Top Game Plan Guide
π± Track every roll like the pros
Free forever β heatmap, technique progress, streaks.
Contents
Overview
Comprehensive guide to top game plan.
Key Principles
- Learn fundamentals
- Practice consistently
- Track progress
π± Track every roll like the pros
Free forever β heatmap, technique progress, streaks.
Comprehensive guide to top game plan.
Attempting to finish before proper mechanics are in place results in failed attempts and positional loss. Prioritize position before submission.
Muscling through setups creates bad habits and fails against stronger or more skilled opponents. Focus on leverage and angles.
Techniques only become available in live rolling after extensive drilling. Regular repetition builds the muscle memory needed for execution under pressure.
Every technique has common counters. Learn the most frequent defensive reactions and have follow-up attacks ready.
Perform the technique slowly, then progressively increase to competition speed while maintaining crisp mechanics. Video yourself to catch form breakdowns.
Training with a partner who can give realistic resistance and honest feedback accelerates technical development more than repetitions with a passive uke.
Break the technique into phases and identify which phase breaks down under pressure. Spend disproportionate drilling time on that specific phase.
Competition reveals real weaknesses that controlled training obscures. Even white belts benefit from early competitive experience.
Most practitioners develop functional competency with Top Game Plan within 3β6 months of consistent drilling. Mastery β the ability to execute reliably in live rolling against resisting opponents β typically takes 1β2 years.
Yes. Top Game Plan is part of the core BJJ curriculum and taught at all belt levels. Beginners should focus on the fundamental mechanics and concepts before refining advanced entries.
3β5 times per week is ideal for rapid skill acquisition. Even 10 focused repetitions per session compounds over time β consistency matters more than volume.
BJJ is a linked system. Top Game Plan flows naturally to and from related positions. Study transitions in both directions to build a complete positional game.
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Get Free Access βThe most crucial principle is maintaining control and pressure while constantly looking for opportunities to advance your position or secure a submission. It's about being proactive and dictating the pace of the match from the top.
Effective transitions rely on understanding the connection between positions. For example, a good side control can lead to a knee-on-belly, and from there, you can often set up a mount or a back take. Always think about what the opponent's reaction will create for your next move.
If your opponent is defending well, don't force it. Instead, use their defensive movements to your advantage. They might create an opening for a submission or a position change by over-committing to a defense. Patience and observation are key.
Your opponent is likely bridging by driving their hips into you and using leg power to create space. To counter, keep your weight low and forward, driving your chest into their diaphragm and your hips down to the mat, effectively crushing their bridge before it gains momentum. Simultaneously, use your arm to control their hip on the side of the bridge, preventing them from generating torque.
Against a larger opponent, focus on using your legs and hips to create angles and off-balance them, rather than relying on brute strength to push through. Drive your shoulder into their hip to off-balance them and create a passing lane, and use your legs to sprawl and keep their hips away from you, preventing them from re-guarding.
Your opponent is likely shrimping by using their legs to create space and drive their hips away. To transition to mount, instead of just moving your hips up, drive your knee closest to their head across their body and down towards the mat, pinning their hip. Simultaneously, keep your chest glued to their chest and use your opposite foot to post on the mat, allowing you to elevate your hips and secure the mount.