High-Percentage Submission – a technique that enjoys a relatively high rate of success compared to other submissions, usually due to one or both of the following:

• It can be attacked with from relatively common positions in grappling
• It makes use of the body’s strongest muscle groups and involves powerful, full-body compound movements to control and submit the opponent (this is why I don’t consider wristlocks high-percentage submissions, no matter how devastating they can be as surprise attacks. They rely only on your hand and forearm strength to control your opponent’s wrist, as opposed in an armbar, where you’re using your legs, core and hips against the relatively weak neck and grip muscles of your opponent).

Primary Submission – a submission that you have concentrated your time and effort into mastering and that you have an 80%+ finish rate with. This will be the cornerstone of your offensive sequence and your eventual larger gameplan that will be built around it. This should be a high-percentage submission.

Offensive Sequence – a chain of techniques that takes you from any relatively common position in grappling to winning via submission. For example:

Double-leg Takedown -> Side-Control -> Kimura

Principle of Specificity – a principle in the world of sports and athletics that basically states that you get good at what you train. Therefore, all training should simulate the goal of performance as closely as possible. If your goal is to get good at weightlifting, you lift weights. If your goal is to get good at stretching you stretch. If your goal is to get good at jiu-jitsu, you do jiu-jitsu – that is, you roll. For more on the principle of specificity, click here.

Technical Skill – your ability to do jiu-jitsu and execute techniques while applying as little strength as possible. You can train this by focusing on pure technical application and essentially using no strength during your rolls. This will feel strange at first, but you will find that training this way improves your ability to stay relaxed when you roll, which will prevent you from getting tired as quickly and allow you to see more opportunities and execute techniques more effectively. Learning how to do this has a massive carry-over to success in competition.