Setups refer to the preparation steps necessary to put you in position to achieve a submission, throw, or other desirable goal while sparring. This is heavily related to the concept of "uchikomi" in Judo, where you repeatedly practice the entry or "fit-in" to a throw, moving your body into the correct position relative to their body, without actually completing the throw. A setup may involve chaining techniques together, under the assumption that if the first technique fails, the opponent will respond in predictable ways that can be capitalized on to succeed at a second technique.