How to Develop your Jiu-Jitsu Game to a High Level?

The importance of positional training, and why it should be at least 50% or more of your training.

For Henry Akins:

Free rolling and positional training both have their benefits but I feel these are the advantages positional training has over free rolling.

Positional training rounds out your game and makes you strong everywhere.

The problem with just free rolling is when most people train, because of ego and wanting to WIN, they always look to go to positions where they are strong. We all know about that blue belt with long legs and a crazy triangle, the first thing that happens once you slap hands with him is he falls back and pulls guard. Or that super big guy that has a crazy cross side that is a nightmare to escape. He will fight to the death from his knees and bull rush you to get on top and work to get you into his cross side to squish you.

With positional training you are forced to be in positions that you normally don’t spend much time in during the course of a free roll. With positional training you have to learn what to do from every dominant position (maintain and try to finish) and what to do from every non-dominant positions (stay safe and try to escape). Because you’re forced to work from every position you eventually learn to be comfortable everywhere. (I’ve talked to many people that do not feel comfortable in the mount positions and would rather jump off to cross side, when mount is the strongest position in jiu-jitsu. If you notice in Rickson’s fights he always goes for the mount)

Rickson Gracie Secrets: Importance of Positional Training in Jiu-Jitsu

Having focus when we train is very important. Training on specific moves until it memorized perfectly grants you an edge. Professor Jack Taufer talks about his experience and why you should positional spar.