4 Keys to Jiu Jitsu Success.

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The task of controlling and submitting a resisting person can be quite challenging, especially when the other person is bigger, stronger or more skilled.  After all, they are doing all they can to defend themselves, while simultaneously mounting an attack against you.

On a technical level, the ultimate goal of Jiu Jitsu is to submit your opponent.  In order to achieve this goal, it can be helpful to have an awareness of the sequence of events that typically precede a submission victory.  This will enable us to break our task down to more manageable components.  By winning the smaller battles, we can win the larger one.

Here are 4 key elements that can increase our Jiu Jitsu success.

1.   Establish an Advantageous Grip on your Opponent.

Nothing much happens until you establish grips, but do not just settle for any grip.  Fight for a superior grip while denying your opponent the grips that they want.  Grips can quickly manifest as control.  When you sense that you are being controlled – break the grips that control you.

A significant amount of your success will depend on your ability to get the grips that you want.  Establishing a superior grip will increase your chances of a successful attack.

2.   Off Balance your Opponent.

Once you have your grip, look to off balance your opponent.  “Off-balancing” can have many manifestations.  It can refer to anything that upsets the opponent’s physical balance, or mentally confuses them.

Create reactions in your opponent that you can exploit.  Motion will create opportunity.  Draw him in, distract him, use fakes and combinations as set-ups so that the real attack can take place.

No matter your particular style of Jiu Jitsu, “off balancing” your opponent will take them out of their comfort zone and compromise their defenses – thus opening the door to positional dominance and opportunities for submissions.

3.   Achieve Positional Dominance.

Jiu Jitsu theory clearly outlines a hierarchy of positions that two opposing people can fall into.  Successful Jiu Jitsu practitioners seek out dominant position.

Establishing positional dominance translates to having greater control over your opponent than they have over you.  The greater the Positional Dominance, the more a person can maximize their potential for generating effective attacks, while minimizing their vulnerability to being attacked.

Once a dominant position is established, look to attack with finishing holds or submissions.

4.   Be Submission Minded. 

Submissions are the ultimate success in a Jiu Jitsu contest.  They are a reflection of the capacity to control and incapacitate a resisting person.

To be successful in Jiu Jitsu you should be submission-minded.  Constantly seek submissions and apply them in combination.  As Braulio Estima once told me, “do not go to war with just one bullet.”  Have combinations of attacks.

Theory Over Tactics.  An awareness of the core principles that underlie Jiu Jitsu strategy can be more important than the specific techniques we use to carry out our goal.  The specific tactics will vary depending on our physical attributes and individual style.  But these “4 Keys” remain the same.

Conclusion.  They are not written in stone, but these 4 keys are present in a high percentage of submission victories.  Keeping these 4 elements in mind will enable you to put the odds of a favorable outcome on your side.

Success is Built on Failures.  Along the way you can expect to be frustrated.  But do not allow your self to get too frustrated – remember, success is built on “failures.”

MMA as Guilty Pleasure.

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When the bald-headed monk wrapped in a saffron colored robe walked into the Bangkok restaurant, I took notice.  It wasn’t just his intense stare,  it was the tattoos of Buddhist imagery and scriptures that covered his entire body.  I immediately thought to myself, “This monk is gangster!”

He asked what I was doing in Thailand.  His English was not great but I wanted to be clear, “I am here to train Muay Thai.”  (Translation: I am not here for the women.)  Turns out he was a former Muay Thai Champion who retired at age 20 – I was impressed.  “This monk is REALLY gangster,” I thought.

He ended our short conversation by saying: “The greatest lesson I learned from hitting someone, is that it is wrong to hit someone.”

His words struck me – and left me with no choice but to contemplate them.  As I arrived back in the states, I picked up a stray newspaper at the airport.  It was already open to an article in the Sports section – brain autopsies of many NFL players had shown chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), an Alzheimer’s-like brain disease associated with repetitive head trauma.

Ignorance is Bliss.

In the late 80’s I loved boxing.  I was mesmerized by Iron Mike Tyson.  He combined raw brutality with precision technique to finish strong men quickly and violently.  It was awesome.  His fights created a contagious, primal excitement.   I thought little of the negative consequences his opponents might suffer.

Then, in the early 90’s, MMA came along – it was WAY better than boxing.  More realistic, more interesting – and to those of us in the know, it was safer…no standing 8 count…fewer head strikes…submission victories…etc.

But now in 2012, it is hard to ignore the ever-increasing scientific data – repeated blows to the head can create lasting damage to our brains.  Although probably safer than boxing and the NFL, can we still believe that MMA fighters are somehow exempt from the scientifically proven consequences of repeated blows to the head?

Fighting is undoubtedly part of our DNA.  Sex and violence are two of the most potent drives of living beings – they also make for great entertainment.  I still love MMA, and I still watch the NFL sometimes – but the love is not as pure as it once was.

These days the thrill and excitement are offset by the guilt of watching other people damage themselves for my viewing pleasure.  With increasing frequency, it can feel weird to watch humans willingly damage each other for entertainment purposes.

The Good News. 

Luckily there is Jiu Jitsu, which has all of the physicality of a real fight, with none of the negative repercussions of strikes to the head.  Not only will BJJ not diminish our mental capacities, it has the potential to improve them. 

In boxing the objective is to hit your opponent in the head and body until they can no longer stand up.  With Jiu Jitsu the objective is to control and then submit your opponent.  Jiu Jitsu gives us the option of stopping a technique short of permanent injury.

This is not an argument against the striking arts.  All martial arts have value – and many people much greater than me have derived much benefit from their training in the striking arts.

Yet I am grateful for the life-promoting properties of Jiu Jitsu…

And I must admit, I am looking forward to watching the Metamoris Pro Jiu Jitsu Invitational much more than watching UFC 152.

Rickson Gracie and John Danaher Agree…

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…Brazilian Jiu Jitsu increases our problem-solving ability.

From Master Rickson Gracie:

“Jiu-jitsu puts you completely in the moment where you must have complete focus on finding a solution to the problem. This trains the mind to build that focus, to increase your awareness, your capacity to solve problems.”

From Master John Danaher:

“The deepest benefits of Jiu Jitsu come off the mat.  It encourages a world-view based upon the idea of rational problem solving.  Jiu Jitsu is all about solving problems that are rapidly changing under stress, and that gives you an ability to identify the crux of the problem in front of you, even in a stressful situation and adapt your body and tactics to overcome that problem and to continue overcoming it as the problem itself changes.  It encourages you to use a very rational trial and error method, basically the same method that science uses to overcome these problems.  So it gives you this sort of problem solving mindset, which I think applies throughout life itself.” (From Open Mat Radio interview)

Modern psychologists say that improved problem solving skills demonstrates an increase in our “Fluid” Intelligence.  Fluid intelligence refers to our ability to learn, to reason, to recognize patterns, and get to the bottom of things.

The implication of Master’s Rickson Gracie and John Danaher’s statements then is that Jiu Jitsu literally raises our intelligence.

What do you think? Can Jiu Jitsu make us smarter?

Twelve Lessons Jiu Jitsu Teaches.

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  1. If it were always easy, it wouldn’t be worth it.
  2. Challenges make us stronger.
  3. Adopting a positive mindset will make the journey easier.
  4. There is always more to learn.
  5. Problems can have more than one solution, and questions can have more than one answer.
  6. The simplest solution is the best.
  7. It feels good when you know what you are doing.
  8. You are your greatest opponent.  Conquer fears, laziness, excuses and negativity.
  9. Keep a calm, clear mind.  Even when things are falling apart around you.
  10. Our bodies and minds can stretch beyond what we thought possible.
  11. We can improve by helping others.
  12. The more you practice, the better you get.

Why Marcelo Garcia Wins.

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The legendary grappler says it has to do with love.

“Why do I beat a lot of people? Because I love it so much, that’s why.  Everything about Jiu Jitsu, I love it – the school, the mat, the ring.  I always believe that.  Maybe I am not better than my opponent, but I know for sure I love my training more.” –Marcelo Garcia

Love has a warming effect that heightens our senses, and increases our aliveness.  It enables us to act and move with greater strength. With it we can increase our chances of winning, be more creative, and most importantly, we can help others.

When we love something we find it pleasing; it imparts a sense of joy and produces happiness from within.  This not only gets to the core of our Jiu Jitsu training, but to the real essence of our being.

When an activity has some sort of outside payoff – in Jiu Jitsu it is usually belts, medals, cash, etc — it’s known as an “extrinsic reward.” When there’s no payoff except for the joy or the love of it, it’s known as an “intrinsic reward.”

Experts are now seeing intrinsic reward as the silver bullet of motivation and a principal key to high performance.

This is because humans are motivated by happiness – and the love and joy that originates from inside us (intrinsic) will always bring greater happiness than the rewards that come from the outside (extrinsic).

It is normal to feel most effective when we are simply doing what we love.  Of course we can’t just be a seeker of joy. We need to work hard to perfect our craft, and we definitely need to be challenged.

However, in order to get the best from ourselves, we should feel that our craft is never actually work.

If we naturally feel this love of Jiu Jitsu, we are lucky. Like the communist-era Sambo players hand wringing their gi jackets – we need to wring as much joy out of our BJJ practice as possible.

Even if you feel the love is not in you, you might need to delude yourself that it is – because it is the people who love their craft the most that also work the hardest.

“I wasn’t a good student, and even now I never say that I am better than anybody, but I know I love Jiu Jitsu more than anybody.  I love the energy and that it gets deeper the more you study.” – Marcelo Garcia

Disruptive Innovation.

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15 years ago, in his book The Innovator’s Dilemma, Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen coined the phrase, “Disruptive innovation.”  He applied this term to the worlds of business and technology to describe how newer, “better” ways of doing things will upset existing methods and eventually overcome them.

Disruptive innovation explains how steamships disrupted sailing ships, cars disrupted railways, personal computers disrupted word processors, Wikipedia disrupted encyclopedias, digital photography disrupted film, cell phones disrupted public pay phones, and so on.  Christensen writes, “Start-ups often provide disruptive innovation and readily eat into the market share of older value networks.”

In the worlds of business and technology, disruption is one of the natural keys to invention and success.

How does this apply to Jiu Jitsu?

The story of Jiu Jitsu is the story of disruptive innovation.  Back in 1993, at UFC 1, Gracie Jiu Jitsu disrupted many people’s ideas about what a real fight between highly trained martial artists would look like.  The training methods and theoretical insights of Jiu Jitsu forever altered the martial arts landscape.

On a technical level, Jiu Jitsu is ever evolving.  For example, Spider Guard, De La Riva, Rubber Guard, X Guard, Tornado Guard, Inverted Guards, Berimbolo, etc. – all provided disruptive innovations to the basic Closed Guard.

When innovative grappling techniques are proven to be effective at the highest levels – they attract our attention.  The combination of newness with craftsmanship often leaves us intrigued, puzzled, amused and motivated.  It reminds us that there are always exciting new worlds to explore or rediscover.

“Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure.” – Albert Einstein

Disruptive Jiu Jitsu.

Most of us will probably not disrupt the game of Jiu Jitsu in any major way.  We probably won’t be responsible for developing new techniques that disrupt the standard norms and are proven effective at the highest levels – but we can disrupt our personal Jiu Jitsu.

When we disrupt our game, we disrupt the games of others.  By disrupting the expectations of our regular training partners – we are helping them to improve. This is how we all can contribute to Jiu Jitsu, even if it’s in a very small way.

Yet, many of us fall back on non-disruptive Jiu Jitsu that thrives on the comforting repetition of the forms and sentiments we are most familiar with.  What if, on some occasions, we made a concerted effort to choose the unknown over the known?

By trying something we normally never do, we may add a new dimension to our game.  Taking an experimental, investigative and exploratory approach to Jiu Jitsu can be very beneficial.

“Breaking an old model is always going to require leaders to follow their instincts. There will always be persuasive reasons not to take a risk. But if you only do what worked in the past, you will wake up one day and find that you’ve been passed by.” – Clayton M Christensen

Is all disruptive Jiu Jitsu an improvement? 

Of course solid fundamentals are of primary importance – there is no need to reinvent the wheel.  The right amount of disruption is healthy, but too much is detrimental.

Innovation often comes at a cost.  An article today in the nytimes reported the harmful effects that chemicals are having on our environment.

Are there parallels to this in the world of Jiu Jitsu?  Have we had any disruptive innovations that actually may not be good in the long term? Likewise, have we lost anything of value from the past?

Conclusion.

Disruptive innovation is a quintessential component and at the very heart of Jiu Jitsu.  As Jiu Jitsu evolves we have to evolve with it. In order for us to grow we have to try new things.  Just as we update our mobile devices, we have to update our Jiu Jitsu.

By adopting an adventurous and investigative mindset, we can assess our current approach and ask a few questions: How can my techniques be made more effective? Can I be more imaginative?  What am I missing and where have I become complacent?  What can I do that might be different from what I’ve previously seen or done?  Innovative, creative and effective grappling techniques are always in vogue.

The popularity of these videos indicates the delight we find in innovation.  It is also an interesting phenomenon that “how” a person wins is often more important than “who” won.

What do you think…?  Is it necessary to constantly upgrade your Jiu Jitsu technology?   Do you try to explore every disruptive innovation that comes along, or is better to just stick to the basics?

“Technical skills can be learned by almost anyone who has the determination to pursue it, but innovative ideas and the ability to express them come from some place beyond the material world.” – Carole Ann Borges

The Purpose of Jiu Jitsu.

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What Is The Purpose Of Jiu Jitsu? 

Whether we practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for self-defense, sport, or some other reason – we all share the intention of becoming more skilled.  However, greater technical proficiency is not the ultimate purpose of Jiu Jitsu – the techniques are the means of achieving something greater.

What the Masters Say:

“My father was a naturalist and a very spiritual person, who had a great desire to pass on his knowledge to others, so that they could receive the benefits of Jiu Jitsu as well. Growing up in this environment, I learned the art of Jiu Jitsu is actually a method through which one strives for self-perfection.” – Carlos Gracie Jr.

Strengthening Our Fundamental Capacities.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a unique activity because of the high demands it places on many of our fundamental human capacities.  Character, logic, creativity, adaptability, problem solving, self control, strength, endurance, persistence, flexibility, dexterity, fitness and more are tested, stretched and strengthened by long term Jiu Jitsu practice.

When we make use of these capacities they naturally become stronger.  Conversely, these same fundamental capacities will break down from a lack of use.

By making use of the full range of human ability, and giving us a clear assessment of our strengths and weaknesses, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu provides an excellent platform from which to improve one’s self.

What Are The Results?

So what specifically are the results or benefits that are traditionally associated with Jiu Jitsu practice?  Regardless of why else we might train, we all have an innate desire to improve ourselves.  What does it look like to improve one’s self by practicing Jiu Jitsu?

  1. Increased Mental and Moral Power.
  2. Increased Strength and Fitness.
  3. Improved Lifestyle and Habits.  

Increased Mental and Moral Power. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can affect our mental process, how we see life, our confidence in our selves, and our ability to implement positive change.  It develops moral virtues such as courage, respect and honor – while decreasing our stress, worry and insecurities.  It enables us to understand ourselves better, and increase our level of self-awareness.  It teaches us to be adaptable and relax under pressure.  It enhances our ability to focus and increases our presence of mind.

Increased Strength and Fitness.  Jiu Jitsu equips us with powerful techniques that enable us to defend ourselves in a manner that can be violent or non-violent.  Jiu Jitsu improves us physically by increasing strength, flexibility, dexterity, endurance, coordination, and overall command of our body.  Plus it is a lot of fun to be able to move with accuracy, fluidity and purpose.  Jiu Jitsu turns self-defense into a method of self-perfection.

Improved Lifestyle and Habits.  Jiu Jitsu is a “study in living.”  It can guide us along a path to a healthier lifestyle, and more efficient use of our energy in all realms of our life.  See Jiu Jitsu is a High Leverage Habit.

Jiu Jitsu is More Than Techniques.

Jiu Jitsu goes well beyond the techniques that comprise it.  Time on the mat can serve as a template or microcosm for real life.  The benefits of training translate exceptionally well to our lives off of the mat – it can positively impact how we think, sense, feel and act.

Confusing The Means With The End.

Focusing exclusively on the sporting or fighting aspects of Jiu Jitsu may cause us to lose sight of its bigger purpose.  In other words, we are at risk of confusing the end result (striving for self perfection) with the means of achieving it (the practice of Jiu Jitsu.)  When we confuse the means with the end, we put a lid on the potential benefits we can receive.

The human mind has a tendency to confuse the desired result with the means of achieving it.  When we mistake the means for the endpoint, we are at risk of losing sight of the original desired result.  We may settle for a result other than the one that is truly important to us.

Beginning With the End in Mind.

What is the ultimate goal that can be achieved from our training?  This is a critical question because the answer will inform why we train – and will clarify the results we hope to achieve.

The second habit in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People is “Begin With The End In Mind.”

If we have the endpoint in mind, we are much less likely to confuse the end result with the means of achieving it.  The end goal we set up will define the direction and scope of our training. In other words, our expectations will directly influence our results.

Jiu Jitsu has existed in many places, and meant many things to many people.  It is important to know what it means to you.  The answer will directly impact the actions we take, and the results we will receive.

If we do not really know why we train, or we are training for the wrong reasons, we will probably not be training for a lifetime.  On the other hand, when we have a clear destination, our journey becomes easier and more rewarding.

Frustrated with your practice?  The process of learning Jiu Jitsu, pushing thru limits, and strengthening the mind and the body can be very challenging.  Remind yourself to step back and look at the big picture – the end goal.  Ask yourself, “what am I trying to achieve and why?”  If you have a big enough reason, it is easy to find the motivation to continue.  The big picture, or your “why?” can keep you motivated during times of difficulty or frustration.  Always remember that there’s a deeper reason why we choose to train Jiu Jitsu.  What is that “why?” for you?

Conclusion.

There is more to Jiu Jitsu than chokes, joint locks, pins and takedowns.  In fact, the greatest benefits of Jiu Jitsu occur off of the mat.  Jiu Jitsu improves our lives.  It can make us fitter, smarter and happier.

Jiu Jitsu builds up the many facets of our being, without diminishing us in any way.  It simultaneously equips us with the skill to defend our self or another.  This makes Jiu Jitsu a supremely practical endeavor.

The greatest benefits of Jiu Jitsu result from utilizing the art as a means to self-knowledge and “a method through which one strives for self-perfection.”

“The purpose of the study of judo is to perfect yourself and to contribute to society. “ – Jigoro Kano