Jiu-Jitsu requires smarts, patience, resilience and anticipation. It is not uncommon that instincts get in the way of strategic thinking and improvisation. Little experience and absence of solid muscle memory prevents novices from flowing, connecting the dots in between distinct techniques, in a way that the sum of its parts can create a powerful whole. A wholesome game requires patience and consistency. An early attempt with little opposition is gradually tested against increasing levels of difficulty, which leads to the first strategy, the building of thresholds. A single move is forged into a powerful technique by adding more opposition and imaginable scenarios of deliberate sabotage against that same move. The chess game is born out of it. Once the threshold is set high enough, the second strategy will then come into play, the possible apocalypse scenarios, in which the mind is occupied with all the variables that can make a move go wrong, like reactions, luck, wit, and everything else in between. Reinforcing the muscle memory with gradual resistance and unexpected scenarios brings about another strategy, the forward and backward flow, in which a student accumulates a certain number of skills, which can be played orderly from tech 1 to tech 2 to tech 3, and switched back from tech 3 to tech 2 and so on. A failed sweep attempt can turn into a successful choke, a failed choke attempt can become a successful sweep combination. Moves connect quite well in a back and forth fashion. The whole purpose is to create confusion with predictability. Almost like causing a glitch on someone else’s expectations of what the next move might be. Which leads into the next jiu-jitsu strategy, which is the ability to combine basic moves into a disorderly flow to avoid detection. Anyone who can perform three techniques in succession have the basic elements to multiply their application when mixing them up. In the scheme of flows, submission holds when combined in a group of three to four moves give birth to the “Blitz” strategy”. Once a student is savvy enough to combine skills, it is then time to increase the firepower. A concerted effort of submission attempts made in succession will dismantle most defensive games, since each subsequent move inches closer and closer to the target of accomplishing the tap. On the opposite side of the spectrum between attacking and defending, students will acquire tremendous resilience and grit when using the “worst start case scenario strategies”, in which he/she can pick an average of four worst positions to start from. That dictates how the training will unfold. A student might choose to start from the bottom, with someone on a side control across their body, with the only intent to smash and put pressure on his/her lungs. In those situations, what matters the most is learning how to preserve one’s ability to deal with pressure against their lungs. Many novices attest to the fact they feel claustrophobic on occasion. Learning how to train without drowning is one of the most critical survival skills in jiu-jitsu. In those moments, if stuck really badly, one should make the goal smaller, more about how long to last when there is not much oxygen to go around with. Simply put, a strategic approach, like building thresholds, only sharpens a technique, while learning how to connect them on a back and forth flow multiplies and magnifies their reach. Then, as enough firepower accumulates with more attacking scenarios, place them together and sequenced in succession, like a Blitz. Finally, understand that there are no heroes when fatigue kicks in, and dealing with pressure is the quickest way to find resilience. Make those part of your jiu-jitsu game, and become the pain in the neck of all your team mates! Train Smart and Stay Humble!
