When there are ten thousand possibilities the smart thing is to focus on a few good one: One of the great problems of open guard is that there are a vast number of possible guards you can employ, each with many grip variations and myriad different moves that are possible from each. You can rapidly get to a situation where the sheer number of options makes you LESS effective rather than more effective in sparring and competition. WHEN OPTIONS MULTIPLY, RESPONSE time TENDS TO INCREASE. This is not a good thing in combat sports. Accordingly it is wise to focus on a few things that you do very well rather than attempt to learn many things you perform in a mediocre fashion just because there is not sufficient time to master them all. The obvious question is – well then, which ones should i focus on? Part of the answer will be determined by your body type, part by your personality, but save some consideration for observation of high level competition and see WHICH MOVES OFTEN AND REPEATEDLY SCORE SUCCESSFULLY FOR A WIDE array OF BODY TYPES, WEIGHT CATEGORIES, BELT LEVELS, AGES AND RULE SETS. These are usually the ones you want to focus upon. Better to be extremely good at two such moves than average a twenty moves that rarely figure successfully in competition. Let the evidence of competition have a say in the direction of your training and you will soon have a focus upon a few proven techniques that really make a difference in your performance.
