When we grapple, we seek to advance our position constantly. We are reminded over and over by our coaches to focus on “position before submission” and to only apply a submission when we are secure enough to do so. We learn early on about the hierarchy of positions. Certain positions are more valuable than others. This is based upon how much damage we can inflict versus what the opponent can do to us. We learn to exhaust our adversary with positional dominance. No doubt, position is of utmost importance.

However, positions lose their value if we are incapable of proactively transitioning from one to another. Therefore, transitions are the real linchpin of grappling.

Often in Jiu-jitsu, standing is seen as separate from grappling. All Jiu-jitsu matches begin from standing as do real fights. Standing is a position that we must learn to transition from into our ground game. The takedown is the transition. When grappling, we want our transitions to be smooth, almost invisible. This is the same approach we should have with our takedowns. I want my transition from standing to the ground to be one that advances my control over the opponent. I do not want to proactive to reactive nor from positive position to negative position. Plan ahead just as you would for transitions in your grappling. What is my goal? How will I get from here to there as fluidly as possible.

And remember, when you learn one technique you know one technique.
When you learn a concept you know a thousand techniques.

See you on the flipside. - Larry Keith