Labeling

Attaching a name, category, or descriptor to something makes it easier to identify and understand.

Let's talk about naming conventions. I know it sounds boring, but bear with me, this is going somewhere important!

There's an old children's book called Tikki Tikki Tembo. It's about a boy with a ridiculously long and complicated name. Unfortunately, the boy's name is so long that when he falls into a well, his brother struggles to call for help because it's so much effort just to speak the name!

The moral of the story (if there is one) is that there is value in simple and clear naming conventions.

You can probably guess where I'm going with this. 😁

What is labeling?

“Labeling” is the practice of attaching a name, category, or descriptor to something in order to make it easier to identify and understand.

We humans are always trying to make sense of the world around us, and part of how we achieve this is by labeling things. Once we've assigned something a label, it becomes easier to recognize, understand, and communicate to others.

Labeling is a powerful application of what Josh Waitzkin calls “form to leave form:” the practice of compressing complex concepts into simpler ones so we can use them more automatically.

Imagine a world where the label “armbar” had never been assigned. Think of how complicated it would become to talk about this technique!

“Looks like Bob is attempting a perpendicular elbow hyperextension by holding the end of the lever, using his hips and feet to create dual-side wedges around the head and torso, and applying breaking pressure by driving his hips forward!”

Speaking like this would make UFC commentary much harder to listen to. 🤣

We need labels as a shorthand to navigate the complexity of our world. Without labels, communication becomes so cumbersome that it's almost impossible.

How labels alter our behavior

Labels do more than just identify things and create a common vocabulary. There's also a hidden side effect to labeling that we don't think about enough:

The way we name and categorize things alters how we think about those things.

When you give something a name, you give it an identity. From there, the identity can take on a life of its own and impact the way people perceive the thing being named moving forward.

Here's a Jiu-Jitsu example: the guard. We often cite the emphasis on the guard as one of the main things differentiating Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from other grappling arts like wrestling and Judo.

But Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu didn't invent the guard. This position already existed in Judo and likely other martial arts before that. However, BJJ's emphasis on the guard has dramatically steered the development of the sport.

The IBJJF decided that turtle should not be considered a guard for the purposes of point scoring. This arbitrary decision has had a massive ripple effect on the perception of the turtle position, and modern grappling as a whole.

Despite its prevalence in wrestling, turtle was considered a terrible position in BJJ for some time, and I think much of this can be traced back to the IBJJF's decision not to classify turtle as a guard. If turtle were a point-scoring position, you'd see a lot more of it under IBJJF rules.

The rise of ADCC and other submission grappling rulesets, and the popularity of turtle under those rulesets, have demonstrated just how arbitrary these labeling decisions can be, and how much of an impact they have on the decisions we make when grappling.

Be thoughtful with your labels

It's tempting to throw labels on everything around us. Maybe we disagree with existing naming conventions. Maybe we want to attach our name to something. Maybe we just feel like something needs a name.

But none of those are good reasons to invent a label.

If you choose to invent a label, consider these three things:

#1: Is this label easy to communicate and understand?

#2: Is this label a significant improvement over what's currently being used?

#3: Am I sure this label won't be misinterpreted?

If you can't answer “yes” to all three of these questions, find a better label.

Labeling is powerful because it simplifies our thinking. When we use labels, we can think less. But this convenience is also what makes labels dangerous.

It's all too easy to dismiss an idea entirely because of a label attached to it. This is called a “thought-terminating cliché,” and it's a tactic used in bad-faith debates to dismiss an argument without having to attack its substance. Modern politics are rife with these thought-terminating clichés.

My closing advice is to question the labels you use. Always be asking yourself: Why am I using the names I'm using? Are there better options? Can my choice of labels be misinterpreted? Have these labels changed in meaning since I began using them?

Being thoughtful about why you use labels helps uncover your hidden biases and assumptions. Make a practice of questioning your labels and you'll be a much better decision maker, both on and off the mats.

On the podcast:

• Ep. 274: How Coaches Communicate, feat. David Porter
• Ep. 296: Adapting on the Fly, feat. Tom "TP" Grant

Further study:

• Mnemonics