---
title: Principles
description: The overarching ideas that sit underneath the moves. From the front-headlock and turtle instructionals I've worked through.
section: body
tags: [bjj, principles, index]
genre: index
lastUpdated: 2026-05-01
url: https://fardiniqbal.com/docs/body/mat/principles
---


Principles aren't moves. They're the ideas that make moves work. A move page can cite multiple principles in its frontmatter; that's how this site connects a specific technique to the larger logic underneath it.

The first three are from Volume 01 of *Only Way Out*. Brian Glick presents them as a blueprint for defending front headlock and turtle, but they generalize — almost any bottom-position decision I make runs through at least one of them. The fourth crystallizes in Volume 02 as the ordering that governs every escape sequence. The fifth is from Volume 01 of *Foundation of Offense* (Gordon Ryan) and names the geometry shared by every rolling escape.

## The three [#the-three]

From [§5 of the Volume 01 transcript](/docs/body/mat/sources/only-way-out/volume-01#5-core-principles):

> These aren't laws or rules — they're general guidelines, a blueprint:
>
> 1. **Get your back to the floor.**
> 2. **Fight for inside position.**
> 3. **Retract; don't allow extension.**
>
> As you move through the rest of this course — whether technical or tactical — these three will show up over and over. Keep them in mind as a guideline.

## Pages [#pages]

* [**Get your back to the floor**](/docs/body/mat/principles/back-to-floor). The jiu-jitsu answer to front headlock and turtle: change the geometry of the fight. Once your back is on the mat, your partner's options collapse.
* [**Fight for inside position**](/docs/body/mat/principles/inside-position). Starts at the micro-level — your thumb inside a wrist — and scales up to frames, wedges, and leg position. Whenever possible, be on the inside.
* [**Retract; don't allow extension**](/docs/body/mat/principles/retract). Your partner wins when your elbow leaves your knee. Knee-elbow connection preserves every defensive resource you have.

## From Volume 02 (Only Way Out) [#from-volume-02-only-way-out]

* [**Defense before escape**](/docs/body/mat/principles/defense-before-escape). Defend the submission first. Defend the go-behind second. Only then escape. If his strangle hand creeps up during an escape, stop everything — head to the floor, defend the grip, start over.

## From Volume 01 (Foundation of Offense) [#from-volume-01-foundation-of-offense]

* [**Disconnect hips, re-center head**](/docs/body/mat/principles/disconnect-hips-recenter-head). The universal framework for any rolling escape from a guillotine or kata-gatame. Post hip + knee, fall to a hip, drive the head from the hip back to the centerline. One principle, every variant.