The Best of the Best Grapplers

Have you ever wondered how many techniques you will need to learn to beat other grapplers?
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Perhaps you’re still new to BJJ. You learn a new technique or two at every class, and it might seem as if there’s an endless amount of techniques in BJJ.
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Or perhaps you’ve been practicing BJJ for a while, and you have some concrete ideas about what a minimal set of techniques might look like.
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So, how many techniques do you need to know?
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Of course, you will need to learn the details of each move. You will need to know how to deal with what your opponents do to you. Mastery takes time.
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But if we are talking about specific moves and a minimal set of such moves, it turns out… you may be able to learn everything you need in BJJ in an hour or two. (Again, it will take countless hours of practice to master these techniques. So, what I’m saying here is you can learn WHAT to do in an hour or two, but not necessarily how to do them perfectly.)
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I suppose about a half of you know, and about the other half of you don’t know about Roger Gracie.
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Roger Gracie is the best of the best in BJJ. He did lose a handful of times in the past (or rather… ONLY a handful of times), but his game is impeccable.
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What’s striking about Roger’s game is that he only uses some of the most basic moves that you would learn on day one of your BJJ journey (i.e., take down your opponent, pass their guard, mount, and then choke them out). He crushed his rivals with these basic moves, making them look like a beginner who doesn’t know what to do to stop Roger.
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I understand that people get distracted by trendy techniques and jump from one technique to another all the time. I don’t think everyone needs to do what Roger does. I think what matters is to master fundamental moves and principles rather than particular techniques (berimbolo can be just as “basic” as scissor sweep in the sense that successful execution of these moves requires you to understand how to use your own body and how to manipulate your opponent’s body).
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BUT, I also think it’s important to keep in mind that your jiu jitsu can be highly effective without tons of techniques. And that your time is limited. If you can focus on a particular set of techniques that give you the best results, why not focus on them?
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On that note, check out this Roger Gracie highlight video. Take a look, especially if you aren’t familiar with Roger Gracie.