... when the technique does not work, they immediately dismiss it as, "This technique would never work" or "This technique does not work for me."

Over the years, I've had so many student tell this to me. Often, I listened, patiently. Sometimes, I responded by telling them how it worked, only to have them argue with me over its effectiveness. Then, several years later, they came to me with a revelation, they found a new technique that worked really well for them and they wanted to show it to me (just to make sure they were doing it right). And when I told them I had shown them this technique a couple of years ago, they would respond by saying, "Oh yeah. I remember I thought it wouldn't work back then."

Being precise with your movements will lay a solid foundation for you to build off of, especially if you plan to keep doing this Brazilian Jiu Jitsu thing into your 50's and 60's. When you find yourself locked down with a great job, a good wife, a house payment and a child, your ability to train 10 hours a week or more will be a thing of the past. So, to compensate for your lack of training time, you will need to focus on being precise with your movements.

Many times, the difference between accomplishing your goals and not being able to do so is a matter of inches or centimeters. If you were to take the time to develop precision in your movements, you would also find a decrease in the amount of energy you expend to accomplish your objectives.

For example, when you establish posture from the bottom of the side mount position, it is important that the forearm under the neck have a precise positioning. The lower portion of your forearm, closest to your wrist, must be above your opponent's clavicle. The upper portion of your forearm, closest to your elbow, must be ALSO be above your opponent's clavicle. If one of these contact points is below your opponent's clavicle, it will end up supporting the weight of the opponent's upper torso, which will make it increasingly more difficult to push his weight off of you or along side of you. The distance of movement can be as little as two inches. That's right! Two inches. Think about that! Two inches separates you from applying 140 lbs of pressure vs. 20 lbs. of pressure to accomplish your goal of pushing the opponent's weight alongside your body. Would you rather apply 140 lbs. or 20 lbs. of pressure to dump the opponent's weight off of your body? I think the answer is obvious.

How can a person develop precision in movement? Simple: by doing the math! Perform the required number of repetitions to record that precise movement into the memory of your muscles. Just knowing the movement will not make it a skill. You must do the repetitions so you can perform the technique, without thought, in that tiny little window of opportunity while grappling. While training, you must focus on your mechanics. Mechanics are the precise movements that make the technique efficient, economical and effective!

By focusing your training on these five core attributes, you can lay a solid foundation for future progression in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

I hope this article will help you to understand the role of physical attributes as it relates to your progression in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In a later article, I will write about other physical attributes related to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (e.g. awareness, body mechanics, explosiveness, endurance and sensitivity).

Good training to you,

Roy Harris