One of the benefits of involvement in an art are ‘avenues’ which facilitate an opening of the mind.
All too often in my Jiu-Jitsu journey have looked for a few simple solutions that solve everything, not realizing the bigger problem was the one-dimensional space I was coming from!
So, how do we access a continually blossoming mind?
Obviously, can’t tell you that, but something just on the cusp of after studying Cross-Sides Top for a time is noticing how the principles of Cross-Sides Bottom are almost the same as Top, but you have a mat at your back and varying degrees of weight on top of you.
Continuing on, from bottom we can still walk, lift and rotate our his (bridge & shrimp), as well pummel and hand-fight. Again, the geography is different but not so much that we can’t steal principles from the other side.
Other perspective ‘shifts:’ Mount Bottom being like Guard or Closed Guard, Knee-Ride Bottom as Open Guard/Guard Recovery position, and one last idea is Turtle/Quarter Bottom mimicking Cross-Sides Top with our back to our opponent.
Overall, the Inversion Principle is one way of thinking about three-dimensions in three-dimensions. Easier said than done! 😉
Have fun, and haven’t done any music in awhile, so here’s some to remind you it’s me:
