“Position over submission”, right? You’ve probably heard that expression a lot of times on your BJJ journey so far…
But here’s the thing. How you get to position is as important as getting to the position itself.
You can’t just “go for it”. At least if you want to improve to the best of your abilities, that is.
John Danaher explains further:
Superior position is always one of the major goals of the sport.
As such, many people don’t care too much how they get there so long as they get to the goal – but HOW you get there is important for your long term development.You want to WORK your way to a position – systematically working from grip to grip, hold to hold – your opponent under tight control throughout the movement.
Danaher continues to emphasize the importance of approaching it from this perspective:
That’s not to say that you can’t have success jumping from one position to another – you definitely can – but it’s difficult to do this reliably and consistently as opponents will feel the space and lightness as you transition from one position to another and escape/counter in the transition.
Long term, it’s better to exert as much control in the transition as possible – that way you’ll be successful for a long time even when opponents know what you’re trying to do.
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