Groundwork Principles - Obviously the aim is to gain a submission, but 90% of your groundwork fighting will be to gain control of your opponent first. Without being in control you cannot achieve a submission. Once you have control you should then work towards a more advantageous position/control until you are able to attempt a submission with little risk of losing this control.

8th Kyu - Red Belt
As explained earlier the basis of groundwork is gaining control and then moving into a better control position, so right from the start each grade has a transition from one control position to another. Starting with a simple switch of the base. There are also 2 simple submissions that are widely used in groundwork.

7th Kyu - Yellow Belt & 6th Kyu - Orange Belt
Again 2 simple transitions from one control to another. Along with some basic but fundamental points for being on the ground.

5th Kyu - Green Belt
If someone has mounted you, you are in a very vulnerable position, so you need to know how to escape; and without making the situation worse. There are 2 questions on your knowledge about why we do certain things.

4th Kyu - Purple Belt
First of the transitions into the front mount position (one of the most advantageous positions to aim for). Then you will be asked to demonstrate a submission from the front (and rear) mount.

3rd Kyu - Blue Belt
Another transition into the mount - this time involving slightly more movement.

2nd Kyu - Brown Belt
Again, another transition into the mount - this time involving the greatest amount of movement.
The guard is a very good defensive position that you will find yourself in often, (especially if against a much bigger/stronger opponent) - however it can also be good for attacking, so here you will be asked to demonstrate submissions from the guard.

1st Kyu - Brown Belt, one red tag
General submissions are asked for here. (Be careful with the heel hook as they are very dangerous.)
Groundwork sparring is asked for at this level - all we want to see is that you have an understanding of the principles of groundwork and are looking to move in the right direction before attempting submissions.

Other Points for Groundwork

Why do we need to learn groundwork?
Being on the ground is often the worst place to be in a self defense situation - friends of the attacker or any other 'standers by' might decide to join in, and being on their feet can do you a great deal of harm if you are on the floor. For this reason NEVER purposely take a self defense situation to the ground.

However, unfortunately in most scenarios a self defense situation will end up going to the ground whether you intend it to or not. In which case you need to be able to deal with it.

Why do we practice against resisting opponents when an attacker would be untrained?
We practice techniques that would be against an UNTRAINED attacker, however it takes a higher degree of skill to beat someone who knows what you are doing and is not only resisting you but also trying to submit you. Then with this higher skill level you will find it very easy against someone who is untrained.

Also as your opponents improve and give you a harder time, your ability will also need to improve to beat them - as a result everyone training within the club will help each other to become very strong at groundwork.