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Why You Should Always Strive To Be On Top When Grappling

Why You Should Always Strive To Be On Top When Grappling

Guest post by Belgian BJJ black belt Wim Deputter, head instructor at Brasa Team Belgium.  https://www.instagram.com/wimdeputterbjj/

Photo: BJJ Freaks.

Always strive to be On Top

I don’t claim this to be an absolute truth or anything. It’s just a mindset which I think always helped me a lot.

Being and staying on top and the act of trying to get on top, put pressure on your opponent. Like I talked about in previous articles, pressure wears your opponent out and leads to reactions which you can use to your advantage.

Quickly, think about the toughest opponents you ever had the pleasure to roll with. Chances are, a great number of those are people with a background in wrestling.
Why are they so tough?
They trained a big part of their lives to be always on top.

While wrestling is a very technical and complex martial art, the objective is very simple: stay on top, pin your opponent.
There is no way out in wrestling: you are either both fighting to be on top or stuck on bottom giving it all to get back on top.
This creates a very tough mindset.

Jiu jitsu is a more versatile martial art in the way that there are more options to finish your opponent or win a match. This versatility is the strenght of jiu jitsu; there is always a way out.
At the same time it’s also a trap: it might weaken your mindset.

Let me give an example of a possible thought-proces:

Slap, bump, roll. “I’m going to take this opponent down”. “Hmm… this opponent feels tough, let me pull guard and sweep him”. “Man, this guy’s base is strong! Let me just entangle and ride it out for a bit”. “Oh my, he’s giving pressure, my frame is getting tired… Let me put this hook on the ground and use it to hip escape.” “Damn, now he controls my head” “He keeps giving pressure, retaining my guard is so tiring!” “I’ll just let him pass and rest in side control a bit” “He keeps giving pressure, I can barely breath” “I could hip bump and try to hip scape, but I’m so tired…” “Let me just tap and restart back on my feet”.

You see what’s happening?
The problem with this mindset is, you are never taking a stand. Of course you should conserve your energy. But at some point in the fight, you just have to take a stand and give it your absolute best. Why not let this point be in the beginning of the match, when you are still both on your feet. Be tough from the beginning till the end.

Bernardo Faria is known for his relentless top game

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for guardpulling. But pull guard for the right reasons!
If you think in competition pulling guard offers you a strategic advantage, then by all means pull guard. Getting to the position which you feel most comfortable with on competition is very smart. And avoiding the standup part against an opponent specialised in it, is probably the safest bet.

When you pull guard, try to make it an immediate attack: foot on the hip tomo-nage for example tomo-nage failed, chain to omoplata or another attack.
An aggressive guardpull lets you keep the initiative, cause the opponent has to defend.

In training, pull guard because you want to train your guard. Don’t pull guard, just because your trainingpartner has a better standup-game. Training is about making it hard for yourself; face your trainingpartner’s strongest game. That’s the best way to improve.

Basically, play guard because you want to, not because you have to.
A real fight or a competition starts on your feet. Start you training in the same way.