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Techniques, Tutorials and Gear for BJJ, MMA and Submission Grappling

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Home » Positions

Positions

Stirring Up a Hornet’s Nest

March 17, 2009 by Stephan Kesting

Boy, was there a lot of feedback after my last post! When I wrote about Kesa Gatame being both a valid and an unorthodox attack position, long heated discussions broke out on several grappling forums and quite a few people even contacted me with quite a diverse set of responses: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Positions, Unorthodox Strategies

Kesa Gatame in BJJ – An Unorthodox Position

March 14, 2009 by Stephan Kesting

Stephan Kesting Teaching Kesa Gatame

Kesa Gatame (what the guy in the white gi is using in the photo above) is the Judo name for a position that is also known as the Scarf Hold or the Head and Arm pin. Some people will object my calling this an 'unorthodox' position, because it's a staple pin in Judo, Sambo and Freestyle Wrestling. That's true, but while it may be common in other grappling systems, it's underutilized and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Kesa Gatame, Positions, Unorthodox Strategies

BJJ Positions – What About North South?

March 14, 2009 by Stephan Kesting

After my last tip about unorthodox BJJ positions I had some people contact me and tell me that I'd left out the North South position from my list of the 6 fundamental BJJ Positions. I've actually addressed this issue in my Beginning BJJ Package, and so I'm just going to quote from there: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: BJJ, North-South, Positions

On Keeping the Top Position

October 29, 2008 by Stephan Kesting

This is an excerpt on one of the most important sections from my book " A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Concepts, MMA, Positions, Self Defense

Learn to Crush the Bug

October 11, 2008 by Stephan Kesting

A large part of jiu-jitsu is using your weight to immobilize your opponent; "crushing the bug" as it is sometimes referred to. When done properly, the application of your body weight from the top position can be enough to submit your opponent by making it impossible for him to breath. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Training Tagged With: Positions

The Two Meanings of the Tap

October 4, 2008 by Stephan Kesting

Tapping out is sending a message to your opponent. The most common message is "OK, you got me with that submission. Now let me go" Many grapplers don't realize that tapping out can also be used to send a different message … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Health & Nutrition Tagged With: Injuries, Positions, Sparring

Refusing to Concede the Sweep

August 1, 2008 by Stephan Kesting

I trained with Denis Kang for the first five or six years of his MMA career. At some point during that time he became very, very difficult to sweep. Partially this was due to his increasing technical knowledge, but it was also more than that. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mixed Martial Arts, Training Tagged With: Denis Kang, Guard Passes, Guard Sweeps, Injuries, MMA, Positions

Jiu-jitsu, a Game of Inches

July 20, 2008 by Stephan Kesting

One of my favorite expressions is that "jiu-jitsu is a game of inches". Sometimes a whole match can be decided by the battle to move your hand one inch forward. The single best example I can think of to illustrate this concept is the Ten Finger Guillotine as taught by Chris Brennan. Take a look at this picture, paying special attention to the position of the thumbs. Notice how the first … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Armlocks, BJJ, Chokes, Leglocks, Positions, Submission, Techniques

A Half Guard Secret

May 13, 2008 by Stephan Kesting

When fighting from my half guard I often recall something that Chris Brennan told me: "one of the secrets of the half guard is to bring your knees to your chest". This advice, simple as it is, can add a whole other dimension to your half guard attacks. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Chris Brennan, Guard Sweeps, Half Guard, Positions

How To Get Posture While Pinned

February 27, 2007 by Stephan Kesting

We recently talked about some examples of good defensive posture when you're on the bottom, achieving good posture when pinned under your opponent is the first, and often the most critical, step in the escape process. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Escapes, Positions, Posture, Sidemount, Techniques

Posture Outside of Guard

January 29, 2007 by Stephan Kesting

Practitioners of submission grappling and BJJ quickly learn about the importance of posture in an opponent's guard. If you have bad posture in the guard you will get swept and submitted all the time. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: Escapes, Guard Passes, Michael Jen, Mount, Positions, Posture, Sidemount

Side Mount Escape Help

September 4, 2006 by Stephan Kesting

A Reader Asked: Q: I keep getting trapped in side control. Sometimes I can't even get my hips loose to attempt an escape. Some of the guys I train with are really good and get so tight, epecially trapping my hips between their knee and arm, that I can't move my hips at all. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Escapes, Positions, Posture, Sidemount

How to Make Side Mount Heavier

April 6, 2006 by Stephan Kesting

Last week we started a conversation about how to make yourself feel heavier while pinning your opponent. One way to do this is to take any weight you're placing directly on the ground, and to place it on your opponent. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Positions

Crushing the Bug

March 28, 2006 by Stephan Kesting

Sometimes when you're grappling you might want to play 'crush the bug', totally immobilizing your opponent with your bodyweight and making it difficult for him to even breath. Obviously this is easier to do if you weigh 300 pounds, but most grapplers don't position themselves properly to maximize the bodyweight they do have … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous, Training Tagged With: Positions

The Larger, Stronger Opponent

September 11, 2005 by Stephan Kesting

If you try contesting a larger, stronger opponent using your strength against his strength you will probably lose.You need to fight the battle on your own terms, and two effective (and somewhat related) strategies to do this include:      1, Move quicker      2, Tire him out. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, For Beginners, Training Tagged With: Concepts, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, iPhone, Positions, Strategy

Three Pin Escape Movements

August 22, 2005 by Stephan Kesting

Escaping pins is never easy: if you get pinned in a match, then chances are that your opponent is either pretty good (relative to you) or that you are tired. Either way, escaping pins is almost always difficult and tiring, but a few simple principles can make it a little easier. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Escapes, Positions

One more thing about Choking

July 18, 2005 by Stephan Kesting

Before we leave this topic I want to point out that not all chokes occur at the neck.Of course squeezing the windpipe is the most common form of choking, but you can also impair breathing by applying pressure to the torso. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Chokes, Positions, Techniques

The Fundamental Rear Mount

May 23, 2005 by Stephan Kesting

In the last tip we talked about how you should (mostly) avoid crossing your ankles while rear mounted on your opponent. This week I just want to go over some fundamental tips that may help you maintain rear mount on an opponent trying to escape. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners Tagged With: Positions, Rear Mount

Rear Mount – Crossing your Feet

May 15, 2005 by Stephan Kesting

The rear mount is arguably the most dominant position in grappling. When you have rear mount you can apply some very powerful chokes and locks. In MMA or self defense you can administer severe punishment without your opponent having the ability to strike you back. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Escapes, Leglocks, Positions, Rear Mount

Static Bridging – a Common Mistake in Sparring

April 2, 2005 by Stephan Kesting

There are two fundamental ways to escape from most pinning positions: escapes based on ‘shrimping’ style hip movement, and escapes based on bridging. One common mistake I see among beginners is that they hold the bridge position for far too long. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Drills, Escapes, Positions

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