Countering the Kimura The Kimura is one of the most powerful submissions in BJJ, and having your arm cranked by one can lead to serious injury if you don't tap out in time. Therefore you need some Kimura defenses you can rely on. Here are five of my favorite Kimura escapes. Not only do these techniques get you get out of danger, in the course of the escape they ALSO teleport you to your … [Read more...]
How to Fix Your BJJ Armdrag
After Marcelo Garcia arm-dragged his way to ADCC glory back in 2003 the arm drag became one of the most powerful attacks from the guard in BJJ overnight. The arm drag is so successful nowadays at every level of competition that I'd go so far as to say it's a mandatory technique, especially if you train without the gi sometimes. A well-executed armdrag from the guard teleports you directly … [Read more...]
The 16 Most Important Techniques for the BJJ Beginner
What's the most common problem (aside from getting caught under side control) facing the BJJ beginner? It's probably feeling overwhelmed by the staggering number of techniques that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu contains! There are a thousand variations of sweeps and locks and chokes and pins and escapes and guard passes. It's enough to make your head spin! So where then do you start? Which … [Read more...]
K Guard Leglock Entry
The K Guard is really hot right now because it solves three very difficult problems. These problems include... How do you maintain control of your opponent if you don't have a strong grip on his arms or upper body (especially in no gi)? How do you deal with opponents who stand up in your guard (the most popular form of guard passing right now)? How do you attack with leglocks when … [Read more...]
Inside vs Outside Leglock Entries
Leglock entries can be divided into inside and outside entries, and you need them both to be a high-level leglocker! Essentially, inside entries involve you bringing a leg between your opponent's legs, whereas an outside entry involves moving into a leglock position by going around your opponent's legs. Examples of inside entries might include using the instep guard to shoot for the SLX or … [Read more...]
How to Reverse the Twister Hook
The twister hook is one of the main mechanisms used to take the back, especially in no gi grappling, where it is quite common. (So if you do no gi you should probably practice it because at some point it WILL be used against you.) Fundamentally, the twister hook is a method of entangling one of your opponent's legs with two of your own in a double triangle configuration. Once fully locked … [Read more...]
Top Crucifix Attacks in No Gi and MMA
The top crucifix shows up a LOT in MMA, and when one fighter gets it the other guy is usually in a HUGE amount of trouble. Here's the thing, though... I really like the top crucifix in submission grappling as well. It opens up some REALLY powerful submission attacks that have served me well in sparring and jiu-jitsu competition. Here's a video of me breaking down the position and those … [Read more...]
Grapplearts Instructionals on Grapplearts BJJ Master App Now
Exciting news!! Historically, Grapplearts instructionals were available in two main formats (online streaming and app), but never did the twain quite meet. It took a TON of development, but as of right now, any online courses you've purchased are ALSO accessible on the Grapplearts BJJ Master App. It's seamless across the two platforms and very simple. Just do this... Download the app … [Read more...]
Top 5 BJJ Instructionals of 2025
There are a LOT of BJJ instructionals at Grapplearts.com/instructionals, and choosing between them can get a little overwhelming. That's why I thought I'd share the five instructionals that have been most popular the last 12 months 1, No Gi Pin Escapes. Having rock-solid escapes from all the major positions of jiu-jitsu is liberating. You can still get back to safety if everything screws … [Read more...]
Transitioning from a Front Headlock to Guillotine
There's a Short onto my YouTube channel addressing how to properly transition from the front headlock position to the guillotine choke. Now this might seem like the simplest transition in the world, but it's easy to screw up. The most common mistake is trying to rearrange your grips (from their arms encircling his head and his arm to encircling just his head) without offbalancing the other guy … [Read more...]
How to Escape Kesa Gatame and the Headlock
Kesa Gatame is one of the most under-utilized positions in BJJ. People in jiu-jitsu 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 … [Read more...]
How to Get Started with Leglocks
To the uninitiated, leglocking can seem like a confusing black art; a spinning tangle of legs resulting in sudden match-winning submissions. But you can't just stick your head in the sand and ignore them because but leglocks have become HUGE in jiu-jitsu, especially in no gi grappling. To become a complete grappler (and to avoid tapping out 10 times per match to some young punk who just … [Read more...]
Kesa Gatame in BJJ
Kesa Gatame is the name for a DEADLY position also known as the Scarf Hold or the Head and Arm pin. It's a staple pin in Judo, Sambo and Freestyle Wrestling. All these arts have honed kesa gatame as a pinning position. The only problem is that they don't use or teach very many submissions from here. In those particular sports the submission is redundant - if you pin your opponent for 3 … [Read more...]
“My Opponent Is Just Running Around My Guard”
A friend recently complained that his training partners were forever just "running around" his guard. We got onto the mat and figured out that this wasn't the whole story. It turned out that his opponents were first pinning both his feet to the floor and then running around his guard, essentially a variation of the toreando pass. There are late stage defenses to the toreando, but - as … [Read more...]
Three Cheats for Escaping a Tough Mount
The basic mount escapes like the elbow-knee and upa escape are classics for a reason, but if you go back to the well too often, then your opponent inevitably gets wise to it and figures out how to shut it down. That's why you need to be able to mix things up. Start with one escape, then switch to another. Jab, then cross. Fake east, go west. Here are three unexpected techniques for … [Read more...]
Countering the Armdrag
Arm drags from the guard went supersonic when a little-known brown belt named Marcelo Garcia choked out four-time world champion Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro at ADCC 2003 in São Paulo, Brazil. It was over so quick! Here's the whole match... Marcelo winning this match (and then the whole division) was such an upset that thousands of grapplers, myself included, immediately started working on … [Read more...]
BJJ in the Nineties, a Time Capsule!
It was the late 1990's, I was a purple belt, and my friend Allan had one of those gigantic $3,000 consumer cameras that recorded directly to a book-sized VHS cassette. He wanted to film some jiu-jitsu, and I wanted to show a few friends some material I'd been working on. So we went down to his condo's fitness room and shot a 12 minute "instructional" for some of my friends. The running joke at … [Read more...]
The 4 Most Common Errors For The ‘Upa’ Mount Escape
The 'Upa' (or 'Bridge and Roll') is probably the very first mount escape that a beginner ever learns. It's taught as part of the basic curriculum for a very simple reason: it works! You see this escape in MMA, submission grappling, and BJJ competition with the gi. I've used it as a white belt, blue belt, purple belt, brown belt and black belt. Contrary to what some people will tell you is … [Read more...]
A New School Knee Ride Escape
Every once in a while, a new way of doing things comes along that is so much better that it has to get added to your repertoire right away. The Uno Reverse Card Escape vs the knee ride is one such technique! You start on the bottom of the knee ride, unable to breathe as your opponent spears his weight into your diaphragm... ...then, a few simple moves later, you spin into a leglock and/or … [Read more...]
How to Develop a Killer Knee Ride in Only 17 minutes
The knee ride is the most soul-crushing position in all of jiu-jitsu! It puts HUGE pressure on your opponent, which gives you tons of submission opportunities because of all the stupid things he'll do in his desperation to get out. It’s also a tremendously mobile position that allows you to take advantage of his mistakes, jump on submissions, spin to the back, and more. Here’s a FREE … [Read more...]