The measure of progress is not related to who has the upper hand one day or another, but to the degree of consistency someone applies to their time on the mat, whether practicing a drill or rolling with a partner. The outcome of who taps whom or who smashes who is not a factor, although it can be a reference. What counts the most is the ability to put into execution the moves one learns while doing drills, initially without resistance, and later on with increasing difficulty. The gap between learning a move and the ability to execute that same move against a resisting opponent is called threshold. The only way someone can push the threshold is through gradual steps. The slow and steady approach will eventually turn into the fast and furious approach. Between the two extremes lies the truth of the mat, which always reveals itself at every session. The one who succeeds the most is not the one who gets right every time, which is not always the case, but those who continually push the threshold higher and higher towards full completion. When the focus is on threshold, the student does not worry whether he/she taps or sweeps someone, but on how far he or she can stretch the line towards the finish, which on the mat means start and finish a particular technique. Any sequence of a jiu jitsu skill follows three stages: Set up, transition, and completion. Every move that exists follows this sequence. Many can start but can't finish, many can finish but can’t start, while many can start and finish but lack the transition in between the two. In the end it is all about connecting the dots, in gaining inches and preserving every gain. Those little bits of progress allow a person to continually push the threshold closer and closer to the desired outcome. In the greater scheme of things, jiu-jitsu should be considered the art of frustration, and done right, it is about frustrating first the opponent. If you can’t defeat him/her, make them work harder than you ,to sweat more, to get more tired. Once that part is done, focus on the transitions, the ability to get out of positions most get stuck with, while improving the ability to break someone’s balance in the process. And finally, before any submission is to be attempted, let weight distribution be the key, adding pressure to everything, from smashing to squeezing. Once those are accomplished, the submission is no longer the target, but the consequence when all the right strategies are played out. Not every day will be as planned! Some days you will be the hammer, while on others you will be the nail! Enjoy every bit of it, and remember that a bad day on the mat will always beat a bad day in the office!
