Positional Hierarchy

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu organizes positions into a hierarchy. Each position maximizes your options while minimizing your opponent’s. The map looks roughly like this, from worst to best:

Mounted / Back taken (worst — opponent controls you)
Side control / Knee on belly (bad — you’re pinned)
Guard (neutral — you’re on bottom but have options)
Top position (good — you control the pace)
Mount (better — high control, submission options)
Back control (best — highest finish rate, lowest counter-risk)

Rear mount is the apex. From the back, you can attack the neck with chokes while your opponent can’t see you, can’t strike you, can’t easily escape. Statistically, back takes lead to submissions more than any other position.

Rickson Gracie’s mastery came from equal comfort across all positions. His student Henry Akins describes it: “Rickson didn’t have weaknesses. He could play from anywhere.” Most practitioners have a “game” — they’re guard players or top players. Rickson dissolved those distinctions.

The positional hierarchy provides strategic awareness. Sometimes you accept a worse position to bait a reaction. Sometimes you stall in a neutral position to recover energy. Knowing where you are on the map matters more than always seeking the best position.

This extends beyond the mat. Any competitive situation has positional dynamics — who has leverage, who has options, who’s defending. Understanding your position matters more than any single technique. You can’t submit someone from a bad position.

The hierarchy also suggests a training priority: spend time in bad positions. If you only train from dominant positions, you’ll panic when things go wrong. Comfort in discomfort is the foundation.

Related: [[survival-hierarchy]], [[chain-wrestling]]