life and jiu jitsu: Many of the lessons of Jiu jitsu mirror everyday life. Since you were old enough to listen you've been told that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. This is true of Jiu jitsu also. The longer you leave the task of escape – the harder it gets. Early identification of oncoming problems will save you a vast amount of trouble on the mats. Escaping a bad position is much easier when the escape begins AS the opponent is getting into a dominant position rather than AFTER he gets there. Thus the key is the mental act of RECOGNITION of danger as much as the physical act of escaping after the fact. Learning the escapes is crucial to success, but so too is early identification and reaction, and if it's done consistently can make make many escapes unnecessary
