We don’t want to be the grappler who can last forever while mounted, or while having our back taken or turtle unopened, or have the unpassable guard. We want to be the one that is seldom in these positions.

When mounted, it’s only for a second or not at all, because it was reversed or reguarded, or avoided in the first place. Same with the back. A stationary turtle is dying in place until we risk taking to offense. A great guard exists only for a moment until the sub is locked, sweep executed or back taken.

Complacency kills and so does comfort from these seemingly safe places. And although we need to have survivability in these positions, we should use our time here with specific and urgent objectives to change them, not to find comfort in existing within them.

In training we can get away with these inverted objectives, and should be playing from them as it’s where we learn from them. But understanding our objectives from these positions helps avoid or undo bad habits of strategic comfort.