Because you need to protect your inside position – your torso and your neck – from being controlled and isolated, it’s important that you always use what you have available to do so.
As well as take away from your opponent what they have available to protect their own inside position.
You must isolate what’s available to them, so that nothing is available. Isolation means taking away your opponent’s ability to grip, frame, or close space to effectively defend or attack.
And the more isolation you have, the better!
For example, in Mount you isolate the opponent’s legs more so than you do in Side Control.
Another example is the arm-in vs arm-out Guillotine Choke. I’m not saying that one is better than the other, but one advantage of the arm-in Guillotine is that the arm that’s in it is isolated and can’t be used effectively to defend.
Also, use your feet as grips. Because they are grips.
You need to use them as much as possible, as an extra set of hands.
For example, when you’re trying to finish the Armbar, you often need to break the opponent’s defensive grips.
Instead of trying to do it with your arms alone, use your legs as well and you’ll notice that it becomes so much easier.
The more you can use your legs and feet to isolate the other person’s limbs, the easier Jiu-Jitsu becomes.
This is why stapling in Side Control or when passing makes attacking so much easier – because you’re using what you have available to further isolate what they have available (for example, stapling their arms in order to transition to North South).
In using what’s available, it’s often important to use your head.
For example, when you’re trying to prevent being swept, using your head to post on the mats will keep you safe.
As well as keeping it glued to your shoulder when the opponent is threatening a choke.
In short: you need to use what you have available for maximum control of your opponent.
And you need to take away what’s available to them by isolating it.
I ROLLED WITH AN OLYMPIC JUDOKA
I had an opportunity to roll with many great people during this year’s BJJ retreat in Tobago.
And one of them was Christopher George, a Judo black belt who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games!
Christopher is also a BJJ blue belt and he is an incredibly skilled athlete.
I had a lot of fun rolling with him. Let’s take a look at some of the key lessons from our roll:
- Win the grip fight as early as possible – don’t be off to a bad start immediately
- Having trouble finishing the Single Leg takedown? Learn the „run the pipe“ finish
- When you take your opponent down, don’t give them an opportunity to plant their feet on the mats again – otherwise, they can stand back up
- If their butt is high in the air, you probably have an opportunity to hit a Balloon Sweep
- Faking the Cross Collar Choke is a great way to set up an Armbar from Mount
- To finish a Bow & Arrow Choke, focus on getting your (choking arm) elbow behind their back
More insights are on the video below.
Which one was the most important for you? Let me know! 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOm5DVfyGlU