Resistance Transitions

In a sport obsessed with technique perfection, one of my hardest lessons was letting go. Hunting for perfection creates paralysis and diminishes the movement you need to explore. It’s also not that important. Far more important to high level execution is having a good sense of timing and creating decision trees that lock your opponent in a never ending game of defense.

That decision tree is about building increasing levels of control until you can submit your opponent. A lot of work goes into getting there. Entries, transitions, defensive to offensive cycles. It’s a whole lot of work to finally isolate a limb or neck and achieve that amazing feeling of dominance.

And often times, this is when you need to let it go.

Efficiency

The game isn’t just about submitting your opponent. Its about finding the easy submission. The one they don’t see coming. This is efficient Jiu Jitsu. Executing your final victory without breaking a sweat. There are lots of ways to achieve this, but one of the most important is on the resistance transition.

Submissions exist on a range, from the opening salvo to the breaking point. As you find your entry and your opponent becomes aware of their demise, their resistance kicks in. As you work through your submission, the resistance increases. Their focus becomes isolated. Their entire body dedicates itself to their defense with an inherent recognition of its destruction. This is the moment. Your opponent has a singular focus. You know exactly what it is and how much they are dedicating to it.

That’s when you make the switch. You transition to another submission opportunity.

This seems counter intuitive. You are on the edge of victory and walk away, but its about understanding the energy required to finish and the focus of your opponent. Your secondary attack will get close to a finishing point without resistance, and your opponent will have to make a defensive transition a step behind your attack.

This strategy requires having a secondary submission available, which should be part of your game building strategy. This resistance transition will increase your submission output considerably, and keep your opponents on their toes.

Action

One of my favorite resistance transitions is an arm bar to leg entry. With your opponent flat on their back and grasping for life to prevent their arm from extending, gain control of their near leg with your inside arm. Get elbow deep around the knee, and start to move your upper body toward their legs. As you do this, slide your inside leg from their chest, and drive your shin in their hip.

Here you are at the end point of one submission and 50 percent inside of another. Sell the arm bar. Push your opponent to maximum resistance, and then swing your outside leg in between their thighs and grab the heal for a knee bar extension.

Patience

Playing with this concept requires patience, and redefining your goals. Don’t just fight to the end. Find a path that gives minimal resistance. Once you understand how your actions effect the psychology of your opponents decisions, the nature of your Jiu Jitsu will change forever.