Define your Game by Doing this: Create a central block based on end-game positions.

The case in favor of becoming a specialist 👨‍🔬 and how to do it.

If you aren’t an expert at something in BJJ, you are missing out on an opportunity: Knowing and understanding what a high level is gives you a base point that will make you better in your whole game and you'll be able to transfer that level to other positions.

On top of that, you'll do what J. Waitzking calls "Learning the macro from the micro." Which consists of learning the game (especially the underlying principles that govern the game of BJJ) from specific situations that are more constrained and easier to digest. This is in contrast to learning a specific technique that doesn't fit in your game and doesn't teach you the underlying concepts and principles of BJJ.

You can, instead, learn parts of the game that will teach you the underlying fabric and foundation of what makes BJJ techniques effective.

How to do it?

The best way to define your game is to create a central block that works as the base of your game:

I’d suggest you find a position with a lot of control, it doesn’t necessarily need to be a specific guard, and I think it is better if it has immediate submissions and transitions available. Let’s say Kimura for the example. You use the end-goal technique to get to the kimura, making it the central node of your game.

You then expand your game and modify your end game to positions, submissions, and techniques that are directly available before or after the block:

For example:

AFTER KIMURA: baratoplatas, inverted triangles, back takes, etc.

BEFORE KIMURA: single leg defense to Kimura, back control, rolling Kimura from passing.

This way, you work on expanding your game in a way that adapts and adds up to what you already have in your repertoire.

The hardest part is to develop the initial technique and control and become better than the average at Kimuras. After that, it is just adding nodes to the system.

Depth over breadth, Use the principle of “Making smaller circles” to ensure you become above average in the specific position. (No one studies the kimura grip and control more than 5. minutes, so… spending some time becoming an expert at the details will probably propel you above the average person when it comes to kimura control)

Steps:

1. Pick a position

2. Apply the “End goal method” to the position

3. “Make smaller circles” with the position: This means getting deeper and deeper in levels of understanding. Getting to the nitty gritty detail. This is very similar to what John Danaher does. He is the only coach I’ve seen who invests absurd amounts of time on details like how to grip from XYZ position for maximum efficiency and control: He made smaller circles when it came to gripping::

Big Circle: One needs to get good grips to play sited open guard effectively.

Medium Circle: Grips have a weak point, and by playing with different configurations, you can protect the weak point of your grips.

Smaller Circle: He studies and understands the functional anatomy of the hands and uses this knowledge to develop the best and most effective way to grip from every situation. He creates frameworks based on his empirical evidence to guide his actions.

This might seem absurd, but knowledge is power…. with a caveat: In BJJ, knowledge will only work if you act like a scientist and use it to guide your experiments. More knowledge will not serve you if you cannot use it to test how it serves YOU. There’s no substitute for actual training. This entire method enormously helps your “real training” and makes it way more efficient.

4. Add nodes before and after your position.

That's it for this week 👊!

Go become a Kimuraologist! Or become a real expert in whichever position you choose!

PS.

Let me know if you'd want me to keep covering more conceptual stuff or if you prefer when we talk about specific positions, etc.