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  1. #1

    Array

    School
    Lake Effect jiu jitsu
    Location
    Marquette MI
    Posts
    1,103

    long post from a BBJ black belt about training mindset and money moves.

    I feel this was pretty good stuff and wanted to share:

    "Here's a very common confusion and pitfall BJJ students
    can fall prey to when it comes to the learning process
    of discovering the game that fits them.

    It's the distinction between defining your routes as I
    talked about in the early part of this series, and over
    relying on certain strengths - especially when it comes
    in the form of "money moves"... especially when those
    money moves are themselves overly rooted in one's
    physical attributes.

    (I'll write it out, then talk about why it's
    especially important for older grapplers)

    As this relates to the standards of technical
    performance we look at in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grading,
    this is a very significant point to grasp.

    How do you make the distinction? In my experience
    coaching. it really comes down to a matter of two
    criteria:

    1) Your ABILITY to look at your own game with a
    reasonable degree of objectivity (and also to be
    receptive to analysis from your coach)

    2) Your WILLINGNESS to put your overall development
    above your attachment to the money move.

    Number 2 has to do with honesty and ego more than
    anything else.

    Quick side note --

    Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, before the UFC
    boom, I was one of the proponents of the move toward
    "functional" performance training. My friend Matt
    Thornton used the paradigm of "image versus
    performance" to pose the question of one's motivation
    for training...

    In other words, are you motivated by factors such as
    form over function, status, blind adherence to
    tradition, outdated training methods fallaciously
    validated by legends of old marital arts masters, etc....
    Or are you motivated by what actually, empirically, is
    proven to work against fully resisting opponents in a
    given area?

    As it relates to this topic today, I've noticed that
    even these pretty straightforward criteria can be dicey
    if someone is not honest enough with themselves to make
    the distinction accurately.

    Perfect example -- a BJJ student can tap out most
    anyone in the school if they are able to land a certain
    money move in their repertoire. They win tournaments
    with it. Now in this person's mind, this is all the
    validation they need that they are on the side of
    performance, not on the side of image.

    BUT...

    Now we come to the self-honesty part. Because winning
    in and of itself does not always equal the dedication
    to one's technical performance.

    I am a proponent of: "training to learn, fighting to
    win." In training, the main priority is on learning,
    not on keeping score, making excuses, faking or playing
    up injuries to give yourself a way out, and all the
    other self-deluding crutches people make to protect
    their egos. In training, most of the time we are trying
    to shelf the physical attributes and also be willing to
    work on our weaker areas as well as improve on our
    strengths.

    In competition (the "fight") you use everything you
    can bring to the table... attributes, money moves, etc.,
    but with the hope that you were not over-relying on
    those qualities during your training and using them to
    mask holes in your game.

    When an athlete boasts that they "only go 40%" but
    everyone can clearly see them relying on strength to
    avoid being submitted or lose position, for example,
    there's clearly a gap between reality and their ability
    to honestly look at themselves on the mat.

    My school is known to have high standards for grading
    relative to that criteria of technical performance.
    This has nothing to do with "sandbagging," but
    everything to do with solid development of fundamentals
    and technical proficiency - not just whether or not you
    can tap someone.

    It implies that, although everyone will have their
    strengths, there are no real holes in the game relative
    to a given belt level, and that the student is self
    aware and humble enough to place overall development as
    their primary goal and motivation, and see their belt
    rank or place on a medal podium as a function of that
    process rather than the end in itself.

    Why is this especially important for the 40 Plus
    grappler?

    First of all, falling into the "money move" or "money
    position" trap, or using too many attributes as the
    means of keeping up with the young bucks will set you
    back in your overall development.

    As my friend, BJJ Black Belt extraordinaire wrote
    recently about small, female black belts like Emily
    Kwok and Lily Pagle (whom I've mentioned here before...
    the one who achieved her black belt at age 60), one
    thing you can be sure of when you see them execute
    Jiu-Jitsu: strength and explosiveness are off the
    table, and you can be sure when it works it's TRULY
    technique.

    Second, this point should also liberate you from the
    all-too-common phenomenon of beating yourself up when
    you "lose" on the mat, and wondering if this game is
    for you. Just because you get pinned, submitted, etc.,
    that is only part of the picture. Results may be the
    only thing that counts in competition, but as you look
    at the art of jiujitsu for jiujitsu's sake, you can
    take a lot from knowing that you are developing a
    complete technical game with minimal reliance on
    physical attributes."

  2. #2

    Array

    School
    Lake Effect jiu jitsu
    Location
    Marquette MI
    Posts
    1,103
    similar statement from Lloyd Irvin

    Let me go back to EGO again by telling you a story, this story
    is about a guy, lets name him Mike. You have probably seen
    this guy.

    Ok Mike comes to class. When its time to spar Mike is an animal,
    handing out his beatings. Now all of a sudden Mike is tired
    and the person he has been beating on is giving him a harder time.
    Then the next thing you know Mike says he needs a rest or lets
    take it easy now.

    What do you think just happened to Mike?

    Lets look at another story. Mike comes to practice, its
    time to spar and David comes in. David is the only person
    in the school that can beat Mike. All of the sudden Mike
    does not feel well and decides he is not going to spar today.

    What do you think just happened to Mike?

    Let me first say this. If you do not want to spar, that's fine.

    If you do not want to spar someone that can tap you, you do not
    want to spar when you get tired, you do not want to spar when
    things are not in your favor.

    That is a serious problem. That will affect your ability
    to learn effectively for a longtime.

    Mike will never EVER reach his full potential if he does not
    change this behavior fast. Without someone by his side to help
    him, Mike will forever by a slave to his own Fear.

    In this case I do not want you to:

    BE LIKE MIKE.

    Run as fast as you can away from this type of behavior.

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