Breaking your opponents structure and alignment – the power of unnatural positions: The human body is a fascinating subject of study – and at the deepest level, ALL OF JIU JITSU IS SIMPLY A DEEP STUDY OF THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE HUMAN BODY IN UNARMED COMBAT. There are radical differences in the performance levels of our body depending upon the stance or structure in which it is held. Certain structures/stances make us very strong and powerful, others leave us shocking weak and vulnerable. In Jiu Jitsu our job is keep ourselves in stances/structures that make us strong whilst putting our opponents in stances/structures that make them weak. As much as possible, seek always to PUT YOUR OPPONENT INTO AWKWARD AND UNNATURAL POSITIONS FROM WHICH THEY CANNOT MOVE OR EXERT strength. Probably the single best way to do this is through your opponent's HEAD. THE HEAD IS THE FOREMOST MEANS OF MISALIGNING AN OPPONENTS STRUCTURE IN WAYS THAT ROB HIM OF athleticism. Whenever possible, seek to put your opponent's head into misaligned positions that make it very difficult him to use the rest of his body effectively. Here, I am putting my training partners head into a misaligned position that makes defense to the arm lock that I am applying significantly more difficult than usual. Actively applying the cross face leg in juji gatame arm locks like this undermines most of the standard defenses to the lock and will greatly boost your finishing percentages in sparring and competition. Look to apply the principle of posture/structure breaking wherever you can – once you can break an opponent's structure and posture – his limbs will soon follow.
