Just like the article "Not all Calories are Created Equally", in grappling and fighting in general, not all minutes are created equally. For instance, if your gameplan is to take down your opponent and then to go for an armbar from mount, none of that matters if YOU get taken down. Arguably, the first minute is the most important minute in any match because it has the highest probability of dictating the direction for the rest of the match via positioning of you and your opponent.

For many jiu-jitsu athletes, they are fantastic on the ground, but terrible at taking people to the ground. This is why it is very important to know some of the basic wrestling moves found in these takedown martial arts:

|    Folkstyle Wrestling
|    Judo

If you have a sense of what a basic single leg shot, fireman's carry, high-crotch, outside trip, sprawl, etc, you will have a solid foundation that fully rounds out your jiu-jitsu skills. To lack these fundamentals is to be imbalanced and to be susceptible to anyone who has a strong takedown.