Just What Are Fundamentals?

This article started, as so many things in Jiu Jitsu do, with an argument. Or at least a lively discussion Leigh had on Reddit.

The thread asked a simple question: what are the fundamentals of Jiu Jitsu?

Leigh gave his view, and someone pushed back. Then more people weighed in. Before long, it was clear that this thing we all talk about – “the fundamentals” – wasn’t as straightforward as it first sounded.

When Leigh brought it up with me, I thought I had a clear answer. Fundamentals are the basics, right? The building blocks you learn as a white belt. But the more we talked, the more it turned out that wasn’t enough. What is a fundamental, really? A concept? A technique? A mindset?

The discussion that followed turned into something useful. We broadly agreed that “fundamentals” sit in two categories. There are the concepts – the big principles that underpin everything – and the techniques – the handful of moves that show up again and again.

So here are our collective thoughts, drawn from that conversation.

Fundamentals as Concepts

Concepts are the ideas that make sense of the art. They’re not a single move or position. They’re the principles that keep you safe, make your techniques work, and give you a framework for learning.

When I teach, there are three words I probably say more than any others: pressure, base, and posture. They get repeated in every academy, often like buzzwords, but they’re not empty phrases. They’re the backbone of Jiu Jitsu.

Pressure, base and posture:

• Pressure is more than lying on someone. It’s how you apply your weight and connection to limit their movement and drain their energy.
• Base is your balance. Without it, nothing else works. With it, you can attack, defend, and recover.
• Posture is how you hold yourself. In guard, posture keeps you from being broken down. On top, posture helps you generate force without losing stability.

From there, the rest of the core concepts build outwards.

Positional hierarchy:

• Guard, half guard, side control, mount, back. Each position offers a different balance of control and submission threat. 
• Knowing the hierarchy helps you decide whether to stay put, advance, or reset. It also tells you what your opponent is aiming for.
• You can think of it like climbing a ladder. Each rung gives you more control and more chances to finish. From guard you look to pass, from side control you look to mount, and from mount you look to the back. The aim is to keep moving upward while making it as hard as possible for your opponent to climb back down.

Frames and posts:

• Frames are your skeleton at work. They create and maintain space. Without them, pressure overwhelms you. With them, you survive, reset, and build attacks.
• Posts are the other side of the coin. They stop you being tipped over, they give you stability in scrambles, and they buy you time to reset your base. A well-placed post can be the difference between staying on top or ending up on your back. 
• Together, frames and posts are the tools you use to manage distance, prevent pressure, and control balance. Without them, everything collapses.

Control:

• Control is not passive. It’s not just holding someone down. It’s actively managing their movement, dictating pace and direction. 
• If you can control, you can attack. If you can’t, you’re stuck defending.

Inside space:

• This one came from Leigh, and it was new to me when he first mentioned it. Whoever wins the inside space – the inside line of the arms and legs, the centreline, the frames – usually wins the exchange. 
• Passing, guard retention, even many submissions succeed or fail on the battle for inside space.

Squeeze and tension:

• Another of Leigh’s gems. Many people, not just beginners, try to finish submissions by yanking. They pull fast and hard, hoping for a tap. More often, it fails or it injures someone. 
• The real mechanic is steady, sustained pressure. A squeeze that builds until the tap comes.

Patience and composure:

• Perhaps the hardest concept to internalise. Staying calm when someone is heavy on top. Breathing when you’re flattened. Resisting the urge to explode. 
• Patience buys time. Composure reveals openings that panic hides.

These are the concepts that don’t go away. Whether you’ve been training six months or sixteen years, you’ll keep coming back to them.

Fundamentals as Techniques

Concepts guide you, but you also need concrete tools. Techniques are the movements you repeat until they become second nature. Fundamentals don’t mean knowing everything. They mean having a reliable core of moves you can build around.

We’ve broken them into categories.

Submissions

The core submissions work in gi and no-gi, at white belt and at black belt. They show up in every tournament database. They’re not flashy, but they finish fights:

• Rear naked choke
• Armbar (juji gatame)
• Triangle choke
• Cross collar strangle
• Guillotine choke
• Americana
• Kimura

If you can attack with these from multiple positions, you’ll always have options.

Positional Pins

If you can’t hold someone, you can’t submit them. Pinning is its own skill:

• Side control
• Mount
• Back control

These aren’t just “dominant positions.” They’re platforms. A good pin forces your opponent to make mistakes. A bad pin lets them escape easily. Learning to stabilise pins is as fundamental as learning to attack.

Transitions

Jiu Jitsu isn’t static. The game is connecting positions smoothly. Transitions are where fundamentals really show.

Sweeps:

• Scissor sweep
• Hip bump sweep
• Simple but timeless. These sweeps teach leverage, timing, and the link between guard and top position.

Passes:

• Opening and passing closed guard, for example with the stack pass.
• Passing isn’t about memorising fifty entries. It’s about breaking structure and advancing with balance. A reliable guard break and a stack pass will serve you for years.

Positional transitions:

• Side control to mount
• Mount to back control
• Back take from guard
• These transitions teach you how to climb the positional ladder without giving space. They’re not glamorous, but they’re the difference between holding control and losing it.

Escapes

If you can’t escape, you can’t take risks. And if you can’t take risks, your game stalls. Escapes are fundamentals because they give you the confidence to explore.

Positional escapes:

• Bridge to mat escape from back control 
• Bridge and roll from mount
• Elbow-knee escape from mount
• Side control escapes with frames and hip movement
• Guard recovery

Submission escapes:

• Armbar defence
• Triangle defence and posture
• Guillotine defence
• Americana and kimura defence

The first time you escape mount with an elbow escape, it feels like a superpower. The first time you slip your head free from a tight guillotine, it feels like a second chance. These aren’t just survival tools. They’re the feedback loop that shows you what makes submissions and pins effective in the first place.

Why Fundamentals Stay Relevant

One mistake people make is thinking fundamentals are just for beginners. They’re not. They’re the constant thread. A white belt’s armbar and a black belt’s armbar are the same move. But the black belt’s version has no wasted motion. Every detail is tighter. The difference isn’t complexity. It’s refinement.

Whenever I hit a plateau, what gets me moving again isn’t learning a fancy new position. It’s revisiting the basics. Refining pressure. Cleaning up posture. Sharpening a sweep I thought I already knew.

The fundamentals are the things that don’t go away. Everything else has a half-life. Guards come and go. Setups change. But pressure, posture, and control always work.

So, What Are the Fundamentals?

After all our back and forth, here’s where we landed. Fundamentals aren’t just techniques. And they aren’t just concepts. They’re both.

They’re the simple positions, transitions, and submissions that appear everywhere. And they’re the underlying ideas – base, posture, control, patience – that make those moves work.

They’re not where you start and then move on. They’re what you return to every time you want to improve.

The deeper you go in Jiu Jitsu, the more obvious this becomes. The fundamentals are the core of the art. They’re not optional. They’re not disposable. They’re the constant.

This article was co-written by Marc Barton and Leigh Remedios

About Marc:

Marc Barton is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, educator, and former doctor with a background in physiology and emergency medicine. He has trained in martial arts since childhood, holds a black belt in Shotokan Karate, and began BJJ at 30. Now head instructor at Kingston Jiu Jitsu in London, Marc blends scientific insight with years of mat experience. His focus is helping adults build sustainable Jiu Jitsu, emphasising biomechanics, skill progression, and smart training habits over brute force.

About Leigh:

Leigh Remedios is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and lifelong martial artist with black belts in Judo, Traditional Ju Jitsu, and Tae Kwon Do. A seasoned competitor, he has fought in the UFC, Polaris, and other elite events, winning titles such as the NAGA UK Championship belt and multiple IBJJF European No-Gi golds. Alongside martial arts, Leigh is a Chartered Principal Engineer, bringing an analytical approach to coaching. He runs a Jiu Jitsu and MMA academy in Wiltshire, where he continues to teach, compete, and mentor the next generation.