So, I had another thought, after reading this thread again...
After doing BJJ for a while, go back and look at your karate katas. You might find a bunch of things you haven't seen before. I started Karate after doing Danzan Ryu for many years. When we are discussing the applications of the different karate kata, the karate guys see some really nice punching, kicking and elbowing things. I see throwing, locking, choking and grappling moves. Learning a new art can allow us to see things in our first art in a whole new way... But you do have to look for it.