19 Major Systems
These 19 systems cover the full scope of high-level no-gi grappling. A well-rounded athlete needs competency in all of them, yet clearly many specialists exist and excel. The choice of 19 is mine and it isn't universally agreed — another coach would cut the sport slightly differently.
Overview
Connections
The systems aren't isolated. They connect in dynamic ways forming a complicated network — passing flows into pinning, leg entanglements turns into scrambles, turtle flows back into guard, and someone skips the whole process by cartwheeling onto a Kimura. Specific subsystems even exist in hybrid state, midway between defined major systems (think the classic 10th Planet 'truck' — a blend of simultaneously attacking both the back and lower body). However, compartmentalisation still helps and soft lines have to be drawn somewhere to achieve it. This lets you work on the problems presented by one area at a time without pretending the rest doesn't exist.
Know where you are
The single most important habit in competitive grappling is being able to answer two questions at any moment:
- Where am I right now?
- What are the current goals — mine, and my opponent's?
These questions become: which system am I in, and what are the goals of this system? Systematisation allows for broad compartmentalisation of your knowledge — once you quickly identify which system you are in, the goals are already understood alongside common pathways to achieve them. Once this is clear, techniques organise themselves around the goals. Without that, technique is just memorisation of a static sequence, which breaks down under pressure and exposure to different stimuli.
Closed systems vs open systems
Not all of the 19 systems are equal. Whilst none are fully closed, some are more bounded with clearer goals and less potential variation. Some specific lower-level subsystems are so well understood that there are a near-finite set of meaningful positions, grips, reactions, and decision points — meaning you could make genuine attempts to flowchart them. This is where we get into hyper-specific battles such as submission finishing mechanics vs defensive mechanisms.
However, trying to treat the entire game with this low-level detail is where most mental models break down. It is better to conceptualise your jiu-jitsu the way a computer manages data: a hierarchy of instant-access cache for what is being used right now, working memory for what might be needed soon, and bulk storage for everything else. In a jiu-jitsu context your clear structural map of major systems, high-frequency connections, and overarching goals sits at the top, always present. Specific detail — sub-systems, decision points, technical mechanics, dilemmas — loads in only when you find yourself in the scenario that calls for it. Trying to hold fine-grained detail across the whole sport at once is the mental equivalent of fitting an entire hard drive into RAM. Processing slows, responses falter.
The chess analogy is also useful here: openings and endgames are studied as closed systems because they can be. The middlegame is played on principle because it has to be. Grappling works the same way.
System Mapping
Systems are tagged with a relative complexity rating (1–5) reflecting size and variability — 1 is the most bounded, 5 is the most open.
| Offensive | Defensive counterpart |
|---|---|
| — |
| General |
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