Gaining prior advantage: Jiu jitsu is founded upon the principle of advantage – WHENEVER possible: PRIOR TO LAUNCHING AN attack – BEGIN BY GAINING SOME FORM OF PRIOR ADVANTAGE THAT MAKES THAT ATTACK MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED. There are many forms of prior advantage – you can break an opponents balance, break his stance, distract him, surprise him – the list is long. One of the best when it comes to sweeps and takedowns is to create an advantage by having your two legs on the ground to provide base, mobility and drive while you take one of your opponents legs off the ground so that he has substantially less base, mobility and drive than you do. This makes the chance of a successfully completed sweep or takedown far higher than you fight in an equal footing. Whichever method you select, begin by seeking prior advantage of some type any time you can – it always makes your task a little easier
