What did you develop first, top game or bottom game?

[lechien]

Really? Because I think it was Rickson Gracie who said BJJ is a top game art, you go into the guard when you are in trouble. BJJ was and always will be a top game art.

Well I am sure that Rickson was glad to know some guard moves when he fought Zulu and that LV guy on the beach.

 

[Mumrik]

My guess would be that people with an amateur wrestling background start with their top game and everyone else starts with their bottom game. Lots of beginners at the same level could change that of course.

 

[cenix]

i wrestled in high school, so my top game (control wise) is better than the average person who starts in bjj without a similar background. that being said, i try to improve the bottom game more because it is the basis of survival and the platform from which to try and reverse your position to attack. getting better at the bottom game first will prove to be a solid foundation to work on, in my opinion.

 

[stile0]

i had to learn both. I'm probably one of the smaller guys in the gym so I had to force myself to have a good sweep game from the bottom and a controlling top game. Why waste my sweep on a big guy if I can't hold him down?

 

[KahleyTriangles]

I'm not the strongest guy in the world, so I started out in the bottom. Felt more comfortable in close guard then on top. My gym has a lot more heavier guys than smaller guys and even our smaller guys destroyed me when I started.

I developed closed guard and half guard first, then open guard (spider guard/de la riva). I drilled deep half guard for about 6 months before it became something that I actually LIKED to do instinctively rather than tentatively. From these guards I've become better at sweeping allowing me to work on my top game more, knee on belly, side control and mount.

Next up I'd really like to get better at taking the back, back attacks, and even dabble in butterfly.

 

[Title Fight Productions]

As a white belt i don't think you should be developing a game at all. Just learn the proper technique of as many POSITIONS as possible and the theory behind them.

 

[Stun Gun]

bottom game

 

[177ark]

I think even beginners should start to develop a game of some sort early on, if for nothing else, to feel some measure of success. Alot of beginners get overwhelmed because they're trying to learn too much and nothing works. It's when they start to specialize when they do good. With that said, I vote guard because BJJ without the guard looks like wrestling

 

[Half Amazing]

Bottom. I don't like midget wrestling, so if someone starts on their knees I'll just sit down and vice versa. But the majority of people start on their knees, so the majority of time I'm working on my bottom game.

 

[SuperSuperRambo]

Top, because I was a wrestler and never learned the proper way to initiate a guard position for a long time. So even if I wanted to work my guard, I would be in bottom side control pretty fast.

 

[thesaadishsnake]

Since we start on our knees in my school, I'll just play bottom cause there's no point in fighting for top position on the knees. However, if the other guy really wants to pull guard, I'll jump in and work on my guard-passing.

 

[NovaUniaoWesty]

Really? Because I think it was Rickson Gracie who said BJJ is a top game art, you go into the guard when you are in trouble. BJJ was and always will be a top game art.

Well that's precisely my point. What good is something if it only helps you when you're in a great spot? The beauty of JiuJitsu is that you can be defensive and offensive from positions where most people aren't.

 

[OhTheHumanity]

I didn't wrestle before taking bjj so I learned bottom game because I'd end up on my back most often