This series covers the all important fundamentals of BJJ.

The aim of the GO FURTHER FASTER series is twofold: First, to give you the technique and insight to get to a higher level in the sport and second, to reduce the time ordinarily taken to get there.

So often one hears talk of: “Fundamentals” and we all hear endless talk of how important they are. Yet when it’s time to say exactly what a fundamentals program should actually be there is almost always only a vague collection of basic moves that most people agree are important and these are practiced in beginner class until it’s time to move on to advanced class and get to the exciting stuff.

If we are to do a better job of teaching fundamentals we have to go beyond this and start offering a clear picture of what actually makes something FUNDAMENTAL in the sport of Jiu jitsu.

The important idea here is the idea of FOUNDATIONALISM. This is the idea that all of the skills of Jiu jitsu are supported upon a set of foundational BODY MOVEMENTS, TECHNICAL SKILLS, CONCEPTS, TACTICS and GRAND STRATEGY.

These form a prerequisite set of knowledge and skills WITHOUT WHICH IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO BUILD FURTHER SKILLS AND SUSTAIN FURTHER PROGRESS OVER TIME.

My contention is that we must start going beyond teaching fundamentals as a simple set of basic moves in a rudimentary beginner level fashion and start identifying WHAT ARE THE FOUNDATIONS UPON ALL PROGRESS IN THE SPORT IS MADE and begin teaching these with a level of sophistication that can enable a student TO MAKE EXTRAORDINARY PROGRESS IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIME FRAME.

So what are these foundations? We have to go beyond seeing them as a small set of basic moves. I see a fundamentals program as built around:

• Movement skills: You cannot perform MOVES well without the prerequisite MOVEMENT skills that make them possible
• Technical skills: These must be taught at a level of sophistication that will speed progress and sustain growth all the way to black belt and beyond.
• Conceptual knowledge: Only when a student is given the big picture provided by a clear statement of the underlying concepts beneath the many moves being taught can he or she put the moves of the sport in a context that enables them to be used effectively on the mat.
• Pareto’s principle: This a well known idea from economics that posits that in any enterprise, the vast majority of your success is derived from a relatively small percentage of your employees. So too in Jiu jitsu. Experience shows clearly that a small percentage of the moves account for the vast majority of success.

What You’ll Learn In Pin Escapes & Turtle Escapes: BJJ Fundamentals – Go Further Faster?

The series is built around a fundamentals program that is not focused only on moves, but upon IDENTIFYING THE CORE POSITIONAL SKILLS REQUIRED FOR FIRST COMPETENCE, AND ULTIMATELY EXCELLENCE, IN THE SPORT. These are divided into three DOMAINS, each of which has FIVE FUNDAMENTAL POSITIONAL SKILL SETS

STANDING POSITION

• Stance
• Motion
• Grip
• Kuzushi (off balancing/breaking stance)
• Transitions to the ground

GROUND POSITION: BOTTOM

• Escapes from pins
• Guard retention
• Guard offense
• Half guard offense
• Turtle defense

GROUND POSTION: TOP

• Opening a closed guard
• Passing an open guard
• Passing half guard
• Pin maintenance and transitions
• Turtle breakdowns

The goal of a fundamentals program is mastery of these fifteen fundamental skill.

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