Oops!! Don't let this happen to you.
Imagine you are stuck in your opponents guard. After a tense grip exchange you finally find your opportunity to pass.
Boom!! You're in side control...
Now it's time to attack!
Step 1. Grab the collar
Step 2. Cross grip
Step 3. .........oops!
Wait a minute, NOW YOU ARE ON BOTTOM AGAIN :/.
The culprit was a slight knee bump from your opponent, sprinkled in with a little hip adjustment. This only happened because your arms were locked and going for "The Kill".
You committed your arms, and your weight was in range for your opponent to tip you over.
You go from good to bad, and now you are losing the match. Why?
Because you committed your arms when you were on top of your opponent.
When you are on top of your opponent it is a natural instinct to use your arms, but that is what your opponent is looking for in order to get out of a bad position.
As You use your arm to attack, they use that same arm to prevent you from posting.
Even worse is if you're trying to use both arms to attack. The best example of this is a cross choke from mount. The bump and role is a very common reversal. However there are several scenarios that a top player must watch out for beyond the obvious Turtle role and Hip bump.
Below are a Couple examples. One obvious and one not so obvious.
Remind yourself, just because your favorite Jiu Jitsu Super star manages to find success in certain positions, doesn't necessarily mean you will. They may be finding success because of their years of experience or their physical attributes.
Example #1 The obvious Turtle sweep.
This illustrates why a Hex Grip is important.
Example #2 Cross Choke in Quarter Guard. This is a position that is easily underestimated.
The top player starts off safe, but going for the cross choke makes him top heavy and susceptible to a sweep.
and this is how....
Step # 1 Frame against the Choke.
Step # 2 Connect hips and Grab the belt.
Step # 3 Slide in hips.
Step # 4 Bump and role back.
Stop # 5 Disconnect and back out of choke.
Long Story short,
When attacking don't commit your arms, because you just might need them to post. Go for attack options that don't require both arms to be commited.
And if you don't know many options, please keep following The TRUJITSU revolution, and that will change. : )
Photo credit: Keenan Booth