Hyundai Excels and new variations on old techniques

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.


Have fun on the mat!