The first points of contact in BJJ

Today, I want to talk about the first points of contact in BJJ….hands and head. Hands and head is something we talk about this a lot at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com). When you first make contact with an opponent, whether it be standing or from seated guard situations, the first points of contact with your opponent will typically be at the hands and forehead. Learning to place them so as to create defensive barriers and then manipulate them to create offensive opportunities is a big part of your opening strategies in Jiu-Jitsu. Always understand that your head and hands have both defensive and offensive value. But that in most cases, it’s tactically smart to take care of your defensive responsibilities before your offensive ones. Your head and hands are both a barrier and a key to your opponents door that can give you access to everything else. Use them wisely from the start of each engagement and you will stop an opponent in his tracks while setting up your own attacks. Learning how to use these 2 in unison will definitely improve your Jiu-Jitsu game. In conclusion, you may not see results right away, it takes time to practice and build this game, but once you start to use this, when you have that “A HA” moment, your BJJ game will take off. Remember your defense will always improve first, offense will come after. Learning the defense to something will always help you learn the offense in the long run. That is something that many BJJ practitioners don’t realize until they reach a colored belt, but it is a lesson everyone, of every rank, will eventually learn on their BJJ journey. Practice this every day and let me know how it works out for you.