Defensive soundness: Just as a good boxer always protects himself at all times through either , , motion, change, high guard etc, so too a jiu jitsu athlete must always protect himself from the many dangers he faces from a skilled opponent the he engages. The basis of defensive soundness in jiu jitsu is always ELBOW/KNEE . The further apart your elbow and knee are from each other, the more vulnerable you are. Learn to play the game with a mindfulness for elbow/knee connection at all times and you'll find that you become a difficult target for even a good opponent to attack.