Throwing and Rolling

A comparison of YoYoing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Yoyoing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu(BJJ) are not two subjects often compared but as a practitioner of both I have found that they are not just similar but also complimentary.

My journey with yoyo’s began in the traditional way. I saw my girlfriend’s brother throwing a campfire and couldn’t believe how cool it looked. He was nice enough to teach me to throw and bind the yoyo and even gave me my first one. I believe it was a yoyojam speeder. I loved it and began to learn more and more tricks on yoyoexpert.com. After what felt like no time, I began to understand the principles and finer points of how to create more leverage on the string to perform these tricks faster and with more fluidity. All this knowledge culminated in a personal style and speed at which I yoyo. This is how I believe everyone progresses from doing one or two tricks to understanding the transitions that allow you to go from trick A to trick B and ultimately back to your hand with a bind. It is the transition between tricks and execution of them that then develops style. There is a parallel to this progression in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu(BJJ)
BJJ is a ground fighting or grappling martial art. The purpose of this art is to allow its practitioner to defend themselves against larger opponents even when the odds are overwhelmingly out of your favor. Its secret is the understanding and application of leverage from your body to your opponents to create a submission. The submission in BJJ is comparable to the “bind” in yo-yoing. The bind can be done in many ways. Some can be fancy while others are simple but efficient. However, the end is always the same. The yoyo is wound up and under your control. The submission plays the same role in BJJ in that it completes the Jiu Jitsu by achieving the objective of proving control of the sequence. For instance when someone begins a trick if they cannot bind to bring the yoyo back under control, it is not considered a complete trick. This is easier to reconcile in the human brain because of our need for completion. Chaos is not our bag. We like things to be in order and sequence. Much like the period at the end of a sentence, the bind or submission proves that all acts until that point are justified in being considered a mastered skill. To get to the submission BJJ practitioners engage in the act of “rolling”. This is where two opponents attempt to apply the techniques of the martial art to each other through the manipulation of the person or attire that is traditional of the art called the “GI”. The Gi is in many ways like the string of the yoyo in that it is used to apply greater leverage to the intended target or opponent. There are techniques that allow the greatest manipulation for the intended purpose and it’s the application and transition through these techniques leading to the submission that makes up the act of rolling. Now it is easy to see how rolling and throwing are so similar.
Furthermore, the mounts associated with yo-yoing such as man on wire or wrist mount are exactly like the mounts that are used in BJJ like Guard or Full mount. In yo-yoing mounts are used as positions from which the thrower can build off of when combining tricks. The same can be said for mounts in BJJ. The position of Guard in BJJ has a ridiculous amount of developed avenues to either transition to another position or straight to the submission. Just as man on wire has many avenues to either a bind or another mount. A cool way to look at it is that yo-yoing is throwing the yoyo and retrieving it. Pretty simple stuff. However, it’s how you get from throwing the yoyo to bringing it back that’s the really juicy part. In BJJ it’s the same. The end is always the submission; it’s just how you get there that the good stuff.
Now consider that when yo-yoing you are using the same parts of the brain that you do for rolling as you are essentially doing the same thing an you can see how yo-yoing and BJJ complement each other. When preparing for a match or trying to wrap my head around a certain technique I’m trying to learn on the mat I like to throw. Something about manipulating the yoyo not only takes my mind off the match but also allows me to warm up my mind for the type of thinking that you need in BJJ. I encourage all that read this to try BJJ. Chances are there is a school near you that is ready to welcome you in and get you started. It is a great compliment to throwing and vice versa.

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