea that anything can be achieved, if you conceive it?
In a strict sense, it is possible to say that there are quite a few things that would be extremely difficult if not impossible to achieve. This is about a mindset shift though. The goal is to go from doubting yourself into inaction to taking massive action in order prove whether or not the dream can become reality.
So let’s move on to the application to BJJ.
No one should set limits on how far they can go in this art, but I’ve seen people do it. They say that they’re too old, so they can’t. They say that they don’t have time, so they can’t. They say that they aren’t talented enough, so they can’t.
Those are all examples of self imposed limits.
There are many examples of individuals who started later in life but were still able to achieve a high level of skill and earn a black belt. Ed O’Neil is one of the more famous examples.
Also you don’t have to train full time in order to become good at BJJ. There are even ways to improve when you’re off the mat. You can use a little auto-suggestion and remind yourself of concepts. You can visualize techniques and matches in your mind. Or you can study matches and instructionals. If you’re passionate about improving every day, you can find ways to do so even in those small windows of time that you have available.
Talent is overrated. Hard work and consistent effort are far more influential than talent when it comes to success.
Set the Course and Stick by it
Organized planning is where you start acting upon achieving what you want to achieve.
Some things that would be included in your plan as it relates to BJJ are:
The idea is that when you establish definite plans and take immediate action, the chance of success increases.
Now You’ve Decided on the Course, It’s Time to Act
So let’s do a little mental check list.
You are absolutely committed to becoming highly skilled, check. You absolutely believe that it is possible, check. You’ve outlined your plan and discussed it with your coach and training partners you trust, check.
Now it’s time to act, immediately.
Oh, the Going Getting Tough, Time to Get Going
Unforeseen difficulties are a fact of life, but the individuals we admire are those who push through. The willingness to persist in the face of adversity is a wonderful trait, and it is something that can be learned and developed.
So when you get injured, or you lose a important tournament, you don’t have to let those things stop you. Most of the time, they are only temporary defeats.
By Our Powers Combined
Have you ever heard the phrase that two minds are better than one? This is that idea taken to a whole ‘nother level.
A lot of people apply this concept without defining it using the term. In BJJ, there are informal Mastermind groups every time some people stay after class to ask questions or work on technique.
Where ever a group of individuals share a focus and unite in order to brainstorm methods to achieve those goals, a Mastermind group is temporarily formed.
I Have to Talk About Sex, Noooooo
I am going to sum this up simply.
The desire for sex is one of the strongest stimulants known to mankind. The idea is that if all that drive and creativity could be redirected away from physical expression to the achievement of other desires, the possibilities would be simply amazing.
No further comment.
Instill the Knowledge You Want Through Repetition
There is a clear link between this concept and auto-suggestion. On one hand, you have the means to instill knowledge, and then on the other hand, you have the result.
In books like Training the Samurai Mind and the Book of Five Rings, it is emphasized that true skill only flows from the subconscious. So beyond just training more, it would be beneficial to spend time visualizing technique and reminding yourself of fundamental concepts. Your growth in BJJ will be sped up if you do so.
Start to Piece It All Together
What happens when you take desire, add a bit of imagination, with a side of auto-suggestion, and mix it in deep into the subconscious? Great things, no doubt.
Basically, this concept is about applying all the others in combination rather than in isolation.
Finish Bringing It All Together
Sudden inspiration or hunches are the domain of the sixth sense. You don’t have to believe that there is anything mystical about it.
Another possible explanation is that they are the result of unconscious associations between facts or knowledge in your mind. This has happened to me while I’ve been teaching. I’ll suddenly see new possibilities that exist in a given situation that I’ve never been shown.
Simply, I would pick up individual pieces of the puzzle all over the place then in certain moments, it would all come together.
