Defense first

If you have rolled with me over the past few years you know that I'm a big advocate of focusing on a defensive game. The quest for this knowledge was sparked by years of being frustrated, submitted, choked and generally unsure of what to do since the majority of my BJJ training was an echo chamber of the latest technique seen on the competition mat or what my coach deemed suitable for my game. Attribute-driven, dependencies and situational specificity did not allow my knowledge to come to fruition. Tapping like a typewriter I used to tell myself at the end of another long night of training. Needless to say this was one of many moments on my journey that I felt like quitting. Whenever I did get a submission it was largely based on the fact I out conditioned my rolling partner, scrambled until they couldn't keep up and lost positional advantage. Other times, it was because I was faster so every round became a sprint to the next position of control. Whenever I was out muscled, out weighed then I panicked and my game collapsed as it had no way to handle this type of pressure. Unfortunately being one of the smaller, lighter people at my gym meant that I garnered plenty of experience being choked and joint locked. So much so until it became boring.

Over the years however I was taught a few important things that changed how I could keep better control during the rolls. Things changed even more when I got my internal head chatter out of the way and told myself that I needed more information on how to defend better. A couple of names popped up; Eduardo Telles but at the time he didn't have a delivery 'system' and I found his teaching method incongruent to my learning style. Frustrating but I tried my best to learn with limited success.

It wasn't until around 2017 that I played with the concepts taught (online) by Priit Mihkelson that the information started to click and fall in place. It wasn't a easy journey either, making plenty of beginner mistakes along the way until I could figure it out on my own. I tried the techniques in live rolling versus a spectrum of skills eventually gaining enough confidence to trying them out against other bigger and stronger black belts. Of course, I'm not saying I found the magic bullet but it was as close as I could get to and survive most rounds without getting submitted.

The elation I experienced, not trying to attack while successfully staving off my partner's attempts with precision, was indescribable. I stuck to this defensive game plan for several years and to present I still work on it with more efficiency and success. Jiu jitsu training made me happy again. For a while then I didn't have a good relationship with Jiu Jitsu. It was frustrating, like playing with an unsolvable puzzle that's always taunting you.

Without boring you to tears, I found that Priit's system worked beautifully and completed the defensive concepts that was severely lacking in my game. If you ever get a chance to learn directly from him, I'd highly recommend it.

Get your VCBJJ technical BJJ rashguard here

Best training!
VC