From chaos…order: Sometimes when you observe two people engaged in ground grappling the whole enterprise just looks like a tangled mess with no direction. Unfortunately in many cases this perception is accurate. This usually occurs because neither person has a clear sense of WHERE THEY WANT TO GET TO and HOW THEY ARE GOING TO GET THERE. The first question should be easy enough to answer. Jiu jitsu clearly implores us to get to either a better position or into a submission hold or some combination of both. The real problem then, is how to get there from what is often a very confused beginning. Developing this two stage thinking – where do you want to be and how you will get there, is the key to developing a sense of constant purposeful movement that characterizes superior players. Looking at this photo it is difficult to believe that a few seconds after it was taken, Garry Tonon would emerge with a devastating heel hook variation and a fine submission victory from this awkward and seemingly unpromising situation at this metamoris event. Yet this is exactly what you must train yourself to do – to see possibilities where others don't, and then make a practical plan of how to get there faster than your opponent can conceive his own plans. This is where favorite moves (tokui-waza) can have a very beneficial effect. In a haze of confusion we will often find direction through our must trusted moves and get to a winning position.
