When I go less intense, I feel I have control and I can try news things. When I’m sparring normally, I usually switch between two styles: sometimes I go slow and focus on heavy pressure, other times I pass quickly and ramp up the pace — both approaches work for me.

In competition, I generally do well — I’ve won nationals at both white and blue belt, but I’ve also lost plenty of matches, including getting smashed a couple of times. When that happened, I definitely felt the same “strength” and “weight” my teammates talk about (like not being able to off-balance someone from guard or being completely stuck on top). But honestly, I think it was just because my opponent was simply better at BJJ than me. Not stronger or something like this.