been watching Marcelo Garcia a lot lately and he does not seem to really advance position but instead goes for control and then the finish 1st which leads him to the position or finish.
eye opening to hear and see Marcelo's game/strategies on his web site!
I hear what you're saying, he is very aggressive for the finish, which often opens up positional advancements or other finishes. He definitely opened up the eyes of the world to attacking with the choke even when you don't have both hooks in from the back, and his crucifix attacks are gaining in popularity as well. In my study of Marcelo, his overall strategy is still based on position, though. This is a gross generalazation, but in competition he ususally:
1. Gets takedown, pass guard, go directly to back, or achieve side control or mount until they give the back or give up a guillotine, N/S choke or armlock along the way.
2. Pulls guard, sweep, pass guard, go directly to back, pr achieve side control or mount until they give the back or give up a guillotine, N/S choke or armlock along the way.
In any case, MGinAction is an awesome resource for sure!
This is really what i love about BJJ - how its expressed by certain people as opposed to others - then you get to play that out in a match. That being said it really depends on your preferred philosophy of jiu-jitsu - to me if you could with a high likelyhood of probability finish the fight from an already reached position, why wouldnt you? That being said, if you are better as a player from a certain position (dominant) then I can see the reasoning behind advancing to that position in order to finish as well.
Now introduce the ability to finish based off of what an opponent will be giving you along the way and vouila....
When you can't finish, it's time to advance position...