A good grappler can make their partner’s Jiujitsu look terrible, but a great grappler can make their partner’s Jiujitsu look great. If we don’t know enough to guide our partner, that’s fair, but we should at least move for experience and learning opportunities. If we do know enough to guide we should, and it’s another level of our technical evolution. Just because we don’t need to move in a roll doesn’t mean we shouldn’t.
If we aren’t threatened technically by our training partner we should at least guide them through a dance they’ll appreciate and learn from, while challenging ourselves with narrow escapes and near submissions. We should cultivate grace. Defend at the last second, or defend only the last detail they need for the submission. Play catch and release with subs and guard passes. Keep it moving. We don’t twist their heads off, as we also don’t lay as a dead fish. We work towards technical aggression, not wreckless physicality or its opposite, docile acceptance.
We practice this balance, smoothing our rolls for longevity and sharpening our techniques towards mastery, through lending a helping hand to others. Save smash or be smashed for another time, in training meet them halfway. For ourself and our partners, and our team.
Train. Belong. Evolve.