Creating and Controlling Space

In an earlier article, we touched upon why creating space is important both offensively and defensively. By making the necessary adjustments to your distance to the opponent, an attack or escape will be more successful. Although this idea is simple, let's take a closer look into how to create this space and how to use it to our full advantage once we have it.


You are several minutes into a roll when your opponent sweeps you into a ego-crushing side control and time is running out. All the escapes you have ever learned are racing through your head, but the simple solution comes to mind, recovering  your guard. It is obvious that you need to create some sort of reaction to make this possible, so you start to frame out on their head and begin to bridge. Pushing off the balls of your feet and extending your arms makes enough of a void for your to shrimp into a better position to start working your way back into guard. As you make your last adjustments, you have recovered your position.

The amount of space you need is determined by what you intend to accomplish. In the above scenario, you are focusing on escaping side control and transitioning to guard. By doing so, the goal is to create more space to reposition your body in a fashion that will allow you to wedge a forearm and knee between you and your opponent. From here, you now have the space needed to adjust and make an escape attempt. When you break down the layers of the position, you can begin to see what a person needs to maintain or progress to another position. Once you know what an opponent needs, you can start to focus on each grip/post and begin to break their grips or redirect your opponents balance off their center-of-gravity to give yourself the opportunity to create space.


Active hips, proper framing, and gravity are the key to a successful escape. All of these things help create space to perform the escape. No space, no escape. It's really that simple.


If you are the attacker, the objective swaps from creating space to closing the space. The closer you are for a sweep, the combined masses with the help of gravity make it almost effortless to topple over the opponent. The tighter you are when isolating a limb, the less chance your opponent has of escaping and the higher your chance of finishing the submission will become. Closing the space between you and your opponent ensures better control of the situation and prevents you from being pulled into their game. The sooner you force them react and make a mistake, the sooner they'll give you an opening to close the space and attack.

Above on the left, you can see how Dave has too much space to finish the choke and Dan can easily escape. When he closes the space on the right, Dan has a far less chance of escaping and can be choked out almost immediately. Depending on your position will determine how you should act.

A good rule of thumb is whether you are attacking or defending, you must off-balance them to break or redirect your opponent's posture. When their base is comprised, the space created from their movement can be used to escape or to set-up a better position for attack. Keep in mind that timing is key for these reactionary scrambles, but with practice through drilling and trial and error, the easier it will be to seek out these options and produce results.


Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is truly a game of inches and knowing how to create or close that space can make or break your chances. Always be spatially aware of where you currently are in comparison to your opponent. Knowing what to defend ahead of time will create an easier path of escape and create better opportunities throughout the roll. Tightening the space between your opponent's joint or neck is the difference between discomfort and a tap. Controlling space is one of the ultimate tools that makes jiu jitsu so effective, so be sure to fully understand the situation and adapt accordingly.