Recovering From Flat
Mat mode
3:00
Tell the roomEstablish a pin before the guard re-forms. Turn in, get a knee and a frame in, then re-face the passer and build a connected guard from nothing.
Show full gameHide full gameRules · how to win · coach notes
Notes (this phone)
TOP PLAYER
POSITION
Standing to one side of a flat bottom player, out of reach, free to choose where to engage.
OBJECTIVE
Establish a pin before the guard re-forms.
CONSTRAINTS
Elevated tier: entanglements are live. Confirm tap-release reliability before running it. Reset when the bottom player forms a connected guard or entanglement, or the top player confirms the pin. Role rotates after each reset. Score one point per win condition. Default rounds 3:00.
WIN CONDITION
Establish a pin — chest-to-chest or chest-to-back control held for three continuous seconds — before the guard is re-formed.
BOTTOM PLAYER
POSITION
Flat on their back. No frame yet. The passer is standing off to one side and out of reach.
OBJECTIVE
Turn in, get a knee and a frame in, then re-face the passer and build a connected guard from nothing.
CONSTRAINTS
Starts flat and disconnected — there is nothing to convert. Same elevated entanglement rules, reset logic, and role rotation.
WIN CONDITION
Re-face the passer and build a meaningful connected guard, or a confirmed leg entanglement.
Original positional game. Recovering From Flat. GAME-RET-03.
Problem
Standing to one side of a flat bottom player, out of reach, free to choose where to engage.
Setup
Standing to one side of a flat bottom player, out of reach, free to choose where to engage. Flat on their back. No frame yet. The passer is standing off to one side and out of reach.
Score
Establish a pin — chest-to-chest or chest-to-back control held for three continuous seconds — before the guard is re-formed. Re-face the passer and build a meaningful connected guard, or a confirmed leg entanglement.
Rules
- Elevated tier: entanglements are live.
- Confirm tap-release reliability before running it.
- Reset when the bottom player forms a connected guard or entanglement, or the top player confirms the pin.
- Role rotates after each reset.
- Score one point per win condition.
- Default rounds 3:00.
- Starts flat and disconnected — there is nothing to convert.
- Same elevated entanglement rules, reset logic, and role rotation.
Progressions
Harder constraint variants from the source. Same game, tighter problem.
- This is the top of the guard-retention ladder — the hardest start. Its inverse, run from the passer’s side, is the standing-vs-seated passing ladder . For how the two ladders interlock, see reverse phase progression .
guard
Wall card
Recovering From Flat
Proficient
TOP PLAYER
Position
Standing to one side of a flat bottom player, out of reach, free to choose where to engage.
Win condition
Establish a pin — chest-to-chest or chest-to-back control held for three continuous seconds — before the guard is re-formed.
Constraints
Elevated tier: entanglements are live. Confirm tap-release reliability before running it. Reset when the bottom player forms a connected guard or entanglement, or the top player confirms the pin. Role rotates after each reset. Score one point per win condition. Default rounds 3:00.
BOTTOM PLAYER
Position
Flat on their back. No frame yet. The passer is standing off to one side and out of reach.
Win condition
Re-face the passer and build a meaningful connected guard, or a confirmed leg entanglement.
Constraints
Starts flat and disconnected — there is nothing to convert. Same elevated entanglement rules, reset logic, and role rotation.
Elevated safety. Confirm tap-and-release before the first rep. Stop at the tap. Do not run this if the room is not already serious about it.