When it comes to training rolls and competition, it’s normal that you’d like to hit that fancy move… To “wow” the crowd (or even just your coach).
However, even though these moves might work every once in a while, you’ve got to know that it is the foundational techniques that get the job done.
John Danaher weighs in and shares his opinion:
The vast majority of both your TIME and your SUCCESS on the mat will be the result of foundational skills. These are the skills that make the application of the glamour moves possible.
You’ll never see guard retention in a highlight reel, but all those spectacular arm bars and triangles and sweeps from guard that do feature on highlight reels would be impossible if you couldn’t hold guard long enough to actually apply them.
Danaher also shares a useful framework that you can use to work your way “up” to the efficient techniques:
Think about it in terms of numbers. For every minute of glamour moves you apply you’ll spend twenty minutes in the set up phase. Your training must reflect this.
Ask yourself if a given skill “what skills underly this skill?” Once you figure that out spend much more time on those underlying skills than the surface skill.
This is how you build a game with a solid foundation that will work against tough opponents.
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