Principle #4: Pyramid
Recommendation: Watch "Principle #4: Pyramid" video on GracieUniversity.com
Back in 1999, I had the fun adventure of staying in Cairo, Egypt, and from there, visiting the Great Pyramids of Egypt. I actually rode on a camel around the famous pyramids, seeing them up close and in person. It was an experience I'll never forget!
What makes a pyramid structure so solid is simple to see: it has a secure base. As long as that base is strong and secure, it's very difficult to take the structure down. That's probably why the pyramids are still standing strong after so many years! (about 4,000-5,000 years old!)
In the same way, the video entitled "Principle #4: Pyramid" on GracieUniversity.com teaches you that a key strategy in your Jiu Jitsu game is to off-balance your opponent.
This means that you are constantly aware of their center of gravity, and how they are stabilizing (or seeking to stabilize) themselves. Your mission is to compromise or work against that stabilization!
Your goal is simple = to break your opponent's pyramid!
You should always be asking yourself during a roll, "How can I off-balance my opponent, and break his pyramid structure?" You are not necessarily trying to set up a new move or technique, but instead simply focused on off-balancing their pyramid.
Another part of your strategy is to work on creating your own pyramid structures, even where there isn't traditionally one to be found. The more stable you are, the more lethal you are in the match.
Turning the corner to my spiritual walk with Christ...
This principle challenges me to think of my base. I'm in a constant grappling match with the world around me, my own brokenness and selfish desires, and a spiritual enemy that somehow is always trying to grapple with me (how does the devil really have time for me???).
Sometimes I find myself fighting "Imposter Syndrome". This is that sunken feeling that deep inside, we're really not quite who we project ourselves to be, and we're worried that somehow that will be exposed for all the world to see. None of us want that!
But I have to remember my base...
For me, it's helpful to remember that God sent Jesus for people like me, people who don't always act right or say the right things. People who make mistakes, and who have real regrets.
Secondly, I remember that God's love and grace towards me in Jesus is bigger than my failures. This doesn't give me permission to live selfishly, but it does remind me that God's love for me is still bigger than my mistakes.
Finally, I remember that God has chosen to be stuck with me. That's right, he picked me to be part of his team, forever. Warts, failures, and all, yes, he chose me. I was never smart enough or good enough to choose him -- he chose me, and I can rest in that forever.
Maybe the legs of your base are different than mine, and that's ok. But I think it's important to remember your base, because when we forget it, we don't use it. And when we don't use it, then it doesn't take much for us to be pushed around in life. It then doesn't take much for guilt, shame, and/or imposter syndrome feelings to pin us down and try to keep us in submission.
I find John 3:16 to be a powerful base for me, with enough support and strength to help stabilize me:
"For God so loved the world (that's you and me) that he gave his one and only Son; that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
What can you do every day to remember your base? Maybe a good idea is to spend 30 seconds thinking about it before you head out the door. Just remember God's love is for broken people (that's you and me), his love is big enough to handle our dirt, and he's really committed to us (so much so, that Jesus died to seal that commitment to you!).
With a base like that, we can be more stable, and more of a force for good in this world. This world needs people who are willing and able to change things for the good that benefit everyone, not just themselves.
This world needs people who have a secure base -- and who can help rescue others from the many submissions that hold them down.
You may never get to visit the Great Pyramids of Egypt (I hope you can one day), but you have a much more solid pyramid of support available to you, and it's for every day, every moment, every situation.
Let's use this solid base as we grapple with the forces in this world that need to be challenged and put in their proper place.
Keep Rolling,
Brian
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