Start Standing

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< 1 minute read

I saw a comment my friend made on Facebook about people starting a roll on their knees.

He thought this is the dumbest thing ever about BJJ.

What do I, someone who mostly plays the guard in a competition setting, think?

I’m not sure if it’s the dumbest/worst thing about BJJ, but I do think it’s a serious offender.

The situation where both of the players are kneeling rarely happens in a BJJ/grappling match. And even if you ever run into this situation, you are most likely to (and should) move on to a better position by standing up or pulling a proper guard as quickly as possible… rather than continuing to wrestle on your knees.

I can understand this practice might be used due to the lack of enough space. This is reasonable, but again, it’s much better to change your position quickly. There’s no strong reason for you to keep wrestling on your knees.

If there’s no specific instruction given and you have enough space to roll, try to start rolling on your feet.

Even if you are a guard puller, you must practice pulling the guard against people who are great at takedowns.

Don’t just start a roll sitting on your butt!

You will be missing out on some great opportunities to work on and improve your skills if you don’t start a roll standing.

Rmemer…

Whether it’s your guard pulling or butt sitting skill, it has to start from your feet.