Have you heard the phrase that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a game of inches? If you haven’t, remember it. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is definitely a lot of small moves that have big results. If you want to see big improvements to your game, understand these small moves.

In addition, in the class setting sometimes there’s too much information to retain these little details. Not only should the little details be learned, but you should also “learn in inches”. Take things a step at a time and dwell on each step.

Here are my 2 suggestions to training and how to learn when your instructor is teaching.

1. Learn the first part of a technique

Lets say your instructor is showing the over-under guard pass (we can talk about the details in another post). The first step in this is are the grips and body position. Understand why the grips are important. See where your body is and compare it to how your instructor is doing it. Pay attention to where your instructor has the leg placement of the partner. Linger on this first step before moving to the next step. Most often, this first part can apply to other positions and passes, or at least the concept of what is happening can be carried to other techniques.

2. Drill the first concept in sparring

When you’re sparring, attempt to get to the first part of the technique and see if it is controlling your partner. Missing this step is a big problem. The rest of the technique fails to succeed and the technique appears to “not fit me”. In reality, the foundational components of the technique are missing.

Going back to the over-under pass example, the opponent could be easily hip escaping away. The problem goes back to the grips and body position. Until this first part happens, don’t attempt to move further.

Conclusion

These 2 steps are simple in theory, however are complex in practice. If you take the time to breakdown techniques in this approach, you’ll see more options and open your game.

Try it out and let me know in the comments!