"Accepting" the Pass

I have been working on improving one of my basic mistakes lately - I call this one Accepting the Pass.  What I mean by this is the situation where your opponent is working on passing and you are defending, he gets past your knees then your hips and any other "frames" you may have and you finally just "give up" and accept the pass letting him flatten you out. The same thing can be said for "accepting" knee on belly or mount, or other positional advancement. You never, ever, ever want to just "accept" a pass.

As soon as you feel your opponent gaining the advantage and passing it is imperative to get your grips/frames and start moving. For example, make sure you get a grip or frame in on the arm that wants to crossface you or on the hip or shoulder that wants to flatten you out and start your bridge or shrimp before he has a chance to settle into position - always test his base before he can settle in. Those first precious seconds are your best chance to recompose your guard. Create a scramble if you can't get back to guard.

From most positions I am too slow to shrimp and get my knees back into the fight. When I turtle I am to slow to roll. From bottom half-guard I am lazy getting to my side and getting a knee shield or underhook or going into deep half. If I moved in that "first second" my success rate would be much higher.

There is also a downside to holding frames too long. You become glued to your opponent and lose the opportunity to move effectively. It becomes a stalling game - it might be fine in the last moments of a tournament if you are up on points but it is not good jiu jitsu.

For the next couple of months I am really going to focus on my guard game. That means a lot of positional sparring and a lot of (for me) pulling guard. I certainly won't make it unpassable in that short amount of time but I should be able to make it much better.

I'll try and let you know how it is working out and any epiphanies along the way.