Jiujitsu Made Simple: Understanding Efficiency [Part 2]
The Path of Least Resistance and the Path of Most Resistance
Jiu-jitsu should be easy.
I’ve said this before and got some backlash for it by a white belt who insisted that if jiu-jitsu was easy, why does Gordon Ryan break a sweat when competing at a high level?
I’ll spare the conversation after. I stand by my point. Jiu-jitsu SHOULD BE EASY.
It’s whole premise is based on efficiency, which means (if you read part one), you should be exerting the least amount of effort and still be achieving the maximum desired result.
One of the lessons I teach my students is that working “harder” should not be glorified.
You need to always be asking yourself: “Am I working too hard?”
If jiu-jitsu is easy and you are working hard, then what are you missing? It’s an important question to ask yourself.
In the first part of this series, I talked about two important components to tension (grip and breath). I also talked about (read: revisited a prior article) on leverage.
What you are working towards here is achieving more efficient jiu-jitsu by not wasting energy for the former and understanding mechanical advantages for the latter. I also alluded to another concept of efficiency that I describe as the “path of least resistance”.
Consider a moving body of water. Water will always follow the path of least resistance. And a moving body of water is still powerful, eroding everything in its path, further entrenching itself, reducing the amount of resistance in its path. Thus your jiu-jitsu should be.
When I talk about the path of least resistance in jiu-jitsu, what I mean is for you to essentially envelop the spirit of a body of water. You need to always find the easiest paths from point A to point B. You’ll crash against the rocks from time to time but ultimately, the flow circumvents the obstruction in front until one day, there is no more obstruction.
This idea of flow in jiu-jitsu is important. A lot of the best, most talented grapplers I’ve trained with were so effortless in their movements and transitions. It’s a sight to behold when you, a skilled black belt, are overtaken by some of the world’s best in a fashion that just seems so effortless.
So what makes this effortless? Years of practice, sure, but it’s also the RIGHT KIND OF PRACTICE.
After the pay wall, I’ll get into the difference between “resistance and defense” and help you understand what the path of least resistance is as well as how it will make your game more efficient.
Let’s dive in.
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