The Evolution of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - Pt 1
Time to talk Brazilian Jiu Jitsu theory.
Here I'm proposing a general model for how Brazilian Jiu Jisu (and other sports and fields) improve over time, and how we can contribute to this positive growth.
If you want to understand how Jiu Jitsu as a whole improves upon itself, as well as how individuals progress in their own skill, read on.
If you only care about shiny new flying submissions, this should be about as far as you read.
The Development of the Field of Grappling If you watch hockey or football in the 1950s, it is played rather differently from how it is played now.
Factoring out the increased athleticism of modern players, and the cool new technology and equipment, the game is simply played at a higher level in terms of technique and strategy (and training too, of course).
Similarly, its been said that I BJJ purple belt in 1980 generally wouldn't be as threatening as a modern purple belt.
Roger Banister's under 4-minute mile is now frequently broken by high school athletes.
Progress happens.
How, though, is it that a field develops consistently over time, and what are the factors at play that contribute to this improvement? Essentially I pose that there are 3 critical components: 1.
Increased Resources (money, people involved, amount of time spent on sport, investment of trainer's time, etc.
) 2.
Increased Connection / Accessibility (videos, books, forums, interaction of grapplers from all areas, seminars, etc.
) 3.
Increased Testing Opportunity (competition, research) Mechanisms of BJJ Progress In some fields (like marketing, architecture, etc...
) progress in the field has a lot to do with technology and equipment (new software, new platforms for selling, etc...
).
New technologies mean new horizon's for possibility and progress.
The more change in these kinds of changing-world factors, the more areas for brand new exploration for progress in the field.
In BJJ, technology and equipment plays a nominal role.
Since the rules of BJJ and the human body are unlikely to change anytime soon, it is merely the proliferation of new knowledge about BJJ training, technique, and / or strategy that denotes progress in the field.
Here's the model I pose as the prime mover of progress in almost any field, but here I'll apply the concept for BJJ itself.
The 'Cycle Model' in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu * Techniques / training methods / strategies are developed and used * They become popular for MORE valid reasons (high level grapplers are using them with success, empirical research seems to show that they work well competitively, they work well for the individual - or at least better than what they were doing before, etc...
) or LESS valid reasons (they look or seem cool, they are a fad created by marketing rather than empirical observation, etc...
) * These techniques, training methods, or strategies stick with some people are their use is perpetuated for MORE valid reasons (the tech.
, strat.
, or training method seems to be tangibly improving performance) or LESS valid reasons (the tech.
, strat.
, or training method seems cool, people assume it improves their game when in fact it does not, etc...
) * The proliferation of these elements through competition, experimentation, video, etc...
is ONLY PARTIALLY due to their actual betterment of the field as a whole, or overall effectiveness.
However, overall the most effective techniques, training methods, and strategies tend to stick more thoroughly than the less effective ones, and so the field (through more involvement, investment, testing, and sharing) gradually becomes more and more refined as whole.
The Cycle Model - Additional Distinctions Again, I pose that this model exists in other domains, but the examples above are just being applied to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
It can also be supposed that the smaller the number of OUTSIDE variables, the more stable will be the progress in the field.
For instance, paper and pencil drafting techniques likely became massively more sophisticated over the years for builders and architects, but much of that progress will be rendered obsolete as software replaces such practices.
Similarly, though advertising in newspapers was studied and perfected by marketers, it will likely become relatively useless as newspapers tank and social media comes up.
Now methods for successfully marketing on Twitter might draw from the successful ideas developed in print advertising, but many entirely now strategies and concepts will developed - and many of those will become obsolete as even newer equipment and technology develops.
This is frustrating because progress in the field is not a constant trudge uphill - sometimes an entirely new hill must be jumped to and much of the progress is lost.
It can also be supposed that the smaller the number of INTERNAL variables, the more limited will be the progress in the field.
For instance, in bowling there is almost nothing different from one 10-pin stack to the next.
The variables are very limited, and so the degree of technical depth and progression in bowling is relatively limited - and will likely only see nominal jumps from new technology in ball design, or intensive research into successful bowling methods.
Other than that there isn't much opportunity for growth.
In a game like Jiu Jitsu there are more variations of the guard position than there are effective ways to get a strike in bowling, and that's not even the tip of the iceberg.
The BJJ game is so dynamic and complex, with so many live variables, that the possibilities are nearly endless for growth.
Taking into consideration the fact that BJJ has LOW OUTSIDE variables, and INCALCULABLY HIGH INTERNAL variables, it is the kind of unique field that can be built upon and built upon indefinitely.
So what will be the future of BJJ and how can we help to develop the field itself?
Here I'm proposing a general model for how Brazilian Jiu Jisu (and other sports and fields) improve over time, and how we can contribute to this positive growth.
If you want to understand how Jiu Jitsu as a whole improves upon itself, as well as how individuals progress in their own skill, read on.
If you only care about shiny new flying submissions, this should be about as far as you read.
The Development of the Field of Grappling If you watch hockey or football in the 1950s, it is played rather differently from how it is played now.
Factoring out the increased athleticism of modern players, and the cool new technology and equipment, the game is simply played at a higher level in terms of technique and strategy (and training too, of course).
Similarly, its been said that I BJJ purple belt in 1980 generally wouldn't be as threatening as a modern purple belt.
Roger Banister's under 4-minute mile is now frequently broken by high school athletes.
Progress happens.
How, though, is it that a field develops consistently over time, and what are the factors at play that contribute to this improvement? Essentially I pose that there are 3 critical components: 1.
Increased Resources (money, people involved, amount of time spent on sport, investment of trainer's time, etc.
) 2.
Increased Connection / Accessibility (videos, books, forums, interaction of grapplers from all areas, seminars, etc.
) 3.
Increased Testing Opportunity (competition, research) Mechanisms of BJJ Progress In some fields (like marketing, architecture, etc...
) progress in the field has a lot to do with technology and equipment (new software, new platforms for selling, etc...
).
New technologies mean new horizon's for possibility and progress.
The more change in these kinds of changing-world factors, the more areas for brand new exploration for progress in the field.
In BJJ, technology and equipment plays a nominal role.
Since the rules of BJJ and the human body are unlikely to change anytime soon, it is merely the proliferation of new knowledge about BJJ training, technique, and / or strategy that denotes progress in the field.
Here's the model I pose as the prime mover of progress in almost any field, but here I'll apply the concept for BJJ itself.
The 'Cycle Model' in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu * Techniques / training methods / strategies are developed and used * They become popular for MORE valid reasons (high level grapplers are using them with success, empirical research seems to show that they work well competitively, they work well for the individual - or at least better than what they were doing before, etc...
) or LESS valid reasons (they look or seem cool, they are a fad created by marketing rather than empirical observation, etc...
) * These techniques, training methods, or strategies stick with some people are their use is perpetuated for MORE valid reasons (the tech.
, strat.
, or training method seems to be tangibly improving performance) or LESS valid reasons (the tech.
, strat.
, or training method seems cool, people assume it improves their game when in fact it does not, etc...
) * The proliferation of these elements through competition, experimentation, video, etc...
is ONLY PARTIALLY due to their actual betterment of the field as a whole, or overall effectiveness.
However, overall the most effective techniques, training methods, and strategies tend to stick more thoroughly than the less effective ones, and so the field (through more involvement, investment, testing, and sharing) gradually becomes more and more refined as whole.
The Cycle Model - Additional Distinctions Again, I pose that this model exists in other domains, but the examples above are just being applied to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
It can also be supposed that the smaller the number of OUTSIDE variables, the more stable will be the progress in the field.
For instance, paper and pencil drafting techniques likely became massively more sophisticated over the years for builders and architects, but much of that progress will be rendered obsolete as software replaces such practices.
Similarly, though advertising in newspapers was studied and perfected by marketers, it will likely become relatively useless as newspapers tank and social media comes up.
Now methods for successfully marketing on Twitter might draw from the successful ideas developed in print advertising, but many entirely now strategies and concepts will developed - and many of those will become obsolete as even newer equipment and technology develops.
This is frustrating because progress in the field is not a constant trudge uphill - sometimes an entirely new hill must be jumped to and much of the progress is lost.
It can also be supposed that the smaller the number of INTERNAL variables, the more limited will be the progress in the field.
For instance, in bowling there is almost nothing different from one 10-pin stack to the next.
The variables are very limited, and so the degree of technical depth and progression in bowling is relatively limited - and will likely only see nominal jumps from new technology in ball design, or intensive research into successful bowling methods.
Other than that there isn't much opportunity for growth.
In a game like Jiu Jitsu there are more variations of the guard position than there are effective ways to get a strike in bowling, and that's not even the tip of the iceberg.
The BJJ game is so dynamic and complex, with so many live variables, that the possibilities are nearly endless for growth.
Taking into consideration the fact that BJJ has LOW OUTSIDE variables, and INCALCULABLY HIGH INTERNAL variables, it is the kind of unique field that can be built upon and built upon indefinitely.
So what will be the future of BJJ and how can we help to develop the field itself?
