New look, old lesson: The Renzo Gracie Academy has a new look with some very nice mural photo displays of Sensei Gracie up on display! Here we are clowning about in front of a large rendition of my favorite photo of Senseitaken in the aftermath of his submission win over the great Pat Militich, one of five UFC champions he defeated in the course of his career. Interestingly, Sensei used his tokui-Waze (favorite move) – the arm in guillotine strangle to win that night. In training for the match he badly damaged a nerve in the shoulder and neck on his strong side and so could not perform his favorite move. Mid match he maneuvered his body to the other side and performed the guillotine on his weak side. Such was the depth of his technical knowledge of the technique, he was able to secure and finish the move even without the physicality he normally was able to apply to it. This kind of physical adaptability through knowledge is critical in a sport where circumstances often demand that we work outside our comfort zones. If you only have a PHYSICAL understanding of a given move, you will find it difficult to coach yourself through its application on your weaker side in an emergency. All those years of teaching the mechanical aspects of the guillotine came through that night as Mr Gracie patiently worked his way through the move and gained one of his greatest victories.
