Modifying our Drilling methods ...

An important part of BJJ training is the drilling of the techniques we have learned. Getting those reps under our belt builds muscle memory, understanding of the technique, etc. There are though, a couple of important skills that we don’t get from ‘drilling’ …
To apply a technique in the heat of combat, we need to also RECOGNIZE THE OPPORTUNITY that calls for that technique. This is something we don’t get by drilling. When we drill/do reps, we are not necessarily developing our ability to spot the situation (out of the hundreds of situations that crop up) that calls for that particular technique.
Secondly, drilling a specific technique doesn’t necessarily develop our ability to MAKE THE CORRECT SELECTION of a technique in any give situation. When we drill/do reps, no SELECTIVE process happens, we just do the movements over and over. In real combat, we need to select the right technique, for the right situation (round peg – round hole – square peg – square hole) from the hundreds of techniques we know.
These two skills – RECOGNIZING THE OPPORTUNITY AND BEING ABLE TO SELECT THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE FOR THE RIGHT SITUATION - we usually develop in sparring. But we can often modify our drilling methods to help out a little. Eg: rather than drill a technique on it’s own – we can drill three or four at a time. Our partner ‘feeding’ us various situations, thereby forcing us to RECOGNIZE and SELECT . We still get to ‘do the reps’ – but now we are building these other important skill-sets as well. Food for thought.
Train smart.
JBW