Should he be tied so much that he can't move then he must shout his submission. Needless to say the man applying any lock or hold must do so with care, be aware of any signal of submission and release his lock or strangle instantly. There is a tendency for judomen to neglect groundwork. On the other hand, there are one or two rare individuals who specialise in groundwork. It is noticeable that all the judo champions are very skilful at groundwork. The all- round judomen should be at home either standing up or down on the mat.

Therefore any opportunity for doing groundwork should be taken so that it becomes a habit. Should your opponent stumble, never be content to let him stand up again. As he stumbles, dive in immediately for a strangle or a lock.

Shortly after I won my black belt 1st Dan, I injured my ankle rather badly and was unable to do any standing judo for six weeks. I used this time to do nothing but groundwork. When my ankle had got better I found that I had gained a considerable edge on the ground over my fellow
1st Dans. This helped me to win many contents and got me a reputation as a 'groundwork man". Since that time I have paid a lot of attention to groundwork technique and have won many contests on the ground. One interesting effect of having such a reputation is that it restricts your opponents' throws considerably. He won't attack with anything that can be easily countered or blocked for fear of being taken down. This means that you can open up with your own attacks. As in the throwing section, there is a huge range of techniques on the ground and here are some of them.