BJJ Techniques You Should Focus On
Focus on mastering techniques that are suited to your body, your size, and your ability.
Jiu Jitsu techniques are fun to learn and drill. They range from the really simple to the complex and flashy - but, which techniques should you spend your time mastering? This is an important question because we only have a finite amount of time to drill. We need to ensure we spend that time wisely.
New BJJ practitioners often make the mistake of just trying to copy the “playbook” of their instructor. This is a bad idea most of the time. Your instructor didn’t just copy his instructor, and neither should you. In fact, you shouldn’t copy any single person’s playbook. What works for them may not work at all for you. And what you excel at, they may struggle with.
So, what should you do?
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When developing your personal playbook of moves, you should consider two things. First, you need to select techniques from every category of the “complete jiu Jitsu game”. This will ensure you have a complete game. The second thing you need to consider is you – your body, aptitude, etc. The techniques you specialize in should be tailored to your specific strengths. Let’s explore both of these factors in further detail, starting with the complete jiu Jitsu game.
The complete Jiu Jitsu game
The complete Jiu Jitsu game is a spectrum of technique categories from most offensive to defensive. All the categories contained inside represent a comprehensive grappling skillset. A complete and effective fighter will be competent in a handful of techniques from every category.
It’s important to pick techniques from every single category. This will keep a grappler safe regardless of where the fight goes. A typical mistake new grapplers make is to spend all their time practicing techniques in the position that they’re comfortable in. Think of a wrestler that only works takedowns and sidemount. Or, think of a BJJ guy that only spends time on his back, working exotic guards. Both of these grapplers are wrong, and they will seriously hinder their grappling development with this approach.
Focusing on your specific strengths
You are unique. Your attributes and talents are different than most of the men at your academy. The techniques in your playbook should be different too. When determining what techniques to focus on, you should first try what you have a natural inclination for. Too often I see men with short, stocky legs spend an inordinate amount of time trying to master the triangle. Or, I see really small, fast guys trying to develop a smash passing game. Neither of these guys is spending their time wisely.
I selected my playbook after carefully thinking about my strengths and physical attributes. It took years of experimentation and thought to get to the point that I had a truly comprehensive Jiu Jitsu game. You can probably do it in less time than me – here’s how. Start a technique notebook (a playbook perhaps) with pages dedicated to all the technique categories in the complete Jiu Jitsu game. Start writing down techniques under all those categories that you think would work well for you. Five to ten under each category would suffice. Next, drill, experiment, and try the techniques in sparring.
Don’t give up on any technique until you’ve spent a few weeks to a month on it. You’ll find that some techniques work great for you and others that just don’t resonate with you. Cross the latter off your list and move on to another. This process of trial and error will take a while, but it will leave you with a workable and robust Jiu Jitsu game. You can always make changes to your gameplan as you evolve, but this will give you a solid base. Doing this will put you far ahead of your peers.
Conclusion
It’s quite simple to identify what techniques you should spend your time focusing on. The first step is to recognize that you must select techniques from every category in the Jiu Jitsu game. This ensures you have a well-rounded game. The next step is to recognize your unique attributes and talents and start experimenting with techniques suited to you. Before you know it, you’ll have a comprehensive game, and you can spend your finite time mastering the best techniques for you.