Where is his energy going? When you get a grip upon an opponent there two possible reactions – the first is that simply doesn't react. In this case go straight into your offensive move and win. By far the common reaction is to resist whatever force you apply to the opponent through your grip. If you pull, the majority of your opponents will pull back. If you push, the majority will push back. Sometimes this reaction manifests itself as movement, sometimes the opponent will be static – it does not matter – in either case there will be an energy in a given direction. LEARNING TO READ WHERE YOUR OPPONENTS ENERGY IS GOING AT ANY POINT OF TIME IN THE MATCH AS HE REACTS TO YOUR GRIPS IS ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL COMBAT SKILLS YOU CAN EVER DEVELOP. When you can read the direction their energy is going and quickly decide which move to apply that complements that direction – you can defeat opponents with relative ease. Most people decide FIRST what they want to do and get a grip that allows them to do it. That's fine and works very well in many cases. However, the ARTFUL players get a grip and push and pull and THEN decide which move they will employ based not upon what THEY want, but rather upon what their opponent OFFERS. Learning to play with this mindset is one of your deepest goals in Jiu Jitsu and elevates you into the ranks of those artful players who seem to get more done with less effort. This is not something that comes quickly. Initially just okay with the skill of getting a grip and pushing and pulling and feel your opponents reaction every time you grip up. In time you will learn to smoothly apply a well chosen move to their reaction but you have to start somewhere, so start with the empty minded grip and push/pull. As your repertoire of moves increases so will your ability to correlate a move to their reaction.
