IG Post: Specialization

At a certain point in your Jiu-Jitsu career you're going to start to specialize in a guard or a specific technique. At that point you're going to want to understand the technique forward and backwards. You're going to want to know every potential detour and available avenue of escape.

Compare it to wanting to make it home in the least amount of time. You have your preferred route, you take that route every day and you can perform it without thought. What happens when there's a detour and the freeway onramp is closed. Do you have the wherewithal to change course confidently and take side streets until you can get back on the freeway. What happens if your exit is closed, do you know how to get home from the next off ramp?

Every counter or defense to a sweep or submission is a detour that you have to figure out. The more of these detours you have answers for, the easier the drive home becomes. You expect the defenses long before they ever materialize, so your answers come based on muscle memory to the point of acting without much thought.

This only happens through active live repetitions. Play the game you're trying to perfect over and over on different body types and skill levels to the point that you can do it with your eyes closed.

Instagram Post: Specialization