Category Archives: For Beginners
How to Counter the Stupidest Closed Guard Break Ever - The Elbow Grind on the Inner Thighs
Grinding away on your inner thighs is the favourite (and often only) closed guard breaking strategy of meathead grapplers everywhere.
I don’t know who originally came up with this bush league, Dim Mak wanna be, pressure point bull**** strategy, but for some reason you run into ‘grinders’ at almost every club.
Like most pain compliance techniques the elbow grind is something that works semi-OK in sparring, but almost never works in competition (more…)
What is the Spider Guard?
What is the Spider Guard?
The Spider Guard is a form of Open Guard where you grip your opponent’s wrists or sleeves and have at least one foot controlling at least one of his arms. Typically the sole of your foot will be placed against his biceps, or your leg will spiral around his elbow with your toes hiding underneath his upper arm.
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What is the X Guard?
Depending on how you look at it, the X Guard can be be classified as either a form of Open Guard or a form of Half Guard. Maybe that’s why the BOTH those positions transition so well into the X Guard.
But how about an alternative perspective… (more…)
What is the Butterfly Guard?
The Butterfly Guard is one of my very favorite positions these days.
Regardless of whether you’re rolling with or without the gi, the Butterfly Guard keeps your opponent’s weight off of you, it gives you unparalleled mobility on the bottom, and it allows you to unleash blistering combinations of some of the most powerful sweeps and reversals in all of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. (more…)
What is the Half Guard?
The Half Guard is a funny position.
Once upon a time it was a position of last resort. Something that you would try to achieve if your opponent was passing your guard. A last-ditch attempt to stop him from getting to a truly dominant position.
My, how things have changed in the last 20 years…
What is the Open Guard?
Are you confused about the definition of the Open Guard? You are NOT alone. In fact, when I started BJJ someone tried to explain the different variations of the Open Guard to me and I think his explanation left me more confused than I had been originally.
So, what is the Open Guard? (more…)
What is the Closed Guard?
Here’s a short 1:30 minute video breakdown of me explaining the basics of the closed guard.
And just to keep things interesting I also throw in my single best tip about how to maintain the closed guard, shut down your opponent’s guard pass attempts and put you in a position to successfully launch your own attacks. (more…)
Roadmap for BJJ Package Now Available Again!
A few years ago I released the Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructional package.
This is a multi-component product that focuses on the strategies, tactics, techniques and training methods of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It’s basically a quick start guide for how to get good on the ground as fast as possible. (more…)
Grapplearts Submissions App for Android!!!
The first Grapplearts Instructional app for Android devices is finally here!
Apps are such a great tool. They give you a way to brush up on your skills when you’re on the go, on the bus, stuck in a bank lineup, whatever.
Now I’ve had some bestselling apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch available for quite a while. (more…)
Fifty Ways to Improve Your Grappling Almost Immediately
Sometimes the best way to get better is simply to stop doing things wrong.
Over the years I’ve shot quite a few guerilla-style videos breaking down many of the most common mistakes that I see for different positions and submissions. (more…)
The Jab-Cross of Open Guard Sweeps
Let’s talk about two of my favorite sweeps from the open guard. These are high percentage techniques that are used again and again at every level, by novice whitebelts and world-class blackbelts.
When learning a new position I think it’s important to learn the high percentage stuff right away. (more…)
How to do the Butterfly Guard Sweep
Today I want to teach you how to do the most important sweep from the butterfly guard correctly.
This is because sometimes in life, you just HAVE to learn certain things. (more…)
BJJ in Singapore, a White Belt's View
When I first faced BJJ black-belt, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Mundial and regional champion Zorobabel Moreira on the mat in Singapore last year, I thought I had signed up for a personal self-defence trial. I had no idea what BJJ was and had never worn a “gi”. (more…)
Stabilizing and Attacking Larger Opponents from Sidemount
Many battles are lost by not sufficiently stabilizing sidemount, and/or choosing the wrong attacks to use from that otherwise dominant position.
Let’s say that you’ve done everything right and cut through the guard of a bigger stronger opponent. (more…)
BJJ Training Strategies
Having the right assortment of techniques is pretty darn important in BJJ. But having the right training strategies is even more important…
By ‘training strategies’ I’m talking about the big picture. Like knowing which techniques to use, when to use them, and how to correctly train those techniques in the first place. (more…)
Defending Stupid Big Guy Attacks (and the Honor of Jiu-Jitsu)
It’s amazing what some big guys will do when they get frustrated. In fact, sometimes they’ll try stuff so stupid that it’ll take you completely by surprise!
Now, many BJJ instructors never bother to teach you what to do against these ‘stupid attacks.’ (more…)
What a Spider Guard Fail Teaches You About How to Train Any Technique!
Today’s tip comes was inspired from some training I did with a smaller grappler, let’s call him ‘Stu.’
Stu wanted to learn some sweeps from the Spider Guard (an open guard position where you control both of your opponent’s sleeves and have one or both feet on his biceps). (more…)
2 Good Reasons to Bail Out of the Mount
What? Abandon the Mount? The position you’ve worked so hard to achieve?!? Let me explain…
BJJ is a position-based art. The positional system of BJJ is the central organizing theme of my ‘Roadmap for BJJ’ book (more…)
Three X Guard Mistakes (and my Best Drill for Getting a Killer X Guard)
The X Guard is one of my very favorite ‘go to’ positions. If I can get there in a match then I’m suddenly a very happy camper…
In fact, this position is so dominant that you should be able to sweep your opponent at least 80% of the time when you get him jacked up into the X Guard. (more…)
4 Mistakes That'll KILL Your Half Guard...
Whether you want to or not, you ARE going to end up in the half guard!
Some people simply use the half guard as a last resort when their guard is being passed. Their opponent is blasting around their guard, so without even thinking about it they lash out with their legs and trap one of his legs between their own. (more…)
As you probably know, I write a free newsletter called the Beginning BJJ eCourse.
Just to give you a taste, here are some of the tips that get sent out in that newsletter – some sample lessons, if you will.
A Confusion of Open Guards
The open guard can be quite confusing. Basically any time your legs are not closed around the back of your opponent you are in a type of open guard. Butterfly guard, X guard, spider guard, sitting guard etc. etc. are all open guards. (more…)
This article was written by Nathan Leverton, who teaches submission grappling at his club in Leicester England.
Enjoy The Training (more…)
Accelerate Your Jiu Jitsu Path To Black Belt
Achieving a blue belt level of Jiu Jitsu may take only a year or two. But what if you’re not content with intermediate Jiu Jitsu skills? What if your goal is to get your black belt and become a submission machine? (more…)
Starting BJJ: What to Expect on your First Class
The purpose of this article is to answer any questions you might have about starting to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and your first class in particular. Every school is different, but this article will help you understand how MOST Brazilian Jiu-jitsu schools operate. (more…)
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