Your instructor teaches a lot more than they use.

The curriculum is huge. Butterfly guard, De La Riva, leg locks, lapel stuff. A good teacher shows you most of it.

But watch what they use when they roll. It’s a sliver.

That’s from years of filtering. It’s what’s worked for their body, their mindset, and the stage of life they’re in. A 25-year-old and a 45-year-old can learn the same curriculum and end up with different games.

My game is small. That’s true for most people.

In the past, I almost never used the north-south kimura. I don’t like it when people do it to me. A friend is amazing at it. I got OK at defending it, but it’s a spot I hate being in.

In recent months I’ve been going for it. I taught it, and I watched my students have success with it. After that I started seeing the opportunity more. I don’t know why.

I play with it.

I often see people stick to one game plan and show little interest in techniques that don’t fit right now.

Learn them anyway, even the ones you don’t think will be useful. Your game fits you right now. It will change, and when it does, you won’t be starting from zero.