Standing

What it is

Standing is where every roll and every match begins: on the feet, fighting for grips, with nobody ahead yet. Two things can happen from here: someone takes the other down and lands on top, usually in side control or half guard, or someone pulls guard and the fight goes to the ground on their terms. For a beginner the standing goal is modest: keep your base, do not reach, and choose how you go to the ground rather than being thrown there.

What you want from here

• At the start of every match and every round, before anyone has grips or position.
• When you want to take the fight down on your terms, with a takedown that scores 2 points or a controlled guard pull.
• When you have stood up out of a bad position and need to reset without being taken down straight away.
• Whenever a scramble ends with both people on their feet again.

Key details

• Stance: feet about shoulder width, one foot slightly ahead, knees bent, weight on the balls of your feet.
• Head up and hips back. Bending at the waist with your head down puts you in a snap-down or a guillotine.
• Grips first. Fight for a collar or a wrist, or a collar tie and an underhook, before you commit to a takedown.
• Move your feet, not your hands. Small steps keep your base; long reaches give away your arms.
• If you pull guard, keep a grip and a foot on their hip so you land in guard, not under their pass.

Common mistakes

• Mistake: reaching with straight arms. They control your wrists or arm drag you to the back.
• Mistake: standing square with your legs straight. A single or double leg takedown goes through you.
• Mistake: pulling guard with no grips. You sit down in front of them and they walk around your legs.

How it is escaped or passed

• Breaking the grips and sprawling when they shoot for the legs.
• Arm drags and snap downs when the opponent reaches or leans in.
• Pulling guard with a collar and sleeve grip before they can set up a throw.

Gi and no-gi

Without the gi the grip fight is wrists, collar ties and underhooks, and takedowns from wrestling (single and double legs) are more common than throws.