Over the past several years, Roy Dean and I have kept in touch whenever our paths may cross.  Recently, he was in the bay area for a seminar in Morgan Hill - obviously I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to train.

We met up at Seibukan Dojo Jujutsu, a facility owned by a woman I have come to know only as “Margarita”.  She has always been open and kind to me and seems the type who is constantly pushing the limits of what she can do.  Inspiring.

As usual, we began with a bit of rolling.  I have recently started to use a bit more energy in my rolling.  For several years now I have worked a game trying to use zero attributes.  As of late I tend to use a bit more, but I try to keep it from the perspective of being “early”.  What this means is that I won’t power out of subs or bad positions, but I will work a bit harder in scrambles or use more energy early in positional battles, rather than falling back into a bad position.  I think this has made my guard retention much better.

After a few minutes or rolling, we paused and Roy began to provide some focused guidance on where I should be working my game.  He immediately picked up on my hesitation in passing.  This was great since I feel it is the weakest part of my game.  Obviously, that showed.  He also game some sound advice on fundamental side control escapes from the typical bjj hand position as well as kesa gatame.  After a bit more rolling he again paused to discuss a bit on knee pressure both from the guard bottom and from half-guard top.    All little nuggets that will find a home in my game.

What I found was that as the day went on, much of what I heard was like the universe whispering reminders to me.  Some things were new to me and others were areas I had been aware of, but never focused on.  In BJJ there is so much you can spend time on, sometimes what you need is to just be pointed in a certain direction.

The most interesting take away from the day was in noticing how the feedback on my game has changed over time.  You’ll find that when you are new to the game you’ll get the standard advice.  If you ask about mount escapes, you’ll be told a few sequences of moves like the upa and the elbow escape.  As you progress, you veer off from the straight and narrow and will begin to hear less structured paths and more hints, tips, and general directions.  I find my conversations now are less and less about moves and more and more about pressures, postures, grips and transitions.  I imagine over time that both how I think about the game and the advice I receive from those beyond me in skill, will evolve evermore towards the abstract.  Leaving me to chart my own course.

Roy will be back next month for a 3 day seminar in Morgan Hill.  If you can make it, drop my and get to know Mr. Dean.

Until next time...