A Game Of Millimeters

If you can't identify the two men in the picture above I don't know that we can be friends anymore. Anywho on to more relevant conversation, anyone who has rolled with me or been in a class I have taught knows I like to harp on the fact that jiu-jitsu is a game of millimeters. The margins between performing a successful technique and totally blowing it are razor thin. Often the difference between success and failure comes down to position and timing. With such thin margins there are a few factors you can employ to help ensure that you are attempting quality techniques at the right time. The right tool for the right task as my Pappy would say. (I don't have a Pappy nor would he say that.)

Gunnar Nelson vs. Jeff Monson image via nelson.is

One of the techniques I us is to think of submissions and transitions like counting cards. For those with no idea how card counting works, basically it is the practice of remembering what cards have been dealt from the deck and using this information to determine if you have a favorable chance of winning a given hand. It’s not a one shot way to win every time but it is a system that over time gives you an advantage over the house. In grappling you have to remember your opponent’s reactions to your techniques and counter those accordingly. One technique I have been having a ton of success recently is a kimura to straight armbar submission series. This all comes off of testing my opponent’s reactions to me trying to finish the kimura from north south or side control. If I get into position for my kimura and my opponent protects by moving his hand to his chest or leg I have multiple options. If he keeps the arm pinned to his side I know the odds of a kimura or armbar are low and I need to change strategy. If I can pull the elbow away from the body I know that my odds of finishing an arm based submission increase drastically. As soon as the elbow comes away from the body more than once I start working my kimura and armbar variations galore. The success of these techniques is determined largely by determining if I have a favorable set up for the technique.

Image via manbeater.wordpress.com

This brings me to the second aspect of any jiu-jitsu technique, the set up. I’m sure every grappler has had the experience of attempting to catch an opponent in a guillotine and losing it. You feel the excitement as your opponents head slips into the pocket and you know you have the kill shot as soon as you can clamp down on that neck. You synch it up under the chin and go for broke trying to separate his head from his body. But, alas something is so very wrong, he doesn’t tap. You decide the best course of action is to give it the old squeeze treatment. All you have to do apply enough pressure, but he still isn’t tapping. Finally with limp forearms and spent biceps you feel his head pop out and now he is trying to pass your guard. All you can think is what happened? How did he get out of that? My squeeze is impregnable! The answer to these questions more often than not is that the submission was blown before you started.

With chokes, armbars, or any other submission your number one concern should always be your position. One thing Coach Foster has always stressed to me is submission through position. You can not submit an opponent if you do not establish the appropriate body position before hand. Whether it’s getting the forearm under the chin on a guillotine or making sure your hips are tight to the shoulder on an armbar moving to the finish position without establishing these basic steps along the way will cause you to lose the submission. In my grappling I have taken the approach that submissions are finished in the setup. This has caused me to abandon submissions far more often than I execute them but it has also allowed me to retain dominate positions longer and my finish percentage is much better than my old machine gun style of throwing submission after submission hoping something would stick.

Image via graciejiujitsufabioleopoldonews.com

There are very few absolutes in grappling, anytime we try to establish hard and fast rules about body positioning or technique the next great black belt comes along with a style that flies in the face of convention.  I guarantee that one thing will always be true, in a sport that is determined by subtle measures of dominance, the athlete with better fundamentals and a better vision of the match will prevail. When transitioning, attacking, or escaping the athlete that goes through the proper steps to execute a technique without getting in a hurry or trying to skip to the end will win the match.

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