The quality of your connection will be the criteria by which the worth of your submission holds will be judged: Most of the time whilst grappling it's a good idea to keep a soft and pliable body that you don't exhaust yourself and so that you can move efficiently and not give away your intentions to an opponent. That changes however, when you lock yourself into a submission hold. now you want a tight body with strong isometric tension that will lock your body to your opponents and stay in place long enough to get the win. Look how Garry Tonon locks himself to his opponents hip with a tight figure four lock that will not be shaken loose easily. This will enable him to stay in place despite the most acrobatic defensive maneuvers, hip to hip, where he should be for a good heel hook finish. Learn to distinguish between your need for pliability when moving for position and your need for tension when preventing movement and aiming for submission – only then will you be able to make position and submission skills work in harmony rather than against each other.
