I remember watching a BJJ black belt world champion trying to demonstrate a spider guard sweep and being appalled. His movement and his technique were barely blue belt level. How could this be?!?! This guy had tons of gold bling collected at the very highest levels of competition. Furthermore, he began most of his matches on the bottom, swept his way to the top, and then passed. The answer … [Read more...]
How to Pass Half Guard Using the Kimura
The Kimura is a powerful submission, but it's ALSO a giant handle. The really cool thing is that you can use that handle to move your opponent around OR move yourself around your opponent. In the video below I'll give you a fantastic example of using the Kimura as a handle to immobilise your opponent while you pass his guard. This is one of my very favorite Kimura setups... Important … [Read more...]
How Training Your Submissions as Positions Takes Your Game to the Next Level, with Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models
Today, Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models picks my brain about the benefits of training your submissions as positions first, and submissions second. I promise this will make perfect sense by the end of the episode, and may change how you approach your training. Episode 436 with Steve was a rare audio-only episode and is available on all audio podcast platforms, including Apple … [Read more...]
Triangle Chokes from the Back, a User’s Guide
Being on someone's back is one of the most dominant positions in all of jiu-jitsu. This is for good reasons: all his weapons are facing away from you, he can't see what you're doing, and you're only half a second away from finishing him with the rear naked choke. One submission you're seeing more and more from the back is the triangle choke with the legs. This is showing up all over the place, … [Read more...]
Attack Strategies for the T Kimura
There is a very powerful position in jiu-jitsu called the T Kimura. If someone who knows what they're doing catches you with it, then you're in a world of trouble! In the T Kimura, you and your opponent form a large letter “T”. You’re on one side, lying behind his shoulders with his head on your belly, and controlling one of his arms with the Kimura. The trouble is that many people have … [Read more...]
No Gi and No Grips Guard Pass vs Headquarters
Guard passing is always tricky. Most guard passes require you to get grips with your hands, but if you're reaching for your opponent then there's always the chance that he can tie up your arms and take you over. This weekend I just put up a video I shot with Erin Herle on a style of guard passing that uses from the headquarters guard passing position where you use your legs, chest and … [Read more...]
Five Techniques to Counter the Kimura
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...]