Defensive Concepts
Frames, posture and the principles that keep bad positions survivable.
Frames versus blocks
A frame holds distance with aligned bone and costs almost nothing to maintain; a block holds distance with muscle and is on a timer, and confusing the two is why defence gets exhausting.
Foundational · Gi and no-giGuillotine defence: deny the separation
A guillotine finishes by holding the head and driving the body away from it, so guillotine defence is denying that separation: chin, frame, hips in, then around to the choking side.
Foundational · Gi and no-giPositional hierarchy, ranked by the hips
Position before submission is a statement about force: grappling positions rank by whose hips are free, who can see, and who can leave, and most points-based rulesets score a similar ladder.
Foundational · Gi and no-gi
Reading connected to this area
Journal
- Guard retention as a system
Retention is usually taught as a list of recoveries, which describes what a held guard looks like from outside without saying what is being held.
- Why the underhook decides half guard
Half guard is taught as one position with a long list of sweeps. Most of the list is closed at any given moment, and one arm decides which part is open.