Staying relaxed: Probably the single greatest obstacle to efficiency in human movement in general, and jiu jitsu in particular, is EXCESS TENSION. We all have a natural tendency to equate maximum effort with maximum muscular tension. In jiu jitsu this usually leads to poor movement and an inability to mold our body into the complex postures required to complete the various moves of the sport. Don't get me wrong – there are times we need tension in the body as we grapple – finishing a submission is an obvious example – and certainly we don't want to be so relaxed that we cannot form a tight connection to our opponents body when we need it. Nonetheless, as a general rule we must train ourselves to avoid unnecessary tension that inhibits efficient movement. Much of jiu jitsu requires us to fold, roll and tumble our body, all of which is best done whilst in a fairly relaxed state. In any given match there will be long periods where you can be very physically relaxed, along with many short periods where you can be fairly relaxed and a few moments where you will need to be very tense and tight. Finding the right proportions of relaxation vs tension is a big part of the journey towards expertise. Here, kohai student Emmanuel Vera shows a excellent degree of relaxed body allowing fluid motion into cross ashi garami and a fine heel hook finish – where maximal tension is applied for a brief time. Very impressive for a blue belt – on his way to winning gold all via submission in the expert no gi division at a recent tournament
