So I'm rolling with my instructor yesterday and he tells me "You're very technical but you don't impose a game on me." So we go back and forth and it comes out that I tend to do OK because I'm an opportunistic fighter rather than someone that comes out with a game plan and bring people into it.
Different instructors want to see different things. I'd ask your instructor how he wants you to roll when you roll with him. Find out what will impress him, what intensity, what speed, maybe even what techniques. But from what he says, he wants to see you impose a game on him. If that's the case, force the attack.
I'm not sure you can really impose your game too well from under a dominant position. Only in the sense of working for the positions necessary to escape. But from guard and above, yes. e.g. in guard, I'll always go for the deep collar grip with the right hand on his right collar. I instantly shoot for it and get it 98% of the time. I'll grab the head to pull him down if I can't get the collar. But usually I can get the collar. I like the collar a lot more than sleeve grips, as I find it a lot easier to maintain the grip on the collar. And if they try and deal with the grips, you can sweep them or at least threaten the sweep and regain a nice collar grip.
After I get the collar I'll grab the same lapel and not stop working that right hand deep into the collar until it's right in there deep. From there he's constantly worried about the cross choke, or the arm bar, or the scissor or hook sweep. I'll usually threaten the sweep or the armbar to get the opponent to stop worrying about that one half of a cross choke I've got set up. I'd say that's imposing my game, and for some reason I don't see the average person in class even going for the collar grip. I wonder why my collar doesn't get grabbed that often.
Perhaps it's because when I'm in guard, I'll usually go straight to scrunching his lapels and posturing, or grabbing his right biceps with my left, while grabbing his lapels with my right, then posturing. From there, looking to immediately break open the guard. Looking to suck both arms out at once, so I can either grab under both his legs (if they're up) or grab both his knee pants (if they're down) and do the toreando. Again, it's seizing the initiative and imposing my game.
So let's ask the question: what do you guys go into a roll with in your head? Do you say "I want to hit a scissor sweep"? or is it something larger "I want to submit him with an armbar" and work towards that? How do you gameplan?
So this is for academy rolling... first, it depends on who I'm rolling with. If I'm practicing a new technique I will look for someone I can school, and control the match until I'm in the position I want to try whatever it is from. I'll often forget and try it on someone as good as me or better, but it often won't work.
If they are near my level, then it depends on how hard they've rolled with me recently. If they've been dicks before rolling at competition intensity while I've been relaxed, I'll bring my A game and give no quarter. Otherwise, I guess it depends. If it's near competition time, I'll be upping my intensity and ask if my opponent will pretend it's a competition. It will be my A game. If competition is far away I'll be in experiment or honing mode, content to just relax and play around. But even when relaxing, I'll always be threatening something, and when they defend against that, there'll usually be some sort of opening to go for.
Perhaps this is what your instructor means. I think you want to threaten something initially, even if it's not going to work. You want the game to look like this:
You: initiate a move
Him: counters
You: see a weakness, and attack
Him: counters
You: see something else, and threaten that
Him: adjusts
You: see something else, and attack (and eventually, success)
...
This is imposing your game.
Often stuff I've seen will leap out at me. If I'm near a position and I can remember recently being taught something or seeing something, I'll try it out. e.g. After watching Roger Gracie last time on SF, I had someone in back control and the bodylock was there and I went for it. Then I got the RNC from that. It was the first time I've ever bodylocked someone. But I certainly wouldn't have gone into that roll thinking "I'll try and copy that recent Roger Gracie match".
In side control I'll always be looking to mount while threatening a choke or an arm isolation. Usually they forget about blocking the mount and I get the mount. From there, it's using their head as a lever to crunch my knees up to their armpits and get a nice high mount. From there, it's time to imitate Roger Gracie and do the cross choke from mount. No matter where I am, I like to have an idea of what I should do and immediately go to it.
Does that answer your question? I guess that when I'm experimenting rolling with someone of equal or greater ability, I'm not looking for anything specific as I won't be able to control the direction of the roll necessarily. But as positions change, I'll think "Hey, that looks like I could try X from here" and I'll try it, especially if it's new.
