14: How to win
Most new fighters focus on the submissions. I did, and for a long time. I thought the secret to beating my opponent was knowing how to choke him or break his arm. Like most new fighters, I was mistaken.
Last week, I was behind my friend’s back, with my legs locked around his belly in a triangle hold. When he tried to remove my legs with his hands, he left his neck exposed. When he protected his neck with his hands, he left my legs free to squeeze. He happen to worry about his neck more than his ribs, so I squeezed him and suffocated him slowly, depriving him minute by minute of just a little more of the air he needed. My hands were only a distraction from the real choke, which was happening at his diaphragm.
Whether I knew how to choke him or submit him was absolutely unimportant. My position was important. From that position, I was invulnerable and he was exposed. From his back, I could take as long as I wanted to beat him. If I had been fighting on the street, I could have hit him with strikes, choked him, waited for the cops, or just sat there listening to my podcasts. My position was so good that it made submissions unnecessary.
Principle 10: Position is more important than submission
This is an important principle, and one that even experienced judoka ignore. Get the position, then go for the submission. The position secures the victory.