The Toreando guard pass (aka the Matador pass) is a very powerful way to pass the guard in gi jiu-jitsu and no gi submission grappling. (You even see it used in MMA where it combines very well with powerful overhand punches. The fact that you're controlling his feet or his shins makes it much harder for him to upkick you!) This pass is used in every high level tournament in the world, but … [Read more...]
Fancy Yet Effective: The ‘Shaolin’ Half Guard Sweep
Normally I advise against flashy techniques. Generally speaking it's rock solid basics and non-fancy fundamentals that win sparring sessions, tournament matches and MMA fights. But I have to make an exception for this technique... If you're already semi-competent from the half guard position then the Shaolin Sweep might be something you want to add to your game. First of all, the Shaolin … [Read more...]
What is Tripod Passing in Jiu-Jitsu?
My current favorite style of guard passing is called 'tripod passing.' This style of passing has been used with great success in gi, no gi, and MMA competition. Turning yourself into a giant stable tripod above your opponent when you're passing has several huge advantages. For example you can... 1) Put a TON of pressure on your opponent if you want, 2) Deny him the ability to put you in … [Read more...]
What’s in Guard Passing for Old F***s
BJJ for Old F***s, the Passing Game is dedicated to giving older grapplers the techniques, strategies, and training methods they need to pass the guard of any opponent and stay effective on the mats. In this instructional you'll first get the critical concepts for passing the guard as an older guy so that you can smash those younger players while staying safe. Then you'll get 5 complete … [Read more...]
Guard Passing for Old F***s Now in iOS and Android App Formats!
The brand new Grapplearts instructional, "Guard Passing for Old F***s" is now available on the Grapplearts BJJ Master App for iOS and Android. Once you've downloaded it you can preview quite a bit of the material for free. Please check it out - a lot of people prefer their information in app format because of the portability and the ability to download the techniques. Click Below to … [Read more...]
How to Apply the Bow and Arrow Choke in Jiu-Jitsu
The bow and arrow choke is one of the highest percentage finishing techniques in all of jiu-jitsu. Statistically it's used to finish a very large number of matches at high level BJJ competition like the Mundials, the Pan-Ams, and more. But some ways of applying the bow and arrow are better than others. Some methods are tighter, some finishes are more powerful, and certain tweaks make it MUCH … [Read more...]
Reverse Armbar from Closed Guard
The reverse armbar from closed guard is a great way to attack from the closed guard, especially against a younger, more athletic opponent. Using this submission is a two step process.... The first step is to get him under control and take away his movement privileges. The second step is to methodically advance your position until he's all out of options and you finish the … [Read more...]
A ‘Stupid’ Armlock I Was Pretty Sure Would NEVER Work…
Sometimes you just gotta have faith... In the video below I'll share an armlock with you that I'd been shown multiple times early in my BJJ career. And I always thought it was hogwash; that any good opponent would simply twist out of it and I'd end up in a terrible position. Click here to view the same "Stupid" Armlock video on YouTube! The technique in question was the reverse or … [Read more...]
A Simple Counter When Your Opponent Controls Your Pant Legs
Nothing good happens if you let your opponent control your pant legs in jiu-jitsu. Once he has those grips he can start his guard passing sequences with torreando passes, leg drags, stack passes and more. Here's how to use the cross lapel grip to shut that nonsense down before it begins! There's a cheat code that allows most people to jump up a full belt level almost overnight. You … [Read more...]
Precision Drilling to Improve Faster in BJJ
By limiting what you do during training and drilling you become much more precise and will improve much faster in jiu-jitsu. With examples from whitewater paddling, mountain climbing, and yes, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Precision Drilling to Improve Faster in BJJ (Video Format) Here’s the video version of the podcast... Precision Drilling to Improve Faster in BJJ (Audio Format) This video was … [Read more...]
How to Defend and Counter the Crossface from Bottom Half Guard
Getting flattened out, crossfaced, and smashed when you're in the half guard sucks, and in this article we're going to learn how to prevent that from happening. The key is to use your upper body frames to stop your opponent from getting chest to chest and flattening you out. Doing this also allows you to get back to offense from the bottom again. First, here's a breakdown of how not to get … [Read more...]
Key Tips and Strategies for Older Grapplers
Rob Biernacki and I have just released BJJ for Old F***s, and from that instructional here are some of the most important tips for the older grappler. Specifically in this episode Rob Biernacki (age 46) and I (age 52) discuss... The two things that change most about your training as you get older How to improve as fast as possible by limiting your training Why base, posture and … [Read more...]
A Heavy Knee Cut Pass vs Butterfly Guard
The butterfly guard is a very dangerous position. It offers your opponent the ability to come after you with powerful sweeps, guillotine chokes, triangle chokes, leglocks, and many other attacks. If you're doing jiu-jitsu then you absolutely need to know how to shut down the butterfly guard and make your opponent regret even thinking about using it on you! The way to do that is with pressure … [Read more...]
How to Defend the Back Take in Jiu-Jitsu
There's a terrible feeling of inevitability when you're in someone's guard, he takes your arm across his centerline, and starts to climb to your back. But it doesn't need to be this way. Having your elbow across his centerline doesn't automatically lead to him taking your back and making your life miserable. Here's a technique to get out of this position that has saved my butt many … [Read more...]
Hip Bump Sweep from Closed Guard
In this video excerpted from The Closed Guard System renowned BJJ black belt Jon Thomas covers the advanced details of the hip bump sweep. The hip bump sweep is one of those classic attacks from the closed guard that still works incredibly well in the modern jiu-jitsu game. 00:10 - How to break your opponent's posture in closed guard 00:40 - How to exploit him defending the posture … [Read more...]
3 Open Guard Options vs. Standing Opponents
If you don't have a gameplan from the open guard then this position can quickly become a confusing and ineffective tangle of arms and legs . And open guard chaos gets much, much worse when you don't have a good grip on your opponent. Even a single solid grip on your opponent's arm, neck, foot, heel or gi allows you to control his posture, limit his movement, and set up your own attacks. … [Read more...]
Lasso Spider Guard to Omoplata
The spinning omoplata setup using the lasso hook is one of the very coolest spider guard attacks. In this attack you go from controlling one of his arms to a match-ending submission in the blink of an eye. No only does this move make you feel like superman, but it's actually a very high technique if you understand all the details and the correct timing for applying it. Here's a … [Read more...]
BJJ Defense with Steve Kwan
Steve Kwan from BJJ Mental Models joined me today to share some guidelines that'll immediately improve your jiu-jitsu defensive skills. Check out the BJJ Mental Models Podcast wherever fine podcasts are distributed Here's the video version of our conversation... And here's the audio-only version... Links to Subscribe to My Podcast The best way to stay up to date with new … [Read more...]
Please Call Me Stephan, not ‘Professor’ or ‘Sifu’ or ‘Sensei’ or ‘Guru’ or ‘Master’ or ‘Shihan’ or ‘Kru’ or ‘Sabom’ Or ‘Kwisatz Haderach’
People mean well when they address me with an honorific but please call me Stephan, and not 'Professor' or 'Sifu' or 'Sensei' or 'Guru' or 'Master' or 'Shihan' or 'Kru' or 'Sabom' Or 'Kwisatz Haderach'... I don't like these honorifics because there's an inherent danger when lofty titles are used to amplify an already reflexive obedience towards a person. And this is especially true in a … [Read more...]
The Best Omoplata Defense
Let's look at the low angle cartwheel, one of my very favorite counters to the omoplata armlock submission, which is a very powerful upper body attack used extensively in gi and no gi jiu-jitsu these days. First we'll go through the counter step-by-step including the training methods and drills to make the move smooth and instinctive. Then we'll go further and examine 4 very specific ways to … [Read more...]