Devastating pressure in BJJ
Devastating pressure in BJJ
Devastating pressure in BJJ is a common trait that I have seen in all the greats in BJJ over my 26 years in the art. Some of the most dominant grapplers I ever saw had something in common… they had devastating pressure and were great guard passers. Over the many years I have spent running tournamnets and teaching and competing, the dominant grapplers I ever saw were Royler Gracie, Roger Gracie, Jacare, Cobrinha, The Mendes Brothers, Xande ribeiro, Buchecha, Andre Galvao, Bruno Malfacine, Leandro Lo, Rafael Lovato Jr and now, Gordon Ryan and the things they had in common was they were all great guard passers w devastating pressure. There are many commonalities between them and some important differences, but the thing they share most in common and which is important for YOUR development is that both men were truly devastating in their application of the various to stop movement and hold you down with their Jiu-Jitsu. Having any of them on top of you once they had passed your legs felt you had a Cadillac parked on your chest while you attempted to do escapes. Even Royler who was only 145lbs would put pressure on me that was insane. The pressure was so immense in any one position that you almost hoped they would move to another position to score, just to get a temporary reprieve from the pressure. A minute under a mount like theirs can feel like an eternity. There is no question that a simple hold and pressure can be among the most devastating weapons in your arsenal if applied to its full potential. Learning to shut down escapes and generate pressure while moving from position to position is perhaps the single most important skill in raising your submission success rate. Especially at the higher levels. You must begin to pay attention to your posture and how certain subtle changes in posture can make you feel lighter or heavier. How a shift to one side can sit down a potential escape, how moving up or down an opponents body can change how he tries to escapes. Pinning is perhaps the most subtle part of the entire game. The movements are very small but have deep consequences for your success or failure. Ask yourself what are they doing with his posture at those moments ? His foot positioning? Head position? Near side elbow position? Learning to answer these questions is part of your journey to developing a truly devastating arsenal of pins, from which your submissions game will greatly benefit!
