I find alot of people online and at the gym these days are talking about "high" percentage moves. "I wouldn't use that it's not high percentage enough" "I only go for high percentage moves" etc etc. But, what makes something high percentage?
Assuming an equal skill level and time on the mat, can we assume that if Grappler A has drilled a technique since white belt, no matter what it is, it would now be "high" percentage for him? Or, are there certain moves that no matter how much Grappler A has drilled it, he'll never get it on Grappler B because it's just not "high" percentage enough?
If you could build the perfect game, only consisting of high percentage moves, what kind of things would you include and why? Submissions, Sweeps, Escapes anything that you feel are high percentage and why?
Are there certain moves that you see all the time, that are low percentage in your opinion and you don't understand why they're taught?
Does high percentage mean that you actually suceed in finishing the technique, or does it mean that even if you don't suceed you don't lose out on position?
Keen to hear everyones thoughts on these issues.
A very interesting question. I'll write out some thoughts...
Moves like the triangle choke are said to be high percentage, but if you look at competitions you see that triangles result in a submission a relatively small part of the time. On the other hand, the triangle results in a submission a much higher percentage of the time than, for example, the omo plata. So maybe high percentage is usually meant as a relationship to other moves.
What about some moves being high percentage for some people or against some people? Obviously physical attributes such as height, strength, speed and the amount of practice make a huge difference in how successful a particular move is going to be for a person. Again there are people that are more or less prone to being caught in certain submissions. For example there are people that are very difficult to choke (in relation to other people). So it could be said that "high percentage" is also somewhat subjective in relation to the person doing it and the person who it is being done to.
Another way of looking at which moves are high percentage is to look at competitions. What are the moves that are being used successfully in competition? I believe that if we look at moves from this perspective we end up with a group of usual suspects - these are the moves that people commonly refer to as being high percentage. Why are they these particular moves? There can be several reasons, such as the general dynamics of the situation and what mechanics are effective and efficient to produce a certain result or the amount of time spent practicing the move.
I don't even think that's the important question/answer...It should be more about risk/reward. If something's not high %, but going for it doesn't sacrifice a dominant position and it's "failure" in fact sets up something else then this is something to have in your toolkit.
In the original context, high percentage = "able to be used consistently by most people".
It's true that anyone can perfect any technique or subcategory of techniques, and it can become high percentage for that person. But in typical usage, people mean they want to work on something "high percentage for most people".
Keep track of what works successfully for you in training and competition. If you see a trend towards a certain set of techniques, then you can call them high percentage. Otherwise, it's a vague way of saying "I'm looking for shortcuts".
High percentage seems to be very individual.
If you have long legs for your frame, the triangle will probably be "high percentage" for you. If you've drilled the arm bar from mount like mad, that may be high percentage for you.
Arm triangles are high percentage for me, for example.
nogidavid - a move that relies on terrible unrealistic reactions from your opponent to work can never be high percentage imo
I think this is the key.
A high percentage move is one that
a) can be initiated without an 'unnaturally' stupid movement or action of the opponent and
b) when initiated cannot easily be stopped by the opponent
I see it a lil bit different. Old school moves, I.E. armbars, kimuras, rear naked chokes, triangles, are high percentage. Done properly, they leave very little room for escape unless defended early in the process. But moves like omoplatas, go-go platas, peruvian neckties, twisters, and other moves still allow for escape even deep into the finish of the move. You can power roll out of an omoplata, or big guys can just straighten up and escape. Peruvian neckties are hard to set up, and in my experience only come from a couple of positions that you may not see very much in live rolling, therefore its not very "high percentage".
I think one of the things that makes a move high percentage is if it fails, where do you end up?
For example, if you are taking someone's back and you slid up and over for an arm bar, and you miss.....you now in the best case, have your opponent in your guard.
However, if you take someone's back and you go for a RNC and they defend....you still have their back. You can try again and again.
High percentage=subs that don't give up a dominant position.
Just my opinion.
I get that opinion Redneck...makes some sense..
RaginRedneck169 - I think one of the things that makes a move high percentage is if it fails, where do you end up?
For example, if you are taking someone's back and you slid up and over for an arm bar, and you miss.....you now in the best case, have your opponent in your guard.
However, if you take someone's back and you go for a RNC and they defend....you still have their back. You can try again and again.
High percentage=subs that don't give up a dominant position.
Just my opinion.
What? No.
I believe the common definition for something that is high percentage is its actual chances of success.
How much you risk for on the slim chances of failure is something entirely different.
read the Master Text!!!!!!!11111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ELEVEN
jitz4u - I see it a lil bit different. Old school moves, I.E. armbars, kimuras, rear naked chokes, triangles, are high percentage. Done properly, they leave very little room for escape unless defended early in the process. But moves like omoplatas, go-go platas, peruvian neckties, twisters, and other moves still allow for escape even deep into the finish of the move.
I agree wholeheartedly. High percentage moves are the ones proven over time to be high percentage just by the nature of the move. You can bring the percentage of other moves up but overall, subs like ankle locks will never be as high percentage as armbars.
HoldYerGround -RaginRedneck169 - I think one of the things that makes a move high percentage is if it fails, where do you end up?
For example, if you are taking someone's back and you slid up and over for an arm bar, and you miss.....you now in the best case, have your opponent in your guard.
However, if you take someone's back and you go for a RNC and they defend....you still have their back. You can try again and again.
High percentage=subs that don't give up a dominant position.
Just my opinion.
What? No.
I believe the common definition for something that is high percentage is its actual chances of success.
How much you risk for on the slim chances of failure is something entirely different.
I see what you are saying.
However, if I have my opponents back and I go for a RNC and he successfully defends it four times but I catch him on the 5th, I would say that is successful and that I was able to get a RNC. I wouldn't count the first 4 times.
But, if I go for the armbar from the back and miss. Later, I would say I missed the arm bar.
Just my .02
I also agree that things like ankle locks and crazy ass youtube shit is also lower percentage.
Are you talking about if the subs themselves are high percentage or the set ups?
The RNC is an extremely high percentage submission, when its on it is almost inescapable.
The omoplata, I would argue, is not as high percentage. When you enter that position it often will not end in the finished omoplata. The bicep slicer is another submission I would argue is not very high percentage.
Set ups are a different matter. If your set up for the RNC is to free both of your arms so you can attack with either side you compromise control of his arms so he can defend his neck with both. Conversely, if you attack the RNC by maintaining a tight harness grip and trapping one of your opponent's arms with a leg, it is hard to defend the submission.
Thus we can say whether a submission is high percentage, or a particular set up it high percentage. Many of the core submissions of BJJ are "high percentage with many high percentage set ups available".
P.S. I think you probably just train at a BJJ school with a rather unsophisticated grasp of ankle and leg locks if you think they are low percentage.
Summary:
So far we have uncovered two attributes
1. Percentage of Success: When I perform said technique, what are my actual chances of it being pulled off successfully?
2. Risk: Should a given technique fail or be countered, how much of an opportunity of offense do I afford my opponent?
Both of these can be applied to set ups to techniques or the finished techniques themselves.