Chapter 6: How I Structured My Top Game

Developing a top game strategy begins with assessing the opponent's leg positioning. Open legs suggest an inside passing approach, while closed legs indicate the potential for instep passing from the headquarters position. The headquarters is a squatting position with one leg in and one leg out, creating tension on the opponent's hooking leg and pulling them close with grips on the collar or knee and collar.

1. From the headquarters, transition to a knee cut pass if possible, as it requires overcoming fewer obstacles like frames or knee shields.
2. If the knee cut is not viable, consider switching sides and employing a folding pass, which involves compressing the opponent's knees together.
3. Alternatively, use a gliding pass by lifting the hips and using the outside leg to drag the opponent to the side, followed by a jumping motion to collapse their knees for a knee slide pass.
4. If these passes fail, switch to an over-under pass, which is slower and relies on high pressure, especially when the opponent maintains square hips.
5. As a last resort, execute a launch pass, which is similar to the folding pass in upper body orientation but involves more dynamic lower body movement for a burst of energy to complete the pass.
6. When facing a skilled guard player, strip away obstacles and return to a comfortable position, such as the headquarters or knee cut, to reset the strategy.
7. In half guard, focus on closing the distance and controlling the opponent before working to free the leg and secure the pass.
8. After passing, the preferred safety zone is north-south, where specific techniques can be applied to anchor onto the opponent and expose their arms and neck for submissions.
9. Identify similar modalities in both bottom and top games to find attacks that work well from both positions.

Overall, the strategy involves a sequence of passes, starting from the strongest to the next viable option, and adapting to the opponent's reactions and positioning. The goal is to control the opponent's body, particularly the hips or shoulders, to secure a pass and transition to a dominant position for submissions.