Base

What it is

Base is your ability to stay upright and balanced under force: feet or knees wide, hips low, weight centred. Every sweep is an attack on base, and every pass starts with keeping it. A player with good base is heavy without trying.

Where it shows up

• On top in any guard: before you move, make sure a sweep in either direction would be stopped by a foot or a knee.
• Standing: a wide, bent stance with the head over the hips, so takedowns do not catch you square.
• In mount, side control and knee on belly: posting a hand or a foot the moment they bridge.
• When you feel yourself being tipped: widen, lower, and post before you do anything clever.

Key details

• Wide and low. Knees or feet shoulder width or wider, hips down, weight in the middle.
• Head over the hips. If your head goes past your knees, you are already falling.
• Post toward the direction of the sweep, with a hand, a foot or a knee, before the weight shifts.
• Feel it in the hips. When they move, move your hips, not your shoulders, to stay centred.
• Keep your weight on them, not on your limbs. Pressure and base are the same thing from different angles.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: standing or kneeling with your legs close together. One hook under a leg and you are swept.
• Mistake: reaching for a grip and leaning your head over them. Your weight is now above them and easy to tip.
• Mistake: posting on an arm that is already controlled. The post is taken and the sweep finishes.

What they will try

• The bottom player attacks base by taking away a post (a sleeve or a wrist) and then pushing in that direction.
• Hooks under the legs and a lift with the hips to break the balance in both directions.