Position Before Submission

One of the main problems that I see beginners making is that they are so eager to starting getting submissions that they lose sight of training. So many times in training they go for a submission when it isn't there, or "forcing it" as I like to call it. They don't read their partners body position and movement correctly, and they end of attempting a half-hearted submission which is quickly and effortlessly escaped. So why is this?

Well, I think it's because they are not putting "Position Before Submission" in their grappling game. Instead of learning to transition between positions, they are throwing out the three submissions that they have learned repeatedly. This has two negative effects. First, it is building bad habits. They are training themselves to attempt the submissions long before the submission presents itself. Second, they will continue to grow more and more frustrated because they are having a hard time landing a submission. This is the first "plateau" of grappling.

So how do you get past this plateau? Well, first you will need to understand that submissions are not the most important part of submission grappling... I know that sounds counter-productive, but in reality, hear me out. To most effectively get past this plateau, I think that the beginner should drill submission techniques CONSTANTLY until they become absolute second nature to him. I mean they should be completely fluid with their submission(s). Meanwhile, when they are free rolling with a partner, they should be more interested in working for positions. Tell them that they are not allowed to attempt a submission for 5-7 minutes, and that they have to stay active during that time. This gives them plenty of time to work on their sweeps and control instead of constantly thinking "Where can I tap him from?" This should continue for a while and the drill should become more and more balanced. After a week, back him down from 7 minutes to 5 minutes. Another week, another 2 minutes go down. Eventually, if he is drilling his submissions correctly, he should be able to smoothly transition into throwing his submissions in correct conjunction with his sweeps.

Just my .02

That sounds like sound advice. In my gym we will do drills where you are only looking for position. It's a free grapple for 5 min rounds. One person is trying to maintain a position and the other is attempting to gain the dominant position. If the second person is successful it is now on the other to get it back. After a few rounds of that then the one in dominant position is allowed to attempt submission while his partner must work on escapes and position. If he obtains the position he may attempt a submission.