Basics. Brutal basics. Savage basics. No matter what you call them, they are a the high percentage positions, guard passes, limb manipulations, sweeps, and chokes that you need to know and master in order to grow your game. They represent the brush and paints that you as the artist use to create. This is the topic of this week’s post.
Oh, You Fancy!
You’ve all seen them. Those Instagram instructional videos on how to perform some back-flipping, leg-twisting, anti-gravity submission. They look awesome. No doubt. And I’m not saying they absolutely do not work. For most of us though, their practical application has a very low percentage of success. Sure you may be able to pull it off when your partner is dancing the same dance, anticipating the required movements. But when you try it on someone that has an agenda of their own, you’ll likely end up almost breaking your neck. Don’t ask me how I know. This is why when you watch the high-level matches, its all just those brutal basics. High percentage moves mastered down to the most subtle nuance. So you keep being fancy. I don’t like my neck in a brace, and I prefer to win.
OK, Now I’m Bored…
I’ve been at this game a short while. February will be four years for me. I would like to think my knowledge and competence of the basics reflects my time on the mat. Some areas better than others with lots of room for improvement. I remember being about a year into my training thinking, “Freakin’ arm bar triple sets again…” or “Freakin’ guard pass drills again…”. Like I was too good for this basic stuff. I’m ready for the back-flipping, leg twisting stuff. Show me the secret moves! I did my wax-on, wax-off. Paint the fence. All of it. More basics is what I got. And slowly it started to sink in. Basics aren’t so basic after all.
Version Upgrade
Roughly about a year ago we spent the better part of a month or more on back control, which I would certainly put into the category of savage basics. It didn’t take me very long to realize the back game suit me well. Rarely did I miss a practice. I did my homework. And I dedicated my training to getting to back and maintaining control. Being a smaller(ish) guy, getting to back was money. And whole sh*t ton better than getting crushed under these gorillas. A year later, we have cycled back to back control. Lots of backs there. I now know enough to know what I don’t know. That’s huge. And I can recognize where to I need to fine tune. The plan is to put in the same effort and energy this time around. So while Back Control 1.0 has served me well, Back Control 2.0 will sharpen the edge. And this edge will always need sharpening. Which may never leave time for the back-flips. And that’s ok.
Get to the Point!
The point here is that basics win matches. Facts. And unless you have your own gym in NYC and last name is Garcia, you can always use more reps. There will always be some subtle piece in the application that needs improvement. Leave the back-flipping, leg-twisting to the Instagram models. And then smash them with basics when you see them on mat.
Until next time…
Keep on truckin’.
Ted