photo: GymJones

The new training partners and environment have been great to shine a light on aspects of my game that need some serious work.  There is nothing like a few challenging rolling partners to really help you assess where you are weak.  I'll paraphrase Dave from a conversation we had after class the other day, "If no one capitalizes on your mistakes, you never really know they are there."  Very true.

One thing I have also figured out is that there is always a limiting factor - a weak link in the chain that causes you to lose a match. It could be poor technique, poor timing, or something as obvious as being out of shape and gassing.

Currently my biggest weakness isn't my guard, my submission defense or anything else technical.  It's just simple cardio.  I get tired way, way too fast.  This causes a bunch of problems and I never again want this to be the case.  The first is that when I roll I can't bring my best game because I am exhausted.  This short changes myself and my training partners.  In addition, the lack of wind hurts my development since I roll less, thereby getting less experience, starting a viscious cycle.  Next week I am going to start 2x a week of Crossfit workouts (M/W) to begin the process of improving my cardio.  It will take some time, but it is simply not optional.  I hope that I am in good rolling shape within a month or so.

Once I eliminate the first weakness I will move onto my second one - positional control.  Being able to really slow a game down on top and control the pace while limiting your opponent's movement seems to be a big transition point in ones game.  From what I have seen, purple belts do this well, while most blues (myself included) do not.  So I hope to really emphasis slow deliberate movements from the top.  That is not to say they have to be constricting, but I should be controlling and ahead of the next position as it arises naturally.

Next in my chain of weaknesses is positional escapes.  I know that this should probably go before positional dominance (cause what if you can't ever get top!), but for me personally, I just feel better right now about my escapes.  I have decent luck getting out of bad spots but a harder time locking my opponent down.  

Now there are lots and lots of things to work in bjj, but I hope to focus on these three for a bit.  If any link is broken in the chain I find myself in trouble.  If I am tired, I can't bring game.  If I can't control the guy on bottom I can't ever get a chance to use my subs and of course, if I can't get away, then I can't ever attack.  So for me to have the submission oriented game I want, I need to start a few steps back, work on the foundation, and build up some of these basis skills.

Back to the drawing board...