Jiujitsu Made Simple: Off-Balancing and Destabilization
Imagine for a second, you spin around in circles until you’re dizzy and then trying to train. That’s what it felt like with Vertigo. I couldn’t even stand up straight much less walk straight. I tried to push through it and couldn’t even open my eyes.
My training partner was spinning right in front of me in my half-guard. I told myself I couldn’t stop until I finished an attack. This positional fight went on for what seemed forever as I tried to get my bearings but the room kept spinning.
To make matters worse, my student was an accomplished D1 wrestler as well as a purple belt in jiu-jitsu. I kept fighting and eventually got my sweep. At that moment, I stopped and told him I had to take a break because the room was spinning. I was so dizzy. It lasted for about an hour and somehow I was able to drive home.
This was my second (of three) bout with Vertigo this year and it taught me something very important.
You need balance. You need stability.
If you cannot balance yourself or create stability in your position, moving forward with any attack (or defense) seems impossible.
Jiujitsu’s Hierarchy of Needs
I remember from Undergrad learning about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
The idea is that there are foundational and fundamental motivations for behavior. At the very foundation of the pyramid is the need for physiological goals like breathing and eating. At the higher end of the pyramid is stuff we don’t necessarily need but would be cool to have, like self-actualization.
It got me thinking about the foundations of jiu-jitsu. Once we got the breathing stuff figured out, next is balance. Balance is so foundational to our practice for two big reasons.
If you are off-balance, you are unable to attack.
If you are defensive, creating instability renders your opponent unable to attack.
Thus, on the offensive side, you need balance. On the defensive side, you need to be destabilizing. Balance and Stability is what allows forward progress in one way or another.
Now, before you can off-balance, you need connection. So you can argue that even more foundational to jiu-jitsu is the idea of connection.
In the guard position, you’re supposed to connect first and then off-balance when attacking. When passing, you must find ways to disconnect so that you cannot be off-balanced.
A similar concept works in pin positions.
When you are pinned, you are already connected so you need to make more powerful connections (inside control) and destabilize your opponent (not always in this order).
When you are the one pinning, your job is to maintain connection and now isolate a limb [You can read more about the “Jiujitsu Funnel” here].
What you’ll see below the paywall:
Intro to Destabilization and Destabilizing from Pin Positions.
This will be an important concept to help you understand how to simplify the idea of off-balancing and destabilization in addition to how it can be achieved when you’re pinned.
Destabilization in the Guard Position
Here we’ll explore how we can destabilize the guard passer using our connection to them (grips, in this case) as well as where to be attempting your Kuzushi (off-balancing).
We’re also going to take a look at the top position and how to get an edge in your guard passing by off-balancing prior to connection through movement.
Bonus: Off-balancing from the Standing Position
As a bonus, you’ll see some Connection and Destabilization from the standing position.
If you can get into the “T” position, you’ll have much more success with your takedowns.
[Before we dive in, one last note here. A lot of your ability to destabilize your opponent will be contingent on how you are using your legs. This, in itself, is a whole other article that you can expect next Sunday on Lower Body Dominance. I strongly suggest you stay tuned for that one and if you’re not subscribed yet, this would be a good time for it!]
Alright, now let’s dive in!
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