For kids, with techniques such as the double leg takedown, sometimes they don’t finish the takedown. Part of it could be they’re not holding the legs tightly enough, so the partner can walk back, and part of it is the student is not pushing hard enough. It could be that they don’t have enough conviction or they’re trying to protect their partner.

But it’s OK. If it fails in practice, as long as the technique is correct, it’ll work when you actually need it. Why? Because when they’ll actually need it they’ll have emotions, like fear or anger, and they’re going to go way harder and faster than normal.

You know how when you do something new, like public speaking, you talk faster? It’s the same with physical action in a stressful situation. You can’t help it. You don’t need to train for speed. The speed happens automatically, whether you want it to or not.

That’s why we want them to train slow.

Everything above applies to adult students.