Unity is strength: It amazing how often we sabotage our own attempts to succeed. In Jiu Jitsu the most common form of self sabotage is poor application of our physical strength in which one part of our own body fights against the efforts of another part of our own body. ITS hard ENOUGH TO FIGHT ANOTHER PERSON WITHOUT HAVING TO FIGHT YOURSELF AS WELL! Make sure that when you go to apply your strength into a move that you body works in unison rather than in opposition. Look at this beautiful application of the juji gatame arm bar by Garry Tonon. Note that both his legs point in the same direction, working in harmony in the best direction for success. If your feet point in different directions in this situation you are beginning to make the efforts of one leg clash with another and power begins to be diffused or lost. You can learn a LOT about how to make your whole body work harmoniously during drilling. Don't just robotically perform the moves – CONSTANTLY EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR APPLICATION OF force AND DISCOVER HOW YOUR BODY CAN BEST WORK AS A HARMONIOUS UNIT TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL. You will soon see benefits in both success rate and endurance on the mat.
