How to develop a personal BJJ game plan — identifying your strengths, building a connected system, and adapting it for different opponents.
A game plan is a connected system of techniques and positions that flows from your strongest attributes. It is not a list of techniques — it is a map of if-then relationships: if my guard pass is stopped, I switch to this; if my submission is defended, I transition to that.
Your A-game is the 2-3 techniques you hit with the highest percentage from any position. Build outward from these. If your A-game is the armbar from guard, build the setups that create armbar opportunities and the transitions that arise when the armbar is defended.
A complete system has: a takedown or guard-pull entry, a primary guard to play, a guard-passing preference, a top-control game, and 2-3 submission chains. Each component flows into the next when the primary option is blocked.
Against a stronger, slower opponent: use speed and movement. Against a quick, light opponent: use pressure and control. Against a guard player: prioritize your guard passing. Against a passer: prioritize your guard retention and sweeps.
A game plan is not fixed. Review it quarterly. Add new weapons as you develop them. Remove entries that consistently fail against your training partners. Your game plan at white belt should look completely different by purple belt.
Weekly technique breakdowns, training tips, and competition analysis.
Depth beats breadth. A game plan with 5 deeply developed techniques beats one with 20 superficially known ones. Build connections between fewer techniques rather than accumulating many.
Start conceptually at white belt by noting what works for you. Formalize it at blue belt. Refine it continuously from purple belt onward.
Every A-game technique should have 2-3 follow-up options when defended. If opponents consistently stop your A-game, it reveals a gap in the follow-up chain, not a flaw in the primary technique.