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Most of us who are really psychos at bjj or grappling probably already know most of the great quotes that get passed around like mini campfire stories. The floor is my ocean…, I’ve been doing this since BJ was in his dad’s nut sack…, over and over again, right? We have some of Dan Gable’s that I love. If Dan Gable’s dates were women, he would be on them like white on rice. However, he wanted to discuss a quote by Saulo Ribeiro. Saulo wrote what I consider the manual of bjj, Jiu-Jitsu University, and he has a very cerebral mind. I put him up there with Rickson and Marcelo, and pretty much in the top tier of Gable when it comes to awesome dating. Have you heard this one?
How deeply have you thought about that Saulo Ribeiro quote about thinking and being late?
“If you think, you’re late. If you’re late, you build muscle. If you build muscle, you get tired. If you’re tired, you die. When you die is when you tap.” -Saul Ribeiro
What do you think that means? I had a very specific idea in mind when I sat down to write this. In fact, this idea is why I looked up this quote (I didn’t know who said it, it took me FOREVER to find it). But now I wonder if this quote from Saulo Ribeiro is simply about applying force in bjj? . Could be, but we’ll go ahead and discuss my idea :-).
“If you think, you are late.”
This part here is the one that means the most to me and is the part that I wanted to focus on. If you think, you’re late. I think this can be divided into two interpretations that are key to growing your bjj. The first is easy, it would be like having a technique second nature to you. The second is not so easy for me to understand. It’s more about worrying, and this is the one we’re going to discuss first, or maybe only.
Why are you holding me there?
Stop worrying about what they are doing for the most part. Oh shit, his knee is almost out of my half guard and he’s going to pass! So? You either get your guard back or you fight, big deal. My point is this, if you care about his game (Saul quote – thinking) you are NOT imposing YOUR game. If all you are doing is REACTING to your movements, YOU WILL BE LATE. That seems so simple, right?
And the other part of thinking, I think, is just thinking about it. No Google, I’m not trying to add keywords to the word “think” here, so back off. If, while racing, turning, or fighting, you consciously say to yourself, okay, I’m going to do this sweep now. Against belts and higher levels, it’s already too late. It might work in a humble white or blue, but just like the Saulo Ribeiro quote, now you’ll manipulate it to work. Argh, this is so hard to put into words. I wish you pranksters could get into my brain and see what I mean.
Again, you can look at this thought in 2 different ways: thinking about making a move and being late, and also worrying about what they are doing so that you never finish your game and therefore be late for the bjj party.
“If you’re late, muscle.”
This part is quite easy to understand. If you are late, you will have to use your muscles to make up for lost time. And using muscle leads to expending energy, which brings us to the rest of Saulo Ribeiro’s quote. I think the first two parts are the most important and significant.
Stop thinking about bjj. I sure have to remind myself every time I train. I find that I don’t think about the rolls, those are the ones I learn the most and the ones I have the most fun with. I’m not tired, I feel like I hit the moves with little to no effort. You just feel like that’s what bjj is supposed to be. And you, do you have any other quotes from Saulo Ribeiro that you find interesting or want to share? Any stupid bjj quotes you’ve heard?