What I Learned from 24 Years of Jiu-Jitsu: Pressure Beats Flashy Moves

By Gile Huni, 3rd Degree BJJ Black Belt, creator of Sloth Jiu-Jitsu System.

After over two decades of training, competing, coaching, and observing the evolution of Jiu-Jitsu, one truth stands taller than any highlight-reel submission or trending Instagram move: pressure beats flash—every time.

In today’s grappling world, a lot of what gets attention are the “funky” movements. Fancy inversions, spinning back takes, berimbolos into matrix hooks—it’s impressive, sure. But what I’ve realized after 24 years on the mats is that half of the flashy stuff out there gets shut down the moment you apply real pressure.

Not “just smash” pressure. Technical, calculated, structured pressure. Stack, sprawl, pin, and grind—when done right, this shuts down 3D puzzles with a 1D answer. And the kicker? People hate it. They want fireworks. They want geometry, flips, scrambles. But the truth is, you don’t need 37 responses when one heavy, direct answer will do.

Pressure is Not Strength—It’s Technique

There’s a misconception that pressure comes from being big or strong. That’s nonsense. I’ve trained with 65kg guys who feel like mountains, and I’ve trained with strong guys who couldn’t pin a blue belt.

Real pressure is highly technical. It’s about alignment, angle, timing, and weight distribution. It’s about understanding where your opponent wants to move—and cutting that off like a wall collapsing on them.

Even many black belts don’t apply pressure properly. It takes years. It’s a feeling, not just a move. That’s what makes this art so beautiful. We’re not out here muscling things—we’re using our bodies like levers, wedges, and anchors.

Cool Doesn’t Mean Effective

Right now, I see a lot of parallels between the current Jiu-Jitsu trends and what happened to Taekwondo in the 1980s—flashy kicks, acrobatics, and techniques that looked great in demos but had little real-world value.

Jiu-Jitsu is heading down that same road if we’re not careful. The direction should always be guided by efficiency, not popularity.

Social media has warped what people think good Jiu-Jitsu is. The “move of the week” culture has turned practitioners into collectors of techniques rather than developers of skills. I’ve seen blue belts with 300 techniques and zero pressure. Knowing more doesn’t mean knowing better.

Simple Wins: The Hammer Analogy

Think of a hammer. It hasn’t changed in centuries. Why? Because it’s simple, durable, and effective. That’s how I believe Jiu-Jitsu should be: fewer parts, fewer breaks, more impact.

This is why I emphasize a stripped-down, fundamentals-first approach. People think knowing fewer moves is a weakness. I see it as a strength. I’d rather have five techniques that I can apply to anyone, anywhere, under stress—than thirty that only work under ideal conditions.

This isn’t theory. It’s what wrestling and boxing have done forever. Wrestlers drill four or five core moves thousands of times. Boxers live off six punches. They don’t need 100 combinations—they need timing, pressure, and precision.

Train Less. Refine More.

The biggest lie in Jiu-Jitsu today is that you need to know more. The truth? You need to refine more.

The armbar you learned as a white belt still has 20 layers of detail to unlock. The cross-collar choke has a lifetime of refinement waiting. And you’ll find that every time you go deeper into a basic move, you discover something new—not because the technique changed, but because you did.

Final Thought: Slow Down and Go Deep

If there’s one message I want to pass on after 24 years in the art, it’s this: Don’t chase quantity. Chase depth.

Pressure. Timing. Simplicity. These aren’t outdated—they’re timeless. Jiu-Jitsu doesn’t need to be flashy to be effective. It needs to be efficient.

And if you’re tired of scrambling, guessing, and reacting to every weird thing someone throws at you, maybe it’s time to anchor down and learn what real pressure feels like—because sometimes, the best counter to chaos is calm, crushing control.