Opposing goals: Part of what makes Jiu Jitsu so fascinating is that is many situations the two athletes have diametrically opposed goals – WHATEVER IS GOOD FOR ME IS BAD FOR THE OTHER FELLOW AND VICE VERSA. So if if your goal is to constrict space, you can be sure the other fellow will be working overtime to create space. This can make for some very intense sparring situations where you can end up exerting a lot of effort but with little to show for it. It is important that whenever the match has moved into a situation where you both know what the other wants (the opposite of what you want), that YOU DON'T LET IT DEGENERATE INTO A VORTEX OF AIMLESS STRUGGLE. Take a step back and ask yourself how you can use this mutual stand off to advantage. This is the perfect time to GIVE your opponent what he or she is fighting so hard for switch to an alternative attack. So for example, If you are pinning an opponent from side your basic goal is to restrict space between the two of you as much as possible and create a tight pin. Your opponent knows this and wants the opposite – space between you that will enable him to generate movement towards an escape. As your opponent fights to get arms inside and create that space, give way to the pushing of his framing arms and move back a little to allow his arms to get OVER extended and offer an opportunity for quick arm lock finishes. The moment you get sucked into a battle royal over a simple goal in opposing directions there is a danger of TUNNEL VISION that will rob you of an ability to see other possibilities. All you will see is the simple two way struggle directly in front of you. Look at Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon doing positional sparring. Though it's clear they have simple opposing goals (space creation vs space restriction), neither is going crazy to fulfill those goals, rather they work calmly so that they can exploit any OVERCOMMITMENT on the part of the other in this situation where both have opposite goals and both know the goal of the other.
