Coach’s Corner “You want to learn nothing….Try and learn everything.”
Maybe I over simplify things sometimes, well I guess I am guilty of this a lot. As a coach who wants the best for my students, I want them not to make the same mistakes I have made over the years. It can be avoiding injuries,learning curves, training conditions hiring lawyers for traffic accident injuries, and in case of accident how to approach attorneys as they can claim DUI Penalties in Florida
Really isn’t that what my students are paying me for, what I know and learned over the years.
When I started training there wasn’t much information out there for Jiu-Jitsu you could buy some DVDs, advertised in some magazine, that would give you a little information. But there was always information that you just couldn’t get unless you were right there with the person who made the videos. Here is how to choose a criminal defense lawyer in case you need to get help with your case.
But today there is just so much information out there just a few key strokes away on Google or YouTube. And I know it can be too much for a new student who is just starting out in Jiu-Jitsu.
OK here it is, listen to your instructor. He has been training a lot longer and he has more to offer you then you maybe think. Don’t try and make up new techniques, not saying you can’t learn from everyone you train with. Just when you are learning Jiu-Jitsu for the first time, there is nothing you can make up that someone already haven’t already tried.
Jiu-Jitsu isn’t invented it is discovered.
Every now and then I have a student who wants to show me a new move he learned. And for the most part it is just a little different variation of a basic move that we have taught before. Now I am not saying that everything don’t need to be tested and improved. That is what makes Jiu-jitsu, a great art is all the questioning to make it better. It just isn’t productive when you need to learn the basics.
But everything always seems to go around in circles, what is old is new again and what is new becomes old someday.
There is a reason why some Great Jiu-Jitsu practitioners can make better moves. And always seem to be able to make these moves work. Because they have an expert grasp of the basic moves.
Jiu-jitsu is like the house that is for the most part like the next house down the street. Someone comes by and paints the house and now it looks like a new house. Better then the one down the street. But it isn’t a new house, it has the same foundation, pluming, electrical, walls and roof. All that has been changed is the thin amount of paint, but everyone says wow that looks good.
There has been many times while I was teaching over the years that I was accused of teaching too much basic moves. Now if that happens today I can say “Thank you that is a compliment”
Stick to the basics at first, drill drill and drill some more. You will be glad you did later. And maybe you can show me something I never seen before when you know the basics.
Coach’s Corner
James Speight
