Rickson Gracie and also his BlackBelt Henry Atkins are famous for their 'Invisible JiuJitsu'. I thought some here might find his discription of what he is doing interesting and convergent with some of the IMA goals or methods.
Man, how you going to explain the taste of wine for somebody who never try it or never see it? It’s hard…
The invisible aspect of jiu-jitsu for me by far the greatest and the most interesting. Because it is not based on what I see it. It is based on how I feel it. That’s why it is invisible. It’s not about seeing. You may see the same guard position, but you feel different if you put pressure here, if you lie a little more here. So the invisible results are the ones that really please me because they are the ones that I really deeply felt you know?
That’s what I try to promote is the capacity once you have to have to develop their own sensitivity for what is invisible.
Balance for example is invisible because it has to be connected with my opponent’s energy. If you push me I have to have my balance based on that push. And if you pull me I have to shift everything and be able to keep my balance on that pull.
So it is an invisible deal of adjustment and weight distribution and connection which has fused the purpose of feeling the pressure or adding pressure or escaping from the pressure or keeping the control or whatever is the position. But for me you saw about those details which makes amazingly different a sense of “Wow man! Now I can feel.” And when the students say to me “Wow man, I understand now!”…wow its not about the visible, what is visible. But is how you feel it and you know it’s experience man which keep me in the game because I love to give that feeling of the students feeling what is supposed to be impossible but based on the invisible aspect you say “Wow! That’s simple.” And that’s amazing man. It’s a special feeling.
Yes, you have to basically relax.
You can not fight using power. Then everything that you are able to do which is in the relaxed mode based on angles, based on weight distribution. You minimize your efforts and you maximize your results. And that is your seeking for the invisible aspects.
Which, the less power you do, the better results you do, you get something right my friend. That’s the way.
The way to seek the invisible aspect is the way where you lose the physical resources and become more like gentle and allowing yourself to the minimal effort and the little angles and stuff you start to become better in your results.
Once you get that direction you start to seeking for that easy way to resolve all of the problems. And then you need the right path.