One of the earliest lessons in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu shapes how most practitioners approach the sport for years…
But as you progress, that same principle should evolve into something more dynamic – the adage of position before submission.
John Danaher explains the traditional starting point:
The first thing you’ll be taught in Jiu Jitsu is that position ought to come before submission.
There is a lot of wisdom to that.It creates a solid low risk platform from which to control a match first and then finish it in a way that really stacks the odds in your favor.
However, Danaher points out that this is not the full picture:
However, as you gain in skills and confidence you’ll see that the relationship can go the other way at times.
Very often the threat of submission will elicit reactions that help you gain position.
At that point, the relationship between position and submission becomes fluid, rather than fixed:
You will come to see the relationship between position and submission goes in both directions and each can help the other.
Danaher simplifies this with a key concept:
Submission threats typically create a CONTRACTION of your opponent’s limbs – facilitating positional advance.
Positional threats typically create an EXTENSION of limbs to create frames – facilitating submission attacks.
When they try to escape or frame, they expose themselves, opening the door for submissions.
Seen this way, Jiu-Jitsu becomes a constant exchange of threats:
This can lead to a faster and more dynamic game that increases submission rate.
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