Rob Wilson

S.E.E.

A couple of weeks ago I was in rural Tennessee for Carry Trainer S12. Every year for the last five years, @carrytrainer has run this event to teach ordinary people the skills to protect life: combatives, pistol foundations, and basic emergency medicine.

On day one, @instructor_zee, part of the core instructor cadre, briefed the students on two things to keep in mind all week.

1. Be safe. That’s obvious when twenty-odd firearms are going off on one line around people you don’t know.
2. Be effective. Are you training for the outcome you want? Have you defined that outcome to begin with?

The longer I thought about it, the more places I saw it apply.
Jiu jitsu was at the top of the list.

SAFE. Jiu jitsu is dangerous by nature, and we still look after our partners. That’s the infinite game. Do you only want to win this round, or do you want to keep playing for years? Health, performance, longevity. It all starts here.

EFFECTIVE. Being effective means getting the outcome you set out to get. Every session needs a clear purpose, chased with full effort, focus and intent, at every scale. Do you know why you do this at all? Do you know what today is for, and what this rep is for? That’s training on purpose.

I’m adding a third.

EFFICIENT. While you work to stay in the game and hit your outcomes, do you know what it’s costing you? Do you know where you’re wasting energy? Efficiency is at the core of jiu jitsu: using your energy in the best way possible to maximize your outcomes with the least amount of cost.

Safe. Effective. Efficient. Next time you train, SEE what you’re doing.