Top and bottom: When most people begin the sport of Jiu jitsu they almost always do better in top position than they do in bottom position. A decently athletic and competitive person can usually be reasonably effective against other white belts from top position within a fairly short time frame. Most people have a decent sense of holding another person down from on top. Bottom position however, is a very different story. Very few, if any, people come into the sport with a natural propensity for bottom game. Even very athletic people usually flop around hopelessly in bottom position when they first attempt it. It's as though nothing in our previous experience prepares us for Jiu jitsu bottom game. Everything has to be learned from a state of total ignorance. Overcoming this common imbalance between our natural propensity for top position over bottom must be a core part of your early days in jiu jitsu. When starting out EMPHASIZE THE BOTTOM GAME MORE THAN TOP GAME. This will create great initial frustration as you are essentially handicapping yourself by forcing yourself into weakness, but the long term benefits will make it worth it. Ultimately you want to be equally strong in top and bottom position, but given the uneven start we all begin with we need to nurture bottom game development more at the beginning so that as time passes you naturally even out in development.
