The Grappling Gospel

  Recommendation:  Watch " Principle #11: The Kazushi Principle " on GracieUniversity.com   (Disclaimer: I am not being paid/sponsored in any way to promote "Gracie University". I have found their " The 32 Principles " videos incredibly helpful and I hope you do too. It's not necessary to watch these videos to benefit from this blog.) I was recently frustrated and didn't know what to do... At the end of class, we transition to a time of 'open mat' -- when you can roll with someone and focus on things or just roll and see how it goes. It's a great time to get extra practice and experience, and I really enjoy it. But I was frustrated, because it starts with each person on their knees, facing each other. You grab your opponent, and one of you eventually goes down first, and the other tries to take mount, and the roll begins. But as a big-time newbie to Jiu Jitsu, no one prepared me for this intro time of the initial sparring from the knees...

  Six people.   That's how many different people I rolled with today in the span of about 30 minutes. But it was a great experience because everyone has a unique body shape with different ways of moving, levels of strength, and abilities. For training it's important to have a variety of partners, so you can get the most out of your practice and deepen your experience. We know that, but sometimes it's hard to accept that, especially when we have our "favorites" that we like to partner up and roll with. Some partners will be more instructional than others, some more aggressive than others, some more passive than others. But all together, it's a great way to practice what you know and learn from what others know. In the same way, God gives us different trials in life to give us the opportunity to deepen our experience and application of what we know. The important thing is to learn from each experience by asking important questions: Is my ego in the way, or was ...