Recoverable vs. Unrecoverable Errors

Know whether a mistake can be recovered from.

Jiu-Jitsu becomes a lot easier when you realize that:

1. Some mistakes have much worse consequences than others, and
   
   
2. If you avoid those mistakes, your grappling will be much more effective!
   
   

Let's consider this through the lens of a Jiu-Jitsu example:

Imagine you're sparring against a much more experienced training partner in your gym.

As expected, they're smashing you like they always do. You're pinned under bottom side control.

Ask yourself: what's the likely worst-case scenario that could happen to you from this position?

Odds are, they'll control you, tap you, and then you'll reset and try again.

Honestly, that's not so scary. That's just part of the game. Unless you suffer a cardiac event or other health scare (in which case you should tap), losing this roll is just part of what it means to train Jiu-Jitsu... even if you technically "lost." Getting tapped out by higher belts isn't a bad thing; it's part of the learning process.

This is what we call a recoverable error: the consequences are minor enough that we can easily rebound and try again.

Now, let's consider a more serious situation:

Imagine you're being heel hooked in a public competition.

The worst-case scenario here is much, much worse than the playful training scenario we talked about earlier.

If you don't tap in this environment, you should reasonably expect your opponent to injure you to end the match.

This is an unrecoverable error: getting your knee destroyed doesn't just cost you the match, it costs you months (if not years) of your Jiu-Jitsu career. This is a mistake that isn't easily reversed. You may never be the same afterward.

These two examples illustrate the difference between recoverable and unrecoverable errors.

An unrecoverable error represents the highest risk calculation: are you willing to make a mistake that could take you out of the game, possibly permanently?

Make an unrecoverable mistake, and it could be game over for you, possibly forever.

This is why we're taught to avoid such mistakes, not just in Jiu-Jitsu, but across other disciplines, too.

Warren Buffett's first rule of investing is famously "never lose money." Why? Because if you get wiped out and lose all your capital, you can't invest any further. You're out of the game.

If you're still in the game, you always have a chance to rebuild, come back, and win. But if you're eliminated from the game, your chances are over.

Unrecoverable errors eliminate us from the game. In Jiu-Jitsu, these are the mistakes we want to avoid the most, and they usually involve catastrophic injury.

This is the reason so many gyms clamp down on techniques like guard jumping and kani basami. Yes, these techniques technically work, but the consequences of failure are so significant that they're often not worth doing in the training room. Errors from these techniques may be unrecoverable.

Every technique carries a degree of risk. Some, such as the so-called "sacrifice" techniques, could cost you the match if you fail. That's a fair risk to take sometimes. But sacrificing a match is much different from being removed from the game permanently.

As we think of our years ahead, I encourage everyone to understand the differences between recoverable and unrecoverable errors.

If the consequences of failure are so severe that you'll never recover, please think twice before taking that risk.

On the podcast:

• Ep. 369: Real Talk About Humility, feat. Nick Salles

Further study:

• Committed Techniques
• Opening Salvos
• Return on Investment