How Can You Utilize Controlled Aggression In Your Jiu Jitsu?

The aggression can be both good and bad for you, depending on how you are utilizing it. It can be good and useful, giving you an advantage over your opponent if you are keeping it under your control and utilizing it strategically. In the worst scenario, it can make you lose the match, giving your opponent an advantage over you if you are keeping your aggression under your control, as it will cause you to make many mistakes in frustration and uncontrolled aggression. So it all depends on you how you want others to perceive it. Therefore, it is very important for you to know the way to control your aggression and utilize it for your benefit. Let’s dive into it further.

Aggression is the proactive and offensive style of grappling in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In this style, the practitioner tries to submit their opponent by continuously executing one attack after another. They always try to dominate their opponent and keep them submissive. They never shift themselves into a defensive mode. This is how the aggression works in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The only difference between good and bad aggression is control. Show aggression while keeping control over your moves and techniques. It also involves playing without feeling any pressure throughout your match. You remain fearless playing your shots. You don’t fear executing any technique, and seeing this, your opponent starts feeling pressure.

The following are some ways through which you can utilize your controlled aggression to your advantage in the art of Jiu Jitsu:

• The first rule of grappling with controlled aggression is to keep a proactive mindset. You should have a proactive grappling style. It means that you should always be active throughout the match. You should also try continuously to look for opportunities where you should be offensive against your opponent. It does mean that you have to be instantly reactive and blindly execute moves or techniques, and throw punches against your opponent.

• It means that you keep observing and noting the complete gameplay of your opponent, and when you think that it's high time for executing the submission technique or move, go for it. Moreover, you should also make sweeps, armbars, or other attacks on your opponent just to create the opportunity for you to play the final knockout move.

• Moreover, don’t fear to make the first move. Don’t wait for their actions. You should also look for the opportunities, but even better than this is to create one for yourself. Initiate everything. Don’t rely on them for anything. So this is how the proactive grappling style looks.

• The next rule is to move strategically and efficiently. You should not just move without any strategy or thinking. Don’t move randomly. Implement strategic and decisive movements in your grappling style. The reason this is important is that it impacts the techniques you execute for submissions you want to achieve. Don’t allow your opponent to guess your next move. Continuously mix your movements with something new you have not applied in the match so far. Don’t fix your pattern of techniques, execution, and movements.

• This will keep your opponent confused. Once your opponent is confused, you will be at an advantage. The confusion will not allow them to execute any proper or accurate techniques according to the time and situation of the match. This will also shift them into a defensive mode, and even if they somehow execute some techniques, you will not be affected by them because these will be just a random execution and not one made with accuracy and precision.

• Keep your movements quick. Don’t slow them. The more you are quick, the less time they will have to prepare themselves for the move, think of a strategy, and react against your move.

• The third important way is the strategic positioning. Your position relevant to your opponent is very crucial in the art of Jiu Jitsu. This position controls the success of execution of your techniques and also the range of techniques or moves that you can apply to your opponent. Moreover, this position also becomes critical in the power or force generated with your techniques, throws, or moves.

• So this is the reason it is very crucial for you to get yourself into positions in which you can easily do two things. One is to defend yourself against your opponent’s attacks, and the other is to make submissions and attacks on your opponent.

• Try to be in a position where you can take your opponent’s backs. Secure dominant positions like mount, guard, or any other such positions in which you have control over your opponent’s body. The benefit of this positional control and dominance over your opponent is that you are able to do anything or execute any technique against them, and you are also able to take them to submissions.

• As we all know, the technique is the king in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. So you have to make sure that you have mastered all your techniques. Regarding techniques, there are two things that are very important for you in your game for utilizing the controlled aggression:

• The first thing is that you must display technical proficiency in your game. Your opponent or anyone watching you should not be able to tell you that you are weak in a particular move or that you have not executed that particular technique very well. So make sure you have mastered all your techniques so well that there are minimal chances of any mistake, and your opponent cannot get themselves free or escape from your coming move or technique.

• The next thing you should have is the technical advantage. The technical advantage means that you must have your techniques better than your opponent. You must have at least some techniques that are known by you only and not by your opponent. This is the technical advantage that is very important for you. An easy solution or way to gain this advantage is by learning some closely related martial arts such as Judo or Japanese Jiu Jitsu.

• In these arts, you can learn many other skills, moves, or techniques that are unique to BJJ. So if you learn them and start executing them against your opponents in a professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match, then you will have the technical advantage. advantage over them, and you will have higher chances of finishing the match with a victory.

• Another important thing to learn and remember while executing technique in controlled aggression is the timing of your techniques and awareness. If you cannot properly time your techniques, then you cannot execute your techniques well against your opponent, and ultimately, they will not bring any good results to you. The timing of the technique means that you are executing it as soon as the right situation and right time arrive. It also means that you execute them quickly on your opponent. You should be looking for the opportunity, or you can create them, but as soon as the right opportunity arrives, you should execute them immediately without wasting even a second. So this is how timing of the techniques works.

• The second thing is the awareness. The awareness in the context of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu means that you have to keep yourself well aware of your opponent’s actions and reactions to your techniques and moves. This awareness is necessary to help you make and adjust your strategy during the match. It is very important for you to remember that your strategy for the game must be flexible, and you should not be strict or fixed to your strategy, which you made before the match, depending on your opponent. So keep yourself aware and continuously observe their actions and reactions and accordingly adjust your strategy.

The aggression can be very useful for you in your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match if you utilize it strategically in a controlled manner. The opposite is also very true: if you do not have any control over your aggression during grappling, then it will be very harmful for you, giving your opponent an advantage over you. So it is a very important thing that you learn how you control your aggression in a professional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match. Otherwise, you will get knocked out by your opponent. We see this often in beginners who have no control over their moves, techniques, and aggression, thereby leading themselves to a shameful defeat. So make sure you learn how to control yourself, your body, your techniques' execution, and moves in your game by following the ways given above.

Aggression is the proactive and offensive style of grappling in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In this style, the practitioner tries to submit their opponent by continuously executing one attack after another. They always try to dominate their opponent and keep them submissive. They never shift themselves into a defensive mode. This is how the aggression works in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The only difference between good and bad aggression is control. Show aggression while keeping control over your moves and techniques.

The following are some ways through which you can utilize your controlled aggression to your advantage in the art of Jiu Jitsu:

• Proactive grappling style and mindset

• Move strategically and efficiently

• Strategic positioning

• Master your techniques

• Timing and awareness