Private Lesson Notes: Movement and Jiu-jitsu

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (But Effective)

Good morning to everyone who understands the value of doing less to do more. Jiu-jitsu is not about doing too much, it’s about doing just enough.

Today I’m writing to you about movement in jiu-jitsu, the good, the bad and the ugly (but effective). There are some ties into the last couple weeks regarding strength and resistance so if you want to catch those, you can find part 1 here and part 2 here.

This article was inspired by a private lesson who was handing me attacks left and right. By the end of this article, you’ll get access to his invaluable lesson on movement as well as:

• How movement ties into the foundations of jiu-jitsu

• The good, bad and ugly side of movement

• Tactical considerations of movement

  • Movement offensively and movement defensively

This article is for paid members, so make sure you’re subscribed here. Also, as usual, if you subscribe for a year, I’ll send you both of my books (The White Belt Survival Guide AND Jiujitsu 201 for free).

“Once you stop moving, you start dying”

-Who knows

I started jiu-jitsu because I was bad at everything else in my life (that was athletic) at the time.

I became enamored with jiu-jitsu because I realized I could use my mind and be intellectually engaged while being physically challenged.

I stuck with jiu-jitsu because it gave me an opportunity to be lazy af and still get the job done. This is still true.

Just yesterday, in a private lesson with a student, we were working from the back. It just so happened, I wanted to try out some new hand-fighting tactics and he, having been caught a few times too many, wanted to see what the sticking point was for his defense.

After a few more rear nakeds and a couple of mandible strangles, we finally stopped. I asked him if he could see how he was giving me all of these chokes with little to no work on my part and said he knew he was, but didn’t understand how.

The lesson started off with a very fundamental component to defending from the back. It ended with a crucial principle in jiu-jitsu.

Let me explain…