Monday, June 12, 2006

Developing My Game Plan

Like most the people I train with, and those who I speak with regarding Brazilian Jiu Jitsu; we all consume vast amounts of subject material. There is no shortage of training videos, articles, step by step pictures, books, etc... You could spend all day, every day checking this stuff out. But how much would sink in? For me a least, not much.

There comes a time when you have to think about YOUR game and not the BJJ Superstars' you see on TV. In our school, we have a curriculum we follow for our development and advancement; I spoke about it in an earlier article. That curriculum provides the techniques for various situations, but as I am continually discovering, it does a whole lot more.

A move is just a move. But when broken down into specific parts, it demonstrates crucial mechanics for many other movements, transitions, and situations. No advanced move can be performed without the solid fundamentals found in the basic move.

So that takes me to the point. There is a lot of stuff out there to consume and a basic curriculum to be followed in class. Now that I am coming to my one year anniversary in BJJ, I am ready to start taking these two things and putting together my own personal game plan. Of course, right now, I have my favourite techniques which I have some success with when rolling. But I think it is time to take it to the next level.

My plan is this; put the plan to paper. I will write down my favourite two or three techiques from each position. I will review these techniques in the "randori" or rolling part of class as best I can. I can then add notes to my successes and failures as I remember them. I can make adjusments as I go and ask my seniors for advice and assistance.

Once I have a better understanding of my base, I can tie everything together for my "game plan". The best part is I can add or subtract and shift around. This way I do not limit myself.

I think this way, I can focus on what is important and not use a shot gun approach and hit everything I see or read about. If I try to catch too many rabbits at one time, I will not catch any.

Ous.

P.S. I may even put this online so you can see what I am up to.