The Connection Principle
Imagine you’re in a local supermarket. You’ve just advanced the cart you’re pushing toward the checkout line. Somebody behind you believes that you’ve cut the line. They’re also screaming that you have twelve items in your cart instead of ten (the allowable limit), and you don’t belong at the express register. They become overly angry at you and are on the verge of losing control. The person takes a step forward toward you. You quickly spin your grocery cart around, using it as a buffer, a safe space, between you and this irate customer. You begin to use your words as a secondary buffer, assuring the person that you respect them and had no intention of cutting in front of them. Despite your efforts to quell the conflict, this person shoves their cart into yours. Yes, it’s way over the edge on their part.
But thinking as a jiu-jitsu practitioner, you realize that you now have a physical connection to something. You can feel the tension of their cart pushing up against yours. As the angered customer rears their cart back to ram yours again, you feel the release of tension. Your connectedness has allowed you to predict the next move in real time. So you advance your cart forward in the direction of theirs, reestablishing the connection and not allowing their cart the kinetic energy to rush forward with any real momentum. All the while, you’re continuing to use your language and communication skills in an effort to connect to their better judgment, in hopes of defusing the situation. It’s an example of how the Connection Principle can provide you with information during a tense encounter without ever having to put your hands on someone.
The Detachment Principle
You’ve undoubtedly heard of the Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, which puts forth the idea that opposite and contradictory forces can be complementary to one another. Many martial arts borrow from this concept, and jiu-jitsu is one of them. The Connection Principle explains how keeping ourselves connected to our opponent can prevent, promote, and predict movement. If that is our yin, then the Detachment Principle is certainly its yang. The Detachment Principle grants us optimal efficiency through the deliberate disconnection from our opponent. For it is equally as important to know how to disconnect, even if only momentarily, to maintain an advantage and good position. Whether it’s a physical encounter, an argument, or the internal struggle of reaching a future goal, mastering the Detachment Principle of knowing when it is advantageous to release our hold on something will improve both your jiu-jitsu and your life.
Imagine you are waiting to be served at a bakery on a busy Sunday morning. Just as someone behind the counter begins to take your order, another customer aggressively says to you, “I was here when you walked through the door. Don’t jump me in line.” Both you and the counter person explain that you were indeed there first. Only, the other customer is becoming more roiled with every word. You sense that the other customer is about to completely lose control. This is obviously not about who gets the last rye bread in the bakery. It’s more likely that the other customer has had a bad morning, week, or month, and that this moment has become their tipping point. You decide that a further tug-of-war over this issue wouldn’t serve anyone’s best interests, especially the other customer’s emotional state. That’s when you politely step aside and let the issue go.
Always remaining grounded, in jiu-jitsu and in life, will serve you extremely well. It mirrors the scenario at the bakery. Don’t let your opponent bring you to a place where you don’t want to be, physically or emotionally. Remember, the Detachment Principle works in two ways: Sometimes we dictate when to detach, other times our opponent dictates that moment for us. Either way, the student who masters the Detachment Principle reaps the benefits.
The Distance Principle
One of the simplest principles of jiu-jitsu, as well as one of its most universal, is the Distance Principle. Most of us are familiar with the concept of someone trying to strike us, be it with a punch or kick. If not, we’re certainly familiar with someone reaching out to either hug us or shake hands. Managing the distance between ourselves and others to correctly perform predictable movements is a concept to which we’ve been exposed and practiced since we were very young. Even a toddler quickly learns not to reach out for the cookie jar until they are at a proper distance to do so.
In all forms of fighting, whoever manages the distance manages the damage that can be done. Why? Opponents who wish to strike you need to establish the proper distance to deliver any type of blow with substantial power. And if we view distance as maintaining proper position, including the positions we grant to others in our daily orbits of work, school, and personal relationships, then the Distance Principle is as important in everyday life as it is in a fight.
Recognizing and computing distances between ourselves and others is a function that we perform constantly. And whenever we fail at that function, or more likely, have a difference of opinion, we may hear the phrase: Please, you need to respect my boundaries.
In human society, our accepted personal boundaries are always being recomputed depending upon the situation. It has long been observed that a quartet of strangers in an elevator are very likely to occupy the four corners of the elevator car, giving each other plenty of personal space. However, when the elevator takes on more passengers, usually an arm’s length of distance (the very edge of the red zone for a jiu-jitsu practitioner) leaves most people feeling comfortable about their boundaries. But if the elevator adds several additional riders on the next floor, we further adjust our accepted personal space. Those who cannot accept the change in their personal boundary may even choose to get out of the car and wait for the next elevator.
The Creation Principle
When people hear the word “creation,” their mind can conjure many different images. Perhaps they’re fans of various artists—or creators—in fields ranging from fashion to music to architecture. They may be responsible themselves for the creation of a recipe, invention, painting, poem, story, or a new system of completing a task more efficiently at their job. Their minds may also focus on much broader ideas, such as the creation of time, space, and all that encompasses our universe. In jiu-jitsu, the Creation Principle is not quite so abstract. This principle teaches us to use a deliberate action to force a specific reaction from the opponent. That reaction, which we’re trying to promote, is something that can be used to our advantage.
grandfather once noted, “Jiu-jitsu is a mousetrap. The trap does not chase the mouse. But when the mouse grabs the cheese, the trap plays its role.” Correspondingly, jiu-jitsu is an art that makes full use of counterattacks. The opponent moves or attacks and we respond accordingly, so the action, by nature, is very free flowing. The Creation Principle is designed to put the jiu-jitsu practitioner in charge of that timing and flow. We don’t have to wait around for things to happen by chance. Instead, we can force our opponent’s hand through the Creation Principle and dictate the flow of events to follow.
On the jiu-jitsu mat, you often know what’s coming through experience. Practitioners with higher ranked belts usually make their subordinates feel as if their minds and movements are being read in advance, as if their superiors are several steps ahead of them. That’s because those with experience are asking themselves: What do I want my opponent to do? Then they apply the stimulus to make that happen, creating a submission, an escape, or a reversal.
We like to say: Be first and third. What that literally means is that those in control of a situation make the first move, knowing what the opponent’s response (the second move) will be. Then we capitalize on that opening through the third move, the move we set up for ourselves. As you begin to apply the Creation Principle to your everyday life, start with a specific goal in mind. Then focus your subsequent actions on being stepping-stones to make that goal a reality.
The River Principle
Imagine water swiftly flowing along in a river current. Suddenly, a huge rock appears, reaching above the surface. That onrushing water smartly wastes no time on the rock. The water doesn’t butt heads with its opposition, trying to prove which is more powerful. It’s not about power. It’s about persistence. You only need to look at the immensity of the Grand Canyon, produced by five to six million years of continual water erosion, to know that water can eventually carve a path of its own choosing through solid rock
The water has naturally devised a better way, a more efficient way. Water doesn’t focus on where the rock is. Instead, water focuses on where the rock is not. It takes the path of least resistance, never losing sight of its primary goal of reaching the sea.
Don’t misunderstand the River Principle—it is not an exercise in passivity. Consider the concept of a dam. When confronted with a dam, there will be times when a river’s progress and seizing upon the path of least resistance isn’t immediately possible. But the idea isn’t to flow forward at all costs. Don’t be afraid to err on the side of patience. When stopped by a dam, the water behind it begins to rise. It continues to amass potential energy, waiting for an exploitable weakness. During that time, we are recouping previously spent energy and planning our next move. When an exploitable weakness appears, perhaps a slight crack in the dam, we seize upon it instantly.
The Reconnaissance Principle
In jiu-jitsu, the author uses a technique referred to as “drummer,” especially when sparring with someone with whom he has never grappled before. From either the top or bottom position, he
uses his hands much like a drummer would, slapping and touching, often in rapid-fire fashion. With every touch, he’s gaining information on what the opponent will do in certain situations and how they react to different stimuli. It’s a matter of taking a personal survey, like an auto mechanic running a diagnostic on a car. Throughout the process, he’s being extremely observant and proactive in acquiring knowledge to use later on. Usually, he does something very deliberate to evoke a response. But other times, the reconnaissance is incidental.
The more relaxed you are as a practitioner, the more information you can gather. Once you know what your opponent’s predictable response will be, you can more easily create counters using the Creation Principle. And the better you understand which boulders the opponent will use in an attempt to stop your flow, the more prepared you’ll be to use the River Principle to find an alternate path.
Consider trying to discover the exact location in which air is leaking from a car or bicycle tire. You absolutely know there’s a leak because every few days your tire pressure is low and you need to pump additional air. So how can you pinpoint the leak? Submerging the tire in water will do it instantly. Just follow the escaping air bubbles coming to the surface. It’s the same on the jiu-jitsu mat. Put the opponent under pressure, and he or she will display to you their weaknesses. That’s the theory behind the Reconnaissance Principle.
The Prevention Principle
In a fight or in life, it’s natural to prioritize our own needs, wants, and overall successes before anyone else’s in pursuit of our goals. The Prevention Principle, however, teaches us to consider an alternate path to success. Whenever you’re up against a much bigger, stronger adversary, instead of focusing solely on what you want to do to them, your main goal should be to stop the opponent from achieving their objectives against you. After all, self-defense is one of the art’s primary goals. Accepting the Prevention Principle, and therefore changing your definition of success, allows you to take control from every position in a grapple. That’s because the basic mindset of an opponent is to keep advancing forward. So, no matter which position you occupy at any given moment, be it superior, neutral, or inferior, stopping your opponent’s progress puts you in control. And that is a victory. Consider this: How do you get the tug-of-war toy out of a dog’s clenched jaws? Simply stop pulling.
If you can stop your opponent’s progress for any length of time, say for thirty or forty seconds, it may very well result in you achieving victory in a different form such as a submission or an escape from any inferior position. How so? Your opponent will certainly get tired and discouraged. Your patience will perhaps open the door to securing your own progress by provoking in your opponent an overreaction. Remember, during the process of stopping an opponent’s progress, we experience much of what they have to offer.
The Prevention Principle and the Reconnaissance Principle are extremely similar in that respect, and they often work together. We want to know what’s on an opponent’s mind, what his reactions will be. Your success in this, though, rests upon your knowledge of the techniques, because you can’t stop what you don’t understand. This process of gathering information might even make it seem as if we have no place better to be than to block, hold, and posture. But once we know that we can neutralize an opponent, we can move more efficiently towards another victory, however it may be defined.