The HeadQuarters (HQ) Position

Understand the Position

So lately I have been on this rant where I want to simplify my game. There are so many moves in BJJ, and so many more being developed that I find myself often in situations where I have never been before. People nowadays, especially in competition, are playing a lot with the lapel (lapel guard, worm guard, DLR with the lapel, etc). I have a preference for passing guard rather than playing guard. I like both pressure and speed passing, and as far as which is my favorite technique for passing - the X pass. How many times do you find yourself in a position where you are like "what the hell is going on... and how do I get out of it?" Odds are, every now and then you do.

What IF, despite all nuances of guard players, you can always go back to a position you know, rely on, feel comfortable with and understand; I present to you - the HeadQuarters (HQ) Position.

When I first came across this concept, I didn't realize it but I have already developed kind of a HQ position. Naturally, we do stuff that we are good at in Jiu-Jitsu. If you have a badass scissor sweep, then you probably revert to being on your side and hugging your opponent with your legs, gripping a lapel and possibly the sleeve (depending on what variation of the scissor sweep you want to hit). I like to try new stuff all the time, but when I'm getting my ass kicked, rest assured, I'm going to Lasso your arm and go back to my favorite guard -  I do this without thinking about it.

I started to research on my favorite grapplers of all time - Rafael Lovato Jr. I came across one of his Pressure Passing YouTube Videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRyiFw2WkRg&t=4077s
As I was watching this video, it clicked!! Besides being in great shape and having great techniques, great grapplers have systems. Look at how Lucas Lepri passes guard - he always starts at the same position and starts working from there. One time I was in Scottsdale, AZ hearing a conversation between Flavio Almeida and Rodrigo Fajardo, a.k.a Pimpolho, about one of greatest, Braulio Estima. Pimpolho explained to Flavio that Braulio has systems in place that granted him an edge over his opponents.

When you to start attacking from your HeadQuarters position you are familiar with your weight distribution, the angles you can make, where you have to grip, how your posture should be, etc; therefore, at least in theory, your opponent should never catch you off guard.


Build a System from your HQ Position

Take a close look at the top guys in each weight class (Miyao, Cobrinha, Lepri, Keenan, Lo...). These guys only do a handful of moves. Everyone else in their bracket knows what they are going to do, however, these top competitors still manage to pull it off - Why? Because they have a system; in other words, a specific set of "If this, then that" scenarios engrained in their game. These guys have drilled so much from their HQ position that they have familiarized themselves with all possible scenarios, and have developed counters for each reaction they encounter. If you guys agree with me, then we can safely conclude that building a system from one key position is extremely effective in tournaments.

"Sounds like you might be right Juan" - yes, I believe so! However, there are setbacks as well from focusing only on your HQ position. Not too long ago, I interviewed Kit Dale for an upcoming Podcast series I will be releasing in a few months. In the podcast, Kit discussed how there are 2 paths in Jiu-Jitsu: 1) Be a Specialist or 2) Be a Martial Artist. What's the difference? The Specialist is the person that focuses only on developing a game around a HQ position. The Martial Artist is the person that is always striving to learn all aspects of BJJ. I thought about what Kit said and it makes sense. Even though you can branch out from your HQ position to other aspects of the game, the fact that you are always falling back on that one position would limit your game. Therefore, building a system from your HQ position, I believe, does not make you a Martial Artist.

"Can I be both a Specialist or Martial Artist?" Well, If you ask me, yes and no. You can work on both, however, both of them will never reach their full potential because you are dividing your focus into two things as opposed to fully concentrating in one. In my personal case, I do work on being a Specialist and Martial Artist. I compete a lot, but I also do not want to be a professor that has limited knowledge on Reverse De la Riva or 50/50 because they are a bad ass in the Lasso guard.


Never Be off Guard

We all know the saying, "growth occurs outside of your comfort zone, blah blah blah..." and I agree 100%, BUT, the last thing you want in a tournament is to be outside your comfort zone. See when you are outside your comfort zone, you are not familiar with what's going on and odds are, you are in your opponent's comfort zone - No Bueno!! Rest assured, you will make a mistake and your opponent will capitalize on it. How can we avoid this then? By living within the edges of your comfort zone. Inside your comfort zone, you are the king/queen; this is your realm and where only you dictate what happens. Recently I did a tournament where my opponent was playing a lot of open guard. He started to pull the lapel off my belt to try to Worm guard me. Had I let him fully get the Worm guard, I would have probably be done - assuming he is comfortable in that type of guard. Instead, I backed, broke the grip he had on my lapel and reset. I don't feel comfortable at all trying to pass the Worm guard, simply because I just don't drill passing that guard since not too many people play Worm guard. When I re-engaged my opponent, I went back to a position I have tons of confidence in and started working from there.

Being in your comfort zone breeds confidence. When you train, put yourself in all kinds of weird and uncomfortable zones; however, when you mean business, go back to your domain, where you are in control and ultimately, where you make your own luck - your HQ position.

My passing/Guard HQ

If you followed the link I put in earlier in this blog on Rafael Lovato, I have followed his HQ position and applied to my passing for about 6 weeks now. When I find myself dealing with a Lasso, De la Riva, Reverse de la Riva, butterfly, etc., I always make it my number goal to go back to my HQ position. It will be nice if I can pass all the time from my base position, but, I don't. Truth be told, even though it looks so basic to go back to the HQ position, remember, I have an opponent that's giving me resistance so I always have to readjust and kill any type of offense that he/she might be starting. Personally, when I come I start to practice a new technique, I only do it one side. I try to perfect it as much as I can first to my strong side so it is embedded in my brain how the dynamics of the technique work; then and only then, I start to practice it on the to the other side.

As far my HQ guard, Lasso is my preferred choice. Without a doubt, one of my hands is always busy gripping his sleeve; otherwise, my opponent will pull his arm out - DUH!! With my other free hand I play around by switching the grip on the far lapel, far sleeve, cupping the shoulder, etc., and at the same time, my foot that's not doing the Lasso, is also playing around by blocking his biceps or maybe stretching my opponent out by pushing on the hip.

Guys, start out slow and feel out the position. It's cliche to say, but speed comes later. Part of training Jiu-Jitsu is training your mind as well. You have to remain in control of your mind and remind yourself to go slow at first and understand what's going on; I cannot stress enough how important this is.

Specific/Positional Training


The best way to retain something new you have learned or develop a technique/concept further, besides drilling, is to do specific training. In this type of training, you are forcing yourself to work on whatever the area of focus is. It's easy to get distracted and shift your focus to something else; again, you need to train your mind to keep focus and be present at the moment. Furthermore, drilling is good but it isn't how things work on a real roll. Why? Because you have no resistance. This is easily solved in positional training since you are getting resistance and have to problem solve right there and then without straying away from the position/technique that's being worked on

--

What are your thoughts on the HQ Position? Do you have one? Feel free to leave any comments and feedback!

Oss