Position Before Submission

What is position before submission?

Position before submission is one of the oldest maxims in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, repeated in almost every beginner class. It captures a priority order for decision-making on the ground, where control comes first, and the finish comes second.

Here, “position” means more than sitting in a named spot like mount or side control. It means real control: holding the opponent in place, shutting down their movement and their counters. A submission is different. It is the finishing hold, a choke or joint lock, that ends the match once the opponent taps.

The principle exists because a submission chased from a weak or scrambled position tends to fail. Often it does worse than fail. A missed attempt can hand the opponent an escape or a reversal, turning a good spot into a bad one. Control established first removes that danger and makes the finish far more likely to land. Renzo Gracie and John Danaher describe this control-then-submit logic as the backbone of the art in their 2003 book Mastering Jujitsu.

Why position comes before submission

Control does the quiet work that makes a finish possible. When an opponent is pinned and carrying weight, their options shrink, their energy drains, and the openings a submission needs begin to appear. Rushing the finish skips all of that.

A risk calculation is also baked into the principle. An armbar attempted from mount can dump the attacker onto the bottom if it misses, while a lower-risk attack keeps the position intact even when it fails. Good grapplers weigh that trade-off on every attempt.

The idea holds up under measurement. A 2022 study of no-gi submission-only matches by Spanias, Kirk, and Øvretveit, published in the Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas, found that winners held dominant positions significantly longer than losers, a medium effect (ES = 0.39). Positional dominance also correlated with upper-body finishes such as the rear naked choke and armbar (r = 0.50). Control, in other words, tracked closely with winning by choke or armlock.

The positional hierarchy

Underneath the maxim sits a ranking of positions, ordered by how much control and safety each one gives the person on top. Climbing that ladder is what “improving position” means in practice.

A simplified version runs from neutral toward dominant:

Position	Control level	What it provides
Guard (bottom)	Neutral	Legs manage distance; sweeps and attacks available from underneath
Side control	Dominant	A stable pin across a grounded opponent
Knee on belly	Dominant, mobile	Pressure plus freedom to move and attack
Mount	Highly dominant	Bodyweight on the torso, strong choke and armlock options
Back control	Most dominant	The opponent’s neck exposed, the safest place to finish

Sport BJJ’s points system rewards the same climb. Under IBJJF rules, back control and mount are worth 4 points each, passing the guard scores 3, and knee on belly or a takedown scores 2. The scoreboard, in effect, pays athletes to advance through the hierarchy before they ever look for a tap.

Position before submission vs position over submission

Some coaches say “position over submission” instead of “position before submission.” The two phrasings carry the same meaning, and the wording is regional preference, nothing more.

The sharper debate comes from the modern leg-lock game. Grapplers like John Danaher have built systems around lower-body attacks and often frame their method as “control that leads to submission” rather than the traditional pin-first model. Danaher’s students do not settle into a classic dominant position before finishing; they trap the legs in entanglements such as ashi garami and attack from there.

Approach	Core idea	Typical control
Position before submission	Establish a dominant pin, then finish	Mount, back control, side control
Control that leads to submission	Trap and control the limb, then finish	Leg entanglements (ashi garami)

That can look like a break from the old maxim, though most instructors read it as the same idea aimed at a different target. Controlling the leg entanglement before finishing with a heel hook is position before submission, relocated to the lower body. Stephan Kesting and Rob Biernacki make exactly that point about the modern leglock formula.

The honest complication shows up in the numbers. In the Spanias study, athletes who won by lower-body submissions, mostly heel hooks, spent no time in a traditionally dominant position before winning; their correlation with positional control ran slightly negative (r = -0.21). For that style, the classic hierarchy did not describe the path to victory, which is why some argue the old definition of a “dominant position” needs updating for a leg-lock era.

Common misconceptions

A few misreadings of the principle come up often.

The first treats it as “never attempt submissions.” It says nothing of the sort. The finish is still the goal, and position is the setup that makes the finish work. A submission attempt can even become a tool to improve position, forcing an opponent to defend and open a better angle.

The second reads it as permission to stall. Holding someone down and doing nothing misses the point. Control is meant to lead somewhere, usually toward a finish or a stronger position, not toward a stalemate.

The third assumes it applies identically to every style. As the leg-lock data shows, that assumption falls apart once heel hooks enter the picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who came up with “position before submission”?

No single person is documented as coining it. The idea grew out of the Gracie family’s positional approach to jiu-jitsu, and the control-then-submit framework appears formally in Renzo Gracie and John Danaher’s 2003 book Mastering Jujitsu.

Is position before submission still relevant with leg locks?

Yes, though the look changes. Modern leg-lockers control the leg entanglement before finishing, which applies the same logic to the lower body. Heel-hook specialists are the notable exception.

What is the difference between position and submission?

Position is controlling placement over an opponent, such as mount or back control. A submission is the finishing hold, a choke or joint lock, that ends the match when the opponent taps.

Does position before submission apply in MMA?

Arguably more so. On top and in control, a fighter limits strikes and scrambles, which is why grapplers in MMA often prioritize advancing position before hunting a finish.

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Sources

1. Spanias, C., Kirk, C., & Øvretveit, K. “Position before submission? Techniques and tactics in competitive no-gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu.” Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas, 17(2), 130-139 (2022). Accessed August 2026.
   https://doi.org/10.18002/rama.v17i2.7410
2. Gracie, R., & Danaher, J. “Mastering Jujitsu.” Human Kinetics (2003).
3. Inverted Gear. “The Fundamental Principles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.” Accessed August 2026.
   https://www.invertedgear.com/blogs/inverted-gear-blog/the-fundamental-principles-of-brazilian-jiu-jitsu
4. Evolve University. “The Importance of Positional Control in BJJ.” Accessed August 2026.
   https://evolve-university.com/blog/the-importance-of-positional-control-in-bjj/
5. The Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood. “Positional Hierarchy and Strategy.” Accessed August 2026.
   https://www.jiujitsubrotherhood.com/blogs/blog/positional-hierarchy-and-strategy
6. Kings Academy. “Leg Locks in BJJ: Why They’re So Popular.” Accessed August 2026.
   https://www.kingsacademy.com.au/leg-locks-why-are-they-so-popular
7. Grapplearts. “The Main Positions of Modern Leglocking.” Accessed August 2026.
   https://www.grapplearts.com/main-positions-modern-leglocking/
8. International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). “Rule Book.” Accessed August 2026.
   https://ibjjf.com/

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