Organic vs. Military

Funny how a hour discussion with my Professor can turn my entire plan on its head. I have a pretty good idea of one or two escapes and controls for each position I encounter; the white belt curriculum embedded a lot of that in my head. Originally my idea for putting together my game plan was to come up with my one or two favorite techniques for each position and drill them ruthlessly until they were second nature. However, there is a problem with this...

Do I want to play Soccer like Germany or like Brazil?

They do call it Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and not German Jiu Jitsu, right? So my philosophy has been altered about what my steps are in putting together my game plan. I have found that my best learning comes from actual rolling where moves and flow are very unpredictable. Depending on the match, it is sometimes not that difficult to set the condition for submission. There are sometimes too many variables to establish one technique for one position. So if I pigeon hole myself with only one or two possibilities, I lose so many more options. And that will get me tapped.

However, if my focus is getting to a place where I have control and options, the game is much more in my favor. This makes most sense after Professor showed me a couple of pages from Eddie Bravo's latest book. Where as before my goal was an entire move and only one move, now it will be to put myself in the ball park and work out my submission from there.

Another thing he mentioned which I find very valuable is to not be so rigid when rolling at this level. He dropped that famous "Be like water" quote from Bruce Lee, and strengthened his message even further. So where does that leave me? Still learning and doing my thing. But concentrating more on training and less on "Kataizing" my game. This will also make for less work and better results I think.

Ous.