Understanding Concepts For Decision Making By Greg Jackson
Combat sports have been around for a long time and even though the fight game has evolved in many ways over the years, there is one aspect that is always the same. Having a good process in place in order to make the right decisions is an extremely important feature that cannot be overlooked.
Often when a fighter makes a poor decision in the middle of a fight, it can certainly lead to a defeat inside the ring or the cage. Fighters must develop the ability to make the correct decisions so they can maximise their output which will almost always lead to victory.
In this video Dynamic Striking has brought in the legendary Greg Jackson to share his knowledge and his concept behind the appropriate decision making. This concept is called the “Ooda Loop” which was invented by John Boyd, in Greg Jackson’s opinion he is one of the best strategists that has ever lived.
Who Is Greg Jackson?
There is an obvious answer as to why we should trust Greg Jackson and that is simply because he is one of the best coaches that MMA has ever seen. Greg Jackson is one half of the Jackson Wink MMA Academy, his affiliation with Mike Winkeljohn makes his gym one of the premier gyms in the world. Greg has trained many of the great fighters and champions in the UFC including George St Pierre, Rashad Evans, Holly Holm and Jon Jones. Greg Jackson’s expert knowledge is highly regarded and he is considered one of the best coaches in the world.
Check Out Greg Jackson's Instructionals! Click Learn More!
Check Out The Ooda Loop Concept In The Video Below!
Greg Jackson starts this video off talking about the inventor of the Ooda Loop, John Boyd who in Greg Jackson's opinion is a genius and a must see for all fighters. The Ooda Loop is a concept that governs your ability to decide what action to take in the course of a fight. The Ooda Loop is an acronym meaning Observe, Orient, Decide and Act.
Observe!
The first part of this decision matrix is to observe, this means in a fighting sense that you must observe what your opponent is doing. Observe their stance, the way they move, how they close the distance, how they generate their attacks, this is important so you know what your opponent is bringing to the fight.
Orient!
The second part of this decision making process is the orientation of your fighting systems. This means understanding what tools you have to attack with and how you need to position your body in a way that will give you the best advantage for attacking your opponent.
Decide!
The next step in this concept is to decide what you are going to do, because you have already observed your opponent and orientated yourself to the best possible position, now it is time to pick your attack. This could be initiating a takedown because your opponent has too good of a striking repertoire, or it could be firing off your striking combinations. Whatever you pick it should be a result of your first two steps in this process.
Act!
The fourth step to this concept is to act, you have observed, orientated and you have picked your attack now it’s time to push the button. In other words, initiate your attack, throw the punch or kick or shoot for the takedown.
Loop!
Once you have applied the first four steps to the Ooda Loop it is now time for the fifth step which is the loop itself. This means after you throw your chosen attack you must observe how this impacted your opponent. Then you have to orientate yourself again to square up to your opponent, decide on the next attack you are going to use and then act it out. That is why this concept is not just called an Ooda it is an Ooda Loop meaning you must repeat this process over and over again.
All fighters use this process in their fights, they just do it naturally, now you can understand this process in an intellectual way. It will be easier to adopt this concept and use it more efficiently in a fight scenario.
Learn More From Greg Jackson About His Concepts!
If you liked this concept taught by Greg Jackson and you want to dive deeper into the mind of a coaching legend, then check out his series The Fundamentals of MMA by Greg Jackson Available exclusively on Dynamic Striking!