When the time comes and you step onto that BJJ competition podium… How should you pace yourself – should you move fast or slow?
Well, it depends. Coach John Danaher generally prefers a more relaxed pace, but there’s a “catch”:
Most of the time I prefer a smooth relaxed pace to Jiu-Jitsu over a lightning fast pace. This enables you to go longer, gives you time to think and solve problems as they arise and generally leads to fewer mistakes in execution.
However, there are times it pays to put some gas on the throttle and GO!
He emphasizes that, if the benefits of going fast seem to be worth it, you shouldn’t be wasting time:
Any time you think the anticipated benefits of a successful short sprint are greater than the long slog of starting over again after going too slowly to capitalize on an opportunity – then you are licensed to step on the accelerator pedal and get going. Just make sure it’s not for an extended period of time.
Why not for extended periods of time? It’s got to do with the sustainability of such high-level effort:
Remember it’s not the speed that’s the problem, but rather maintaining the exertion required to get to that speed too long.
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