GrahamB wrote:Two opposing views are 1) keep working on all your weak parts of your game, becoming ok at everything or... 2) work more on your strong parts so they get really good and you never need to worry about your missing areas.
Whenever it came to these questions I always enjoyed getting the perspective of my judo coach since bjj came mainly from judo. From him I remember him saying that most will only master 2 or 3 throws but that you still learn them all to find which works for you and learn the concepts since sometimes those "other throws" will work for you and from that I have to say that it is probably a little of both. Focus on your strengths but not to the detriment of everything else.
I also recall Ryan Hall eventually dropping the triangle because he wasn't learning anything else and didn't see the point since he was able to triangle everyone. He also seemed to carry the idea that there was no point in destroying someone with less skill but rather using it as an opportunity to learn or try something new.
For me, I actually enjoyed just playing with and toying with different concepts and the hyper competitiveness of most gyms just did not interest me because most guys would only rely on their strengths. I imagine that if you can find a happy balance you and your partners will enjoy rolling more than just using the same techniques all the time. In the end I did it for my own enjoyment but due to the crazy cost of living here I had to put it aside and focus on work and making money
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire