How much can you learn? Part 1 - Your style

How much could you retain in high school? A class period worth? A weeks worth? How much until it basically turns into a "blah, blah" noise coming from the teacher.

In BJJ training, you have hundreds of moves. These moves have a set-up from an average of 5 different top positions and a dozen different bottom positions. For each one of these, there is a counter, and a counter to the counter.

There are gi grips with the lapel and skirt. There are no-gi grips like a monkey grip or shell hand, gable grips, underhooks, and whizzers.

So in your class, how much time do you spend on technical aspects of the game, and how many techniques do you learn in a class time?

Class time in BJJ is a chance to learn a technique or series that is pertinent to the level of learning that you have reached. Your techniques need to be carefully planned out as to where you go in your game and greatly depend on the teaching and grappling style of your teacher.

Example: I am a top game player and rely greatly on my ability to hold side mount and north south. I use this to tire an opponent enough to make any transitions to mount or the back, as fluid and dominant as possible. When I am on the bottom, I rely heavily on using guard to slow pace and set up a sweep, or I use the half guard to control and get back to a neutral position. My top finishers are mostly chokes, cranks, and kimura/key locks. As for the bottom game finishers, I use a ton of leg locks and use the a triangle/armbar/omoplata series and get the best option.

What does this mean to you? That while you may need to know all the moves in BJJ, it does not mean you have to use all the moves. Find what works best for you and start developing a game from day 1. By the time you have spent a year or so, you will find that the moves you learn during class can be beneficial to you in 2 ways.

1. You develope a new skill to add to your game, this gives you another option of reversal or finishing an opponent.

2. (and this is important) You can now add knowledge of how this can be used in someone else's game.

So pay attention to everything in class, even if you do not believe that it is something that works for you....because chances are it may work for your opponent.

To Be Continued......