Hooray, I just got tapped!

Let it be said from the beginning I don't like tapping. I do it on a regular basis, but much like vegetables, jogging, and listening to NPR I don't have have to like it. Tapping has never given me that warm feeling I get from escapes, advancing position, or sinking one of my increasingly spars submissions. (Why do white belts have to get better? At least humor me, I'm old and lazy) No tapping just makes me think, "Damn it, damn it, damn it!!! I knew I shouldn't have let him get the hook in but what was the worst that could happen?"Well apparently the worst that could happen is being chocked out with your own arm. The question becomes, if I despise submitting so much why do I continue to put myself in positions where it is likely to happen? The answer is simple, because it makes me better.

In my opinion, there are two chief benefits to being submitted. The most obvious benefit is that you learn not to do the same thing that got you submitted last time. After so many times being submitted for the same thing eventually you learn. Never look at being submitted as the end of a sequence but instead view it as part of the process of rolling. If you view it as the end of a roll then there is nothing more to be done but if you view it as part of the process there is always something to improve in the next roll.

The second, less obvious, benefit to being submitted is that it means you are pushing past your current abilities and knowledge level. I don't usually get submitted when playing a purely defensive game. If I pull all my limbs in, tuck my chin, and let you sit in mount we can be there all day before you find a submission. When I get caught it usually comes when I am attempting to pass, or moving to sweep, or attempting submissions from less dominate positions. I was committed to moving out of my comfort zone and sometimes that just isn't going to to work on the first try.  You have to be willing to try things that aren't go to work to find which techniques are going to work for you.

Tapping may never feel good, it may never seem motivating, and it most definitely never feels like an uplifting experience but it doesn't have to be a set back. It can be a marker on the road when you are beyond being submitted by basic submission set ups. It can mean that you are trying to move beyond your comfort zone. Just remember that a single submission is not the end of your journey just another bend in the road.

As always if there are questions or ccomments please leave them in the comments section and don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Like me on Facebook. I'll see you on the mats.