Develop one strong threat first and build upon that: A key theme of my teaching is that once an athlete becomes proficient in the fundamentals of jiu jitsu (there is no getting around this – the fundamentals are the heart and soul of the sport and any deficiencies in this regard will quickly be revealed in competition) IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU DEVELOP ONE STRONG MEANS OF ATTACK THAT WILL PUT FEAR AND RESPECT IN YOUR OPPONENTS MIND. If you present no threat to an opponent, he will open up his full game upon you, but if he fears certain things, he will close down areas of his game and restrict himself to stay away from that threat of yours. You will find in time that you have a propensity for certain kinds of attack – what it is is not important- some of you will develop an unstoppable sweep, others a powerful takedown, a devastating arm lock – anything that can win a match and which you perform very well will do. For me, it is leg attacks and back attacks. All my students are very strong in this regard. I like them because they are almost always available and create very strong defensive reactions that lead into many other forms of attack. The results of successful leg and back attacks are usually devastating and have a strong intimidation factor that can be exploited as opponents react defensively. Once you develop that first strong threat, you can build organically from there as there will be natural follow ups – but start with one. Here, Nicky Ryan explodes from bottom into an arm drag that exposes the back of Geo Martinez- forcing a strong defensive reaction and adjustments in posture and positioning that he could exploit later in the match with another of his favorite attack methods – the triangle (sankaku) – a fine example of a strong initial threat creating opportunities for another further down the road.
