Purpose and Perspective

You may not be an architect, but I’m sure you can easily imagine …
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… a building without a strong base and a proper structure would collapse more easily than a building with these things.
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You can say the same thing about how you approach your opponent.
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Whether you’re attacking from the top or the bottom or grappling on your feet, you need to have a strong base and a proper structure.
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Let’s focus on the guard here, though.
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No matter which specific guard position you play, you need to make use of frames.
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You can create a frame by connecting your arms or your arm and leg.
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Or in the case of the knee shield, you’re using just one of your legs to create a frame.
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These frames are often structurally strong enough to support your opponent’s weight and pressure.
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So, having these frames in place will allow you to defend your guard position.
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In the meantime, you can try to improve your position as well.
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If you aren’t using frames enough, start using them … because they are essential to any and every guard position.
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And here’s something you should understand …
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Your frame/s would be there to stop your opponent from moving further towards you.
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And your job here is NOT to push them away.
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Sure, if you’re much stronger than your opponent, you might be able to do that … but that’s not efficient even with the strength difference.
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What you want to do is to MOVE AWAY from your opponent.
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Your purpose here is to create distance between yourself and your opponent.
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Since you already have a frame to stop your opponent, all you need is to move your body away from your opponent to create that distance.
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Does this make sense?
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By changing your perspective and choosing the path of least resistance …
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… you achieve the same effect while consuming much less energy.
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This is a simple principle, but it’s useful to remember.