Highly effective, but not universally effective: There are some moves in Jiu jitsu that are highly effective but not universally effective. What does this mean? It describes a move that works extremely well for those people whose body type supports the move, but doesn't work at all for those people whose body does not support the move. A good example would a body triangle. If you are blessed with relatively long and thin legs and your opponent has a reasonably slim waist, a body triangle is extremely effective as a means of back control that is generally superior to basic hooks. Anyone can use it, should use it. However, a body triangle may well be impossible for students who have short, thick legs or an opponent with a large mid section. In these cases you can't even get the move started. So what should we do? Should we focus on universality as the trait of our move selection? Or is it better to learn the most effective moves and just apply them cases by case where applicable? I do think there is a lot to be said for having a universal game, but I'm also a realist and understand that some moves (such a body triangle) are just so damn good that you'd be handicapping yourself if you didn't use them when you could. Remember, moves don't have to work for everyone in order to work for you.
