I was watching some sample videos from Saulo Ribeiro's Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructional DVD, Jiu Jitsu Revolution. Take a look, and you'll see why I call him the Jedi Master
What Ribeiro does better than anyone I've ever heard or read about when it comes to Brazilian jiu jitsu is to emphasize not wasting energy. "Don't push the guy," he says when describing a move in a guard pass--having warned us that "Brazilian jiu jitsu is not about pain" moments ago when talking about some of the more common ways of opening the guard and passing.
Sure, there's pain involved in submissions. But Ribeiro is talking about the way you deal in training more than anything else. Still, I take away from that some of what he's said elsewhere about not wasting energy, either by "pushing the guy" or by bearing his weight.
A simple example is if the guy takes your back. Never go to all fours. In that position, you are supporting his weight. Even worse, your arms and legs are busy supporting both of you instead of helping you escape.
What Saulo said also validated one general thing I've been figuring out: almost all escapes involve turning to your side rather than flat on your back as an initial fundamental move. Second, almost always you are turning into the guy to escape, not turning away--which is the "natural" tendency.
Everybody in BJJ talks about momentum and leverage, but with Saulo Ribeiro for some reason you never forget it. More than anyone else, Ribeiro reminds me that BJJ is like judo on the ground: position, leverage, momentum lead to the movement that will get you where you want to be.
Having been on the sidelines all week with the sore left side (oblique? ribs?), it's been interesting to watch the practices. Hopefully this little experience of writing notes will make it easier for me to remember to all of the steps involved in the different moves.
It has been especially interesting to watch other white belts spar. So much energy to little purpose! The purple and brown belts never spar the way the white belts do--white belts that go at each other like two rams in an insurance commercial. The purple and brown belts know to conserve their energy, to let "the guy" go in the direction he wants to--only farther, faster and more awkwardly than he intended.
It is when he is in the awkward position that you can improve your position. Or make an attack.
If he wants to be on top, let him go. If he is too high, throw him over your shoulder. If he is cheating to a side, toss him over there. If he is too low, attack with chokes and armlocks.
Ribeiro emphasizes using your body and your hips because they are very hard for the other guy to control and very easy for you to control. The energy the guy has to use to force your whole body or your hips in one direction is a lot. By comparison, it takes relatively little energy to turn on your side, or to twist at the hips. You can also move very fast in those two motions. Those partsw of your body are almost unstoppable, even against a bigger opponent.
