plans are a framework for future disappointment. the saddest, most neurotic people i know are those who can't do anything without lists and schedules, people whose lives are dictated by their predetermined expectations.
if you can't achieve your goal without a plan, shouldn't you plan to learn how? the best musicians don't have their face stuffed in sheet music, and they can improvise. they know their instrument so well that they just play.
that's the idea. well, that's how i operate - know as much as i can, see the opportunity and have the ability to seize it.
i sometimes do and sometimes don't disagree with that ax analogy. there's the philosophy that you learn one particular throw or sequence, become a damn dynamo, and cruise with that. i admire that dedication, but you're also hindering your ability, and you're becoming predictable.
i see my game like a tree. i've got the trunk - my core concepts, my handful of killer move - but i need the branches. i need the ability to respond to whatever is thrown my way, and i need to remain predictably unpredictable. to a point. i'm not saying pull guard and berimbolo, but if you're a guy that's johnny hip-toss, sooner or later you're gonna get countered.
but beyond all that, you need the killer instinct. you can't have the mentality that there's some grand solution, you need to get it in your head that you're indestructible. that the dude across from you is about to have a bad day. that you didn't spend hundreds of hours and dollars training for something to piss it away because you accepted the possibility of loss. the plan is you're going to adapt to your opponent, and then crush them.
so despite what some of these other nancies are saying, i think your plan to exploit their plan is the best plan. you can create opportunities and make things easier for yourself, but adaptability and the 'fuck you, you lose today' mindset goes a long, long way.