Wouldn’t it be great if you could read other people’s minds? Not just in Jiu-Jitsu, but in everyday life as well… It would grant you so many advantages to choose from!
Sadly enough, being able to read people’s minds is far from reality. Though, one thing you can do is try and read their body language. Which, in Jiu-Jitsu, is often presented in the form of grips they take.
In other words, you can use the opponent’s grips to read their intentions.
John Danaher explains further:
The nature of his gripping will immediately tell you a lot of information.
Is he relaxed/efficient or overly tense? Is he gripping with purpose or merely gripping for the sake of gripping? Are his feet moving in concert with his hands or is he all upper body and nothing else?
Is there subtlety and nuance to his game (fakes, feints, misdirections) or is everything straightforward?All these things and many more can be readily felt or observed within seconds of contact.
Use this time to read your opponent.
The way your opponent grips will tell you a lot about their game:
Most people aren’t very good at keeping secrets and grapplers are no exception – you can usually read their intent with confidence and then adjust your game from there.
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