The floor is your friend…but a very fickle one: Top position in Jiu jitsu is built around the idea of BASE. This concerns your ability to build a stable base of support that enables you to stay on top and build pressure over time that breaks opponents will and ability to resist. Using your hands and feet as posts of support is the key to building a good wide base that keeps you stable in top. In this respect the floor is your friend. Post your hands and feet out wide on the floor and you’ll be stable on top of even the wildest opponents. Be aware however, that oftentimes you post a foot, you become vulnerable to leg locks and oftentimes you post a hand you become vulnerable to arm locks. To complicate things further, it’s not every time, but only certain situations where this is true. The onus is on you to know when it’s safe to post on the floor and when it’s not - only then will the floor be a friend and not an enemy. Even if you aren’t sure whether it’s safe or not, just the awareness that posting can lead to dangers is enough to make you wary and pull away from danger as it starts to materialize rather than just complacently leave it there and get locked by a skilled opponent. Treat the floor for what it is - a friend when you use it well but one that can betray you when you get complacent
John Danaher
