Take another look ...

Remember when you had just started our BJJ training? You learned those first couple of dozen techniques, that for all intents and purposes, served as the foundation of the game you have developed today. Now think about the progress and deeper understanding that you have developed since those formative days - you are more than likely a completely different person now; with different views and outlooks, and no doubt, having a better appreciation of how things work (or don't work). So consider the notion of going back and re-thinking or re-looking at all those techniques and strategies that you have built your 'game' on - and in looking at those things with the 'new eyes' that you now have - perhaps you can make improvements and modifications that can help bring about that growth spurt you want.

Always be willing to go back and take another look - re-visit old ideas, techniques and strategies as if they were the key to your continued development. As the saying goes - "The older I got, the smarter my father got!" Understand this basic principle and improve.
Good training,
JBW

POTENCY ... a huge secret! Seriously!

Think about this - it is really important:
Someone does a technique that seems virtually unstoppable - it is their 'baby'; they seem to be able to make it work against everyone - and to make matters worse, it seems, on the surface of things, to be a simple and basic technique. This 'someone', is a world class performer, but when you try the technique, it only works some of the time or not very well at all ... what is going on here??? Something is going on ... obviously, but exactly what is it?

Let me give you my two cents worth on this ....

It's all about 'POTENCY'!
Here's an example to explain my idea: let's say that a given move has at least four things going on during it's execution - 1. What your left hand/arm is doing 2. What your right hand/arm is doing 3. What your left foot/leg is doing and 4. What your right foot/leg is doing ... sometimes there are other contributing factors - eg: what your head is doing, your right shoulder, etc. But to keep it at it's simplest level - let's just look at how each of our four limbs is contributing to the move/technique.

Now, Most of us, once we are comfortable with the move/technique, will begin to 'focus' on one aspect of the move (ie: the function/contribution of one of our limbs) - as we focus on this, we will raise the 'potency factor' of the move/technique considerably. At that point, most people leave off, (especiallly when they 'plateau' with the move, and go on to repeat the process with another move.
Want to be world class? If so, then you need to do this: re-examine, each and every 'contributing element' of the move (ie: the contribution of each of the four limbs) and work each 'element' until you simply have 'milked it' for a full 100% of it's contribution - ie: until you have gotten 'full potency' from it. if you don't understand what the contributing factor for that particula=r limb is, then you need to study more, start to reallt think about the bio-mechanics of the move and build your understanding. Ask your coach/instructor - but don't expect him to know either - in any case - look and think, very closely!! if you do this for each 'contributing limb', you will 'double' the overall effectiveness of the move/technique - guaranteed! Once you have milked one for all the potency it can afford you - and this is an automatic process, concentrate on another one; do this until all four limbs are contributing a full 100%!

Once you've done this once or twice - with moves that you already are very familar with; you will absolutely start to re-examine every other move you know - because the results you get will be so amazing. This is an approach that most world-class people take (whetehr they know it or not - usually not) - starting with their favourite moves and then slowly, by siege tactics, to every other move/technique they have. This is one of the main reasons that we have a serious degree of separation in skill levels - between the world-class performers/athletes and the rest of the mainstream.

Hey, anyone can pass high school exams at their most basic level. They get a 70% pass in maths, a 60% pass in English, a 90% pass in geography and say, a 98% pass in Chemistry - and that is what's going on with most people's moves/techniques. Get a 100% pass in all subjects - and you become world class. Adding more subjects (techniques or variations of your move) when you are only acheiving a 60% pass rate on the one you already use, is NOT going to help the problem. in fact, it is going to make the problem worse! Fix what you are doing - milk it for all it's worth. Acheive clarity on the contributing elements (at least all four limbs) of the move - and work on each of them separately, until you cannot make them better. The when you go on to 'new' moves, you will be working at a whole new, and seriously improved, level.
Get potency! Think about it.
I hope this idea helps.
Good training and teaching to all.
JBW

The 10 percenter's ....

Here's a simple training philosophy that I have used to great effecetiveness - hopefully it will help you make some gains ...
I have long been interested in identifying those things that we do (by design or by accident) that makes us get better. In my experience, most of us do not improve in a steady, gradual way - but rather, we coast along for a while, then suddenly make a jump in our performance. (A part of good coaching strategy should address how we motivate students whilst they are 'coasting' - they rarely need motivation whilst they are 'skyrocketing'.)

One of the ways to 'kick off' a significant improvement is to work on (say for one month) something that we are reasonable good at. Really study the move/technique with greater than ussual scrutiny - we already have a foundation in the move/technique, so we can really start 'looking' at how the opponent reacts to it and we can start to find ways to capitalize on his reactions (this is the basis of building combinations). By adding to, or building and improving on those things we are already good at, we can often affect a 'jump' in performance.

Most people tend to look for the 'secret' to success in any given move (relationship, business, ect) One of the things we discover if we open our eyes to smart learning is that there is no ONE SECRET. The reality is that there are a bunch little secrets - to anything - I call these the '10 percenters'. It's ten little things that give us an amazingly effective hooking sweep - not one thing. Ten little things that give us a good relationship with our wife - not one little thing. It's the acumulation of these ten percenters that gives rise to phenomenal jumps in performance.
Think about it - it can't be any one big thing that makes one persons ability to execute a technique better than everyone else's - if it were one big (OBVIOUS) thing - then everyone would be doing it. Therefore, it must be something subtle - or more likely , several subtleties that sets one persons perfomance apart from everyone else's.

Back to 'theme-based training: pick a topic - say, using our hooks (butterfly guard) for instance. Use them for a month, keep working them, despite any failures you may experience - ten classes or so will give you insight into some of these ten-percenters that really count when using the hooks. Even people who dislike using their hooks wil start to enjoy using them - but those people who already have a reasonable understanding of the use of hooks, may well experience a big jump in their understanding/performance.

I hope this helps some of you.

Smart training,

JBW

S& S based training

I get a lot of questions from the law enforcement and military personel that I teach, regarding my S&S (Structure and Strategy) approach to training.
Well, in my view, having an S&S-based foundation is important if there is a real possibility that you will be called upon to utilize your training before you have reached a high level of technical skill. I strongly believe that if a major part of the reason we train in martial arts/defensive tactics, is so that we can effectively 'handle' ourselves well in confrontation - then we need to develop a foundation based on Structure and Strategy. Ie: we need to develop easily-workable plans in three main areas: pre-fight, fight (striking phase) and post-clinch (grappling phase). We need to have simple, effective structural and strategic approaches to these parts of the fight dynamic.
For the pre-fight phase of the fight - we need to have devloped a good workable 'fence' and 'pre-emptive' action strategy. We need to have worked and trained ourselves in dealing with verbal abuse, distance-close-down and basic adrenal-dump management.
In the 'fight' phase (read: boxing/kickboxing) - we need to have a basic and sound structure-based defence (ie: defending-covering methodology, footwork and solid striking options. This should be based on how we are most likely to 'react' to sudden, aggressive, unpredictable and dynamic assault (ie: 'startle' reflex kicking in - adrenal dump, etc), rather than fine technical skill-based reactions.
In the 'post-clinch' phase, we need to have a basic gameplan if wqe are on top (once we hit the deck) and a basic gameplan if we are underneath. Again, these 'most-basic' plans, should be strategy-based and not skill-based.

Once we have these basic plans down - they will serve as a workable foundation that will get us out of trouble - and allow us to survive, long enough to develop real technical skills - in each of the same areas.
So my S&S approach is designed to give the most 'bang for buck' in terms of 'return on time invested' for the non-professional.

Sorry - gotta go and hit the mat.
Train well and safely,
JBW

Candy First ...

On the mat, people are more often driven by emotion, rather than by logic. One of the problems with this, is that we leran very early, to avoid the positions we dislike and try our best to work only with those positions that make us feel comfortable or that have proven successful for us. Logically though, we should realize that we need to spend time in those positions we dislike, to build our game up at it’s weakest points. If we don’t do this, what happens is that we developed a very unbalanced or disproportioned game: Ie: we may have a purple/brown belt level game, provided we have the opponent in our guard – but if we are mounted, then we may have a white belt or blue belt level game. This is bad news, for the long term. We all need to a have a well-rounded or proportioned game.
To get around this problem, I have several teaching strategies; one of which I call ‘candy first’. To get a student to start working from a position they dislike – I need to first give them a good reason to want to spend time there. So I give them a move/technique that I feel really suits their style, personality or physical ability. In other words, before I have them learn their way to the ‘store’ I need to give them a but of the ‘candy’ that they can buy there. Once they have the ‘candy’, they then have a reason to learn (and get creative bout ) how to get there.
Beginners for example – first couple of nights training – try telling them that when underneath they should have their opponent in between their legs – or that when they are in someone’s guard, they really need to ‘pass’ or get out. They simply ‘don’t get it’. Teach them a choke from the guard – then they will be coming and asking you how to keep someone in the guard as well as how they should be getting out. Give them the ‘candy first’ – and they will start ‘mapping out’ their game on their own steam.
With the more advanced students, we often see them settle into their own ‘preferred’ positional game – but again, if they get the right bit of candy, they can be motivated to develop new positions and thereby broaden or deepen their game.
Candy First is a basic motivational tool that had worked well for me for years now. Try it with your students – or try it on yourself. You will definitely see results.

Safe training.

JBW

A Non Attribute-based foundation ...

The shift from theoretical to practical is a slow, time-consuming process. Just because we have been exposed to a technique or a strategy doesn't mean that we have taken ownership of it - ie: we have hard-wired it into our system, to the point at which we apply it correctly and the right moment and are able to switch to other options if things start to go south. This is why there is no substitute for time on the mat or in the ring.

But I am always concerned with people developing some good short term self defence skills that do not require great timing and skill-based strategies to be effective. i learned this lesson long ago in Indonesia - I was training with small crowd that based their training on the idea that you may well get into a fight on the way home that night. So it was all elbows, knees and headbutts as basics - then we learned kicks and hand skills, etc - as we became proficient at the former. This was counter to most of the martial arts practice I had been exposed to in Australia - where techniques like elbows, knees and headbutts were considerd only as advanced training options.

Ever since then, after having had fights usng those 'hardcore' and functional basics - I have taken the same approach when teaching beginners. If they have come for self defence - then I have an obligation to give them technique and strategies that work - and 'work' with a minimal amount of training. That is the short term goal. The long term goal is to 'raise the bar' and further develop their skills to a higher level. but in the short term - we need to take that 'Non-attribute' based approach. This is certainly the way i teach BJJ. The core of the system is pretty much a 'positional-based' plan. it doesn't require a lot of skill, or speed or strength. that's how everyone starts their BJJ training with me - and a good understanding of that, is what I look for to promote someone to blue Belt. After that, we are really talking about the development of high level skills and attributes.

it is good habit, to every now and then, take a look at how our basic game=plan is shaping up. becasue if tever we find ourselves in a real-world physical confrontation, that is what we are going to work with. Check your basics regularly - mnake sure they are real-world friendly - r unfriendly - depending on your perspective.

Safe training,

JBW

The first step of taking ownership ...

At the end of class , I often ask "hands up who tried the new technique we just learned" ...
Notice I said 'tried' and not "succesfully pulled off" - and the reason I mam careful with the words i use is this: When we are exposed to a new technique - the sinlg emost important thing we can do after we have done the drills/reps is to 'give it a shot' whilst rolling/sparring. it actually doesn't matter whether we are succesful or not with the move - it is really only important that we 'try' it.
This is bacasue, the first step in taking owenrship of a new technqiue is to start seeing a 'realtionship' between the 'picture' we are loooking at whilst sparring and the 'new technique'. For example - we see the opponent is trying to pass our guard but he has left one arm inside - we see this 'picture' and we match it with a technique that we have been exposed to , say 'triangle choke' - and then we act. So the first step in learning to take ownership of technques - is to begin to make those kind of associations. We can do that by just 'trying' the move - it isn't actually necessary to be succesful with them.
So my advice is to 'try anyway' - don't put off trying new techniques till the situation is perfect. In my experience, it is rarely perfect - we need to be exposed to techniques, try them as soon as we can - and begi making the correct 'associations'.
Good training to all,
JBW

Raising the Bar

This past weekend I was teaching at the ADF's (Australian Defence Forces) MUC (Military unarmed combat) course. A great group of people led by a progressive and forward thinking personality - Major Travis Faure. The subject matter for Saturday was ground-fighting and I ran eight 50 minute sessions on the subject. At days end the entire group was grappling, acheiving good positional control and no-one was injured. A good outcome. I am often asked what i teach such groups and although i wouldn't wish to go into detail on the subject, it is worth understanding that various military, police and opther law enforcment groups are not interested in the sporting applications of BJJ - or the sporting apps of any other martial art for that matter. What they need are functional systems designed for their particular and often highly specific environments. Air Marshalls don't need round kicks for instance, they operate in a tubular environment - if working a miltray policing role for instance, a soldier is more likely to need control and cuffing technique rather than knife technique - different roles, ops and environments require different approaches in training.
It is good for everyone to sit back every now and then and ask of ourselves, what are we training for? We may decide that we are training for basic self defence - and then think, well, why do we really need to be able to pass the X-Guard (for example) - when clearly, the chances of us getting into a scrap with someone in the street that brings their hot X-guard out to greet us - are exremely remote. We may not need to be able to pass anyone guard, or defend the triangle, or escape an armbar, for everyday self defence purposes - but we do need to do these things if we want to do well against people who are good at BJJ. So my answer to the question of 'why do we have to train in techniques that we will never employ in the normal world?' is this - we need to learn these things to grapple with good people and do well. Why do we want to do that? Simply, to get better and improve our abilities. You don't get better by fighting people who are not very skilled. Want tp play good chess? Start playing people better than yourself - not people who can't play chess. I call this idea - RAISING THE BAR! We always want to be raising the bar - improving our abilities - if we want to teach ten things - then we need to know one hundred things.
Well known author and zillionare, Robert Kiyosaki once told me that the attitude he dislikes the most is the "good enough to get by" attitude. Most people "settle" - they settle for the level of skill that they need to get the job done and that's all - they fail to raise the bar. Think about it though, we all strove for something at once time or another - we all said, for example "I am not living in a cardboard box" I will do whatever it takes to get out of this box, and move into a flat. And then what - id we "settle' for that - some did, some didn't. those who didn't, used energy and thought to move up again, and into a house. Think about it this way - if you did it once "raised the bar" - you can do it again. You saved the depossit for your first house - you can do it again. What motivted you to do it the first time - and how did you do it - well, get that back, and do it again. Same for training - same for relationships. food for thought - Raising the BAr.
Good training all -
JBW