All about the Grappling Stance

What is it? Why do so many people fail at the movement? How to make it better? And what are the dynamics in Jiu-jitsu, compared to Wrestling and Judo?

This is a subject I never really thought I’d tackle.

It’s interesting because I realized after a recent private lesson that stance and footwork in fights/grappling is something I’ve always taken for granted.

Grappling stance and just movement in general is something I’ve always considered people would get eventually. After enough practice, every student would just pick it up and begin to move like a grappler —but this isn’t the case.

I still have purple belts who move poorly and I have white belts who move well. I see black belts who still move poorly and random intro students who come in and get it right off the bat.

What do they do differently? [Hint: It’s not exactly “what”]

The big problems most people have in grappling are either

A) Not understanding the nature of grappling as it relates to stance

B) Being flat-footed

Or both…

It dawned on me over the last two weeks that most people lack the springiness and anterior chain dominance that allows them well in a grappling position.

In this email here, I’ve got three videos all designed to help you move better in grappling.

• The first video will help you understand the nature of the grappling stance so that you can get a solid base.

• The second is going to show you some ways to substantially improve your ability to move in your grappling stance (starting with the toes)

• And lastly, we’re going to put it all together in the contexts of training with another person —are we doing wrestling? Judo? Or BOTH??

Let’s DIVE IN!