No Idea

​My overall takeaway from Pans this weekend is that the United States Jiu Jitsu community has almost no idea what they’re doing as a whole. There are absolutely pockets of people that this does not apply to, but generally I saw more people lose on strategy than anything else. This is a game, especially at a high level and if you’re not playing it, why wouldn’t you lose? I found many interesting things throughout the matches I watched, but more than anything, the strategy was a determining factor in success or failure of many athletes. Here’s my controversial take for the day: don’t put the idea of competition into people’s heads if you’re not going to at least attempt to drive them towards success. If you don’t want to focus on competition Jiu Jitsu, don’t, but be upfront about what that means for people who do want to compete. It’s not the way it used to be, this is becoming an actual sport. If you don’t treat it that way, unfortunately the consequences are drastic.