In jiujitsu, as you move up the belts the things you focus on change but they also don’t, or so I’m told.
I’m just a month in and wear a newly bright white gi (pronounced gē with a hard “g”) and belt.
As a white belt they give you a one-size-fits-all gi. On me it looks like an oversized robe. The pant cuffs are so long I step on them if I don’t tie them up around my ribs.
It reminds me of wearing my mom’s lab coat as a kid. Hi Mom.
All the higher belts have these nice fitted gis, grey, blue, black, with cool stitching and patches. They all look comfortable, joke around, and everyone knows everyone. When they roll (spar), it all looks so easy to them.
For 101 group, the things we learn are pretty basic right now. Like how to break your fall and stand up, basic positions for defense, or how to do a common attack.
When its time to practice falls, I get a little annoyed.
“Didn’t we learn this?” And then I’ll fall wrong or forget which foot to stand up with and realize it’s exactly what I should be doing now.
When we roll, even just after learning the moves, I’ll forget what my options are and go blank.
The teacher stops us and asks, “do you have one move for this situation? What’s one move you can do?”
So we focus on one thing at a time and pay attention to why it works or doesn’t in a situation.
At some point, (again, I’m told) you develop these little algorithms of what works for you from trial and error. It depends on size, body type, personality.
You bait people into moving their hands a certain way, you pull so they’ll push, you go for a choke just to get them move their hands long enough to sneak a leg in. Basically, you learn what to do when for you.
When I look around, the purple and black belts are just sitting, playing with each others hands, vying for better position. Not even breaking a sweat.
They call it the micro game. They know what to do when and they’re just working on getting in a better position to get there.
The funny thing is that when someone gets submitted at that higher level, it’s almost always in one of these handful of “basic” moves we’re learning now.
I’m told the greats can tell you a very basic move they’ll use to submit you, and its still completely unavoidable.
Strategically organizing your blog for users and search engines alike can feel like a chore.
We’re learning how to fall, stand up, and do the basics well. No one wants to do it, but it’s important.
When we get to the more advanced stuff, your content will be all the better for it.