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What does Saulo Ribeiro’s quote about being late mean?

Most of us who are really psycho about bjj or grappling probably already know most of the cool quotes that are passed down as mini campfire stories. The floor is my ocean…, I’ve been doing this since BJ was in his father’s nut sack…, over and over, right? We have some of Dan Gable that I love. If Dan Gable’s dates were women, he would be on them like white on rice. However, I wanted to discuss a quote from Saulo Ribeiro. Saulo wrote what I consider the manual of bjj, Jiu-Jitsu University, and he has a very cerebral mind. I’m putting him up there with Rickson and Marcelo, and almost at the top tier of Gable when it comes to amazing quotes. Have you heard this one?

How deeply have you thought about that Saulo Ribeiro quote about thinking and being late?

“If you think, you’re late. If you’re late, you build muscle. If you build muscle, you get tired. If you’re tired, you die. When you die, that’s when you tap.” -Saulo Ribeiro

What do you think that means? I had a very specific idea in mind when I sat down to write this. In fact, this idea is why I looked up this quote (I didn’t know who said it, it took me FOREVER to find it). But now I’m wondering if this Saulo Ribeiro quote is simply about applying force in bjj? . Could be, but we’ll go ahead and discuss my idea :-).

“If you think, you are late.”

This part here is the one that means the most to me and is the part I wanted to focus on. If you think, you are late. I think this can be broken down into two interpretations that are key to growing your bjj. The first is easy, it would be like having a technique in your second nature. The second is not so easy for me to understand. It’s more about caring, and this is the one we’re going to discuss first, or maybe only.

Why is he holding me there?

Stop worrying about what they’re doing for the most part. Oh shit, his knee is almost out of my half guard and he’s going to pass! So? Either you get your guard back or you fight, big deal. My point is this, if you care about their game (saul quote – thinking) you are NOT imposing YOUR game. If all you are doing is REACTING to your moves, YOU WILL BE LATE. That seems so simple, right?

And the other part of thinking, I think, is just thinking about it. No Google, I’m not trying to add keywords to the word “think” here, so back up. If, while racing, spinning, or fighting, you consciously say to yourself, okay, I’m going to do this sweep now. Against belts and higher levels, it is already too late. It might work in a humble white or blue, but just like the Saulo Ribeiro quote, you’ll now manipulate it to make it work. Argh, this is so hard to put into words. I wish you pranksters could get into my brain and see what I mean.

Again, you can look at this thought in 2 different ways: thinking about making a move and being late, and also worrying about what they’re doing that you never finish your game, so you’re going to be late for the bjj party.

“If you’re late, muscle.”

This part is quite easy to understand. If you’re late, you’ll have to use your muscles to make up for lost time. And using muscle leads to expending energy, which brings us to the rest of the Saulo Ribeiro quote. I think the first two parts are the most important and significant.

Stop thinking about bjj. Surely I have to remind myself every time I train. I find that I don’t think about rolls, those are the ones I learn the most from and the ones I have the most fun with. I’m not tired, I feel like I hit the moves with little to no effort. You just feel like that’s what bjj is supposed to be. And you, do you have any other phrase by Saulo Ribeiro that you find interesting or want to share? Any stupid bjj quotes you’ve heard?

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