Cooler than a polar bear's toenails.
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Cooler than a polar bear's toenails.
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"You can think thoughts in different languages that you can't even express in English." For my last post, I wrote about some methods you can use to improve your jiu-jitsu game. In doing so, I used the analogy that jiu jitsu was like learning a new language. Throughout the day, my mind came back to that. I realized that the two pursuits had much more in common than I expected, which led me into a study of both. A bit of background. I learned English as my first language and, as both my parents speak Spanish, I've achieved a level of fluency that could be described as "competent". When speaking Spanish, I still make grammar mistakes at times (or stumble over a word) but for the most part, I don't have to consciously translate what I want to say. I even dream in Spanish on occasion! I picked up jiu-jitsu before I started really learning wrestling, though I had learned bits of wrestling in BJJ and been to various wrestling camps. Over time, I also got to the point in jiu jitsu where, much like speaking Spanish, movements became second nature. It wasn't as much of a struggle as it was in the beginning, but of course, I'm nowhere near an expert, and still learning. During this quarantine, I made it a point to start learning Esperanto using various online courses and books. My dad had been interested in the language for quite some time and he can speak and understand it well. While attempting to wrap my head around this new language and all of its quirks, I've been thinking back to my time learning wrestling, and the similarities of introducing new fields of knowledge. What really blew my mind was the sentence that opened this blog post. The very idea that there are thoughts that I couldn't think in English was very unnerving! When I played with the idea, though, it made total sense. Languages are based on culture, vocabulary, and grammar. Changing any of those things would drastically influence a person's view on the world. This is known as Whorfianism or linguistic relativity. There are two versions of this theory: a "strong" version that says that language determines thought, and a "weak" version that says that language only influences thought. While the question of which version is correct is subject to debate among linguists, both versions agree that language has a strong effect on a person. Ayn Rand's book Anthem is a great example of this. In it, the characters have been stripped of their sense of individuality by society. As a result, they only refer to themselves with pronouns like "we", "us," and "they". At the end of the book, the protagonist, after leaving society, rediscovers the word "I", and with it, individuality. From Anthem: 'It was when I read the first of the books I found in my house that I saw the word “I.” And when I understood this word, the book fell from my hands, and I wept, I who had never known tears. I wept in deliverance and in pity for all mankind.' In Spanish, the words "tu" and "usted" both serve the purpose of acknowledging another person, much like "you" in English, but with regards to status. "Tu" is used when addressing someone of equal or lower status, while "usted" is used when talking to someone of higher status, like an elder, or a government official. Spanish also has gender applied to many of its words, something that English lacks. The Piraha tribe of the Amazon rainforest speaks a simple language with no words for numbers, colors, or letters. Their language also has no past tense. It's hypothesized that, because of this, they have no perception of time. When an event has passed for them, it would have effectively ceased to exist. After spending several years living with the tribe, linguist Dan Everett concluded that the Piraha could not learn the concept of numbers. This video from the Smithsonian Channel shows Dan Everett with the Piraha: (credits to the Smithsonian Channel) With a language like the Piraha's or the one Ayn Rand describes, you're severely limited in terms of self expression. To remove the boundaries placed upon you by your native language, you must go out of your way to learn others and expand your mind. Where languages are dictated by culture and grammar, the martial arts are built around various rulesets that determine what you can and can't do. Martial arts can be thought of as a conversation, as there's a lot of give and take as competitors trade moves back and forth. One must always have an answer for their opponent's question (they shoot, I sprawl. I sprawl, they peak out, etc.) In this way, techniques and positions can be compared to words in languages. Similar to there being concepts you can't think in other languages, there are positions and moves you simply can't achieve in other martial arts. Let's say your aim is to become the most well rounded grappler possible. You start by learning wrestling. With the aim of wrestling being to control an opponent, it focuses on takedowns, pins, and rides (control techniques). Wrestling's point system strongly favors aggression and rewards being good at taking someone to the mat, something jiu jitsu rules don't. Coming from a wrestling background, your knowledge of takedowns and pressure is much greater than a jiu jitsu player's. The rules of wrestling differentiate it from Brazilian jiu jitsu where there's no value given to back exposure whatsoever and the point is to submit the opponent. As a result of not being used to submission holds, wrestlers sometimes have a hard time transitioning to MMA or BJJ, and the other way around. Because of the lack of these techniques, wrestling can't be a complete grappling system by itself. You start training jiu jitsu to fill in the gaps. By combining these together, you quickly become very knowledgeable in both forms of grappling and are able to create your own unique style. Brazilian jiu jitsu is unique in that a lot of it's matwork revolves around using the guard. Being a position where you lay with your back on the mat and use your legs to control the opponent, the guard can only appear in rulesets where you aren't being pinned if you're using it. Without knowledge of this position you can't become a complete submission grappler, as knowing it opens up thousands of possibilities. But jiu jitsu isn't a complete system by itself, either, at least not at first. Since its creation, practicioners of the art have taken inspiration from other arts like wrestling and judo and modified techniques to work in various rulesets. Here's a good example from BJJ Scout of a wrestling technique working in wrestling, BJJ and even mixed martial arts (credits to the BJJ Scout YouTube channel) Languages are the same way, always evolving and taking words from other languages. Many of the English words you use in your everyday conversations are from different cultures, including some that you may not have realized, like "cookie" which doesn't actually come from "to cook" but instead the Dutch koek (cakes) So how can we use the comparison to learn more efficiently? The app Duolingo does a great job of teaching a language in a digestible format. Instead of teaching a language like a book would, which would be giving lists of words to memorize, Duolingo gives you full sentences. In this way, users aren't bored by endless practice of standalone words. Instead, they subconsciously begin to understand a language through practicing sentences which build upon each other. This is very similar to systems-based learning a la John Danaher or Lachlan Giles. Their instructionals provide not single moves but combinations, which are many times more helpful. By understanding how an opponent can counter a move, your understanding of the initial move deepens. Duolingo also uses spaced repetition. Lessons previously completed by a student can "break" after time, calling upon a student to go back and redo them. In this way, students are forced to remember past lessons. This has been proven to be an efficient form of memory training: when you learn with time intervals, things stick more. Applying spaced repetition to your jiu jitsu training is relatively easy. You can start off by keeping a journal of your classes (which is a great idea by itself) and writing down both the techniques you're learning in class, as well as the roadblocks you're having. Revisit this journal often. During open mats or after class, take the journal and use it to practice techniques that you maybe hadn't thought about in a while. You'll find yourself remembering techniques much more. As weird as it sounds, talking to yourself also helps. When learning a language, your goal is to eventually become fluent and not only be able to speak but also to think in the language. The martial arts are the same way. When you reach a certain level of competence in jiu jitsu, your reactions to an opponent's movements are instinctive rather than voluntary. But you have to be able to "think in jiu jitsu" first. I talked a lot about visualization in my last post and I'll talk about it again. When you're trying to understand a language, you should spend time during your day walking around making sentences in your head, eventually working up to imaginary conversations. It's an essential step on your road to fluency. Jiu jitsu is the same way; it can be very beneficial to imagine yourself rolling in your head or perhaps drilling techniques. Doing this allows your brain to make the connections between movement and subconscious thought. The excellent podcast Jiu Jitsu Mental Models refers to this as meditative drilling. Of course, be careful to use proper technique when visualizing (and proper grammar when talking to yourself) to prevent bad habits from forming. But of course, no pursuit of learning a language would be complete without hours upon hours of conversing and talking with a partner. No matter how many books you read and songs you listen to in the language, you won't achieve competence until you're comfortable talking and you can express yourself freely. Sparring in the martial arts serves the same purpose. When you enter a sparring session (or a conversation) anything can happen. You have to be prepared for whatever situation arises, and it can really highlight some of your weaknesses. To get the most out of it though, pay attention to what mistakes you're making. Videotape yourself so you can look back later from an outside perspective! Finally, we can look at concepts to boost our learning. I heard Ryan Hall say this in a podcast with Lex Fridman. Hall actually mentioned languages as well, saying that by focusing on grammar rules, you can learn languages easily. He says that once you know what the types of words are (verbs, nouns, adjectives, etc) and understand how to use them correctly, it makes everything a lot easier. In summary, Languages and jiu jitsu are both very complex, cerebral hobbies with many moving parts. By understanding how they work and breaking them down, as well as using deliberate study methods, you can elevate your learning to the next level. Above everything, keep it fun! Switch up how you learn, and always be improving. go get it done!!! - rick
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