WHAT THE HECK IS A “FORCE VECTOR” AND WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH JIU-JITSU?

VECTORS REPRESENT MOTION AND FORCES. THE DIRECTION OF THE VECTOR GIVES THE DIRECTION OF THE FORCE, VELOCITY OR ACCELERATION. THEREFORE, A FORCE VECTOR IS A REPRESENTATION OF A FORCE THAT HAS BOTH MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION.

SO AGAIN, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH JIU-JITSU? ACCORDING TO BJJ BLACK BELT ROB BIERNACKI, FORCE VECTORS ARE THE ANGLES AT WHICH THE FORCE IS MOVING AT YOU, OR PUT ANOTHER WAY…DOWNWARD AT YOU. WHEN YOU DEAL WITH A DOWNWARD PRESSURE FROM A SEATED POSITION, OR FROM YOUR SIDE WHILE PRONE, WHAT SHOULD YOU NORMALLY UTILIZE TO COUNTER IT? THE ANSWER IS A POST.

IN ORDER FOR POSTS TO BE EFFECTIVE, THEY NEED TO MATCH THE ANGLES AT WHICH FORCE VECTORS ARE BEING APPLIED. GENERALLY SPEAKING, A 45 DEGREE POST SEEMS TO EFFECTIVELY NULLIFY YOUR OPPONENT’S FORCE VECTOR(S). THIS GOES FOR POSTS USING YOUR HAND WITH STRAIGHTENED ARMS, OR WITH EVEN THE ELBOW.

TO IMAGINE THIS IN APPLICATION, IF THE ABOVE PICTURE ISN'T ENOUGH, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN DOING A TECHNICAL STAND UP (I.E. TECH-STAND). WHEN YOUR OPPONENT IS PRESSING INTO YOUR BODY, AND YOU PLACE YOUR HAND BACK BEHIND YOU PRIOR TO EXECUTING THE STANDING PORTION OF THE TECHNIQUE, HAVE YOU EVER HAD IT FAIL? THIS WAS PROBABLY DUE TO AN IMPROPER ANGLE OF YOUR POSTING ARM.

IN THE END, THE ANGLE OF YOUR POST MUST MATCH THE ANGLE OF YOUR OPPONENT’S FORCE VECTOR IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE SUCCESSFUL. UNFORTUNATELY, ONLY EXPERIENCE AND MAT TIME DETERMINE HOW WELL THIS CONCEPT IS ULTIMATELY UNDERSTOOD AND APPLIED.

LEARN. DRILL. ROLL. TRANSFORM!