So, as I mentioned on Friday, I’m up in the mountains with family for the holidays. For a couple of days we have been snowmobiling, which got me thinking about jiu jitsu.
There is a similarity, I swear.
We have been primarily sticking to groomed trails- and I’m not sure if this is common of all snowmobile skis, but the ones that we had left distinct tracks, a somewhat deep line in the snow.
I was following another snowmobile, and found that it was difficult and kind of a bumpy ride to Follow directly in the tracks of the machine in front of me: I had more control when I got out of those tracks that were being made immediately in front of me, but still staying in the groomed trail.
How on earth does this relate to jiu jitsu? Well, think of it this way: there are those who have paved the way for us in jiu jitsu, grooming the trail for us so we have the most likely oath the success. To remain directly behind someone however is to also get stuck in their tracks- to an extent you can use something close to the same direction as the person who has gone in front of you, but you will have a smoother ride and more control when you get out of those person’s tracks and create your own.
That’s not to say go completely off the groomed trail, or to completely ignore the person that is in front of you. But to follow directly in their trail may make things more difficult than they have to be: sometimes you have to create your own tracks in the snow.
Just a thought I wanted to share. Also, I did end up getting stuck at one point, but it gave me time to take a photo of the beautiful scenery I was in the midst of, so enjoy:
Have a great day everyone!
A Skirt on the Mat 