Reaching: All grappling begins with grip. That means both athletes will have to constantly reach for each other in order to establish grip and connection. Every act of reaching involves risk, since you are compromising your stance, but you can't refuse to reach, since then you'd never be able to attack and win. So the question always becomes – HOW CAN I MAKE CONTACT WITH AN opponent IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT CREATE AN UNACCEPTABLY HIGH RISK? Much of the answer will be bound up with the other elements of your stance and position – your head position, elbow positioning, the position of your other arm, distance and angle etc. Here you see Giancarlo Bodoni and Lucas Barbosa reaching for their respective grips. Both are careful to match head height as they do so to lower risk. Giancarlo shows his confidence in allowing his elbows to extend further forward while Mr Barbosa plays a more conservative retracted elbow position. Learning to find your balance between the need to reach and attack versus the need to remain defensively responsible and not over extend yourself into vulnerability is a huge part of your development
