Three forms of body control: There are three major forms of control over the movements of the human body. The first is control over the movements of our own body. The human body has a vast potential for movement which very few people learn to fully exploit in the course of a lifetime. Sports such as gymnastics, yoga, solo dance, contortionism and others teach the student how to maximize their body's ability to move through its full potential range. Their goal is to teach control over the movements of our own body. A second form of control is seen in partner dance, professional (fake) wrestling and other such activities. Here the intention is to work with a cooperative partner and demonstrate control over the movement of two cooperating bodies. The two work as a unit and try to exhibit control over their shared movement through whatever art form they are trying to express. The third form of control is to me the most interesting. This is control over a the body of a resisting opponent who is simultaneously trying to control you. Now you have to control someone who does not want to be controlled, but who on the contrary, seeks to control you. That is when things get truly interesting. The key is to understand that the grappling arts, jiu jitsu included, must involve training in all three areas if progress is to be maximized. Students must make sincere efforts to maximize their control over the movements of their own bodies. This can be done with gymnastics and yoga or some other equivalent. Remember always – THERE IS NO LEARNING TO CONTROL THE MOVEMENTS OF ANOTHER PERSONS BODY, WITHOUT FIRST LEARNING TO CONTROL THE MOVEMENTS OF YOUR OWN. Jiu jitsu also involves the second form of control, over a cooperating partner. This is done during partner drilling, where movement skills are learned with a partner who assists you through the movements until they are understood and natural. Lastly comes control over resisting opponents in live sparring (randori) and ultimately, competition. Thus the jiu jitsu student must familiarize himself with all three faces of body control of he or she is to make a deep study of the sport.
