Jiu-jitsu becomes a lot easier when you realize that there is an order to everything.
I alluded to this in the Jiu-jitsu Funnel.
Everything in jiu-jitsu follows a simple, step by step framework for achieving what it is you set out to achieve. Even conceptual principles like off-balancing follow a procedure. You must do A in order to get B.
This has been the goal of the Jiu-jitsu made simple series where I attempt to break down the simplest thing you can do in any given position so that the rest of the position becomes much easier for you to manage. And generally speaking, it all comes down to controlling power and mobility.
Consider two people who are not engaged. The round starts, the two practitioners slap hands and then we start. What comes first?
Typically it’s engagement. You cannot perform any technique without first engaging (save for shooting wrestling takedowns from a far distance). So therefore, engagement is usually the first thing you need to consider in order to move into the next step which is off-balancing.
So with this in mind, first thing’s first: Understand how to establish contact. Then you need to move into your ability to off-balance your opponent. If you can get good at establishing contact and control, then your off-balancing becomes easier. And if you can get good at off-balancing, your takedowns will become much easier.
And this is the same for guard passing, which was the focus of the last couple of week’s posts.
As you recall, we talked about the first, most important thing you need in order to pass the guard and that was getting passed the feet. If you can get passed the feet, the rest of the guard pass will become easier. You just have to remain diligent with passing the feet and not try to skip steps. Passing the feet comes first, then the knees, then the hips and finally the arms (frames).
In case you missed it, here’s the last post.
Today, we’ll be moving into a sparring narration so you can see how passing the guard becomes easier if you just stay focused on getting passed the feet.
[Funny Story before you watch: I almost didn’t want to publish this video. After recording it, I thought I performed terribly. I was fatigued from some deadlifts before so I felt sluggish and clumsy. When I watched it, it didn’t look that bad lol. There are some moments where I see some of the CNS fatigue from lifting but overall, it felt a lot worse than it looks. The key point here is, record your training footage from time to time and study it. It usually looks different than it feels]
Let’s dive in!
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