I remember watching the first Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and watching Royce Gracie submit all challengers with his chokes and arm-bars.....it was like magic at the time. Years later when I first started Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) I just wanted to put on the chokes that I'd learned in the Marine Corps and the arm-bars I was learning in class but I was finding that they were far easier to execute on a static partner than during sparring (rolling, randori). I found myself getting lucky here and there, but more and more often not even going for arm-bars because I'd end up getting reversed and submitted myself, or getting frustrated that I wasn't even getting a chance to try out my techniques because I was busy defending myself from them, especially from the more advanced students. It was like being a rag doll for months on end. That's no fun at all, and if it isn't fun, then why go to practice?
The submissions are one of the more exciting things about practicing BJJ by far, as well as judo and some other grappling arts. Unfortunately one of the mistakes that most beginners tend to make is searching for the submission from the start of the ground phase of grappling, or newaza, and that isn't where their focus should be.
The focus should be on gaining superior position first, to set up for a submission.
When the beginner jiujitsu player starts out, the first thing they want to learn is submissions, more often than not. Of course, that is the fun part! Few people come in to learn how to break fall and practice endless hours of body positioning, but those are the critical elements of the ground game before submissions are even possible.
Some of the fundamental positions in jiujitsu include the top mount, side control, rear mount, and guard.
Let's pick one to work with to illustrate the point: the top mount.
When one is in a full top mount, setting on top of the opponent and fully straddled, whether it be a high, medium, or lower mount, it is arguably one of the most dominant positions to be in. However, if the player on the bottom is a good escape artist, and the player on the top has a weak position, whether it be too tight, too lose, or off balance, then the player in the top mount has little chance of succeeding in applying a submission of any sort, and the player on the bottom can easily escape, whether it be with an elbow escape, upa (thrusting the hips upward), or a myriad of other escapes from this position.
For the player on the bottom, their job is to have an active defense, which may include creating space between themselves and the opponent, off-balancing the opponent, or working a number of techniques to otherwise improve their position or sweep. Improving the position in the defense basically means getting to a position that reduces the likelihood of getting submitted.
In order to improve their position they may escape into a half guard, for instance. Once in the half guard, they may be able to improve their situation further to full guard, sweep, or even submit the opponent, for example. Even from the defensive perspective, positioning is key.
Position. Position. Position.
For the player that is on offense, in the top mounted position, their job is to reduce the space and otherwise have a stable platform from which to execute a submission, or in the case of sport judo, even a pin. Improving the position in the offense basically means getting into a position that increases the odds of a high probability submission. A high probability submission is a submission that the opponent is more likely to tap out to. For example, a joint submission technique (arm-bar, for example) may have a higher likelihood of success than a pain compliance technique (nerve or muscular pain compliance) because with pain compliance if often comes down to how determined the opponent is to not tap out; attempting a choke on someone with a very muscular neck may have a lower probability than some pain compliance techniques; etc. Either way, if one doesn't have good positioning, a player has limited their options to whatever becomes available, versus being able to position themselves for success with high probability submissions.
Judoka and jiujitsu players alike will begin to notice submissions coming more and more easily once they shift their focus from submitting to positioning. Being in positioning for submission will make the game more fun and help to eliminate frustration as a beginner student.
The submissions are one of the more exciting things about practicing BJJ by far, as well as judo and some other grappling arts. Unfortunately one of the mistakes that most beginners tend to make is searching for the submission from the start of the ground phase of grappling, or newaza, and that isn't where their focus should be.
The focus should be on gaining superior position first, to set up for a submission.
When the beginner jiujitsu player starts out, the first thing they want to learn is submissions, more often than not. Of course, that is the fun part! Few people come in to learn how to break fall and practice endless hours of body positioning, but those are the critical elements of the ground game before submissions are even possible.
Some of the fundamental positions in jiujitsu include the top mount, side control, rear mount, and guard.
Let's pick one to work with to illustrate the point: the top mount.
When one is in a full top mount, setting on top of the opponent and fully straddled, whether it be a high, medium, or lower mount, it is arguably one of the most dominant positions to be in. However, if the player on the bottom is a good escape artist, and the player on the top has a weak position, whether it be too tight, too lose, or off balance, then the player in the top mount has little chance of succeeding in applying a submission of any sort, and the player on the bottom can easily escape, whether it be with an elbow escape, upa (thrusting the hips upward), or a myriad of other escapes from this position.
For the player on the bottom, their job is to have an active defense, which may include creating space between themselves and the opponent, off-balancing the opponent, or working a number of techniques to otherwise improve their position or sweep. Improving the position in the defense basically means getting to a position that reduces the likelihood of getting submitted.
In order to improve their position they may escape into a half guard, for instance. Once in the half guard, they may be able to improve their situation further to full guard, sweep, or even submit the opponent, for example. Even from the defensive perspective, positioning is key.
Position. Position. Position.
For the player that is on offense, in the top mounted position, their job is to reduce the space and otherwise have a stable platform from which to execute a submission, or in the case of sport judo, even a pin. Improving the position in the offense basically means getting into a position that increases the odds of a high probability submission. A high probability submission is a submission that the opponent is more likely to tap out to. For example, a joint submission technique (arm-bar, for example) may have a higher likelihood of success than a pain compliance technique (nerve or muscular pain compliance) because with pain compliance if often comes down to how determined the opponent is to not tap out; attempting a choke on someone with a very muscular neck may have a lower probability than some pain compliance techniques; etc. Either way, if one doesn't have good positioning, a player has limited their options to whatever becomes available, versus being able to position themselves for success with high probability submissions.
Judoka and jiujitsu players alike will begin to notice submissions coming more and more easily once they shift their focus from submitting to positioning. Being in positioning for submission will make the game more fun and help to eliminate frustration as a beginner student.
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