Going from good to great – The example of craig jones and triangles: It's perfectly natural and good to find that certain moves seem more natural for you than others and that your progress with them exceeds that of other moves. Often this is a reflection of your personality and body type, sometimes it's due to the coaching program you work under. My point today is that whatever these favorite moves of yours are – are you maximizing your progress with them? A natural fault we all have is to think that if we are good at something then that's good enough, and we remain satisfied with that level. I always counsel my athletes that if they are GOOD at something, then that's a clear sign that they can become GREAT at it, with just a little extra work. When Craig Jones started training full time with the squad a couple of years ago, he had a really good front triangle. Anytime you join a new gym it's natural to be impressed by what they're good at so he spent a lot of time improving his back, front headlock, arm bar and leg attacks – but through it all I always pushed him to expand his already strong triangle skills in new directions. Instead of just using front triangles he started adding rear triangles and side triangles and reverse triangles. He started making his right front triangle as good as his left. Soon his triangle attacks became such a concern to his training partners that his leg lock percentages doubled as they tried desperately to get away from the dangerous triangles. It's an excellent example of how you can take something you feel you are good at, and double or triple your effectiveness with it by really making it a focus of study. If you have a natural propensity for something, there is a very good chance that you can take it a LOT further than you currently have, and that when you do, it will open other door of progress as well. So follow the example of Craig Jones – take those skills you are good at, and a make a plan to take them further and become great at them.
