90% of techniques shown in classes and seminars are from a very specific position, which is most likely not related at all to the current problems I’m having in my own BJJ game.

I couldn’t agree more. Something interesting happened some time earlier in march or april — my open guard became hell to almost every one. There are still some select few who seem to be able to pass right through it, but white belts and most blues just don’t pass anymore. And what spurred this change didn’t technically happen in class, it was not a technique we drilled during a whole week or something.

It was after one class, when we were just hanging around on the mats. Salah showed me, within 5 minutes, a couple of things you can do with the opponents lapel: feed it below his legs, close or far, cross grid, same side grip, there-you-go-have-fun-with-it. And it just clicked. All he did was highlight a concept, and I figured the rest out by myself over the next couple of weeks. Now the lapels have become such an important part of my game that I struggle in no-gi.

Another thing that changed is my stand-up game. It’s as shitty as always, but for whatever reason I now feel comfortable trying to get takedowns. I don’t really care if I get thrown to the ground or end up in a bad spot. It’s not ready for competition yet but I’m working on it.