Innovation

It can be hard to be a good martial arts student.

There are just so many versions of everything, even within a clearly defined art.

For example, the Rener and Ryron version of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu has a particular grip that is used whenever double underhooks are achieved in a clinch. Their uncle, Royce Gracie, teaches the same movement with different grip. A difference, even within a single martial arts family. They even live in the same suburbs in LA, for Pete's sake.

Which is better? Which should we do?

Simple; you stick to one version, but be aware of the other. We are learning the Rener/Ryron version, and future movements that they teach may be predicated on the grip they expect us to be using.

We aren't learning a collection of movements, but an entire art as interpreted our head instructors.

If that argument isn't enough, how about this one. Suppose you like Royce's grip better, and start doing it all the time. Let's say you pick up what you think are better ways to do certain other movements. Then you do a belt-stripe exam. You can get away with a maximum of 20 “mistakes”. Let's say you do really well, and only do a dozen real mistakes. You also perform your version of other moves without thinking, and the examiner counts these as errors as well. You might just fail.

This is perfectly fair. They are quite up-front about their exams being aimed at exactly the material they teach, done in exactly the manner they expect you to perform them.

I find there to be more than enough material to master without going looking for extra versions of things.

This may sound funny being the guy from our school that trains in other places more than anybody else.

In 2014 and 2015 I have trained for a total of 3.5 months away from home. This does not contradict my philosophy at all, as every one of the 127 classes I attended were presented by my own organization.

Am I a robot, mindlessly following my leaders? Don't be silly. I learned this approach years ago in Shotokan Karate. I had to get good enough at doing things precisely their way. There wasn't anything left to dedicate to much else. I didn't avoid picking outside things up, but didn't hunt different stuff out either.

To me; it's a lot like learning to read English. When they teach you the alphabet, they expect you to learn it the way it's being taught. They don't want you deciding to use German vowel sounds rather than English, or adding in Cyrillic characters. Those are totally different things. Neither better nor worse, but not all that useful in learning to read English.

I like the Japanese version of fiddling with one's martial art. They believe that it's a job left to the highest of the masters. At a minimum, tinkering should be left to those with experience in an art that is measured in decades.

I was a 30 year guy in Shotokan, and still didn't consider myself advanced enough to tinker. In Jiu-Jitsu, I'm a baby with under four years experience.

I think Royce Gracie's version of the double-underhook clinch grip is great, and if I were his student I'd be happy to do it that way.

But I'm not.