Category: BJJ

 

 

The Art of Flopping Over: The Epidemic Of Losing Base And Balance Among BJJ Practitioners

 

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clearly isn’t known for its takedowns. But is intentionally taking the bottom position always the best option in grappling?

 

We all started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to learn how to control the ground game. Wrestling, Judo and a slew of other grappling sports focus entirely on getting the other opponent down. But Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is so focused on ground fighting, that often practitioners will sacrifice balance and base as a trade-off for getting in a bottom position. While there is nothing wrong with “the bottom” strategically, sacrificing balance and base (herein: flopping over) is always a mistake.

 

But what is base?

 

Base or (Base of Support) is the area (width x height) of the bottom part of any upright structure.

 

(Beating up people because of liking geometry and not the other way around.)

 

Since we presumably have mobile legs, we have to consider our legs position and ability to move from said positioning when calculating our approximate base.

 

Below are three classic examples of base that we often consider when doing takedowns and striking arts. Let’s see which scenario is ideal for base:

 

 

Clearly the middle foot positioning gives us both a wide enough step (but not too wide) and deep enough step (but not too deep).

 

And what exactly is balance?

 

Balance (in terms of fighting) is the ability to keep oneself upright, by a means of keeping your center of gravity within a central part of the base. This is no easy task while attempting to move yourself and another human being.

 

 

So now that we understand what staying upright means in theory, how does that apply to grappling as a whole?

 

OK, I get the science of staying upright, but I still end up falling down.

 

Not to worry. Just like a white belt who doesn’t know the first thing about guard passing or sweeping, your takedown game probably only consists of submission attempts and those generally don’t help us stay upright. So, instead, let’s focus on some thing BJJ guys forget when standing:

 

Engaging on your terms

 

Don’t sit idly by while you are pushed or pulled in the initial phase of takedowns. The key to any good takedown (as is true in lots of grappling) is the set-up. Try to remain balanced and in good base when you get pushed or pulled. And when you have your footing, push and pull back!

 

 

Crossface, crossface, crossface!

 

If you don’t crossface when somebody is attempting a single (or even double) on you, your opponent will take you down all day long.

 

 

If you’re already doing BJJ and you don’t know what a crossface is, ask your instructor or learn about it on Youtube. It’s kind of a big deal.

 

Don’t Turtle!

 

Anyone who knows me I love the turtle guard. However, when I want to stay on top, it’s not the best place to be. Instead, if you find yourself in the turtle (from a failed shot or from being snapped down) you should diversify your turtle guard to learn a series of shoulder sweeps to sweep your opponent and come on top.

 

If you do turtle, turtle like Eduardo Telles.
 

NOTE: The classic log roll from turtle is one of SEVERAL moves and is by far the most predictable/easy to counter. If you only attempt it and just get pancaked, your turtle guard isn’t diverse enough to be called a guard.s

 

But what about base for BJJ, where we aren’t on our feet?

 

Good question. However, all of the above still applies for the ground game. Keeping that in mind, let’s cover some things we typically don’t remember when the fight hits the ground.

 

Use your head!

 

It’s good for thinking but the human head is even better for crushing! When it comes to grappling (standing or ont the ground), one of the most underrated appendages on the human body is the head.

 

If we think of all the tools we have at our disposal, we generally think about our hands, feet, maybe knees, but often neglect our good head positioning. (GIF credit to BJJScout)

 

What did the head say to the face?

 

SIT DOWN!

 

Don’t get overzealous with attacking

 

We’ve all been there. Your opponent is turtled or in the bottom of sprawl control and you get so excited to take his back or submit him and then you’re back where you started, on the bottom in some kind of guard. Some key points to remember in these moments:

 

– You don’t need to fall over when attacking the crucifix. It’s an even stronger position if you can lock it up with him still facing down, rather than having him lay on you.

 

– Underhooks prevent you from falling off the front when taking the back. We all love the seatbelt, but if you find yourself falling over the front of the guy’s turtle, you probably didn’t have a sufficient underhook. Switch to double underhooks if you feel this happening.

 

Don’t just attack the upper-body. The Truck is a great way to get your opponent worrying about his legs in a position where he’s mostly worried about his neck.

 

If we can stop from needlessly flopping over, we can use our guards to come on top and STAY there. Sweeping a guy 10 times in a match is cool, but wouldn’t you rather control him and submit him?

 

[This article was aggregated from SOURCE.]