Combat Base

What it is

Combat base is a posture inside the guard where you have one knee on the mat and the other foot planted with that knee up, back straight and head above your hips. It is a strong base against sweeps and a halfway point between kneeling and standing. From it you stand up to break a closed guard, or start passes like the knee cut and the toreando.

What you want from here

• You are inside their guard and want a stable, upright base before you pass.
• You are standing up in their closed guard and need a strong step between kneeling and standing.
• They have opened their guard and you want to control the hips from your knees.
• A standing version of the same idea is the knee wedge, sometimes called headquarters: your knee wedged between their legs and the other foot outside, as a base for passing.

Key details

• Back straight and head above your hips. Lean forward and they break your posture.
• The knee on the mat stays close to their body, so they cannot slide in a hook or butterfly under it.
• The up foot sits outside their reach, so they cannot grab it for an ankle sweep or a leg entanglement.
• Hands busy on their hips or knees. Hands loose in the air get gripped.
• Switch which knee is down when they attack one side.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: leaning your weight forward over their hips. They pull you down into the guard and attack the arms.
• Mistake: up foot close to their hand. They grab the ankle and push you over with a sweep.
• Mistake: kneeling with the down knee far behind you. They slide under you or kick you backward.

How it is escaped or passed

• They grab the ankle of the up leg and sweep you over that side.
• They push on your knee and insert a hook or a de la Riva style hook on the up leg.

Gi and no-gi

Combat base works the same in no-gi. Without trouser grips your hands control their hips or knees directly, and grips slip, so keep your posture even more upright.