Thing s to Try

Pick just one submission to focus on for a week.

Concentrate on how your hips are moving while sparring.

Find a way to make your hips as heavy as possible while passing.

Drill a sweep you didn’t like the first time you learned it.

Take two different posit ions and figure out how to transition between them.

Pick one posit ion and work on it for a month .

Try a new move today .

Pick a move you don’t use enough and drill it before class for a week.

Draw a diagram of a move that explains its mechanics.

Write down how to do the last move you learned with as much detail as possible.

Draw a flow chart of the posit ions you use and how you transitions between them.

Try a new move just because it looks fun.

Almost let a white belt tap you today .

See how long you can hold a “strange” posit ion while sparring.

Let people pass your guard so you can work on your escapes.

Pick your least favorite posit ion and work on it.

Teach your favorite move to someone who doesn’t know it.

Put together a three move combination and drill it.

Fight from top as much as possible for a week.

Don’t close your guard in sparring today .

Find a “fancy” move and see if it really is that fancy .

Drill the escapes to the last submission you got caught in.

Make a combination of three guard passe s that have you go over, under and around the legs.

Ask a lower belt for his perspective on something.

Try to stand up from guard more often .

Try to take the back from every where .

Watch and study higher belts sparring.

Figure out how much your game changes with and without the gi.

Stretch before and after train ing.

Play guard as much as possible for a week.

Replay a round of sparring in your head as you’re going to sleep .

“Steal” a good move from someone else.

Coach two white belts against each other .

Make your intentions obvious and see if you can still get the move.

Focus on controlling your breathing.

Set a faster pace than norma l.

Set a slower pace than norma l.

Move slowly and deliberately while sparring today .

Move fast and light with sparring today .

See how long you can hold mount .

See how many transition s you can do in one round .

Find a high level competitor with your body type and try to emulate him.

Stop halfway through a move and see how long you can maintain control.

Try a dumb move today .

Spar with your eyes closed.

Try sparring two people at once.

Hold knee- on- belly for as long as you can in sparring today .

Stand to pass guard this week.

Don’t use one of your arms today .

Work on your rear mount escapes.

Try holding side control on a balance ball to develop pressure.

Compare where you are now to where you were 6 month s ago.

Try not using your arms at all while sparring today .

Drill level changes and penetration steps today .

Take a minute to do as many repetition s of the armbar from mount as possible.

Do a full round of sparring from under side control.

Train transitions instead of posit ions.

Figure out a way to improve your scramble.

Draw a picture of how you think of a certain movement.

Pick the toughest person at your gym and spar with them.

Only use moves you learned as a white belt today .

Put in extra repetition s on your bad side.

Be single-minded in going for what you learned and drilled in class today .

Fine tune your choke s with feedback from your train ing partner.

See how long you can hold the triangle posit ion without finishing the submission .

Put yours elf in submission s and see if you can get out.

Approach old moves like they’ re completely new to you.