Like many young Australians I was once the proud(-ish) owner of a white ’97 2 door Hyundai Excel Coupe. It was reasonably quick in acceleration and to this date the most fuel efficient vehicle I have ever owned. It was also designed for a Light Weight or Welter Weight at best, so for a Light Heavy to Heavy Weight like me it was problematic for my back and hips. Still, ergonomics and years of hassle free, low cost motoring aside, there is another reason that I bring up my late Excel. That is the concept of filters, specifically mental filters…
Before I bought this little bus I knew what they were and had seen a few of them. However, after I owned one I couldn’t believe how many of them there were “in the wild”. Surely there weren’t more 10 year old Excels flooding the market? I came to realise that this was in fact my mind’s filters at work. In short, in order to protect your brain from exploding under the sheer weight of data bombarding us, our brains are pretty good at shutting out things that aren’t important to us. In other words, my awareness of the existence of Excels increased my likelihood of seeing them. Mind you, I don’t know whether that came at the cost of not seeing something else…
This pertains to Jiu Jitsu in that this tendency to filter out information sometimes prevents us from taking in detail. I have noticed this a number of times recently when teaching a technique that is familiar, but with a new variation. When observing the practice of students who just been shown a new variation on a technique, they will tend to do the move the way they always have or only make one obvious change to the technique. I must confess that in the past I would have considered this to be laziness or stubbornness, but now I am not so quick to judge. In more recent times I have made the point of questioning a student as to why they were not attempting the variation that I had shown and actually seen surprise on the student’s face. It seems as though the new information was accepted into their mind, but not implemented. To the point that the students believed I had actually shown an old variation that they were practicing.
As a learner I try to look at techniques in terms of asking the question “what does it do?” This includes, the overall technique as well as the particular movements and grips the body makes. Asking “what does it do?” helps me to find detail, but perhaps only because I always expect a variation when being taught. I was once told that if someone wants to teach you a technique you should listen, because you don’t what you will pick up from it. This perspective has shaped my mind to always look for a new variant or detail and has helped me a lot.
So next time you are on the mat, don’t pay too much attention to Hyundai Excels, instead focus on what you don’t know about the technique being taught, rather than assuming that you already know it.
I am surrounded by fabulously talented people, they make the world a little more beautiful every day. One particular lady, Fiona "gumboots" Walsh, is a great member of my gym and a lot of fun to roll with. She also just happens to be an amazing photographer and artist check her out here and here.
However, it is not these talents that have made her a virtual household name in the Aussie combat sports scene (although they didn't hurt), it is her beautiful giving nature and the sheer amount of work she does for others. When someone is friends with damn near everyone they meet it speaks volumes about them.
Fiona has made my day as a photographer and an artist a number of times, check out some examples below.
The day I was awarded my Black Belt, Fiona was there and gave hours of time to make beautiful images as a momento for me.
Then when I wanted some lovely portraits of my boys, Fiona made these for me.
Hell, she even made my gym's logo...
And now she has made me this beautiful personal logo, it is just what I wanted, but what I could never come up with or even describe, I love it.
Jiu Jitsu, as a grappling art tends to be defined in terms of positions.
These positions are used for both teaching/learning and also as a reference in
competition. As beginners we tend to see these positions in very black and
white terms, but as our experience develops we should allow the lines on how we
define these positions to blur a little. This blurring is a sign of flexibility
in our thinking and is a hallmark of the creative process that is so important
to our evolution as grapplers. I believe that one of the impediments to this
flexibility is the overemphasis of seeing Jiu Jitsu as a sport (instead of a
broader grappling system) which can tend to narrow the focus a little in terms
of definitions based around rules. Please understand that I am not in any way
disparaging the sport of Jiu Jitsu, which I love and I see as the root of much
of the creativity that has helped Jiu Jitsu grow. My thoughts are that we tend
to think in terms of Jiu Jitsu-defined positions and don’t always look beyond
them, for example in Jiu Jitsu we define reversals and sweeps differently based
on the importance given to the guard position in the context of Jiu Jitsu.
So, in light of this “blurring” of our definition or positions, I like
to look at positons in terms of a hierarchy. Jiu Jitsu already has such a
hierarchy - in fact the points system is based on it. I use this hierarchy, but
in conjunction with a few other layers of position. First and foremost, I
define positions in what I consider to a more important and simple way, that is,
as “Top or Bottom.” I do this in order to make a system that is more compatible
with MMA, self defence and Jiu Jitsu competition. Next, I define positions
based on whether they are offensive or defensive, and finally I look at the Jiu
Jitsu scoring hierarchy. It is important to note that while “top and bottom”
and “offensive and defensive” seem like an either/or proposition, they are really
both opposite ends of their own spectrums. For example, we can make a position
more defensive or more offensive.
So, the first layer (and the subject of this post) is “Top and Bottom”. All
grappling positions can be looked at in these terms and it is fairly easy to
see which position is the top or bottom one. I do take this a step further
though by dy defining, not only top and bottom positions, but also top and
bottom postures. Primarily when I define a position as a “top” or “bottom”
position I do it based on the posture and alignment of the grappler. It is as
simple as the alignment of the grappler’s torso in relation to the ground.
A
top posture is when the chest is more facing towards the ground than the
ceiling, much like a push up position.
Chest pointing down is Top Posture, like a push up (except I NEVER do push ups...)
Conversely, a bottom posture is when the
chest is facing more towards the ceiling than the ground, like a sit up.
Chest pointing up is Bottom Posture, like a sit up or a dying fly (which is what my sit ups look like...)
Now, I
know what you are thinking, you are asking “Hold on Gerry, that isn’t always
the case. What if I shoot a double leg and my opponent sprawls over my back?
Then I am in the bottom position and we both have our chests facing the
ground.” To this my answer is the same, yes you are “under” your opponent, but
I don’t define being under someone as having a bottom posture. I use the
definition of top and bottom the way I do because of how you are able to move
and adapt in that particular alignment. In the example just given, one grappler
is certainly “under” the other one, however I would definite as both players
having A top posture, rather than having THE top
posture.
I spend a lot of my time when coaching my students yelling out “Top
Position, Top Position!” to encourage the importance of completing scrambles in
a top position, even if the opponent does too. In most cases I believe it is
better to have both grapplers end up on their knees or feet than it is to
concede bottom position voluntarily. However sometimes the way we play our top
and bottom games is also relevant, as our alignment can make a huge difference
to our positioning. By this I mean that, when under your opponent, the further
you can turn yourself to a top posture (chest down) the easier your reversals
are likely to be. Similarly, when on top of your opponent, the more you switch
to the bottom posture (chest up) the more likely you are of being reversed.
I will highlight the above with an example that shows the risk when
getting the positioning wrong, as well as how to approach each more
effectively.
Example 1. Bottom positon helped by turning chest down – Basic Half
Guard Sweep
In this example when playing half guard, the offensiveness of the
position is magnified the more you move towards a “top” posture. So even though
I am still underneath Ryan I use my under hook to allow me to move out to the
side. This takes me closer to a top posture and further from a bottom posture
until we are both in a top posture. Once this is achieved the sweep is far more
effective for me because of my increased mobility.
Example 2. Top position hindered by turning chest up – Knee Slide Pass.
This example shows the opposite side of the coin, essentially how
changing your “top” posture to a “bottom” posture will undermine your control
and make a reversal much more likely. To highlight this, Ryan demonstrates a
poor way to attempt the knee slide pass, where he shoots his knee through with
his hips passing in front of his shoulder line. This movement results in Ryan’s
chest pointing more towards the ceiling than the ground, which means that it is
less distance for me to push back to the floor than it is for Ryan to get his
chest back to the ideal downward direction. The simple hip escape and stiff arm
combination that I use to reverse the situation is almost effortless due to
Ryan’s change from a “top“ to “bottom” posture.
There are many more examples that I could give that would highlight the
importance of this concept, but the basic message here is clear. Changing your
posture and alignment to suit a top or bottom positon will make the actual
change reversal of a situation easier or harder…. and remember, you can either
use this to take advantage or prepared to be taken advantage of!
Keep your eye out for the next post in this series on defining position:
Offensive vs Defensive, a sliding scale.
