Details vs direction: When instruction is offered in jiu jitsu, the two general types are first, those that offer a general sense of purpose or direction. This is essential for giving the student the big picture of what he or she is trying to achieve. Second, there is instruction in the small technical details that make it possible for the athlete to perform the actions that enable us to fulfill that sense of direction. Deficiencies in either of these two areas will create problems. A sense of direction is worthless if you can't perform the tasks that get you moving in that direction; and endless details can create a myopic student who can pontificate at length on a given area of skill, but who can't place it in a context that lets him improvise and quickly identify the key features of the scenarios s/he finds himself in. Somewhere in the middle is a satisfactory compromise between the two. It is usually different for different people and problem areas. One of the trickiest times to work this problem is in seminars when I visit schools. Often there is a considerable skill and knowledge discrepancy between the various attendees. I usually find I can make on the spot adjustments based upon how people manage the drills they over as to whether I can get more complex, or stay longer on foundational aspects of the game. The success of my students in certain aspects of jiu jitsu has created a widespread interest in our game and something of a cottage industry in study and emulation of our tactics and skills. As a result, I can often get more advanced in seminars nowadays than I could have several years ago. Here I am teaching a seminar in Pittsburgh @stoutpgh where the students did a fine job of moving through some complex material on ashi garami based leg locking. It is becoming quite clear that the overall knowledge and understanding of lower body submissions around the nation has increased quite dramatically from five years agoI am happy that my students @garrytonon @eddie_wolverine @gordonlovesjiujitsu @nickyryanbjj and myself can help this trend. Already I am seeing some excellent leg locking students as I travel and teach.
