Tag Archives: Submission Grappling
Keenan Cornelius on Training, BJJ Competition, MMA Goals and More
Keenan Cornelius is a BJJ phenomenon. Known for his exciting guardwork and movement-oriented game, he won double gold medals in four of the biggest BJJ tournament in the world as a purple belt, which is a HUGE accomplishment. Here’s my recent interview with Keenan
Hidden Techniques for Maintaining Rear Mount
When people teach the rear mount they often show you how to get your hooks in to achieve the rear mount, and then they teach you a couple of submissions from the back.
Their idealized flowchart has two steps:
- Get your hooks in,
- Submit your opponent.
Oh, if only life were so simple!
No Gi Guard Passing Strategies vs. Bigger People
Passing the guard in a technical manner during no gi training can often be very frustrating, especially for people coming from a gi-based background. To the uninitiated it just seems that things move too fast… That there aren’t any good handles to control your opponent… (more…)
Ambush Armbar from Modified Scarf Hold
I might not be 100% correct with the actual wording, but I’ll always remember this fantastic quote from Karate legend Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace which I read in Black Belt magazine many years ago. It went something like this:
How to Counter the Backstep Guard Pass
BJJ and submission grappling are in a continual state of evolution. New techniques, tactics and strategies emerge, or are rediscovered, or are brought into the art all the time.
The backstep guard pass is one such modern technique. You won’t see this guard pass in old-school BJJ (more…)
How to Pass Deep Half Guard
In the last 5 years the Deep Half Guard position has taken the BJJ and submission grappling world by storm. And every serious grappler now needs to know how to neutralize and pass the Deep Half Guard.
This position is a variation of the half guard. If someone manages to get settled into this position underneath you then they’re right under your center of gravity, can compromise your balance, and very likely be able sweep you or take your back with a wide variety of techniques. (more…)
How to set up and apply the head and arm choke
Here’s a clip of Emily Kwok teaching something really cool – how to set up the head and arm choke (also known as ‘kata gatame’) from mount, and then how to ratchet it on so tightly that your opponent has no choice but to tap out, no matter how big he is. (more…)
A Surprising Way to Pull Guard...
Should you pull guard in competition? And if you decide to pull guard, then how do you do it correctly?
In a certain sense, I am uniquely unqualified to answer these questions…
You see, much of my BJJ comes from 8th degree black belt Marcus Soares, and Marcus is very much from the old-school Carlson Gracie way of doing things. (more…)
Eddie Bravo's Rubber Guard "The NewSchool"
In this sequence Eddie ‘Twister’ Bravo shows yet another one of his innovative rubber guard setups to lock on the triangle choke. (more…)
Eddie Bravo's Rubber Guard "The Meathook"
Here, with permission from Eddie ‘Twister’ Bravo, the man who submitted Royler Gracie with a triangle choke at Abu Dhabi 2003, is a step, by step breakdown of one of his rubberguard setups. (more…)
Takedown and Neck Crank vs. Thai Kick
Photos and explanation that show the transition from Blocked Thai Kick to a takedown and neck crank.
No Gi "Brabo" Choke from Top Half Guard
The Brabo Choke can be a match-ending submission. And one of the best times to apply it is when you’re on top in the half guard.. (more…)
Revolutionary Omoplata
A Technique that Bridges the Gap between Sweep and Submission
By Stephan Kesting
Originally published in Grappling Magazine (more…)
The MMA Formula: Striking + Takedowns + Groundwork
Mixed martial art (MMA) competition has come a long way from the early UFCs, where Karateka faced off against streetfighters, and Jiujitsu practitioners battled Kung Fu stylists. (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…)
18 Tips To Help You In BJJ & Grappling Competition (and Why Competitions Are a Good Idea)
by Jason Scully
Jason Scully (in the green shirt) is a teacher and competitor with more than 12 years of grappling experience. He is a BJJ brown belt and owns The Grapplers Guide Academy in Central New Jersey and also operates The Grapplers Guide.
Unorthodox Positions and Attacks
There are six major positions in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts and Submission Grappling. If you learn these positions you’ll be off to a great start, but you’ll also be a bit predictable…
The half guard can be a powerful attacking position so long as you stay on your side and maintain your mobility.
However if your opponent gets his grips, flattens you out and drives all his weight onto you it really sucks. (more…)
How To Stop Someone From Passing Your Guard
A reader writes: Hi Stephan,
Thank you for the newsletters! I started training BJJ and MMA about 5 months ago – it’s been life changing for me. (more…)
Top Article Number Seven: One of my Favorites!
Knowing what your roots are may not translate to kicking butt more effectively on the mats right away, but it’s still important!
Submission grappling is basically a fusion of wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu… (more…)
There’s nothing worse than weathering the storm in someone’s guard, fighting your way past their legs, finally getting to sidemount, making one tiny mistake and then – boom – you’re back in their guard. (more…)
Gi vs no-gi, I don’t think the debate will ever die.
I wrote about this topic first in 2004, arguing that most gi-based grapplers should do at least a little bit of no gi grappling, and visa versa. (more…)
How Marcelo Garcia Defeats Larger, Stronger Opponents
There’s nothing quite like watching a smaller, lighter, weaker person use their technique to defeat a bigger, heavier, stronger opponent.
And when it comes to tapping out bigger, stronger, heavier opponents there’s nobody quite like Marcelo Garcia. (more…)
Marcelo Garcia Chokes Me Out Repeatedly
Marcelo Garcia is maybe the very best person in the world at attacking the turtle position.
But before I tell you how I know this first hand, I should point out that as you get better you’ll run into the turtle position more often. (more…)
Usually getting better at something like the Rear Mount in grappling is a slow process, requiring thousands of repetitions and many hours on the mat to master a technique.
But sometimes transformations occur overnight! (more…)
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