The Estima Lock is a footlock attack you can use against the open guard, especially modern forms of guard like the reverse de la riva, inverted guard, and others. You can basically use it any time your opponent uses a side kick style foot position against your chest or belly. And - BOOM - it comes on super quickly so he better tap fast! It was developed by two brothers, Victor and Braulio … [Read more...]
Setting Up and Finishing the Single Leg Takedown in BJJ with the Gi
The single leg takedown is one of the main moves in freestyle wrestling, but it becomes considerably harder to pull off when you put the gi on. That's because with the gi your opponent usually just grabs your lapel and sleeve, stiff-arms away, and makes it hard to get at his legs. This can be very frustrating for people looking for single and double leg wrestling takedowns in BJJ. Now judo … [Read more...]
Standing Guillotine Choke Escapes
Standing guillotine chokes are really tough to escape, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to get out! I recently met up with my friend Ando Mierzwa, and we shot something on the topic of guillotine prevention and escape for his martial arts oriented Youtube channel. It's a video in 3 parts... The first part of the video is about guillotine prevention. It's always easier to … [Read more...]
Getting Back to Your Feet in BJJ
If you boil down the thousands of guard techniques in BJJ they really fall into one of five categories... Sweeps that allow you to reverse the position and get to the top Submissions where you choke or jointlock your opponent Strikes with your hands, elbows, knees and feet Survival where you maintain your guard and keep yourself against your opponent's attacks, and Standing back … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 74 – Analysis of Leglock Game with Rob Biernacki
An 80/20 analysis of the leglocking game based on high level no gi competition, leglock safety, how to learn BJJ efficiently, best practises when teaching jiu-jitsu, and a ton more with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki, my co-author of The Modern Leglock Formula available now at Grapplearts.com/leglocks https://youtu.be/jMMDD2EVn0w You can listen to this as Episode 74 of The Strenuous Life … [Read more...]
My Favourite Omoplata Escape
The omoplata is one of my very favourite techniques - it's a submission, a sweep, and a setup for other sweeps and submissions. That's why I've got a ton of articles about this technique on Grappearts! But much as I love the omoplata I absolutely HATE getting caught in it myself. I want to show you my favourite omoplata escapes right now... First of all though, let's talk about the … [Read more...]
Advanced Omoplata Finish
Jiu-jitsu is so cool! As you might know, the omoplata armlock is one of my very favorite techniques. But even after 10 years of studying this position, I'm still learning new stuff about it... Today I want to share a variation of the omoplata that I learned this summer working with Brandon Mullins. Of course this finish works great on larger people, but even though I'm 6'2' and 215 lbs I'm … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 80 – When Should Leglock Training Start?
What belt level should you start training leg locks at? It depends a little bit on what your goals are and whether you're doing gi or no gi, but it's a lot sooner than you think EVEN if you're competing only in the IBJJF rule set. This podcast episode is excerpted from a 17 minute long Youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GQZPtpsg_U which takes you through how to do the actual … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #73 – Grappling VS Striking
If you could only do one which would be better for self defense: striking or grappling? The answer is grappling of course, but the reasons why might surprise you... You can listen to this as Episode 73 of The Strenuous Life podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud or Google Play. Or you can listen to it in the embedded player below: … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #71 – BJJ and Training Q&A With Stephan
What would I do different as a white belt if I could go back in time? What are the best guards that go together with the butterfly guard? Can you become an elite level grappler if you have both a job and a family? And you've choked someone out in a streetfight... what now? All this and more in today's Q&A episode. In this episode I make reference to articles on Grapplearts which can be … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 68 – Post Workout Routine: Staying in Shape While Travelling
Recorded right after my hotel room workout, this episode talks about the 3 things you need to do to stay in jiu-jitsu shape when you're travelling so you don't suck as bad when you get back to your regular training schedule. You can listen to this as episode 68 of the Strenuous Life podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud and Google Play. Or you can listen to it in the embedded … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode #66 – Functional Training
Regardless of whether you train BJJ, MMA or a self-defense oriented martial art you're faced with the same dilemma: how do you take a technique you're shown in class and actually make it work against someone who is resisting you 100%? The key is progressive resistance, and in this episode I go into the 5 training modalities you should use to functionalise your techniques. You can listen to … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 55 – Interview with James Foster on the Spartan Underground
I really enjoyed being on James '300' Foster's podcast where we talked about figuring out grappling from scratch, why fighters fight injured, PEDs in the MMA, how jiu-jitsu will always be there for you after a long layoff, and a lot more! I hope you enjoy it too! Check out Jame's podcast on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-spartan-underground/id1070092297?mt=2 You can … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 56 – Interview with Budo Jake Discussing Training Around the World, Advice to Newbies, and More…
This is a really good episode in which I talk to my friend, BJJ black belt, and world traveller Budo Jake. We cover a ton of topics including the evolution of Japanese ju-jutsu into BJJ, getting choked unconscious, the effectiveness of wrist locks in grappling, brain damage from striking, yoga and other recover methods, training at different academies, and advice for newbies. Enjoy! You can … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 62 – Rant: It is NOT About the Colour of the BELT!
I'm on fire for this one because it really gets under my skin when people focus on the wrong thing in their martial arts training. Boys and girls, it's about skill acquisition and NOT about the color of your belt. Get this wrong and it will destroy your relationship to the martial arts! You can watch a video I did about this on You Tube below: Alternately, you can listen to this as … [Read more...]
Can You Use a Collar Choke in a Streetfight?
BJJ has a ton of gi-based techniques, and while not all of them are very street relevant, some people tend to throw out the baby with the bath water. The bottom line is that many people wear either coats or jackets, especially in the winter or at night. And if your attacker is wearing a potential noose around his neck you'd be a fool not to take advantage of it. You want to take advantage … [Read more...]
Closed Guard to Shin Shield to Technical Standup
Getting back up to your feet against pressure is a critical skill in BJJ. Most fundamentally you use this standup motion to get back to your feet should you find yourself on the bottom in a real fight, but you can also use this exact same movement to finish sweeps, escape bad positions, and counter your opponent's attacks. So it's a movement that you need to know inside out and … [Read more...]
My Favourite Head and Arm Choke Finish
The head and arm choke (aka the 'arm triangle' and/or 'kata gatame') is one of the staple submissions of BJJ. It works with the gi, in MMA and in submission grappling. A lot of people can get to this position, but then have problems actually finishing the choke, especially if their opponent has a strong neck and upper body. Here is my favourite way to finish the head and arm choke. You … [Read more...]
A 3 Step Process for Making an Angle (and Getting a Big Advantage) in the Closed Guard
When you’re fighting your opponent in the Closed Guard, you don’t want to be facing straight towards your opponent creating a big rectangle. Ideally, you want to be doing a Closed Guard with him off the side. This is analogous to being to the side of your opponent in a boxing match: all all of his weapons aren't aimed at you and all your weapons are pointing straight at him! If you can make … [Read more...]
BJJ Wristlocks Everywhere!
For some reasons wristlocks in BJJ just don't get no respect. Many grapplers consider it OK to tap out to armlocks, triangle chokes, shoulder locks or lapel chokes, but for some reason wristlocks are considered super cheesy. However the wrist is just as legitimate a joint to attack as the elbow, shoulder or knee. In fact there's a meme going around the online BJJ community right now. I … [Read more...]