Good question.It really depends on what I'm trying to work on. For me it might even vary from person to person because of body type or experience. 

It's rare I don't have some idea before starting. 

This week I won't be there for advanced gi but coach Tim will be covering. He'll be teaching his favorite guard pass, the knee cut, knee slice, or knee slide depending what name you've heard it called. If you've ever rolled with Tim you know this is his favorite and you're in for a treat!

Saying no to a roll is something that people are unaware they can do, or they just don't. You don't need to roll each round. Maybe you need to rest, maybe physically you are concerned you could be inadvertently hurt, or you just have a personal reason.I think there needs to be just as much acceptance on this topic as awareness. Please spread the word!

I have some ideas in the works, do not worry.

Scott Tresch haha me too. But this has lit a fire and created focus. So if you thought rolling before was bad, just wait!

Great question Patrick!I feel like my game really developed as a blue belt and continues to get refined. My game forces you to make choices. Your choice gives me options. 

The moves don't necessarily matter but what I do is an upper/lower body approach. As I attack your upper body you'll often pull back, but as you pull the upper body back the lower body is available. Then I take the lower body and start to attack. However, then people will pull the lower body back which exposes the upper body. 

I'll go back and forth until something gets exposed enough for me to capitalize. 

Right now I'd go with opening the closed guard. Normally, I'm able to create space but this weekend I ran into a competitor where I couldn't make this happen. My usual methods and adjustments weren't working.  I think opening the guard is going to be the focus for a bit.

Gi study this week is slowly wrapping up our guard passing block. Where are we getting stuck? Let bring those problems and see how we can fix them. Did you compete this weekend and run into a passing problem? Again, let's fix it tonight!

Patrick Morton what if we look at what Jesse said about being in the moment and goals another way? What if being in the moment while working on a goal helps you achieve that goal? 

Sometimes we just can't quite reach our goal and feel stuck. Well what if, you were truly present during that training session and it allowed you to catch that one detail that was preventing you from reaching said goal. Now that obstacle becomes a goal to achieve along the way to the major goal. I don't think they really need to hinder each other, I think they will work together if you let them. It's all about perspective. 

Personally I think there is a time for both. My goals have changed through out the years and a lot depends what is happening on a bigger level at this point. Initially my goals were smaller, like stop getting caught with arm bars. I gladly accepted the choke if I avoided an arm bar because my goal was met. A lot of times my goals center around learning a new move or set of moves. I like to approach things as the attack and defense. The goal might be drilling it or hitting it live. Sometimes my goals are centered around teaching. Maybe there is something I'm not happy about and I want to improve my abilities. 

On the other side being in the moment can be fun, and I think sometimes leads to creativity because you aren't limiting yourself. Sometimes the goal of a certain move limits us too much and I think for some people can cause burn out. The goal not being met may lead to unnecessary stress. I think being in the moment can be its own goal though.