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10 Core

Principles Of Small Circle jujitsu

There are 10 core principles that define Small circle Jujitsu

  1. 1
    Balance
  2. 2
    Mobility and Stability
  3. 3
    Avoiding Head On Collision Of Forces
  4. 4
    Mental Resistance And Distraction
  5. 5
    Focus On The Smallest Point Possible
  6. 6
    Energy Transfer
  7. 7
    Creating A Base
  8. 8
    Control And Sensitivity
  9. 9
    Rotational Momentum
  10. 10
    Transitional Flow


Wally Jay's Small Circle Jujitsu

Balance

Balance is a principle that is important not only to small circle jiu-jitsu but to other martial arts as well. In a simple sense, balance is about standing your ground. Balance is important in small circle jiu-jitsu because it enables you to go back to your original position or transition from one stance to another after attempting an attack.

In small circle jiu-jitsu, one way to practice balance is to maintain good posture when executing kicks, punches, etc. Learn to have a good sense of balance and you will harness the maximum power available when defending or attacking. With good balance, you'll be able to deliver more powerful blows and evade or defend against attacks directed at you.

In contrast, it will be handy if you know ways to render your opponent off balance. You can do this by tripping his feet using kicks, foot locks, or making him dizzy. When you're opponent is off-balance, it will be easier for you to find openings and dominate the match completely.

Mobility and stability

Mobility and stability pertain to how you move and how you maintain balance. The secret to excellent mobility and stability lies in how you control your center of gravity. Lowering your center of gravity gives you greater stability and decreases mobility. On the other hand, increasing your center of gravity increases your mobility and decreases stability.

When standing up, your center of gravity is found at your midsection- hips, legs, etc. Increasing stability is useful if you're defending yourself against an attack. Mobility, on the other hand, is handy if you're planning to attack or is finding an opening to launch an attack. Use mobility and stability in transition and your opponent will find it hard to protect himself or attack you.

Also, don't forget that your mind plays a central role for you to be mobile and stable. Thinking that you're light as the paper will help you move faster. On the other hand, telling your mind that you're as heavy as steel will help you become more stable. You may not believe these, but try it and you will see that they're true.

Avoid head-on collision of forces

In small circle jiu-jitsu, it is important that you learn how to avoid your opponent's attacks effectively. Avoiding attacks will help you prevent critical damage while fighting. It also gives you the opportunity to launch a counter-attack if you're opponent is not very agile or mobile. In small circle jiu-jitsu, this is practiced by avoiding head-on collision force.

So how do you avoid head-on collision force? You can do this by deflecting, blending, evading or redirecting. Deflecting attacks means that you move the force of the attack away from you. Blending, on the other hand, means that you incorporate the force of the incoming attack in your body. Evading means that you render the incoming attack useless by not letting it contact you physically. Lastly, redirecting means you guide the force of the incoming attack toward another location or target

Additionally, you need to remember that avoiding head-on collision force is done differently in small circle jiu-jitsu compared to other martial arts. In small circle jiu-jitsu, you do not avoid by pivoting in towards your opponent. You should move away from him instead. Masters recommend that you do this by doing a 45 or 90 degrees movement going to the right or left.

Mental resistance and distraction

"A martial artist has more than physical aspects", says Claire Bouchard on a TEDx talk given at Columbia University in New York City in November 2012. This is one statement that small circle jiu-jitsu agrees without any arguments. Fighting is more than just brawns, it should also include brains- small circle jiu-jitsu recognizes this.

Every human being has the ability to resist pain. Scientists call this pain tolerance. Various people have different degrees of pain tolerance. You may control the pain you're feeling using the right exercises. For example, when an opponent has managed to give you a wristlock, stop resisting and relax your mind instead. Think about the point where the pain is felt and picture the agonizing sensation starting to disappear.

After doing this, you'll be surprised that you feel lighter and lesser pain is felt. This might be hard to do at first, but keep practicing and you'll see that it really works.

Distraction, on the other hand, plays a vital role when launching an offense or counter-attack. Distract your opponent by using feints or attacking the weak areas of his body. Doing this successfully will enable you to escape from a lock, find an opening or deal greater damage to your opponent. 

Focusing on the smallest point possible

It is important that you attack by focusing on the smallest point possible. You can do this by having precision and clear intent to lethally damage your opponent when doing chokeholds, locks, punches, kicks, etc. Quickly assess which part of your opponent's body is weakest. After you know which is which, attack without holding back and let it land without fail on your intended target.

By focusing the smallest point possible, the force of your attack will have lesser spread and will deal more damage to your opponent. Trust me, attacks that don't have focus and precision are ineffective and are a waste of stamina.

Energy transfer

Energy transfer means applying force from one area to the next. Personally, Learn to place your attacks on different parts of your opponent's body to follow or observe the principle of energy transfer. Punching or kicking your opponent in the head or abdomen and then following it with a joint lock is a good example of energy transfer. Doing a counterattack after evading or blending the attack of your opponent is another example.

Energy transfer is useful for finding openings, rendering your opponent defenseless, and dominating the fight completely. Always attempt to hit various parts of your opponent's body with focus and precision for you to do this.

Jointlock Drill

Creating A Base

Sometimes, your opponent will manage to lock your wrist, legs, arms, etc. During these situations, you wouldn't want your opponent to dominate you completely and restrict your movements. This is where the principle of creating a base becomes useful. It will help you recover from being locked or held by your opponent.

The purpose of creating a base is to prevent your opponent from executing further techniques while he has you locked. A base is anything that can provide you support while you're trying to break free from him. Table, floor, mat, and even your body can be used as a base.

Control and Sensitivity

Evading and attacking is useless if you don't have control and sensitivity. Control means that you stick to your opponent. Follow your opponent wherever he goes inside the mat and always be alert of his actions. By doing this you'll be able to land kicks, punches. locks, and holds one after another. Your control depends on focus and mobility. After all, how will you keep up with your opponent if you're distracted and is slower than him?

Sensitivity, on the other hand, means that you learn to predict the movements of your opponent. It relies on your reflexes and instinct. It is easier for you to execute spur-of-the-moment attacks and evade if your instincts and reflexes are sharp. Sensitivity ensures that you will not be caught off-guard when fighting. Also, sensitivity helps you to keep up with your opponent's movements.

Rotational momentum

Rotational momentum is all about using your opponent's force against him (those who watched Kung Fu Panda 2 will understand this principle easily). This principle makes it possible for you to deal with your opponent by using minimal force. For example, if you've managed to get a hold of your opponent's arms or body, he will try to break away from you by rotating. Instead of not allowing him to rotate, let him do his thing but don't forget to change direction or rotate with him. Doing this will add an additional force to his initial movement that is enough to make him lose balance or offset his rhythm.

Rotational momentum is particularly useful when defending, finding an opening and initiating counter attacks. Utilize this principle and you will catch your opponent off guard.

Transitional flow

Transitional flow is all about the smoothness of the execution of one attack to another. You can think of it as the efficiency of the combination of various attacks available in small circle jiu-jitsu. Transitional flow makes it possible for you to efficiently use punches, kicks, holds, and locks in perfect combination with one another.

In practice, there are existing combinations that masters teach to their students. For example, after evading an attack and finding an opening, it is best that a punch or lock follows this movement. After breaking free from a lock, it's recommended to move away from the opponent to recover balance or launch a counter-attack. Joint locks can also be used one after another to incapacitate opponents.

Transitional Flow

Wrapping it up: are the 10 principles all equally important?

An absolute "yes" is my answer to this question. The 10 principles discussed here make the foundation of successful training in small circle jiu-jitsu. Without these principles, it is just a plain martial art with no significant difference with other fighting styles. To put it simply, these 10 principles make small circle jiu-jitsu unique and each of these works hand in hand with one another.

Learn these 1o principles beforehand and small circle jiu-jitsu training will be easier to understand. They will give you the fundamental knowledge that will help you grasp techniques on small circle jiu-jitsu. Learn them and fight like a grandmaster!