Category Archives: Self Defense
How to Escape Kesa Gatame and the Headlock
Kesa Gatame is one of the most under-utilized positions in BJJ. Jiu-jitsu people tend to ignore this position but generations of judo players and wrestlers have proved that Kesa Gatame IS a powerful and effective way to pin someone. And – even worse for someone caught in it – Kesa Gatame is also a great entry into some very effective armlocks, leglocks, neck cranks and diaphragm chokes. (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…)
20,000 lbs of snow and the true meaning of self defense...
This is a rather rambling post; in the words of Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
First, and most importantly, I really hope that you had a great Christmas (or alternate celebration of your choice). And that you got to spend time with friends, family and loved ones.
Next, congratulations on surviving the Mayan Calendar Apocalypse! (more…)
The Ten Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Moves Every Cop Should Know
An Article by Brad Parker
Brad Parker runs Defend University (www.defendu.com), a research and development group dedicated to the exploration of leading edge techniques and strategies for self-defense, security and defensive tactics. (more…)
BJJ Self Defense: After the Takedown, Now What?
An Article by Brad Parker
Brad Parker runs Defend University (www.defendu.com), a research and development group dedicated to the exploration of leading edge techniques and strategies for self-defense, security and defensive tactics. (more…)
Submission Grappling vs. Classical Ju-jutsu; when cultures and concepts collide
Introduction
There are many similarities between the sport of Submission Grappling and the classical Japanese Ju-jutsu systems. Both arts emphasize grappling over striking. Both arts recognize the importance and efficiency of ground-fighting. (more…)
Get Up, Stand Up!
Why getting off the ground is a critical skills in grappling!
(originally published in Black Belt Magazine)
When mixed martial arts competition exploded in North America, martial artists quickly learned that most fights end up on the ground. And for years the prevailing wisdom was that groundfighting was inevitable, and if a fight went to the ground it would most likely stay there. (more…)
The 3 Most Common First-Time Competition Errors
I was recently asked “what are the most common mistakes that first-time competitors make?”
BJJ tournaments in general, and ESPECIALLY your first competition, are likely to be a little bit chaotic. (more…)
How to Defend Strikes on the Ground
You’re walking down the street, someone bumps you, words are exchanged, you get pushed to the ground, and now some big gorilla is trying to knock your teeth down your throat. No matter how focused you are on the sportive aspects of grappling you’ve still GOTTA know how to defend strikes on the ground!!! (more…)
How To Escape the Headlock and Kesa-Gatame
The common headlock is often overlooked in BJJ – it’s just not considered to be a very technical pinning position.
But not training your headlock escapes is a HUGE mistake! (more…)
I’ve received lots of email recently, so today I thought I’d dip into the mailbag and share a few emails. I’ve also quickly jotted down some quick comments, and some links to a few relevant articles. (more…)
Is Grappling Still Relevant to Self Defense?
I’ve been wanting to get something off my chest, so I just put a new video up onto the Grapplearts Facebook page. In it I break down:
- why we’re seeing more knockouts and less submissions in modern MMA (more…)
Once you get good at Brazilian jiu-jitsu the ground will be your happy place. Rolling around and hunting for submissions will feel as natural as walking!
But there’s a time and a place for everything… (more…)
An MMA Mount Escape and a New-To-Me Sweep
The last time I hung out with Denis Kang we shot a series of short videos on MMA techniques.
It’s rare to get an MMA fighter who wants to show you all his best techniques, but Denis is an awesome teacher as well as a great fighter. (more…)
MMA Ground and Pound
Here’s a short MMA video I recently shot with my friend Denis Kang. He’s a very knowledgeable fighter, and I wanted him to share some insights on the ground and pound aspect of MMA. (more…)
The Two WORST Martial Arts Techniques of All Time!
Disclaimer: I’ve trained with some great teachers, getting tons of top-notch information from them. But my teachers are NOT AT ALL RESPONSIBLE for today’s video!
You see, I’ve just posted a video about the two absolute WORST techniques that I’ve ever seen in almost 30 years of martial arts training! (more…)
Combining the Thai Clinch With The Double Leg Takedown
Today’s goodie is a report written by my online friend John Will, discussing how to combine the deadly Muay Thai clinch position with the double leg takedown (arguably the highest percentage takedown in MMA). (more…)
Gi? No-Gi? Self Defense? MMA? No Problem!
There’s a long-standing debate in the grappling community whether training with the gi helps your no-gi skills.
My personal preference is to train both with and without the gi. (more…)
Getting Back to Your Feet From Guard
In the early days of MMA fighters who took someone down tried to keep the fight there. They’d stay on the ground even if they couldn’t pass their opponent’s guard or mount an effective ground-and-pound offense. (more…)
Here’s how the book Ninja, Clan of Death got me started on my martial arts journey. And how a crayon-written black mail note failed to get me into Judo class. And which teachers have been my biggest influences. And how I finally transitioned into the grappling arts. (more…)
An anonymous person contacted me recently and shared a story of how a female friend had used a few months of BJJ training to escape from an assault and/or attempted rape situation.
A grapplearts reader writes:
Q: You say that there are 3 main components to MMA: is it important to train these 3 components together or train them separately? For example should you add strikes to the clinch or just wrestle? (more…)
The following question was submitted by a subscriber of the Grapplearts newsletter.
Q: What is your opinion on unarmed self defence situations involving two or more attackers against one. (more…)
The following question was submitted by a subscriber of the Grapplearts newsletter.
Q: For self defense would it be better to study the grappling arts or the striking arts? (more…)
Grappling for Self Defense
It’s very easy to forget all about the self-defense aspects of what you are doing when you train grappling. There’s so much material to work on, and it’s so much fun to train, that self-defense considerations can get overlooked. (more…)
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