Making Success Unconscious in Grappling

We slapped hands, as is customary before a grappling session. His demeanor was calm and he gave no indication when we were talking earlier that he was ultra-aggressive. We postured for a brief second, sizing each other up. Without warning he leapt into the air with both of his arms, legs and torso coming my way. Reflexively, I placed both hands in the middle of his chest and pushed him downward. There was a thunderous sound when he hit the mat. We both looked at each other for a moment; me startled by his aggression and he by my quick but explosive defense.

What happened that moment lies at the heart of what Malcolm Gladwell wrote about in his book, Blink: the power of thinking without thinking. I am by no means an expert at Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ), which is essentially wrestling with submissions. But I have been practicing BJJ as well as Judo for a combined 8 years. Each class we drill takedowns, takedown defense, how to hold someone down, how to protect yourself if taken down and how to make a person submit through a combination of chokes, joint locks and other nefarious techniques.

Once we finish drills we then ‘roll' or wrestle with each other to solidify the techniques we practice. Where I train, new and advanced techniques are introduced often. Yet, they are extensions of basic techniques, so it is not uncommon to practice the basics hundreds of times. We practice to the point where carrying out a technique becomes an unconscious process. Or what Gladwell would describe as a Level 2 event. Level 1 is reserved for tasks where we must be actively engaged in order to get something done. Unfamiliar tasks and unknown variables cause us to perk up and pay attention in these situations.

At a speech at the University of Washington, Anthony Greenwald, Ph.D., who Gladwell also profiles in his book, discussed the unconscious manner in which we operate when performing certain tasks. He asserted that we are comfortable in these situations and can go through the motions without having to think about what to do next. He cited riding a bicycle, going through a checkout lane and driving as actions where we don't often give our full attention. In fact, he went a step further and said we spend most of our lives in Level 2.

We have to ask ourselves tough questions as grapplers. For example: How many of the tasks related to becoming a success do you complete at Level 2? How many ‘reps' have you done; how much ‘film' have you watched; how many ‘plays' have you devised and practiced and how many ‘competitions' have you entered in order to make what you do an unconscious process? Sure, we must be fully present when engaging in any activity. But the more we can focus on the big picture and not on the individual steps the better off we will be.

Process or Results Oriented Approach to Jiu-jitsu

In communication and psychology, the terms Results Oriented and Process Oriented are used to describe people's approach to communicating with others, tackling tasks and competing. Although neither approach is inherently good or bad, it is best to know which approach is more useful when training in sports.

Before discussing how the Process or Results Oriented approaches relate to grappling, think about what type of grappler you are. Remember, there is no right or wrong here; you will just be assessing your approach.

When you consider your overall grappling mindset are you more concerned with progress or winning? Are you concerned about being the best you can be or being the best? In practice do you work on parts of your game you consider weak or do you only rely on your strongest techniques against your rolling partners? When you compete, does a loss cause to you to descend into a funk or do you recognize the good points of your performance?

Results Oriented Grappler

Results Oriented (RO) people are concerned with the outcome. They want another victory in the win column; to be called champion and most importantly they don't want to lose. Their desire to win is so great that the Results Oriented person may adopt a win at any cost approach and not consider who is hurt or damaged in their pursuit of success. Results Oriented people as coaches can sometimes be the 'in your face,' 'no excuses' type.

In the academy many people take the RO approach. The new student who thinks that losing a grappling match makes them less of a person, the guy who always refuses to tap and the person who always wants top position or whose guard is so good that they always want to be on the bottom. What about the person who will hold one grip the entire roll and you end up in a five-minute stalemate?

All of the behaviors listed above are Results Oriented approaches. It is difficult to say if it is the right or the wrong approach because it leads to mixed results. A win at all cost mentality often leads to victory in both practice and in competition. I’ve tapped many times to grappling partners who have exploded into an arm-bar or a foot-lock technique in practice. I’ve tapped to choke attacks that lasted well over two minutes in regular grappling sessions. I’ve even had guys place their toes over my mouth in attempts to get an arm-bar and after escaping I had to look for the camera to see if someone was shooting a fetish video. 

In other words, I’m saying that I have tapped to a lot of what I consider slightly out of bounds techniques and approaches. In those situations I believed that my rolling partners wanted the tap even though it didn’t seem like fair play and at the risk of my personal safety. Did I consider them bad people? No, not a single one, but I did consider some of their actions as misplaced in the training environment.

In the competitive arena, Results Oriented grapplers are right at home. A RO approach makes the grappler determined. It makes them work harder when it counts; choose the best strategies for the moment and it makes them a formidable competitor.

Process Oriented Approach

The Process Oriented person, although concerned with success, is also concerned with how that success occurs. They are concerned with their performance during their pursuit and will ask themselves questions such as: Did I perform better than last time or did I improve in the areas I was focusing on? I won, but did I play by the rules and show good sportsmanship? If I keep improving the way I am, will I be a champion?

It is easy to recognize a Process Oriented grappler once you know their mindset. It is the person in class who continually works the weak spots in their game, even when they know they will lose or will be dominated in a grapple. It is the guy who is calm during rolls even when the other person may be ‘raging’ for a tap. As a coach the Process Oriented grappler is more concerned with their athletes doing their best and improving as opposed to getting the victory.

You can also say that Process Oriented people focus more on the future while Results Oriented people focus more on the now.

Which approach is better?

In reality, both can be successful and of course there are winners of all types. Common sense would dictate that when dealing with people you are close to (i.e., training partners and teammates) you have to use a Process Oriented approach because you have to respect each other's well-being and treat each other how you would like to be treated. Going all out, at all times, and using the Results Oriented approach in your academy can lead to injuries, loss of training partners and being banned. Yet, Results Oriented approaches can be useful in establishing a pecking order when first grappling with someone or during an in-house competition. It can also give the false appearance that someone is better than he or she is (which can lead to promotions) because they are always tapping people out. But as a general rule, it is my contention that it will leave a grappler with holes in their game as the concern is with winning and not developing an overall game.

However, always using the Process Oriented approach can lead to a person never developing that “win at all cost” mentality that is sometimes necessary in competition and absolutely vital in self-defense situations. It also can lead to people gaining a mental advantage over the Process Oriented grappler because ultimately a tap is a tap. Once people tap you a hierarchy is established whether or not you let them tap you or placed yourself in a position where you would likely be tapped. (I believe that this approach can hinder rank advancement as well.)

So, which is best? It depends on your aims and goals? But how you approach grappling will determine your longevity, your relationships and your overall success.

Ultimately, the approach you take depends on the context and on you.

This is by no means settled. What are your thoughts? What type of grappler are you and how do you think it affects your training and overall success?

Using an Audience to Improve in Competition - Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

Picture a man competing in three bicycle races. One is where he rides solo for time. The second is where he uses a "pacer" to help him maintain a consistent speed. In the third race he races against other cyclists. Which of his times will be fastest?

Norman Triplett, believed by many to be the pioneer of sports social psychology, discovered that "competition" affects "performance." Bluntly, you perform at a higher level when other people are present. He discovered that professional cyclists achieved faster times when racing against other riders. Their times became slower when they were timed in solo events or used pacers.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Numerous researchers who followed in Triplett's wake received results that supported and debunked his conclusions. Sometimes people performed well when an audience was around, other times they failed miserably. It was Robert Zajonc, Ph.D. (pronounced as Xyience) who came along and found that if you have no talent for a task, your performance will decrease when an audience is present. On the other hand, it would increase if you were well acquainted with the task at hand.

In an oft-cited study (Micheals et al), pool players were classified into two categories; below average and above average. Their games were observed with no audience present and then with four observers milling around. What they found was telling. The above average players scores increased when an audience was present while the below average players scores nose-dived.

So what could this mean for grapplers? Well as beginning grapplers, having guests and friends accompany you to competitions is good for moral support and it demonstrates that they care for you. However, as far as competition is concerned, it may have a deleterious effect on your performance. Having a five year old screaming, “Get up Daddy!” when pinned in side control as a beginner may short-circuit a grappler's thought process.

But for the intermediate and advanced grappler, as experiments in other fields have indicated, having family and friends present at grappling competitions may be the extra push needed in order to perform better.

Additionally, some people may ask, “What about the people already present at tournaments? Aren't they an audience?” To those individuals I would ask them to reflect on the low attendance rate of 'fans' at grappling events. Participants often outnumber the fans. Further, many matches occur at once. As a consequence, grapplers often end up on mats at the far end of gyms or the other side of an arena where fans will not be present. A grappler could end up with no audience at all.

Therefore, if you do want people present, you should make sure to invite them. 

If you've had any experience with this please let us know so we can all learn.