Position and standing technique in BJJ

Position and standing technique in BJJ

Position and standing technique: From the first day you begin your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey, you got told the importance of position. Position before submission has always been the motto of BJJ or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. You were probably told that position is more important than anything else and you should work mostly upper body submissions. There is a reason why you were told this. Because in the vast majority of cases, it is true. However, when you were shown standing techniques, all the talk about position was abandoned. But, position and standing technique in BJJ are just as important. You were probably just shown some random takedowns and told to do them from wherever you were. This is a mistake. THERE ARE JUST AS MANY DEMANDS AND NUANCES IN THE STANDING GAME AS THERE ARE IN THE GROUND GAME. In addition, and just like the ground game, getting good position first makes applying the takedowns much easier and your success rate skyrockets. Just like it’s “position before submission” on the ground, the theory of position before most takedowns on the feet applies as well. I am often asked “what are the dominant positions in the standing game?” Well, there are several, but the one I always like to teach first is to constantly seek to get a dominant position OUTSIDE your opponents elbows. If you can get an advantageous position outside the elbows, most takedowns are easier to apply. When you go to grip up with your opponent, seek to get outside his elbows and either attack directly from there or as your opponent tries to recover and square up with you. Having that first positional advantage will make the takedowns so much easier to apply. Don’t think that position is just something that only applies to the ground game. It’s just as valuable on the feet. Start your journey by always trying to find ways to get outside your opponents elbows and go from there.