According to Dima Murovanni many athletes are fundamentally approaching their training incorrectly.
“This is why you’re not getting better,”
Murovanni explains.
“You’re thinking in techniques and not in concepts.”
The Problem with Technique-Focused Learning
Murovanni acknowledges that most practitioners, himself included, begin their journey by watching instructional videos from their favorite athletes. While he credits John Danaher, Gordon Ryan, and Craig Jones as influences, he believes there’s a more efficient path to mastery.
The coach illustrates this point with an example of Joseph Cisneros‘ tripod passing, widely regarded as one of the best passers in the world. While many students attending seminars want to learn the exact technique, Murovanni argues this approach is problematic.
“It’s not impossible, but if you want to mimic it like he does, you need to mimic his whole body, his mind, and whatever,”
he says.
Understanding the “Why” Before the “How”
Instead of copying techniques precisely, Murovanni advocates for understanding the underlying concepts. Using the tripod pass example, he explains that the fundamental concept is keeping your opponent’s shoulders on the ground to neutralize their leg power.
“If my partner can’t raise his shoulders, he doesn’t have too much power in his legs,”
Murovanni demonstrates. When an opponent can’t concave their body, they lose the ability to effectively use their legs defensively.
Once you understand this concept, you can apply it using methods that work best for your body type and preferences. Murovanni personally prefers a high body lock or tight waist pass to achieve the same objective rather than forcing himself to mimic someone else’s exact technique.
“It’s not important how it looks, it’s important why we do it,”
he emphasizes.
The Learning Hierarchy: Concepts, Why, How
Murovanni outlines a clear learning hierarchy:
- Understand the concept
- Understand why it works
- Discover how it works for your individual body and style
This approach allows practitioners to develop a broader skill set, as techniques become personalized applications of universal concepts rather than rigid movements to memorize.
To further illustrate this point, Murovanni shares one of his favorite concepts: pushing the knees forward to finish submissions. This concept can be applied to numerous submission techniques, particularly from the back position.
“Most people try to finish on the back with the upper body,”
he explains.
“I can finish with the upper body, no problem. But if I have a strong upper body grip now, I can just push my knees forward and his body will travel.”
The Path Forward
Murovanni believes that merely copying techniques from elite practitioners will limit your progress.
“If you just copy their moves, you will not be as successful as if you understand the concept behind it,”
he states.
He credits coaches like Joseph Cisneros and Craig Jones for effectively explaining the concepts behind their techniques, making it easier for students to adapt these principles to their own games.
For those looking to accelerate their jiu-jitsu development, Murovanni’s advice is clear:
“If you see a cool move from your favorite athlete the next time, try to understand why it works and then experiment how you could implement the why.”
By shifting focus from technique replication to concept understanding, practitioners can develop a more personalized, efficient, and ultimately more effective approach to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
