Don't settle for good enough: The sport of Jiu Jitsu allow two means of victory – points and submission. Points are allocated based upon the theoretical usefulness of the move in a fight situation where striking is possible. When you apply one of these moves, you score – how much you score depends upon how much dominance that move would offer in a real fight. Positions like mount and rear mount score the most because getting there in a real fight would very likely have dire consequences to your opponent. Now in a regular Jiu Jitsu competition where striking is not permitted, it's tempting to use the points you have scored as the means of victory. You could after all, win simply by hanging on to the score you have gained and win on that. In many cases this is totally understandable. In training however, you must train yourself to GO BEYOND THE PIN AND ON TO ISOLATION OF A LIMB (neck, arm, leg) and SUBMIT your opponent. Remember, PINS occur at the TORSO, but SUBMISSIONS occur at the LIMBS, thus they have a very different set of operations underlying them. ONLY BY CREATING THE HABIT OF GOING BEYOND THE PIN AND GOING THE EXTRA DISTANCE OF LIMB ISOLATION CAN YOU BEGIN SUBMITTING PEOPLE. Begin building this habit in the dojo. The highest expression of Jiu Jitsu will always be submission victory. Every time you get dominant position, see it as an opportunity to exhibit that highest expression, rather than as a way to cling to a points lead and hold on until time runs out. Here, gordon ryan rests briefly at the world Championships Having briefly consolidated the pin, he will go hunting for the opponents neck – a few seconds after this photo was taken he did exactly that and won via strangulation. Don't settle for less than the highest expression of Jiu Jitsu. learn to take risks in the gym so that one day you won't hesitate to take risks on the stage and people will admire both your technique and your confidence.
