The Geometry of fight

Learning BJJ can be likened to learning a new language. At first we learn a few prases by rote - and this brings us a certain sense of achievement. Then comes the harder stage - where we learn he underlying grammar and structure of the language - that's the hard part. We begin to learn how to put things together in ways that suit the set of circumstances we find ourselves in - we may even learn to be creative in the ways we do this. Once we have the 'grammar and structure' down, we slowly add more 'vocab' as years go by (read: more techniques) - and our fluency and ability to express ourselves more meaningfully, increases.
With BJJ - instead of grammar and structure - we learn leverage and applied-biomechanics. Thes things take time but once we understand them, it becomes easy to add new techniques - just as it's easy to add to or vocabulary once we have learned the way a language works.
In learning how to manipulate other bodies - we first learn about leverage - whuch is easy matter and usually only takes a couple of years. Want to move a lever - push or pull the very 'end' of it. End of the lever - that's the first thing we learn. Then we develop clarity on exactly what these 'levers' are - it's simple really - they are the bones of our body. The BONES are the LEVERS. End of the humerous, end of the femur, end of the spine (the head), etc. That's the easy bit - the hard bit is learning what I call the GEOMETRY of the fight. This is more about, WHICH way to attack the lever - the direction of the push, the pull, the rotation, etc.
These ANGLES are extremely important. Becoming clearer and clearer on which dorection we should push, pull or otherwise move the various parts of an opponents body is a time-consuming process. The end of the lever is always the end of the lever - but the angles change moment by moment, situation by situation. This GEOMETRY is the difficult part of the fight language to get a handle on - it takes time, but is well worth the effort.
Think training - think angles.
JBW