Denying your opponents attacks in BJJ

Denying your opponents attacks in BJJ

Denying your opponents attacks in BJJ is where you should start in a match. Start with denying their attacks, then build your attacks. The toughest matches are those you you go blow for blow against your opponent. You are attacking them and they are simultaneously attacking you. Everything becomes a hectic battle where in truth, the outcome could go either way. Battles like this can be fun and certainly make for excitement, but they do not exhibit the ideal of control that is central to winning in our sport. Here at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com), I usually encourage my students to begin with denying their attacks. Start each encounter to shutting down an opponents ability to attack through grip fighting, stance, position and motion. Once you have removed the initial danger, then you can really focus on launching your own attacks without the distraction of having to simultaneously deal with an opponents attacks. It is at this point you can cut through the clutter, In the course of a match, we’re called on to prioritize and decide what is most important. Do you address his grips? Your balance? How about your posture? When it comes time to get through all the noise and distraction, realize that sometimes YOU are the clutter. Learning to get out of your own way is a great skill to develop. It happens through practicing systematically, using what you’ve learned, rather than relying on instinct. Unless you can see and think clearly about what’s actually happening, rather than what you WANT to have happen, you’ll likely prioritize the wrong thing and find yourself in hot water. That is why I like to deny first, then attack.