Ever notice how the difference between getting a move right and not getting it at all can be a difference of a grip placement, or a minor adjustment? One thing I’m learning day by day as I train is that in jiu jitsu, the devil truly is in the details.
There are times when I am trying to cinch a choke, and the placement of the choke is such that it has no affect on my training partner or opponent, try as I might I am unable to finish that choke, but if I move my hand down or up by less than an inch BAM the other guy starts to turn purple and taps out.
This is the difference between high level jiu jitsu and “kinda getting things right” jiu jitsu. If you are unable to focus on the details in your training regime you will never be able to really hit a high level of technique. Sometimes the differences are so minor that you can’t even visually see them, you have to feel them.
I think the biggest indicator of whether or not you are doing a technique correctly is in the amount of effort you have to expend to do that technique. Someone with truly effective technique will rarely exert themselves and the less effective your technique is the harder you’ll have to try to make it work. The best techniques are ones that require minimal effort and get the job done.
Learning grip placement can be the difference between passing the guard and getting swept, securing a submission and having it reversed on you. Do you grab the fabric on the inside of the knee, or on the outside? Or do you prefer grabbing down near the ankles? Every grip matters.
Equally important to grip is weight placement. The difference between having good pressure and not really any pressure at all can determine the outcome of a match. I always tell people that the difference between getting rolled from top side control and smashing an opponent is one of inches.
What details do you find to be the most important in your jiu jitsu? With what details are you struggling? I find that the more time I spend on the mat, the more I learn about my own weaknesses, details about which I’m uncertain, or that I have not yet mastered. The devil truly is in the details.
