Easing Tension

When something feels tight, the instinct is to stretch it. When something feels restricted, we push harder against it. But the body does not always interpret force as help. Often, it interprets it as a threat.

Trigger points are a useful example. These are not random knots to be attacked; they are locations of heightened excitability within a muscle. They exist because the system has decided vigilance is required. When you stretch directly into these areas, the muscle frequently responds by tightening further; not out of stubbornness, but out of protection. The body is saying, “ I do not trust this input.”

Jiu-Jitsu mirrors this perfectly. A beginner who stiffens under pressure is not failing; they are protecting. A guard player who clamps down instead of flowing is not spazzy; they are uncertain. Tightness, whether muscular or technical, is rarely the primary problem. It is the visible symptom of a deeper issue: lack of safety, lack of options, or lack of timing.

If you stretch a trigger point aggressively, you may temporarily increase range, but you often reinforce the very pattern that created the restriction. The same happens on the mat. Forcing flexibility without control leads to instability. Chasing positions without understanding leads to panic. The system compensates, and compensation always shows up as tension.

The solution is rarely local. In movement, we improve mobility by restoring stability elsewhere. In Jiu-Jitsu, we reduce tension by improving survival, alignment, and breathing under load. When an athlete learns how to frame correctly, how to distribute pressure, how to remain calm in bad positions, the “tight” behaviors begin to disappear on their own.

Quality precedes quantity. Control precedes freedom. Safety precedes relaxation.

A relaxed body is not one that has been stretched into submission. It is one that no longer feels the need to guard itself. When the system trusts itself, tension resolves. When it does not, no amount of forcing will fix it.