When working from guard position – actively seek to get your opponents hands on the floor: It can be difficult learning to grapple effectively from bottom position when you begin Jiu jitsu. It always seems that the top player has everything in his favor and that you begin with a massive disadvantage. In time you'll see that this is not the case, but early on it's natural to feel that way. One piece of advice that can greatly help speed up your development in this area is this – LOOK TO GET YOUR OPPONENTS HANDS TO THE FLOOR WHENEVER possible. It's not always possible nor necessary to get his hands to the floor to attack from guard, but it does create a very effective line of attack that will give you direction and focus when starting out. When you off balance an opponent and force his hands to the mat against his will, he cannot present any passing danger to you not use his hands defensively against whatever follow up attacks you employ until he recovers his balance and stance. In that time you will have an open door through which to attack. In addition, hands on floor opens his whole body to attacks. You can attack lower body or upper body with equal efficacy. Next time you're feeling frustrated with your bottom game start by getting his hands to the mat and THEN attacking with your favorite moves. You may be pleasantly surprised that opponents who were previously shutting you down are suddenly a little easier to attack with success
