Gordon Ryan Scrimmage Beginner’s Guide to Standing Defense

What it teaches

This course presents Gordon Ryan’s approach to the standing position and takedown defense with an emphasis on broad concepts rather than a long list of isolated moves. The supplied curriculum centers on wrestling-versus-jiu-jitsu goals, pacing, posture, scoring criteria, stance and motion, gripping, distance management, and defending common shots.

Our assessment is that the course is best read as a framework for making the stand-up phase less chaotic: where to stand, how to manage contact, when to reset, and how to deny clean entries before the opponent gets deep on a leg.

Curriculum overview

Who it is for

The product page states that the series is intended for any level, with an emphasis on beginner concepts. It also frames the material as useful for developing confidence in stand-up.

Consider it if you are a guard-puller, hobbyist, or newer competitor who wants a safer first layer of no-gi stand-up: posture, grips, distance, and shot defense before trying to build an expansive takedown arsenal.

Prerequisites

The listed lessons begin with introductory theory and beginner-oriented standing topics, including goals, posture, stance and motion, basic setups, gripping theory, and early versus late defenses.

Our suggested prerequisite is basic comfort with BJJ sparring and the willingness to drill standing hand-fighting safely. You do not need an advanced wrestling background to follow the stated topic progression, but live takedown rounds should be scaled to your room and ruleset.

Format and uniform

The supplied brief verifies the format as no-gi. The curriculum language also focuses on wrestling-style standing exchanges, collar ties, singles, doubles, and hand positions rather than gi-specific sleeve or lapel work.

Research limitation: the source snapshot verifies the course outline and no-gi format, but it does not provide independent footage analysis or testing notes from BJJ University. Treat this guide as a curriculum-based buying assessment.

Strengths

A clear strength is the conceptual organization of the standing phase. The page repeatedly describes the course as concept-focused, and the chapter list supports that with topics such as goals, time limits, scoring, centerline-versus-back dilemmas, distance zones, inside position, and resets.

Another useful feature is the inclusion of rolling and rolling commentary after the instructional sections. For students who struggle to connect standing theory to sparring decisions, consider using those volumes to identify when the earlier concepts appear in live exchanges.

Limitations

The listed curriculum is not an encyclopedic offensive takedown course. It includes basic setups and ways of exposing the centerline or back, but the most specific defensive technique section is on defending head-outside singles, head-inside singles, and double legs.

Buy less urgently if you already want a detailed sequence of offensive entries and finishes from standing. Our assessment is that this product’s value is more in defensive decision-making and positional organization than in building a complete attack tree.

Suggested study order

Our suggested study order is to start with the opening theory on wrestling versus jiu-jitsu goals, pacing, posture, scoring, and submission risk before drilling stance and motion. Those lessons define what you are trying to prevent or concede in the standing phase.

Next, consider pairing stance and distance lessons with gripping lessons: line of sight, head-hands-hips, one leg versus two legs, distance zones, inside position, clearing collar ties, and creating asymmetrical hand positions. That combination gives you a practical hand-fighting checklist.

Finish the first pass with shot defense, then revisit the rolling commentary. Our suggested focus is to pause on entries where early defense was available versus moments where the defender had to solve a late single or double-leg situation.

Alternatives to compare

John Danaher’s The Fastest Way: To Becoming Effective In Standing Position is the closest supplied alternative for a broader standing curriculum. Its excerpt lists first contact, single-leg entries and finishes, double-leg finishes, positional attacks, and defensive skills, so consider it if you want a more attack-forward standing system.

Ivan Vasylchuk’s Tactics of Struggle In The Stance appears more sambo- and throw-oriented from the supplied excerpt, with stance and movement, four-direction control, favorite-throw development, grip breaks, feints, footwork, and off-balancing. Consider it if your goal is throw construction and grip tactics rather than no-gi shot defense.

Compared with those alternatives, Gordon Ryan’s course is the more narrowly framed option for simplifying defensive standing exchanges: stance, motion, gripping, distance, and defending singles and doubles, plus rolling commentary.

• Tactics of Struggle In The Stance by Ivan Vasylchuk — check current price
• The Fastest Way: To Becoming Effective In Standing Position by John Danaher — check current price

Purchase guidance

Consider buying if you want a no-gi standing course that prioritizes conceptual defense: how to position your head, hands, hips, grips, posture, and distance so takedown exchanges are less reactive.

You may want to choose an alternative first if your immediate need is a complete offensive takedown program with many entries and finishes. The supplied outline for this product contains some setup and exposure topics, but its clearest technical endpoint is defensive shot work and live commentary.