One of the common BJJ problems we all have encountered before is this:
You go for submission without proper control, and your opponent manages to escape from your attack exactly because of the lack of control.
Some people might think they couldn’t catch their opponent because they weren’t quick enough.
Sure, that might be the case, but I’d say the lack of control is a bigger problem. If you have proper control until the very last step of the whole submission process, your opponent shouldn’t be able to do much during your transition between that last step and the submission.
To improve your submission skills, I highly recommend you to focus on the controlling aspect of your submissions.
Slow down the whole process, and apply your submission to your training partner. If your training partner manages to escape? Well, that means you need to improve your control. Pay attention to when and how exactly your opponent escapes from your submission attempt. That’s where your technique needs some refining.
Another benefit of applying submission slowly is that you will be less likely to hurt your training partners. Quick submission attacks have their place in a competition context, but in a regular practice context, they may not help you improve your skills much. I understand that it feels good to “win” in sparring by quick submissions, but as I have been mentioning in my emails from time to time, sparring is not about winning or losing, but it’s your opportunity to sharpen your techniques.
After all, if you have better skills, you don’t need to rely on speed so much, and your overall goal is to improve your skills.