This picture pretty much explains it all. It also does a good job of conveying how I felt a couple of months ago. I was learning too much jiu-jitsu! I know some of you are saying, how on earth could you possibly learn too much jiu-jitsu...isn't that a good thing? At first I thought it was, I came to every class and tried to retain everything I saw.Despite my excellent memory, I still became overwhelmed. Eventually, I started to use a technique that would combat this problem and as a result I have watched my jiu-jitsu advance over a matter of weeks. Hell, it would even be safe to say that everyday I make drastic improvements, because of all the little adjustments I make are not based on one single technique.Which brings me to the approach I have taken towards my jiu-jitsu that has not only helped me improve but saved me alot of time and effort. I think about jiu-jitsu in broad concepts. I started applying this technique first in math class. As you all don't know, lol, I am an idiot when it comes to math. Not only does it take me longer to understand things, but I have a hard time retaining the information. In my Algebra class at school I was doing bad in the beginning of the quarter, I was making 70's on tests and then couldn't remember the math just a week later. It was frustrating. I had to do something quick. The more I thought about the math, the more confused I got, because I was just trying to remember every chapter and every rule in the book.
Then one day it hit me, which this probably hits a 9th grade algebra student immediately, but not me. If you do not understand one concept in math, it will be hard for you to understand the harder material. I began to look back in the beginning chapters and really paid attention to the roots of Algebra...like terms, distributing, getting the variable by itself, etc etc. In a matter of a week my grades rose dramatically in homework assignments and tests. I was on to something. Immediately, I took my idea to the mats and began to figure out the roots of jiu-jitsu. I looked at sweep mechanics, the idea of a choke and arm locks, guard passing fundamentals, etc and instantly saw improvements in my rolls. I was taking the very basic techniques, and since I thought of them as broad concepts, was able to retain more moves without really knowing moves. Weird.
Think of it this way. In the beginning you learn basic arm bars from mount and closed guard, but I guarantee you there are 1,000 ways to get an armbar. Lately, I have been getting arm bars from the oddest places. The same goes for chokes, kimuras, sweeps, guard, leg locks, all positions and submissions pretty much. I see other white belts struggling in class just to get to a position they know, when I see 5 other things they could do to get there. Like my professor always tells me "There is always another way.". This is why jiu-jitsu always evolves because the elite think this way, they have to. There are specific moves that can be done in jiu-jitsu, but they will only get you so far. It is more important to learn the concept of something first, then you can be ready for anything.
"An arm only has to be bent a certain way, to get the tap. Where your body is really doesn't matter."
