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Jun
13
I’m a fan of simplicity—in jiu-jitsu and in life. In jiu-jitsu I like the moves that are straight forward and effective, the moves that after you learn one, it’s so simple, that you’re mad at yourself because you didn’t think of it before—simple is good.
I just learned a new way to hold the crossbody position, of course I learned it from one of my students, it is so simple and effective I wondered why I had not learned it before. Now that I think about it, I don’t care why I didn’t learn it before, I’m just glad I know it now.
According to Leonardo Da Vinci “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Sophistication is actually the lack of simplicity—it’s something, according to its definition, that is highly complicated. So what Da Vinci is saying is that simplicity is the ultimate complexity. It’s a paradox. It’s a contradiction. What he is saying is the most complicated thing in the world is simplicity. That’s why we can’t see it.
Moving down your opponent’s body six or seven inches while in crossbody and controlling his hips with your hips is simple and effective. It’s not sophisticated, it’s not complex, it’s simplicity.
