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Headquarters Position Top | BJJ Position Guide | BJJ Graph

Oct 25, 202511 min read

Headquarters Position Top

bjjstatepasstopcontrolsystematic

State Properties

  • State ID: S080
  • Point Value: 2 (Passing advantage, not yet passed)
  • Position Type: Passing control position
  • Risk Level: Low
  • Energy Cost: Low
  • Time Sustainability: Long

State Description

The Headquarters Position Top (HQ) is a fundamental and highly systematic guard passing control position where the top player controls one of the bottom player’s legs while establishing strong base, upright posture, and optimal positioning for multiple passing strategies. Popularized and refined by John Danaher and his students, headquarters serves as the central hub of modern guard passing systems, creating a decision point from which the passer can select the optimal passing route based on the opponent’s defensive reactions. The position offers exceptional control with minimal energy expenditure and low risk, functioning as a stable platform for methodical, systematic guard passing rather than explosive or risky passing attempts.

Visual Description

You are positioned on top with one of the opponent’s legs controlled between your legs, typically with their knee pinned to the mat by your shin or knee while your leg wraps around or controls their thigh. Your opposite leg is posted wide and firm on the mat, creating a strong triangular base that provides stability and prevents sweeps. Your posture is upright with spine aligned and head up, maintaining structural integrity rather than falling forward onto the opponent. Your hands control the opponent’s upper body, typically with grips on their collar, sleeves, or using posts on their hips and shoulders to control distance and prevent them from closing frames or establishing defensive grips. The opponent is on their back with one leg trapped and controlled, their hips flattened or controlled to prevent mobility, and their ability to create offensive angles or re-establish guard severely limited by your leg control and weight distribution.

Key Principles

  • Pin opponent’s knee to mat with firm pressure
  • Maintain upright posture with aligned spine
  • Establish wide, stable base with posted leg
  • Control opponent’s hip mobility and movement
  • Systematically eliminate defensive options
  • Maintain multiple passing threats simultaneously
  • Use headquarters as decision hub for passing selection

Prerequisites

  • Solid understanding of base and posture fundamentals
  • Familiarity with guard passing mechanics and principles
  • Recognition of opponent’s defensive patterns and frames
  • Knowledge of systematic passing approaches

State Invariants

  • One opponent leg controlled between your legs
  • Supporting leg firmly posted for stable base
  • Upright posture with spine alignment maintained
  • Control of opponent’s knee/thigh region
  • Opponent’s hips flattened or controlled

Defensive Responses (When Opponent Has This State)

Offensive Transitions (Available From This State)

Counter Transitions

Expert Insights

  • John Danaher: “Headquarters is the cornerstone of systematic guard passing because it provides a stable control position with minimal risk while creating a clear decision tree for pass selection. The key principle is controlling the opponent’s knee-line before attempting to control their hips, which creates a sequential approach that systematically eliminates escape routes. From headquarters, you can read the opponent’s defensive reactions and select the optimal passing route based on where they create weakness. This transforms passing from a chaotic scramble into a systematic problem-solving sequence. The critical details are maintaining upright posture to prevent butterfly hook entries and keeping the knee pinned to destroy their ability to create angles.”
  • Gordon Ryan: “I use headquarters as my primary passing position in both gi and no-gi because it allows me to stay safe while threatening multiple passes simultaneously. The opponent never knows which direction I’m passing until I commit, which keeps them reactive and defensive. I emphasize a floating approach to headquarters where I maintain lower pressure initially to bait defensive movements, then commit heavily to specific passes when they overcommit to one direction. The key is being patient in headquarters and not rushing passes before the position is properly established.”
  • Eddie Bravo: “While headquarters is more of a traditional approach, I recognize its effectiveness for systematic passing, especially in no-gi contexts. I teach students to use headquarters as a transition position but emphasize maintaining constant pressure and movement rather than static control. The combination of headquarters with quick transitions to leg drags and back steps can create explosive passing sequences that catch opponents off guard. The key is not getting too attached to the position and being willing to flow between headquarters and other passing positions dynamically.”

Common Errors

  • Error: Poor knee control
    • Consequence: Allows opponent to recover guard easily, as insufficient pressure on their knee permits hip mobility and frame recovery.
    • Correction: Pin their knee firmly to the mat with your shin or knee, eliminating their ability to create angles or re-establish guard.
  • Error: Weak base positioning
    • Consequence: Creates vulnerability to sweeps and reversals, as narrow or imbalanced base makes you unstable during transitions.
    • Correction: Maintain wide base with one leg posted firmly and upright posture, ensuring stability throughout passing movements.
  • Error: Excessive forward lean
    • Consequence: Exposes you to butterfly hooks and underhook attacks, compromising your passing advantage.
    • Correction: Keep upright posture with spine aligned and weight distributed through your posts, not falling forward onto opponent.
  • Error: Telegraphing pass direction
    • Consequence: Allows opponent to anticipate and defend effectively, reducing success rates of your passes.
    • Correction: Maintain multiple passing threats simultaneously, using feints and variations to disguise your actual passing direction until commitment.
  • Error: Passive positioning
    • Consequence: Gives opponent time to recover and re-establish defensive frames, wasting positional advantage.
    • Correction: Constantly apply pressure and work toward passes, using headquarters as a launching platform for immediate attacks rather than a resting position.

Training Drills

  • Knee Pin Maintenance: Practice maintaining knee control from headquarters against progressive resistance, developing sensitivity to opponent’s movement and adjustment timing.
  • Pass Selection Cycling: Drill transitioning between different passes from headquarters based on partner’s defensive reactions, building decision-making skills and pattern recognition.
  • HQ Recovery and Re-establishment: Work on recovering headquarters when position is compromised, understanding how to reset control when opponent creates frames or angles.
  • Systematic Passing Sequences: Flow through complete passing sequences starting from headquarters, understanding the if-then logic tree for pass selection based on defensive patterns.
  • Posture and Base Under Pressure: Hold headquarters position while opponent attempts various defensive actions, developing structural integrity and balance under stress.

Decision Tree

If opponent establishes inside knee shield frame:

Else if opponent frames with outside leg or pushes:

Else if opponent attempts to invert or go upside down:

Else if opponent establishes deep underhook on near side:

Else if opponent is flattened with weak frames:

Position Metrics

  • Position Retention Rate: Beginner 70%, Intermediate 85%, Advanced 95%
  • Advancement Probability: Beginner 65%, Intermediate 80%, Advanced 90%
  • Guard Recovery Probability: Beginner 25%, Intermediate 15%, Advanced 5%
  • Pass Completion Probability: Beginner 60%, Intermediate 75%, Advanced 85%
  • Average Time in Position: 15-60 seconds

Optimal Paths

Primary passing path: Headquarters Position Top → Knee Cut Pass → Side Control → Mount → Submission → Won by Submission

Back attack path: Headquarters Position Top → Leg Drag Pass → Back Step → Back Control → Rear Naked Choke → Won by Submission

Pressure passing path: Headquarters Position Top → Smash Pass → Side Control → North-South → North-South Choke → Won by Submission

Mount transition path: Headquarters Position Top → Body Lock Pass → Side Control → Transition to Mount → Mount → Submission → Won by Submission

Computer Science Analogy

Headquarters Position Top functions as a routing hub in the BJJ state graph, analogous to a network router with high branching factor but intelligent path selection algorithms. It represents a stable node with multiple weighted edges to advantageous terminal states (side control, mount, back control), where the optimal edge is selected dynamically based on opponent’s defensive patterns and reactions. This creates an efficient graph traversal optimization problem where the passer uses pattern recognition to select the minimum-resistance path to pass completion, transforming guard passing from a brute-force search into an intelligent, heuristic-driven decision process that maximizes success probability while minimizing energy expenditure.

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