Attacking!

The core concept we are going to discuss is attacking fundamentals in the Jiu Jitsu game. Learning the sport of Jiu Jitsu and wrestling one often focuses on drilling the moves and learning the transitions. It’s critical to know the move inside out. The fundamentals of good offense in Jiu Jitsu is knowing when to execute a move, and then how to perform the technique. The second part involves good instruction and a willing drilling partner. Once you are able to perform the technique with speed and precision you are ready to learn the timing.

What I’m going to convey to you guys is the idea that every technique has an ideal timing. Lets use the guard position as our first example of offensive timing. While attacking inside your closed guard, there is a timing I call the “attacking zone,” it’s when your training partner is posturing up. This is the ideal time for an attack. Anyone with six months or more time training BJJ will understand the fundamental attacks. Knowing this, if I attack an armlock while my opponent is ready he can easily perform the counter. However, if I attack the move while he is focusing his attention on gaining posture I will have a much higher finishing percentage. If I attack the same move while my partner is in full posture or fully broken down he can defend much easier. A good set up is to break your partner down several times making him think only about the posture game. Then, surprise him with a submission attempt as he regains his posture. One of the ways more skilled jiu jitsu players win is by predicting their opponent’s next move. When you are able to start predicting your training partners moves, you will seem much faster and in turn finish more attacks.

Using the same concept will help your all around Jiu Jitsu game. Another example of attacking during the transition is the takedown game. The best time to attack your training partners hips is on his recovery. For instance, your partner attacks a double leg takedown but fails to finish. At this stage of his recovery, while your opponent is getting back to his feet is the most crucial time for a counter attack. In the takedown game, you will notice your opponent defending his hips well prior to his shot. After the initial sprawl there will be a moment of space ideal for an attack. It is essential that you learn these moments for fundamental attack timing. Also, when your training partner is switching his grips during grip fighting is an important transition to attack from. The same grip timing is also available in guard passing where you want to attack as your opponent switches grips. Every move in Jiu Jitsu has a fundamental timing where the move is most likely to succeed. Your goal as a student is to not only learn the techniques and drill them until proficient, but to also understand the appropriate timing of the move. I hope this has helped you guys out let me know if you have any questions.