A Trigger Position is an alignment of your body and your opponent's body that immediately invites a specific submission. Once you're there, all you need to do is pull the metaphorical trigger and - BOOM - you're in the submission. This concept makes it easy for you to know when it's time to attack in jiu-jitsu. Knowing the Trigger Position for a specific submission cuts down on your … [Read more...]
How To Do The ‘Imanari Roll’
The Imanari roll is absolutely one of the coolest submission attacks out there. It's unorthodox, it's fancy, but unlike many other flashy moves it's it's also quite high percentage. If you do it correctly you get straight into the 411 leglock position, which is the most powerful leglocking position we have. So there's definitely a huge upside if you land it. This move has been used … [Read more...]
The Most Successful Gracie Family Fighter of All Time
Not only is Robert Drysdale a BJJ and ADCC World Champion, he has also conducted extensive research into the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In this interview, he reveals some of what he's discovered, including... 01:54 - The first wave of jiu-jitsu in Brazil - Helio Gracie and Carlos Gracie 04:35 - Exhibition and carnival fighting in Brazil 06:55 - Traditional jiu-jitsu style vs modified … [Read more...]
Inbound Soon – Improvements To Cutting Edge Leglocks
I spent the day with Rob Biernacki filming an insanely painful update to the leglock meta. The new and completely legal breaking mechanics will make the straight ankle lock as powerful as the heel hook, which is a terrifying thought. And yes, Rob celebrated with his now traditional post-filming gelato. In short, we're going to be covering a new breaking mechanism, which is to say, a brand new … [Read more...]
Three Critical Control Points You Must Have to Apply a Good Leglock
It's a terrible thing to do all that work to get into a good leglock position only to have your opponent find enough space to slip out and escape. Or worse, have him laugh at your submission attempt because it's not tight enough to cause him any concern. The key to a good leglock is having 3 points of control, namely, The three ingredients of every good leglock are Control of the hip, … [Read more...]
Seven Reasons Carlson Gracie Was the First Modern MMA Coach and Fighter
Carlson Gracie fought 18 Vale Tudo in the 1950's and 60's. His 17 wins make him the most successful Gracie fighter to this day. In the course of his long fighting and coaching career, he innovated many of the MMA training practices that we now take for granted. Here are seven ways in which he was the first modern MMA coach and fighter... Carlson's radical-for-the-time ideas included … [Read more...]
How to Train BJJ, even with an Injured Arm (Drill)
This article and video are about how to train and continue to make progress in BJJ when you're dealing with a shoulder, elbow or wrist injury. Now I hope that you go through your entire BJJ career without ever suffering a single injury. And you should do everything you can to avoid injuries! But this is a contact sport, and therefore you're probably going to get a little banged up from time … [Read more...]
Wristlocks in BJJ; What Makes Them Work?
Wristlocks are submissions that bend the wrist by bending, flexing, extending or rotating the hand relative to the bones of the forearm. Some martial arts like aikido, hapkido, and traditional Japanese jujutsu specialise in wristlocks, making them a major part of their curriculum. Most of the common BJJ jointlocks target the elbow (e.g. straight armbars), shoulder (e.g. Kimura and … [Read more...]
The Implications of the 46 Million Dollar Jiu-Jitsu Lawsuit
The jiu-jitsu world was shaken recently when Jack Greener, severely injured in 2018 while sparring at a San Diego gym, was awarded $46,475,112 dollars by a jury. Rener Gracie testified for the plaintiff, and Clark Gracie testified for the defence. In this episode, I get together with Dan Lukeheart (Brea Jiu-Jitsu) and Alex Kask (Barrister and Solicitor) to discuss... The specific technique … [Read more...]
The Step by Step Aoki Lock
The Aoki lock is an incredibly versatile submission that can instantly turn the tables in a match. You can apply it in situations where you have the dominant leglock position, but you can also use it as a counter when your opponent has the dominant position. Either way, it's a gamechanger! Here's a video from Cutting Edge Leglocks to break down the Aoki Lock for you, followed by a written … [Read more...]
A Masterclass on Finishing the Heel Hook from the 411 Position
Leglocks are incredibly devastating submissions, especially in a no gi grappling context. And the inside heel hook from the 411 position (aka the saddle, the cross ashi, and the honey hole) is one of the most powerful leglock attacks in no gi grappling. As this attack becomes more popular people are inevitably getting better at defending it. Right now the most common defence by far is to turn … [Read more...]
Neopagan, Vegetarian, Authoritarian, Heavy Metal, Nature Lovers with Jesse Bryant
Jesse Bryant is doing his PhD on the politics of nature, and has come across some amazing examples of both far left and far right groups wrapping themselves in the mantle of nature and what is deemed 'natural'. From the Artaman League to the Wolves of Vinland and Alex Jone's fantasies about moving back to the country, sometimes what he's found is hilarious, and sometimes it's terrifying. I … [Read more...]
New Product – Cutting Edge Leglocks!
Leglocks have changed the grappling game forever, and leglock attacks have never been more effective! But this area of jiu-jitsu is evolving FAST. In the last 5 years, a TON of new techniques, tactics, strategies and counters have been developed. So most grapplers need a bit of help to keep up with the times and avoid being left behind. Help is on the way... In our BRAND NEW, JUST … [Read more...]
Rolling Back Take from 3/4 Mount
Rolling backtakes have become part of modern jiu-jitsu but are undeniably intimidating. To help you become comfortable with the idea of doing a somersault and ending up on someone's back, here's the simplest rolling backtake you can do. First, learn to identify the trigger position (which is 3/4 mount)... Then make sure his hands are on one side of your body... Then roll in line … [Read more...]
The Three Most Important Back Mount Escapes
Having someone on your back in back mount or rear mount is a terrible situation in jiu-jitsu, especially if he's doing a good job of controlling your upper body with an over-under seatbelt grip and your lower body with his hooks. The longer he stays on your back the longer you'll be vulnerable to submissions like the rear naked choke, the rear triangle choke, armlocks, spinal cranks and even … [Read more...]
Amanda Bruse – How to Compete and Win in No Gi Jiu-Jitsu
Amanda Bruse took home Gold as a black belt in her weight division at No Gi Pans in 2022, and also a Silver in the open division facing much heavier opponents. She's also done amazingly well at ADCC Trials, No Gi Worlds, and is now competing in Combat Jiu-jitsu as well. It's remarkable that she's only been training for 6 years; clearly, she's doing something right, and in this conversation I … [Read more...]
How to do the Low Single for No Gi Grappling
The low single is a variation of the single leg takedown, which is one of the staple techniques of wrestling. Probably the most famous low single in history belonged to John Smith, who used this move to win multiple world championships and multiple Olympic gold medals. Not only is the low single is good for winning Olympic medals, it's also a great technique for submission … [Read more...]
Top 10 Wrestling Moves for BJJ
by Jeff Meszaros In many ways, wrestling and Brazilian jiu jitsu are total opposites. The core concepts of the two sports run against each other, and what's a great idea in one art is often a terrible idea in the other. In wrestling, you do anything you can to avoid having your back put on the mat. But in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, people will often fall to their backs immediately to "pull guard" … [Read more...]
Pressure Guard Passing with Fabio Gurgel
There's a reason why Fabio Gurgel has successfully coached over fifty Black Belt World Champions and is a 4 time BJJ world champion himself! He's an amazing teacher, able to simplify complicated techniques so that they work for everyone... Fabio's top pressure is unbelievable. No matter if it's the closed guard, spider guard, butterfly guard, half guard, or some type of newfangled … [Read more...]
Greg Souders
To say that Greg Souders is a huge believer in drilling and gamification is actually an understatement. Greg believes that BJJ training methods have not kept up with the science of learning, and runs Standard Jiu-Jitsu in Rockville, Maryland without teaching any techniques. And black belt medalist students at the Pan Ams and the World Championships suggest that he's onto something! I really … [Read more...]