If you lose the mount after 60 seconds, but your partner used more energy than you did in trying to maintain, be OK with that. If he then spends another 60 seconds to sweep you from the guard, but used more energy than you did in trying to prevent that, be OK with that.

Every exchange is a battle of energy. You can lose a position, as long as you spent less energy than your partner. Assume you will have these mini-battles 5 to 15 times in a round. If you’re making them use more energy every time, those are wins. Take the mindset that these little wins will lead to the submission.

So don’t look at a round as something to win by submitting your partner. Look at a round as an opportunity to win several times. The submission is just the last win.

I sometimes watch people roll and after they get the tap (or get tapped), they just stop with time still left in the round. They don’t have enough to even leave the mat and instead just lie down.

So the other victory is in not having to sit out any rounds. It’s better to tap to a submission than to exhaustion. Train in a manner that allows you to stay on the mat. Because mat time counts for so much.