Finding your favorite move: Jiu jitsu is dominated by athletes who have great depth of knowledge by a relatively small set of favorite moves. The moves of jiu jitsu are far too numerous for anyone to learn them all in depth. In addition our cognitive limits means we can only juggle a small number of moves effectively under stress. So which moves should become your favorite “go-to” moves? Let's understand from the start that when we say “favorite” we mean “most effective.” There are many moves that are fun favorites but we'd never use them in a high pressure situation. Finding your favorites is a very personal journey. When you first start out it's natural that you will be heavily influenced by your teachers and mentors and inherit their favorite moves since you look up to them so much. As you develop you will start to include famous champions as you observe what made them successful and see that you could incorporate some of their game into yours. The last stage however, will be when your own experience and experimentation becomes the most important source of your individual game. This is when your jiu jitsu becomes an expression of who you are as an athlete and a person. You may be surprised by how few moves you really need to excel in to reach a very high level – it's usually fewer than most people believe. Understand also that your favorites will almost certainly change over time and what you know think of as your main weapons may be but a memory five years from now. Whatever you end up choosing – research them with everything you have – you are in a sport where depth of knowledge almost always beats breadth of knowledge.
