Drilling: the most useful tool of jiu jitsu

Some of the best BJJ competitors are big believers in drilling. At Savarese BJJ Academy, we use the phrase “Drillers are Killers” quite often.

We believe in the “Outliers” theory, based on the book by Malcolm Gladwell.Â A common theme that appears throughout Outliers is the “10,000-Hour Rule,” based on a study by Anders Ericsson. Gladwell claims that greatness requires enormous time. He usesÂ the source of The Beatles’ musical talents and Bill Gates’ computer savvy as examples.Â

The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time. Therefore meeting the 10,000-Hour Rule. Gladwell asserts that all of the time The Beatles spent performing shaped their talents. Gates, meanwhile, met the 10,000-Hour Rule when he gained access to a high school computer in 1968. At the age of 13, and spent 10,000 hours programming on it.

Outliers theory

To really master a series or particular sweep, takedown. or submission in BJJ or Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), practicing it 10,000 times will help you master the move. The importance of drilling in BJJ or MMA came into play in one of the biggest upsets in MMA at the time. Cain Velasquez’s KO win over former WWE and UFC champion Brock Lesner in UFC.

“The takedown Cain had was what we’d been working on every single Saturday. Saturday in, Saturday out, we went out and drilled it repetitiously, over and over. Honestly, we did it 5000 times in the course of this training camp,” said Velasquez’s training partner and current UFC ChampionÂ Daniel Cormier. The importance of drilling in Velasquez’s victoryÂ made the difference in the fight. professor Rafael Lovato Jr, one of only 2 Americans to win the World BJJ Championship is also a big believer on the importance of drilling in BJJ and the Outliers theory, teaching it in his BJJ Academy in Oklahoma.