For years, there was a technique I did without thinking. There’s a transition from Stage 1 to 2¹ where I’d switch head control at the same time as I block the punch. It was first taught that way to me by someone else and it worked fine during sparring, so I never questioned it.

And then it came up in a private lesson with my teacher.

“Why do you do it like that?”

He said my other arm was already pinching his other arm. So if I let go of it to grab the head, I’d be leaving a free arm to hit me with. It’s better to hold on, and then if he gets it out, we have Stage 2.

I was doing the move for the sake of doing the move. The goal isn’t to get to Stage 2. The goal is to not get punched.

When I teach taking the back from mount, I see students giving excess space for the partner to turtle. The point isn’t to take the back. It’s to avoid falling over when they roll.