Moving up the ladder in BJJ

Moving up the ladder in BJJ can be tricky for some. The higher you go….Moving up the ladder in BJJ, the less you will concern yourself with the standard techniques of the sport. Your first challenge when you begin your BJJ journey is to develop strong skills in the basic operations of the game. You must train often to develop skill in the basic moves. So for example, you work hard to develop a good arm bar, a tight triangle, a reliable elbow escape etc etc. By the time you get to a good level, you will come to realize that in the majority of cases, there is near uniformity in the ability of most of the people you train with or fight against to perform the basic moves of the sport. In addition, some may even do them better than you. If you watch the current world champion perform a basic move, say for example, an arm bar from closed guard, there is little to distinguish it from a local black belt. But, at the higher levels, it is much more about your ability to outperform others at the particular setup of that techniques than the technique itself. Among competent black belts, EVERYONE has a strong arm bar, a strong kimura, a strong triangle choke. What makes one stand out from the others is mostly about the small and subtle skills and tactics that enables him or her to get into the situation where they can actually apply that technique. Due to the fact that the vast majority of your opponent’s defense to any given move comes from the integrity of his stance, the single most important skill at the higher levels becomes the ability to redirect, negate and degrade your opponent’s stance. Only then will you be able to actually apply the basic moves of the sport. Beginners must focus on moves, but as you gain in expertise, you must shift your direction to breaking your opponents stance and structure, Then and only then will the opportunity to apply those moves arise. Our teaching here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com) reflects this fact…moves are taught in great detail, but always embedded in a coherent system of preliminary moves that make them work in competition.