TFS#33: Trust Your Defense

Not to sound like my grandpa, but defense wins championships.

Pretty logical statement though.

If you had a good offense but a poor defense, you’d banking out pacing your opponent on offense.

And if they have any lick of defense, they’ll be slowing your offense enough where their offense can catch up.

How lower belts shine

Especially at white belt, your focus should be on defense…or rather “what mistakes to avoid.”

Learning what not to do is just as important to what to do: expose your arms, keep your elbows in, don’t exposure your neck, don’t allow head control, keep your elbows connected with your knees in guard, etc.

Don’t get me wrong, you should still develop your offense since studying both goes hand in hand.

Half the game is learning to stop your opponent.

But I know how frustrating it is when two white belts go at it and because their lack of knowledge, one person gets stuck stopping the attack and doesn’t know how to escape, while the other gets stuck forcing the attack and also doesn’t know how to transition.

At this particular level, I’d say the defensive person “wins.”

If you can learn the broad concepts and apply them to unique situations, you can defend hoards of blue belt.

And this applies to blue belts as well.

At this stage you’re still refining your defense.

Being able to hold off purple belts would be quite the accomplishment.

You’ll do a better job connecting your defense to your offense.

You can think of your defense as a tool that buys you time to setup your offense.

What can defense do for you?

Improving your defense will help you learn to maintain composure under attack.

Being under attack is stressful, which is why at lower levels, guard players tend to panic during guard passing.

They don’t have a good open guard or just don’t trust their defense enough.

When you trust your defense to work, the game slows down a bit.

Only then can you can see openings to setup your offense.

Total recall

Most people suck at remembering what happened in their round.

They were too stressed and everything felt like a blur.

Remembering your round will help you identify what you need to work on, giving yourself a clear goal to work with.

Luckily, when you’re not on the mats, you can still work your mind.

Practicing recalling everyday will workout your brain.

Your brain acts like a muscle, when you challenge it regularly, it can get stronger.

Recalling mistakes will help you pinpoint what you’re doing wrong during sparring.

Once you know what went wrong, you can develop a game plan, a goal.

Having a goal will set you apart from everyone else who aimlessly show up to class “to be taught.”

Being proactive in your learning will help you advance faster than the average person.

Flip the script

As you start to understand the “don’t do’s” of BJJ, you’ll start to see them come up during your sparring.

…Now it’s your turn to take advantage of other people’s mistakes!

Also one last thing I’d like to clarify.

I know I mentioned at the lower belts you should prioritize defense, but that doesn’t mean to neglect your offense as well.

Developing them hand-in-hand will accelerate your understanding of specific techniques.

If studying offense first helps you understand the defense better, by all means, don’t let me discourage you.

Resources You Might Like

→ From me: 8 Pointers For Struggling Blue Belts

→ From someone else: How To Prioritize Grips During Passing

→ Defensive Concepts You Need To Try From Side Control

→ The Keys To Putting On Muscle Naturally For BJJ

→ How To Set Goals For Your Getting Your Blue Belt

Closing Thought

Like This Newsletter?

​Share this newsletter. Sharing The Fourth Stripe is the best way for it to grow.

​Tweet at me. Connect with me on Twitter, my DM's are open.

​Run an ad. Help keep The Fourth Stripe free by becoming a sponsor. This newsletter offers space for you to show off your resources in front of a dedicated Jiu-Jitsu community.