There are some essential BJJ gross motor movements that need to be trained over and over until they're smooth and instinctive. Most of the time we train these transitions on our training partners, either in drilling or as part of sparring. But some of the most important movements can actually be trained on your own - before class, after class, or at home - using a heavy punching bag. Here … [Read more...]
Last Ditch Matador Guard Pass Defense
The use of frames is key when you're defending against the Matador Pass, commonly known as Toreando or Bullfighter pass. If you engage in a battle of strength versus strength, then whoever is stronger will win. But if you can use frames to negate your opponent's strength then you can defeat much bigger and stronger opponents. Here's a video I filmed with Rory Van Vliet on defending the … [Read more...]
Five Tips for Training During Coronavirus Lockdown
As I write this most clubs, dojos and training groups all over the world have shut down for a very noble cause; to flatten the coronavirus curve By shutting things down we're slowing (not stopping) community transmission of this virus, which in turn prevents the medical system from being overrun all at once and allows the system to manufacture and stockpile masks and other personal protective … [Read more...]
How to Do the Leg Drag Guard Pass
The leg drag is a modern addition to the world of guard passing in BJJ. It was popularized by world class competitors like the Mendes Brothers among many others. And if you spend even a little bit of time competing or watching major tournaments you will notice this style of pass being used successfully in every weight division, from white belt up to world champion black belt. Not only is … [Read more...]
A Primer for Inversions in BJJ
Inversions and going upside down have become part of mainstream jiu-jitsu. There are now many techniques where you flip upside down temporarily to achieve your defensive or offensive goals Now can you train BJJ without ever inverting? Absolutely! But can you compete at a high level without inverting? Probably not. I think it's safe to say that every high level competitive blackbelt today … [Read more...]
The Synergism of Guard Passing and Leglocks
Many people think that you have to make a choice between getting good at leglocks or getting good at guard passing. But that's a false dichotomy. Guard passing and leglocks can be friends! You can use leglocks to set up your guard passes, and you can use guard passes to set up your leglocks. In the video below Oliver Taza shows how to use the leg drag guard pass to get into the saddle … [Read more...]
How to Leglock Someone in Butterfly Guard
Obviously it's relatively easy to enter into a leglock position if someone is lying flat on their back with their legs dangling in the air to the outside of your body. But if the other guy is using butterfly guard with his feet on the inside of your legs then it's it's harder to get into positions like standard ashi, outside ashi, the 411, or any of the other dominant leglock positions (click … [Read more...]
Announcing No Gi Leglocks with Oliver Taza!
Some super-exciting news for you... Today I've just released No Gi Leglocks featuring Oliver Taza! Oliver is a phenomenal grappler. He trains with the Danaher Death Squad in NYC and with Firas Zahabi (Georges St Pierre's trainer) at Tristar in Montreal. Oliver has used his DEEP knowledge of leglocks to amass wins at Polaris, Metamoris, the ADCC Trials, the No Gi Worlds, and many … [Read more...]
How To Do the Over-Under Pass
The over-under guard pass is one of the classic pressure passes in BJJ. In it you absolutely kill your opponent's hips by coming over one of his legs and under his other leg with your arms. Then you spike your shoulder into your opponent's belly which pins his lower body the floor and puts a tremendous amount of weight onto him and makes it hard for him to breathe. This pass has changed … [Read more...]
A Closed Guard Passing Strategy
In a world full of butterfly guards, lapel guards, and upside-down-reverse-de-la-Riva guards it's sometimes easy to forget about the oldest guard of all: closed guard. But if someone who is good at closed guard clamps their legs around you and gets his hand in your collar than MAN, are you in trouble!! With that deep grip he's going to destroy your posture, make it impossible for you to … [Read more...]
Mount to Deep Half Guard Escape
Here is one of my favorite ways to escape the mount position. It relies on briefly achieving quarter guard which is essentially the mount position where you have one of his feet trapped between your legs and then transitioning to the deep half guard. This wouldn't necessarily be the first escape you would use in an MMA or self defense situation (since it exposes your face to punches) but in … [Read more...]
How to Do the Leg Weave Guard Pass… And How to Counter It Too!
The 'Leg Weave' pass (also known as the 'Hip Smash') is a pressure guard passing technique that relies on correctly positioning your bodyweight to pin your opponent's hips and then methodically work your way past his legs. It relies more on sensitivity, weight distribution, and patience than on speed and athleticism. As such it's a great pass for older, slower grapplers to use against the … [Read more...]
12 Concepts, Principles and Ideas To Stop Your Opponent from Passing Your Guard
Here's a really detailed, super comprehensive video on the 12 most important concepts and ideas that'll make your guard much harder to pass. It's the best thing you'll watch today. Seriously. Using these 12 concepts you'll immediately accomplish a couple of important things... You'll start frustrating the hell out of your opponents, which is always good. You'll gain much more … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Lapel Guard
It's 2020, and the game has evolved. If you don't add this lapel variation to your game IMMEDIATELY then you're destined to be left irretrievably behind, choking on the dust cloud of the sport. Check it out... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeRn8mPAmeI P.S. As I mention in the final seconds of the video above, there is only one gi guaranteed by it's manufacturer to be immune to the … [Read more...]
How to Escape Side Control
Being stuck under side control (aka 'side mount,' or '100 kilos') is one of the great challenges in jiu-jitsu. Here your opponent is able to put a TON of weight onto you, crush your face, attack your arms and neck, and advance his position by getting to the mount or taking your back. In short, being on the bottom of side control sucks, and you have to have some good ways to escape … [Read more...]
Range and Distance in Guard
There's just something about jiu-jitsu that leads to a proliferation of styles of guard. From Z Guard to X Guard and from Spider Guard to Half Butterfly there are many, many different forms of closed, open and half guard, and new variations pop up all the time. How do you know which type of guard to use when? The Concept of Range in the Guard There's an organising principle that brings order … [Read more...]
Free Audio Download of The Roadmap for BJJ
The Roadmap for BJJ book tries to help you make sense of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by breaking down the underlying 6 fundamental positions of art. It focusses the hierarchy of BJJ positions (i.e. which positions are better than others) and then breaks down the relationships and transitions between the positions. If you're new to the art then you should come away with a new understanding of what's … [Read more...]
Making the Armbar from Guard Harder to Escape
How many times have you gone for an armbar from the guard only to have your opponent escape your attack, pass your guard, and then smash you from a dominant position? This is an incredibly common scenario, but it really doesn't need to happen nearly as often! The truth is that by making some simple tweaks to your technique and the sequence in which you apply that technique you'll make the … [Read more...]
The Cheat Code for BJJ Turtle Escapes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmz1ID3VgGU The turtle is a terrible position! Being on all fours is an invitation for your opponent to apply the clock choke, take your back and choke you out, or attack you with other submissions. And if you're talking about an MMA or self defense situation it's even worse. Now your opponent can elbow, knee and hammerfist you into oblivion without even … [Read more...]
Bottom Saddle to Heel Hook Transition
The 'Saddle' - also known as the Inside Sangaku, the Honeyhole, and the 411 position - is probably the most powerful leglock position in all of grappling. This position gives you powerful control over your opponent's ability to move, counter and escape. It also lets you apply a devastating inside heel hook, which twists the leg in a much worse angle than a regular heel hook. (Here are some … [Read more...]