Making Smaller Circles

Making Smaller Circles is a medium complexity BJJ principle applicable at the Intermediate level. Develop over Intermediate to Expert.

Application Level: Intermediate Complexity: Medium Development Timeline: Intermediate to Expert

What is Making Smaller Circles?

Making Smaller Circles is a learning principle popularized by Josh Waitzkin in The Art of Learning, and it maps perfectly onto Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The idea is simple but profoundly counterintuitive: instead of learning many techniques at a surface level, take one technique — one movement, one sweep, one pass — and refine it to an absurd degree of precision. Strip it down to its essential mechanics. Practice it until the movement becomes smaller, tighter, and more efficient. Then practice it more until it works against resistance, against speed, against people who know it is coming. Only then expand outward to the next variation.

In BJJ, this principle challenges the common temptation to collect techniques. A white belt who knows fifty sweeps but cannot finish any of them against a resisting opponent has made wide circles — broad but shallow. A blue belt who has drilled one sweep ten thousand times and can hit it from multiple angles against resisting opponents of all sizes has made the circle small — narrow but deep. The small-circle practitioner’s single technique is more dangerous than the wide-circle practitioner’s entire catalog because it has been pressure-tested, refined, and internalized to the point where it operates below conscious thought.

The process of making smaller circles involves progressive reduction. First, learn the gross motor pattern of the technique. Then eliminate unnecessary movement — every extra inch of motion, every wasted grip adjustment, every telegraphing weight shift. Reduce the setup time. Reduce the space needed. Reduce the energy required. Eventually the technique becomes so refined that it appears effortless and its execution window shrinks to a fraction of a second. At this point, the technique has become a part of you rather than something you do, and you are ready to expand the circle outward — learning variations, combinations, and entries that build on the mastered foundation. This outward expansion is fast because the deep understanding of the core mechanic transfers to every variation.

Building Blocks

• Master one technique deeply before adding variations — depth before breadth
• Strip the technique down to its essential mechanical components and eliminate all unnecessary movement
• Practice against progressive resistance to pressure-test every refinement
• Reduce the setup time, space, and energy required for the technique with each iteration
• Recognize that a technique is truly learned when it works against opponents who know it is coming
• Expand outward to variations only after the core movement pattern is internalized below conscious thought
• Apply the same depth-first approach to defensive skills, not just offensive techniques
• Understand that speed comes from efficiency, not from moving faster — smaller circles are naturally faster
• Trust the process through the plateau phases where refinement is happening but visible progress stalls

Prerequisites

Essential Movement Identification: The ability to analyze a technique and identify which components are essential to its function and which are superfluous. A hip bump sweep requires hip elevation, angle creation, and base disruption — the specific grip location or head position may vary. Identifying the non-negotiable elements allows refinement to focus on what matters.

Progressive Reduction: Systematically eliminating unnecessary movement from a technique through repeated practice. Each drilling session should produce a slightly tighter, more efficient version of the movement. Track what can be removed without losing effectiveness — the extra grip adjustment, the unnecessary hip shift, the telegraphing lean.

Pressure Testing at Each Level: Testing each refinement against increasing resistance before moving to the next level of reduction. A refinement that works in drilling but fails under resistance is not yet a real refinement — it is a theory. Each smaller circle must be validated against live opposition before being accepted.

Plateau Patience: The ability to continue refining a technique through periods where no visible improvement is occurring. Skill development follows a staircase pattern — long flat periods of unconscious integration followed by sudden jumps in ability. Practitioners who abandon techniques during plateaus never achieve the deep mastery that Making Smaller Circles produces.

Transfer Recognition: Recognizing when deep mastery of one technique creates unexpected competence in related techniques. After drilling ten thousand hip bumps, the practitioner discovers their kimura from guard has improved because both share the same hip elevation mechanic. This transfer is a sign that the circle is ready to expand.

Conscious-to-Unconscious Transition Monitoring: Tracking when a technique moves from requiring conscious thought to operating automatically. When you can execute the technique while holding a conversation, while exhausted, or in response to a stimulus you did not anticipate, the movement has been internalized. This is the signal that the core circle is small enough to begin expanding.

Variation Mapping: Once the core technique is mastered, systematically identifying which variations, entries, and combinations build naturally on the mastered foundation. Not all variations are equal — some share 90% of the core mechanic and transfer easily, while others require substantially different movement patterns and should be treated as new circles.

Self-Assessment Honesty: The ability to honestly evaluate whether a technique has been truly mastered or merely memorized. Mastery means the technique works against resisting opponents of varying sizes and skill levels, not just cooperative drilling partners. Self-deception about mastery level leads to premature expansion and shallow skill development.

Where to Apply

Closed Guard: Instead of learning fifteen sweeps from closed guard, pick one — the hip bump sweep — and refine it until it works against opponents who know it is coming. Reduce the setup, tighten the angle, minimize the telegraph. Only expand to the kimura and guillotine when the hip bump is automatic.

Mount: Master the cross collar choke from mount until it requires minimal setup and maximum efficiency. Drill it until the grips are set before the opponent can defend, the angle is perfect, and the finish is tight. Then expand to the armbar and triangle from mount, which share the same high-mount positioning.

Side Control: Refine one escape — the elbow escape to guard recovery — until it works against heavy pressure from large opponents. Eliminate extra movements, reduce the hip escape distance needed, tighten the knee-to-elbow connection. Then expand to bridge-based escapes that share the same initial framing mechanics.

Half Guard: From bottom half guard, master the underhook-to-dogfight sequence. Drill the underhook entry, the hip escape to seated position, and the sweep or back take until each component is minimal and efficient. Then expand to knee shield, lockdown, and deep half variations.

Back Control: From back control, master the rear naked choke. Refine the seatbelt grip, the choking arm insertion, the figure-four lock, and the finish until each step flows seamlessly. Only then expand to collar chokes, armbars from back, and short choke variations.

Butterfly Guard: Master the basic butterfly sweep — hook elevation with collar and underhook grips — until the timing, angle, and load are automatic. Reduce the amplitude of the sweep until you can sweep with the smallest possible elevation. Then expand to arm drag entries and single leg entries that share the same off-balancing mechanic.

Standing Position: Pick one takedown — the double leg — and refine every detail: level change, penetration step, head position, driving angle, and finish. Drill it until the entry is nearly invisible and the finish is guaranteed. Then expand to the single leg and body lock, which share the same level change and penetration mechanics.

De La Riva Guard: Master the basic DLR sweep using the hook and far ankle control before exploring berimbolo, back takes, or transitions to X-guard. The deep understanding of DLR hook placement and balance disruption transfers to all DLR variations once the fundamental sweep is automatic.

Knee on Belly: Refine knee on belly maintenance until you can hold the position against aggressive escape attempts with minimal energy. Focus on weight distribution, pressure angles, and hip connection. Then expand to attacks from knee on belly — baseball bat choke, armbar, far side armbar.

Turtle: From the attacking position on turtle, master the clock choke or seatbelt-to-back-take as your primary attack. Refine the timing of the entry, the hand placement, and the transition until they are seamless. Then expand to crucifix entries and front headlock transitions that share grip and angle mechanics.

Open Guard: Instead of learning six different open guard types, master one — collar-sleeve guard, for instance — and refine the grip fighting, distance management, and primary sweep until they work against passers of all styles. The deep guard understanding then transfers when adding spider guard or lasso guard.

Combat Base: Master one guard pass from combat base — the knee cut, for instance — with such refinement that the entry, the weight shift, and the consolidation are seamless. Reduce telegraph, tighten the pass, and minimize the space the guard player has to react. Then expand to leg drag and smash passes.

How to Apply

1. Select the technique to make smaller: Choose a high-percentage fundamental technique from your most common position. Do not start with exotic or complex techniques — pick the bread-and-butter move that appears most frequently in your rolling. This is the technique where depth will produce the most return.
2. Identify the essential mechanics of the technique: Break the technique into its non-negotiable components — the movements that must happen for the technique to work. Separate these from the stylistic variations, grip preferences, and setup details that can vary. The essential mechanics are what you will refine.
3. Drill the gross motor pattern until consistent: Practice the full technique at normal speed and movement range with a cooperative partner until the basic pattern is reliable. This is the widest circle — large movements, full setups, standard timing. Consistency at this level is the baseline.
4. Begin eliminating unnecessary movement: With each set of repetitions, consciously remove one unnecessary element — the extra grip adjustment, the wind-up, the telegraphing lean, the excessive hip movement. Each drill session should produce a slightly tighter version of the technique.
5. Pressure-test each refinement against resistance: After refining in drilling, test the tighter version in positional sparring. If it works against resistance, the refinement is valid. If it fails, the eliminated movement was not unnecessary — restore it and find a different element to reduce.
6. Continue reducing until the technique operates below conscious thought: Repeat the cycle of refinement and testing until the technique can be executed reflexively, under fatigue, and against opponents who know it is coming. When the technique works at this level, the circle is small enough.
7. Identify the natural expansion points from the mastered technique: Look for techniques that share 70% or more of the same essential mechanics. These are the first expansion targets — they will be learned quickly because the deep core understanding transfers. Map the variations that build on the mastered foundation.
8. Expand outward while maintaining the depth of the core: Begin learning the first variation, applying the same depth-first approach. Continue drilling the core technique to maintain its refinement while building the new circle around the variation. Never let the core technique degrade while expanding.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Mistake: Collecting techniques instead of refining them
  • Consequence: The practitioner knows the name and basic motion of many techniques but cannot execute any of them against a skilled, resisting opponent. Their game is a mile wide and an inch deep, and they default to strength and scrambling when techniques fail.
  • Correction: Commit to mastering one technique per position before adding the next. When the urge to learn something new arises, channel that energy into another hundred repetitions of the current technique against stiffer resistance.
• Mistake: Abandoning a technique during the plateau phase
  • Consequence: The practitioner drills a technique until initial improvement stalls, then switches to a new technique believing they have extracted all the value. They never reach the deep mastery phase where the technique becomes reflexive and truly effective.
  • Correction: Understand that plateaus are where deep learning happens — the nervous system is integrating the refined movement pattern below conscious awareness. Continue drilling through the plateau with focus on micro-refinements rather than macro changes.
• Mistake: Expanding to variations before the core technique is truly mastered
  • Consequence: The practitioner builds variations on a shaky foundation. Each variation inherits the imprecisions of the unmastered core, and none of them work reliably against resistance. The entire chain of techniques is fragile.
  • Correction: Test mastery honestly: can you hit the technique against resisting opponents of varying sizes who know it is coming? If not, the core is not ready for expansion. Return to refinement until the answer is yes.
• Mistake: Confusing repetition with refinement
  • Consequence: The practitioner drills the technique thousands of times but without conscious attention to what can be improved. They are practicing the same imprecise movement repeatedly, reinforcing bad habits rather than refining toward efficiency.
  • Correction: Every repetition should have an intentional focus — one element being consciously refined. Mindless repetition builds consistency but not improvement. Focused repetition builds mastery.
• Mistake: Only applying the principle to offensive techniques and ignoring defensive skills
  • Consequence: The practitioner has deeply refined attacks but shallow defenses. Their escapes, guard retention, and positional defense remain undeveloped because they never applied the same depth-first approach to defensive skills.
  • Correction: Apply Making Smaller Circles to one escape per position with the same intensity as attacks. A deeply refined mount escape is as valuable as a deeply refined mount attack, and the depth-first approach produces the same quality of mastery for both.
• Mistake: Failing to recognize when a technique’s circle has become genuinely small enough
  • Consequence: The practitioner continues refining a technique past the point of useful return, neglecting to expand their game. They become a one-trick pony whose single technique, while excellent, is too predictable against experienced opponents.
  • Correction: When a technique works reliably against resisting opponents who know it is coming, it is time to expand. The signal for expansion is not perfection — it is consistent reliability under adversity. Begin the next circle.

How to Practice

Single Technique Deep Drilling (Focus: Building the depth-first habit and developing sensitivity to the micro-refinements that separate a drilled technique from a mastered one. Forces the practitioner to find improvement within a single movement rather than escaping to novelty.) Dedicate an entire training session (or multiple sessions) to a single technique. Begin with cooperative repetitions, progress to light resistance, then moderate resistance, then full positional sparring with the single technique as the only allowed attack. Track what changes with each round.

Video Self-Analysis (Focus: Developing the self-assessment skill that drives conscious refinement. Video reveals the gap between what the practitioner thinks they are doing and what they are actually doing, providing objective feedback for the refinement process.) Record training sessions and compare the technique execution across different rounds and partners. Look for unnecessary movements, telegraphing, and inefficiencies that are invisible in real-time but obvious on video. Note one refinement target per review session.

Constraint-Based Drilling (Focus: Accelerating the refinement process by creating conditions where unnecessary movement is punished and efficiency is rewarded. Constraints bypass the comfort zone and force the kind of technical innovation that makes circles smaller.) Practice the technique with artificial constraints that force refinement: execute the sweep without using one hand, complete the pass in a smaller space, finish the submission in under three seconds. Each constraint forces the practitioner to find efficiency gains that they would not discover in unconstrained practice.

Progressive Resistance Ladder (Focus: Systematically testing refinements against increasing resistance to ensure that each improvement survives pressure. Builds the realistic confidence that comes from knowing a technique has been validated against genuine opposition at every level.) Drill the technique against partners who provide escalating resistance: 20% resistance for ten reps, 40% for ten, 60% for ten, 80% for ten, then live positional sparring. After each resistance level, note what stopped working and adjust before climbing to the next level.

Teaching-Based Refinement (Focus: Using the act of teaching as a refinement tool. Verbalizing technique mechanics forces conscious awareness of details that may have become unconscious, revealing opportunities for further refinement.) Teach the technique to a less experienced partner, forcing yourself to articulate every detail of its mechanics. Teaching reveals gaps in understanding — if you cannot explain why a detail matters, you may not fully understand it yourself. Use the teaching process to identify blind spots in your own technique.

Competition Simulation Rounds (Focus: The ultimate pressure test for Making Smaller Circles. If the refined technique works consistently at competition intensity against prepared opponents, the circle has been made genuinely small. If it breaks down, return to refinement with the specific failure point identified.) Set up positional sparring that simulates competition intensity: start from a specific position, use the mastered technique as your primary weapon, and roll at near-competition intensity. Track success rate across multiple rounds to measure whether the technique performs under pressure.

Progress Markers

Beginner Level:

• Tends to learn many techniques at surface level, prioritizing breadth over depth
• Abandons techniques after initial learning phase without pursuing refinement
• Cannot execute most trained techniques against resisting opponents
• Gravitates toward novel techniques rather than deepening existing ones

Intermediate Level:

• Begins committing to depth on a few core techniques, recognizing the value of refinement
• Can identify unnecessary movements in their own technique and consciously work to eliminate them
• Has at least one or two techniques that work reliably against resisting opponents of similar skill
• Starts recognizing plateau phases and maintains drilling through them rather than switching techniques
• Begins to notice transfer between deeply practiced techniques and related movements

Advanced Level:

• Has a small set of core techniques that work against opponents of all sizes and skill levels
• Techniques appear effortless because all unnecessary movement has been eliminated through deep refinement
• Naturally expands from mastered core techniques to variations that share underlying mechanics
• Uses positional sparring and constraint-based drilling deliberately to drive continued refinement
• Can articulate the essential mechanics of their core techniques and distinguish them from stylistic preferences

Expert Level:

• Core techniques work against opponents who know exactly what is coming, executing with near-invisible setup and timing
• Has built a complete game through systematic expansion from deeply mastered fundamentals
• Teaches the depth-first approach to students, guiding them through refinement rather than just adding techniques
• Continues refining even expert-level techniques, finding micro-improvements that produce measurable results
• Recognizes the same depth-first learning principle in other domains and applies it naturally to new skill acquisition

Related

Related Principles

• Maximum Efficiency Principle (Complementary): Making Smaller Circles is the training methodology that produces maximum efficiency. As circles shrink, wasted movement is eliminated, energy expenditure drops, and techniques become faster and more efficient. The Maximum Efficiency Principle describes the destination; Making Smaller Circles describes the journey.
• Energy Conservation (Extension): One of the primary results of making smaller circles is reduced energy expenditure per technique. As movements become tighter and unnecessary motion is eliminated, each technique costs less energy while maintaining or increasing effectiveness.
• Positional Sparring (Complementary): Positional sparring is the primary training tool for making circles smaller. By starting from specific positions and working specific techniques against progressive resistance, practitioners create the focused repetition environment that drives refinement.
• Flow Rolling (Complementary): Flow rolling provides the low-intensity environment needed for conscious refinement of technique details. While positional sparring pressure-tests refinements, flow rolling allows the practitioner to experiment with smaller movements and tighter timing in a forgiving context.
• Submission Chains (Extension): Submission chains are the natural outward expansion once individual submissions have been made small enough. A practitioner who has mastered the armbar can begin chaining it with the triangle and omoplata because the deep armbar understanding reveals the connections between these attacks.
• Position Chains (Extension): Position chains represent the outward expansion of deep positional mastery. Once a practitioner has made their closed guard game deeply refined, they naturally see how closed guard connects to half guard, open guard, and back control through shared mechanical principles.
• Timing and Rhythm (Extension): As technique circles become smaller, timing and rhythm naturally sharpen. The smaller the movement, the more precise the timing window, and the more the practitioner develops the ability to feel when that window opens. Deep technical refinement produces superior timing as a byproduct.
• Control Maintenance (Complementary): Control maintenance improves dramatically through the Making Smaller Circles approach. Deep practice of maintaining a single position — refining the pressure angles, weight distribution, and grip adjustments — produces control that feels effortless because all unnecessary effort has been eliminated.
• Escape Fundamentals (Complementary): Escape skills benefit enormously from the depth-first approach. A practitioner who has drilled the elbow escape from mount ten thousand times will execute it with a timing, tightness, and efficiency that makes it nearly unstoppable — and that deep understanding transfers to escapes from other positions.
• Guard Passing (Complementary): Guard passing is one of the areas where Making Smaller Circles produces the most dramatic results. A practitioner who has refined a single pass to mastery can execute it in tighter spaces, faster, and against stronger resistance than a practitioner who knows twenty passes at surface level.

Related Content

• Maximum Efficiency Principle (Principle) - Making Smaller Circles is the training methodology that produces maximum efficiency — eliminating waste to achieve more with less
• Energy Conservation (Principle) - Deep refinement naturally reduces energy cost per technique as unnecessary movement is eliminated
• Positional Sparring (Principle) - Positional sparring is the primary training tool for pressure-testing refinements at each stage of the smaller circles process
• Flow Rolling (Principle) - Flow rolling provides the low-intensity environment needed for conscious experimentation with technique refinements
• Submission Chains (Principle) - Submission chains are the natural outward expansion once individual submissions have been deeply mastered
• Position Chains (Principle) - Position chains emerge naturally when individual positions are mastered deeply enough to see their connections
• Timing and Rhythm (Principle) - Deep technique refinement naturally sharpens timing and rhythm as movement windows become smaller and more precise
• Guard Passing (Principle) - Guard passing benefits enormously from depth-first refinement — one deeply mastered pass outperforms twenty shallow ones
• Closed Guard (Position) - The closed guard is a classic position for applying Making Smaller Circles — mastering one sweep deeply before expanding
• Mount (Position) - Mount attacks and mount escapes both benefit from the depth-first refinement approach
• Half Guard (Position) - Half guard systems are naturally built through the Making Smaller Circles approach — master the underhook, then expand to variations