While watching the white and blue belts finish up the Fundamentals class on Monday with some guard/pass guard specific training, Alex made an interesting off-hand observation:
"I don't think I could be a white belt again. It just takes too much energy."
I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone point out more succinctly the world of white belts and new blue belts when it comes to training - whether it is specific training or, and maybe even more so, live/open mat-style sparring. One of the things you begin to realize as soon as you have been training for four or more years is just how much energy those who have only been training for one or two years have in their jiu jitsu.
It's a trap you can fall into even after you have been training for awhile. I know (or suspect) that a lot of my weak performance late in the training session has had to do with losing focus and what I've thought of as the fatigue brain-death spiral. A little fatigue causes your brain to slow down and work less efficiently and creatively. In jiu jitsu, that tends to mean less technical skill and more athleticism and energy to make up for it. This leads to more fatigue which makes cognition even harder. So more technique is sacrificed. In the end, you are totally exhausted and almost bewilderingly confused. If you're still standing at this point, this is when you get swept. If you're in a bad position, this is when you get submitted.
The ultimate solution to this is better circuitry, having a sufficient number of options very well ingrained into "muscle memory". For example, I've been increasingly stymied when trying to get my basic half guard sweep when it's been late in the training day. But I notice that the main counter to my #1 half guard sweep actually opens up a different guard attack (the deep half) with a whole other set of potential sweeps. And this is to say nothing of the option to go back to regular half guard.
Another, more moderate, solution will be drink more frequently from my recovery drink (Gatorade + whey protein). By the time live training rolls around, it has usually been about five hours since I last ate or drank anything significant. Insofar as I take the time to make the drink, I need to do a better job of grabbing a few quick sips whenever there is a break. This will be all the more critical as it heats up over the next several months.
Interestingly, most of my current grief is coming from the guard. The focus I've put on passing the guard - especially from standing - has really made a huge difference already in my energy expenditure from the top. I'm still not nearly as a effective passing the half guard as I should be - and that will be another major focus for this year. But I like what I'm seeing so far from the top.
So for now, from the bottom, it's half, deep half, and the shin guard-to-X-guard against standing. If I've got to play closed, then the guillotine/crossover/kimura with the back-take option, seems like the way to go for now.
