You can’t change the game or turn an industry upside down without taking small steps.
Ten years ago in the sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, leg locks were seen as a low percentage set of moves mostly used by crazy fighters on the fringes who couldn’t win using ‘traditional’ methods.
Ten years ago, electric cars were seen as a gimmick – also something for people on the fringes. No match for gasoline or diesel engines, too expensive, inefficient, and not seriously on the radar of major car manufacturers.
All of that has changed.
Today, go to any BJJ competition around the world, and there’s more than a good chance both competitors are actively using a system of moves designed to isolate their opponent’s leg, knee or ankle and incrementally twist, rotate or extend it to submit their opponent and win the match.
Likewise, You don’t need to look too far to see how popular Tesla and other electric vehicles have become. By 2040 half of all new cars will be Electric.
John Danaher is the coach responsible for turning the sport of BJJ upside down through his leg lock system and a group of fighters who have dominated world tournaments since the mid-2010s.
Elon Musk gets the credit for bringing electric vehicles to the mainstream, making them not just affordable & efficient, but cool.
Danaher didn’t invent the leg lock, and Musk didn’t invent the electric car.
What they both did, was realise the opportunity on the fringes and engineered a strategy to make it appealing and within reach of the norm. They took small, very logical steps, using tools that were available to anyone.
People will ask questions when they see your students winning every competition in the world without raising a sweat. Likewise when your vehicle can reach a top speed of 250mph without making a noise.
Then pretty soon, everyone asks;
Why did we ever forget about 50% of the body?
Why didn’t we transfer to electric sooner?
Small, incremental steps on the fringes, led to breakthroughs, and suddenly the game was changed.
