Principle #3: Distance
Recommendation: Watch “Principle #3: Distance” video on GracieUniversity.com
“Whoever manages the distance manages the damage.” This is one of the top quotes from the video by Rener and Ryron Gracie in their “The 32 Principles” instructional course on the teaching platform at GracieUniversity.com.
This video teaches about the importance of managing the distance between your opponent during a fight. Sometimes you want to be close, sometimes you want to be farther away. Either way, you should seek to manage the distance, so the fight goes in your favor, and you are able to control the flow of things more efficiently.
The goal is to DISRUPT THE DISTANCE!
This means, you are working to disrupt the optimum distance for your opponent who is trying to execute a technique.
Ask yourself, “Right now, what is possible by this opponent?” Then, seek to disrupt those possibilities by disrupting the ideal distance that he/she needs for their technique to happen.
This is what it means to be in the present moment, to practice PRESENT MOMENT JIU JITSU!
For a beginner like me, this is a challenging principle to practice. It requires me to have a depth of knowledge, to KNOW what moves are available to my opponent so I can try to properly disrupt those moves. And that takes lots and lots of practice and TIME to grow in my understanding of what’s possible. Right now, to be honest, everything is so very new to me!
For every situation in BJJ, you are working to either practice DISTANCE CLOSURE or DISTANCE CREATION. And yes, that takes lots of practice to gain the needed knowledge and experience.
Turning the corner on my spiritual walk with Christ, this is where WISDOM is needed in our lives. We need WISDOM to know when to move closer to a situation, and when to take a step back and create some healthy distance.
This of course takes plenty of practice and yes, TIME. We must be patient with ourselves and with others in learning how to put this principle into practice.
Here’s an example:
You have a friend, someone whom you connect with really well. But in some ways, they can pull you down from being who you want to be in Christ. Maybe they’re not even trying to follow Jesus, or they really don’t care about the same spiritual priorities. That’s ok, we need to be involved in people’s lives, and that includes people like this!
But we must practice wisdom and learn to put this principle in to play with those people: sometimes we need to create a little distance, so we maintain the friendship, but the friendship doesn’t define us. In other words, we don’t let the friendship put us into some kind of submission and take us to places we don’t (or shouldn’t) want to go.
I can only imagine Jesus put this principle into practice many times, especially as he had friends among the “tax collectors and sinners”, those on the fringe of society that were considered too dirty or ritually unclean to be around.
He didn’t cut himself off from these people, but instead felt compassion and genuine friendship towards them. But at the same time, he maintained his integrity and holiness in a way that was surprisingly authentic and welcoming. What a challenge for us!
Look at the example of Jesus in Matthew 9:10-13 (NIV):
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
As you think about your life, consider the various people in it. With some people, it would be good to practice DISTANCE CLOSURE and cultivate a closer connection to them. You can help each other, support each other, and are really good for each other.
But with others, you may need to practice a little DISTANCE CREATION by giving yourself a bit more space between them. It’s not a cold shoulder, but it’s a healthy gap that helps you to keep those boundaries where they should be.
The other day I was sparring with a black belt, and one thing I noticed about his fighting style was the distance management he practiced with me. He sank his hips well onto me, even pushing me into the mat it seemed.
But looking back, it was very effective, because it made it harder for me to shrimp away and get free. I feel like it was one aspect of this principle that I took away from that roll, and that helps me remember the effectiveness of distance management in all my future sparring matches.
If something is pinning you down, ask Jesus for help. I’ve done that many times, and he’s always faithful to help. He’ll help create the distance you need, but just be sure to take advantage of those moments when he does!
Listen to this important reminder in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks WISDOM, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” God’s not going to condemn you for getting pinned, he wants you to be free, and is more than willing to help.
Until then, keep rolling,
-Brian
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