Improvising: Most of our training drills and principles involve learning precise algorithms of movement that take our opponent in predictable directions so that we can follow his defensive options all the way through to submission. As such, there is a lot of rote learning, memorization, repetition etc. it is an undeniable fact however, that in sparring and competition, situations commonly arise that are outside our normally drilling and training experience and we are forced to improvise as the situation unfolds. It is also undeniable that some people seem to improvise better than others. The question thus becomes – HOW DO THEY DO SUCH A GOOD JOB OF IMPROVISATION? I believe that the most important reason for disparity in ability to improvise is the mental process that different athletes carry into the bout. Most people focus on the details of their algorithms. As long as the action stays within the boundaries of those algorithms, they do very well. This mindset however, does not cope well with unforeseen circumstances, as it does not have a precise, well learned algorithm to cover it. Other athletes focus more on the big picture of WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH at any given moment, rather than THE PRE-LEARNED DETAILS OF EXACTLY HOW THEY ARE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH IT. As such, they can take situation that is unfolding in ways they did not foresee or want, identify the end result they want and find an improvised path toward it. A fine example of this occurred when Garry Tonon won the EBI 9 event. Mr Tonon was by far the smallest competitor and entered with only three days notice. He battled to the final where he met world champion Vinny Magalhaes, a man far larger than himself. Our usual back control protocols were severely challenged by the size difference. Mr Tonon immediately switched his mindset from the usual routines to the overall desiderata- maintaining spinal alignment long enough to create time pressure that would hopefully set up submission opportunity. He switched between a cluster of unorthodox grips and movement that saw him win a thrilling victory on riding time against his great rival.
