Cracking the Whip

Apply force in rapid, intense bursts.

Every Jiu-Jitsu beginner is used to being told they're “too tense.” Learning to loosen up is an important leap in the early stages of everyone's journey.

It's not that being tense is bad, per se. Tension has a time and place... But being tense all the time makes your body easier to predict and maneuver.

That said, in order to use our strength, we need to tense up (if only for a moment).

The moment you switch from “loose” to “tense” is important in Jiu-Jitsu. It's the point when you commit to a specific move and use all your power to get it done. When you commit, your opponent will know exactly what you're trying to do, so you'd better make sure it's a good idea.

Looseness means conserving energy and being hard to predict. It's also harder to move someone's body weight around when they're relaxed and loose.

Tension means using your muscles. The problem with being tense all the time is that there's no “next level” of intensity: You're already maxed out and couldn't use any more strength if you needed to.

Many techniques (especially those involving timing) work best when you “crack the whip” by delivering force in short, controlled bursts. Think arm drags and Judo throws.

A whip is loose until it cracks. Then, after that explosion of force, it goes loose again. We want our timing-based techniques to work like this in Jiu-Jitsu: loose, quick tension, then loose again.

This lets us maximize time spent in a loose posture. We'll conserve energy, be more challenging to move, and be more difficult to predict.

If you're struggling with a technique that requires timing, “cracking the whip” might fix it. Stay loose by default, and only tense in the windows where you really need to.

Further study

• Constant and Variable Tension
• Staying Loose
• Economy of Motion
• Kuzushi
• Path of Least Resistance
• Mask Your Intentions
• Plyometrics - Wikipedia