jiujitsu: heisting & base
i always thought jiujitsu content was better with pure video, but time for another writing experiment
i have a bunch of this stuff on my website but i’ve never shared how i organize it in my head
because I do some teaching, i’m constantly thinking about this kind of stuff for myself and students
first off, definitions
heisting is the act of pulling limbs under you to build base, better known as “getting up”
base is a platform in which you can generate or absorb force
together, you use your limbs to get your head and/or hips higher than your opponent’s — the best form of this is standing, the worst, laying down flat, hands by your side
standing up, you can generate and absorb force from your two feet
laying down, you can’t really generate force (maybe push off a shoulder or something) — and if you’re absorbing force, it’s someone laying on you
better is to prop up on an elbow — you can generate or absorb force from that elbow
here, craig heists by pulling his legs under him, going from sitting to kneeling to standing — his base goes from ass to knee to feet
nicky does the same here, pulls his legs under him to build a stronger platform to absorb and generate force, then uses it to snap his opponent down
you see his hips and head start low, then come up above nick’s, eventually ending in a dominant offensive position
same deal here, craig heists by pulling his elbow under him, so he can drive off of his elbow rather than laying on his side
once you understand this, i don’t even use the word “heist” anymore, it’s just various degrees of base
having better base in any position means i can generate and absorb more force than my partner
so knowing this, the opposite is important as well
knowing how to prevent someone building base is a great control tactic
if they don’t have base, they can’t efficiently absorb or generate force
jozef grabs kenta’s leg so he can’t heist it under him and build base
craig traps the bottom right leg so his opponent can’t pull it under him, keeping them in half guard while putting his weight into them
he calls this a “turk”, but the concept remains the same
craig outwardly reaps the right leg in turtle while putting weight on, making it difficult to stand up
jozef laying on the arm and crowding the knee, not allowing owen to rotate up get them both under him
at its core, you’re preventing your opponent from retracting their limbs under them, or finding ways to retract your own limbs under you to build base
that’s it
this concept plays into other things like taking your partner’s limbs out of alignment, which we can talk about later
just playing with base makes you an annoying person to deal with on day one
try these positions
if you’re on bottom, play a game where all you do is find a way to get from flat to butt to knees to standing, by building base
if you’re on top, play a game where all you do is keep your opponent grounded and flat, by breaking base
this is the start of your training partners hating you ✌️
sources
rob biernacki bjj concepts
craig jones power ride instructional
jozef chen engaging without regrets instructional