I've been down in the laboratory recently, cooking up the latest Grapplearts offering. Since we're in the final stages of production now, and because I thought you might be interested, I'll whip off the veil of secrecy and tell you about what's going on. … [Read more...]
Starting BJJ Classes?
If you're thinking about starting BJJ classes in the New Year, then I want to give you another head's up about my new BeginningBJJ eBook and eCourse. About 2000 people signed up in the past two weeks for these free materials (which is a pretty overwhelming response)! … [Read more...]
A Free eBook and eCourse for BJJ Beginners
Recently I've been working like a madman on my latest project, which is the new website Beginning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (beginningbjj.com). Ta Da! This site is specifically designed for people just starting Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. … [Read more...]
On Keeping the Top Position
This is an excerpt on one of the most important sections from my book " A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu" … [Read more...]
The Two Meanings of the Tap
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...]
A Glossary of Guard Positions, or Lumping vs. Splitting
When it comes variations of the guard position grapplers tend to fall into one of two categories: 'lumpers' and 'splitters'. … [Read more...]
A Roadmap for the Rear Naked Choke
The Rear Naked Choke, or RNC, is one of those fundamental techniques. Choking someone from rearmount is an incredibly effective and efficient tool in the jiu-jitsu arsenal, but I only acquired it relatively late in my grappling career. Instructions on how to do the RNC are in the first martial arts books I bought when I was 12 years old. I also learned how to do it in Judo class at about the … [Read more...]
How to Find a Grappling School
Every couple of weeks I get an email from a reader asking if there are any good BJJ, MMA or submission grappling schools close to where they live. Unfortunately I rarely have specific advice for them, because there are just too many good schools out there. … [Read more...]
Teacherless Training
A reader writes: Q: "I would like to hear you address grappling with no formal teacher or school. What are the benefits/downsides to this? What should we be careful to avoid? This is the situation I am in now, I get to practice with some good guys but have actually never had formal training. " … [Read more...]
Beware the Belt Chaser
When people start new activities they like the reassurance of being able to know how they are progressing in that activity. In the martial arts, including most grappling arts, this is typically done by awarding stripes, belts, and other measures of rank. … [Read more...]
The Larger, Stronger Opponent
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...]
The Fundamental Rear Mount
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...]
Rear Mount – Crossing your Feet
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...]
Static Bridging – a Common Mistake in Sparring
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...]
Training: How Often
Probably the most common question I get asked is "how many times a week should I train to make progress?" As with most questions the answer is "it depends". Once a week: If you are just starting grappling you can definately pick up a few things training even once a week, particularly if you already practice another martial art. … [Read more...]
A Roadmap for Grappling
When an uninitiated person sees grappling in action for the first time it seems very chaotic and confusing. There are limbs and bodies all over the place and then, all of a sudden and for ‘no reason’ someone taps out. This can be a very intimidating activity for beginners to launch themselves into. … [Read more...]
Other Ankle Lock Mistakes
In a recent article I talked about the most common mistake novice leglockers make when trying to use the ankle lock. Here are a few more common errors: Telegraphing the attack. I often see someone decide to use an ankle lock to counter the open guard: this person then wraps his arm around the ankle, pauses, considers whether to proceed, and only then falls back into an ankle lock. This is way … [Read more...]
The Most Common Ankle Lock Mistake
Let's talk about the basic ankle lock (also known as the 'Achilles lock' or the 'straight foot lock') today. When I see people trying ankle locks in sparring and in competition the most common error I see is targetting, by which I mean where they are placing their forearms on their opponent's ankle.\ Quite often I see people trying to apply the ankle lock by putting pressure far too high up the … [Read more...]
Armbar Fundamentals
OK, let's talk about something really fundamental this week: armbars when you and your opponent have your backs on the floor (i.e. bellies to the sky). Even if you are an advanced grappler it helps to review basic techniques. … [Read more...]
How to Squeeze With The Rear Naked Choke
The so-called rear naked choke (also known as “hadaka-jime” in Japanese) is one of the most powerful submissions in grappling. Properly applied, this choke should give your opponent no way out except to tap or go to sleep. When using this choke I often think about the angles at which I am applying pressure. Keeping these angles in mind has made my rear naked choke much more powerful: First … [Read more...]