(From a seminar I did 5 years ago)
These are a few central concepts of my Jiu-Jitsu Top Game:
1. Always try to put myself in territories that are familiar to me where I understand all the options (I call these “Staging Areas).
2. Make sure those Territories are also environments in which my opponent’s mistakes are inevitable.
3. Control my opponent’s priorities.
4. Use Extreme Pressure and Control to limit, slow, ride or direct my opponents movements. Always keep his movements predictable to me.
5. Make my opponent ALWAYS carry my weight.
6. Make sure his body is never in alignment.
7. Use pain, pressure, or inability to breathe to force him to make a choice (making sure his only options are bad ones).
One thing I try to do is always get to positions where I more and more limit the variables. This is why I don’t focus on just jumping around and going to as many positions as possible. It can be boring to roll with me because when I get to these positions my opponent has just a few options and if he does escape, I return him to these same control areas as soon as possible.
Here is sort of a variation of one I use a lot. I have a heavy shoulder of justice from side control. If my opponent stays there, I can either mount but more often I will just increase the pressure. If he turns in I go to reverse Kesa with the guillotine hold.
Again, I force him to carry my weight.
If he stays here, I can continue to make the pressure worse and worse.
I can also step to mount and finish the submission or continue the pressure.
If he goes back to his back, I go back to a heavy cross face and it starts all over.
If he tries to come on to top from his side, he’s walking into the full guillotine.
Many will still try to come on top even if they know the guillotine is waiting because I am able to put so much pressure on them when they’re on their side.
This is one of my top attack sequences and one I return to over and over when rolling.
I’m not showing my side control here but some details on the guillotine hold I use when my opponent turns on his side.
That is Decision 1: Deal with the pressure or turn on his side and into the guillotine hold. ( I have another flow if they try to roll away.)
Decision 2: Stay there and deal with the pressure or 1. Go back to being pinned, or 2. Allow me to mount, or 3. Come on top into the guard guillotine.
This is a flow I return to constantly!
Notice the choice I always force is between Pressure/Pain on the one hand and Submission/Positional advancement for me on the other.
I’ll cover this in much more depth on my Pressure & Control Instructional when this is all over and I can start shooting. But, for now I’m getting time to write out and finish the syllabi for all my DVDs