brazilian jiu jitsu philosophy

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The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

As a beginner it is very confusing where to start.
Everybody will tell you to start with “The Fundamentals“.

Yet nobody seems to be sure what these Fundamentals are.

Some coaches will teach you basic techniques eg…
armbar, triangle choke, scissor sweep, double under pass, double leg takedown, etc…

At first glance this seems like a good idea; these techniques are very common in Jiu Jitsu and get used all the time. So it would make sense to teach them first, doesn’t it?

Well, yes and no. It does make sense to start your journey in Jiu Jitsu with those techniques that are the most common.
But when you start thinking about it, there is nothing “basic” about any of foramentioned “moves”.

Every single Jiu Jitsu technique takes years and years to master. And even then the perfect execution can only be done in relation to what the opponent is doing.

To make your journey and the journey of everyone in Jiu Jitsu easier, we should first start with a proper definition of what is a “Fundamental”.

A Fundamental in my personal opinion, is a basic building block that is always used and present in every single human activity.

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

I said human activity, not motion, on purpose. The Fundamentals, the basic building blocks, are general for every single sport, be it football, swimming, walking, climbing, boxing, wrestling or Jiu Jitsu.

The most basic element of being alive, is breath. Your whole life literally starts with an inhale and ends with an exhale. The illusive moment in between both is a direct methaphor for life itself.

Therefor it stand to reason that the most basic Fundamental of any human activity starts with conscious and mindfull breathwork.

Mastering you breath, allows you to master your unconscious mind and through that your emotions and motions.

Next we have to define how the body moves.
To make sense of human motion, you have to define a default state. The default state of a body ready for action, should be the perfect middle between tension and relaxion.
This is what we call “Form Tension“.
In combination with mindfull breath, you can call the ideal default state “connection to one self“.

Once you are “connected to yourself“, you can be conscious about your connection in relation to gravity. This is your “weight distribution“.
Lastly, in the context of martial arts you want to be connected to your opponent.
The connection to your opponent happens in three layers.
From body to body connection to breath connection and through both connection of the mind.
When you are aware of your opponent’s breath and his motion, you can quite literally read his intentions and mind and in that sense accurately predict the next step.

Only through true mastery of your connection, can you both sense your opponent’s intention, while hiding your own.

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

After you understand connection, you have to understand the basics of human motion.
Every single human motion consists of a combination of four core motions:
-shoulder to hip and hip to shoulder rotation
-forward and backward hinge
-lateroflexion of the spine in relation to the hip
-pivot around a central axis point

These four core motion represent the four planes of movement.

Every single “technique” in Jiu Jitsu or Grappling consists of the following five steps that combine and become incremental:
-Attach to your opponent
-Rotate
-Hinge
-Lateroflex
-Pivot

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

Your rotation is chosen in relation to your partner and every subsequent step is choosen in relation to that initial rotation.
Every step when done right increases the compression of your opponent in case of “Offense” or decreases compression in case of “Defense”.
You only switch the rotation after your opponent switches his. The one who switches the rotation first, always loses a step in the proces.

This is the basis of the “Mirroring Principle“.
If you understand Jiu Jitsu in this way, every single “Technique” or altercation between two moving bodies becomes exactly the same. The only difference between “techniques” then becomes the initial attachment.
There are as many different “techniques” as there are possible ways to attach two human bodies.
Most likely not unlimited, but by all means incalculable.

We should therefor be very careful when naming “techniques”.
If every technique is defined by the initial attachments and the outcome decided by a set of parameters, then it stand to reason that there cannot be an exact definition of a technique. Every technique is therefor a spectrum. Just like the colors “red” or “blue” don’t exist, only the red and blue spectrum.
And when you name one shade of blue or red, you better name them all or people start to identify with one particular shade, start to consider the shade as the whole or attack the group(s) to got attached to a different shade.

In the Bible and Koran, Mozes considers it heresy and dangerous when he sees his fellow men constructed an idol of God in the shape of a cow.

How can you depict the “Whole” with just one part of it?
To define a dot on the Infinite Spectrum, is to risk forgetting The Whole.

Zen Camp BJJ Globetrotters Wim Deputter The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass

In the same sense we should be very careful in naming techniques. Or at least make sure that we understand that every technique is just an attachment with a spectrum of outcomes where both players can come out on top or bottom.

To give a concrete example.
There is often a distinction made between a front, sideways and rear triangle.
By giving three different names, one might consider them three different techniques instead of the same thing but with infinite angles.
In reality there is just the “Triangle Spectrum” with unlimited angles, where the frontal angle is the worst and the 45 degrees are the best.

In everything in reality, what is true for the small is true for the whole.
Every single “technique” can therefor be used to understand the whole of Jiu Jitsu, even the whole of human interactions and I dare to say the nature of reality itself.

To give you more sense of this all, I made this video “The True Fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu Masterclass“.

I consider it my best class ever and it would make me very happy if many people watch it and understand the point.
I believe Jiu Jitsu and the world could be better for it.

December 30, 2023/by wim_deputter

There are no “bad positions” in Jiu Jitsu… (Offensive Defense))

Wim Deputter doing specific leglock training with Steven Royakkers

“Have as much fun defending from ‘bad’ positions as you have attacking from ‘good’ positions. Panicking, spazzing and disconnecting are the opposite of what is jiu jitsu.
You are on this mat to learn jiu jitsu.
No matter if you are in a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ position, you can still be doing jiu jitsu.”

Who is "attacking" and who is "defending" in this photo? The '"fireman" position is one of the pillars in "The Mirroring Principle" Click photo for more info.

Who is “attacking” and who is “defending” in this photo? The ‘”fireman” position is one of the pillars in Wim Deputter’s “Mirroring Principle”

That is the first piece of advice I give beginners on my mat these days. And, if I could go back in time, it is the one piece of advice I would give to my white belt self.

Offensive Defense – Defensive Offense

There are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ positions in jiu jitsu.
Only positions you know what to do or don’t know what to do.

In some positions you can be less mistakes away from tapping than your opponent.
But if you don’t make mistakes and do the right thing at the right time, you can make every position work.

By truly believing that, you are more inclined to look up “weird” or “losing” positions.
This gives you a better chance to fight from those weird positions than people who hold dogmatic believes.

The photo below was taken at a seminar I taught at Kaiser Sports in Olzstyn, Poland last year. Take a close look at the exact armbar position of Przemysław (partner on bottom).

Wim Deputter teaching armbar defense at Kaiser Sports in Olzstyn, Poland

It’s hard to believe, but from everything that I “discovered” so far the last few years, it’s actually harder to finish the submission here, than it is to escape (given no mistakes are made).

Often when people think about escaping, they think about disconnecting and getting away from the “dangerous” position.
By doing this, you will get at best a reset to a neutral position.

“Offensive defense” means staying connected. Don’t try to get away from, but instead, spend time in the “dangerous” positions.
Figure the positions out and try to solve them, not escape or break them. Make defense seamlessy transition into offense and bypass the neutral reset. Find the logic in every position.

The more disconnected two grapplers are, the more possibilities of movement there are, the more chaos.
Explosive and strong people hold a significant advantage over weaker people in most grappling related circumstances. The more disconnected a position is, the exponentially bigger that advantage is. The more connection, the least possibilities and chaos. More connection means more predictable. The more predictable the situation, the more the methodical technical grappler can shine.

Wim Deputter rolling at the BJJ Globetrotters Zen Camo in Talinn Estonia

If you have a good understanding of back defense, playing “panda” is easier than it looks. Click the photo for The Mirroring Principle “Backdefense and being offensive with someone on your back”.

Offensive Defense
Offense is starting from a ‘good’ position and slowly working your way towards a ‘better’ position. Defense is starting from a ‘bad’ position and slowly working your way towards a ‘better’ position. Both offense and defense are a battle for improvement and they meet in the neutral point were neither holds an advantage.
From this perspective, there is no difference between offense and defense.
You can’t teach offense without being aware of the defense, you can’t teach defense without being aware of the offense. Stay connected and realize they are both one and the same.

Click here to learn more about “The Mirroring Principle” and the concept of “Offensive Defense”. (FREE)

November 5, 2020/by wim_deputter

Inspirational, Jiu Jitsu Philosophy

This is how I roll – Jiu Jitsu training philosophy by Wim Deputter

Wim rolling with Liza, photo by Morgane Gielen

This is how I roll – The Mirroring Principle by

Whenever I roll on training with someone I don’t know…

I like to start standing, let them get their grips and let them choose top or bottom.

Training is not always to see if I can beat someone with my A game.
It’s most often to check if I can play your game, defend myself and still come out on top.

The harder people go, the calmer I go. When they go hard (and they often do ?) they get tired in the first few minutes. I keep pushing the same pace.
When it’s someone who goes slow as well, we have a nice technical roll. You build respect and trust for later, more higher paced rolls.

If I can allow someone’s A game while rolling calm and still come out on top. I know I can do the same thing playing my A game.

I train seven days a week, never refuse a roll with anyone, never sit a round out and usually take the first roll with new students. This way you meet all kinds of people. Some aggressive, some calm, some heavy and some light.

This is the safest way to train jiu jitsu and be ready for anyone facing you. Probably the only way you can train a lifetime with minimal injuries.

Along the way you might even convince some douches to take the same approach and ultimately make rolling safer for everyone. Creating an environment where you can safely take risks. Taking risks, allowing bad positions, getting out of your comfort zone are the only way to learn.

It sets an example for beginners. If we roll hard, they will copy that. If we roll slow and technical, they will copy that.

Before a hard roll, you have to build trust and respect first.

Competition is for testing yourself against people you haven’t build trust with yet.

The Mirroring Principle training philopophy
Wim Deputter

November 4, 2020/by wim_deputter