Free Fighter's Mind, A by Sam Sheridan

but the moment I get out of shape I lose everything. Boxing you need speed, even when you have a lot of experience. Jiu-jitsu is about dedication and knowledge.”
     
    Here’s a basic primer on ground fighting (if you train, please skip ahead):
    When two men are fighting they often fall to the ground. The Gracie theory is that 80 percent of fights end up on the ground; certainly there is a very good chance it’s going to happen, particularly if a fight goes past a few punches.
    When you and I fight, you rush me and we tumble to the ground. There’s an initial “scramble” for position, where nothing is set. The first basic truth of ground fighting is that if you can manage it you want to be on top. The guy on top is “winning”; he can punch harder (in MMA—not grappling) and his weight is working for him. The guy on the bottom is at a disadvantage if all other things are equal. However, rarely is everything else equal. Some fighters are extremely skilled at fighting from the bottom position. It all starts with the “guard.” The guard’s development as an offensive position—a place to attack from —revolutionized fighting.
    The guard is basically the missionary position. If I’m on the bottom, I have my legs wrapped around your waist. This is the best position for me on the bottom, because it contains the other basic truth of ground fighting: it’s all about the hips. Your hips (literally, and as an indicator of your body) need to be free to attack me, and you attack with your hips as much as anything. When you’re watching two jiu-jitsu players fight, it’s not what their hands are doing that matters. The real battle is in their legs and hips. So I’m underneath you, but you’re “in my guard,” that is, my legs are wrapped around your waist. If my legs are locked it’s a “closed” guard. By controlling your hips I can greatly limit the damage you can do from the top, and I can set up all kinds of submission attempts from the bottom, as well as sweeps in which I reverse the position, “sweep” you over, and end up on top. I have all four of my limbs against your two. Animals do it—watch the bears fight in the Werner Herzog documentary Grizzly Man ; it’s an MMA clinic (with biting).
    Jiu-jitsu has a progression of positions. The top guy, you, works to improve his position to facilitate his attacks. When you’re in my closed guard, there are not a lot of submissions you can attempt on me, and I can control your posture so you can’t punch me too much or too hard. So you work to “pass” my guard—to get your legs around mine, to get your hips free so you can set up the leverage mismatches. If you pass one leg you’re in my “halfguard.” Now, I still have both my legs wrapped around one of yours, and partial control of your hips, but it’s generally not as safe for me. You have a lot more submissions, and it’s easier for you to punch me. In strict submission wrestling, half-guard is very effective for the bottom man, but in MMA, where the guy on the bottom can be eating punches, it’s more dangerous. You throw some punches, drop an elbow in my face—but that’s not the point. The point is you freeing that leg; the real battle is you getting your hips free. Now you pass to “side control.” You free your remaining trapped leg.
    You’ve got your hips and legs free and off to the side of me, at 90 degrees, often chest on chest. Now I’m really starting to be in trouble. Side control is a very dominant position for you. I’m desperate to get back to guard or half-guard, to get my legs back around your hips, to get some control back.
    From side control there are a lot of submissions and attacking options for you and basically none for me. This is also a stable spot; it’s hard to get you off. From here, you might go to “mount,” which is basically guard in reverse. This time you have your legs on top of my hips, and usually you’re sitting on my chest with your knees up under