glamor skills versus working skills: I think it's fair to say we all have an innate preference for glamor moves in Jiu Jitsu – moves that wow a crowd and a spectacular flair to them. Certainly these are fun to learn and can occasionally bring great results, but the simple truth is that the vast majority of both your TIME and your SUCCESS on the mat will be the result of foundational skills. These are the skills that make the application of the glamor moves possible. You'll never see guard retention in a highlight reel, but all those spectacular arm bars and triangles and sweeps from guard that do feature on highlight reels would be impossible if you couldn't hold guard long enough to actually apply them. Think about it in terms of numbers. For every minute of glamor moves you apply you'll spend twenty minutes in the set up phase. Your training must reflect this. Ask yourself if a given skill “what skills underly this skill?” Once you figure that out spend much more time on those underlying skills than the surface skill. This is how you build a game with a solid foundation that will work against tough opponents
