If you're caught in the closed guard against a skilled opponent then you're in serious trouble. Give him time and you'll find that he's wrapped up your arms, broken your posture, and is getting closer and closer to tapping you out with some choke or armlock. That's why the closed guard is NOT a place for you to hang out. Instead you should immediately and determinedly start passing the … [Read more...]
How to do the de la Riva Anklelock
The de la Riva ankle lock is the holy grail of open guard leglocking. It has been pursued by many, but mastered by few. It's a super effective, IBJJF legal submission from the de la Riva open guard developed by BJJ phenom and 12 time world champion Caio Terra (hence it also being known as the 'Caio Terra anklelock.') So why is it so hard for many people to learn? It's not that it requires … [Read more...]
Passing and Smashing Inverted Guard, by Fabio Gurgel
Passing the guard of an extremely flexible player can be really annoying. You get close to passing and they simply flip upside down, put their feet on the floor, and taunt you from their strange inverted guard position. Some gumby players go even further and develop an entire attacking game from this inverted guard, sometimes also known as the tornado guard. It may look strange but it … [Read more...]
Does Pressure Passing Work for Small Guys?
"Does pressure passing work for small guys, or is it just for the big, heavy guys at they gym?" I'm getting this question a lot now that I've released The Pressure Passing System instructional with 4 x world champion Fabio Gurgel. And it's a good question! First things first, let's define what we're talking about... The Styles of Guard Passing Fundamentally there are two styles of guard … [Read more...]
No Gi Butterfly Guard Pass
The butterfly guard is a very popular guard position in no gi grappling because it doesn't rely on fancy sleeve and lapel grips. So if you're going to be competitive in no gi you definitely need to know how to deal with the butterfly guard, how to shut it down, and how to pass it. There are some very athletic speed-based passes for butterfly that involve jumping, spinning, floating, … [Read more...]
How to Crush the Younger Grappler
One problem with fighting younger guys is that they're like the Energizer bunny - they keep going and going and going... How can you beat them? To beat them you first need to wear them down and then break their will to fight. This is all well and good in theory, but how exactly do you do this in reality? Think of the young punk's gas tank as completely full. However unless you're in … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 195 -Guard Passing Strategies and Tactics with Fabio Gurgel
Today's episode is PURE GOLD for BJJ practitioners and No Gi grapplers. Fabio Gurgel - 4 time BJJ Black Belt World Champion (and trainer of more than 50 other world champions) - talks about his approach to passing the guard, including How to connect your moves, The evolution of guard passing, Advice for older grapplers, When you should stop halfway through a guard pass to tire the … [Read more...]
Coming Soon – Pressure Guard Passing with Fabio Gurgel
There's a reason why Fabio Gurgel has successfully coached over fifty Black Belt World Champions and is a 4 time BJJ world champion himself! He's an amazing teacher, able to simplify complicated techniques so that they work for everyone... And also Fabio's top pressure is unbelievable. No matter if it's the closed guard, spider guard, butterfly guard, half guard, or some type of … [Read more...]
No Gi de la Riva Guard Instructional, Now for Apple & Android Devices!
Hey there, I've just released The No Gi de la Riva Guard which will give you, I hope, a step-by-step formula for fixing your open guard. The main instructor in this instructional is Rob Biernacki, and having been at the receiving end of his de la Riva guard in no gi sparring I 1000% vouch for this system working. Now on my site it's available in online streaming and DVD formats, which is … [Read more...]
A Three Step Open Guard Strategy
Are you flailing around in your guard, trying to react to your opponent, without a clear plan of what to do? If so then this video and podcast episode is for you! When you're using the open guard there's a definite series of steps and strategies you should be using. Here Rob Biernacki of No Gi de la Riva Formula fame, taking you through the 3 stages of open guard and shows you specific … [Read more...]
New Self Defense Focussed Module for Your iPhone or Android Phone
People have been asking for me to include more self defense material on the Grapplearts BJJ Master App. And, as always, your wish is my command! The Self Defense Guard - a 2 module instructional for iPhone and Android - is now the newest module with the Master App. I did this instructional together with BJJ black belt Elliott Bayev. In it you'll get the techniques and strategies from … [Read more...]
Arm Drag from Reverse de la Riva Guard (Simple and Effective)
The Reverse de la Riva Guard is a variation of the regular de la Riva Guard, but with your inside leg entangling your opponent's lead leg instead of your outside leg. This picture should make it a little clearer what the difference is... Why Use the Reverse de la Riva? Most of the time players use both the regular and the reverse de la Riva positions, because they complement each … [Read more...]
Dealing with the Gi in Grappling
Are you coming from a background in submission grappling or training mostly without the gi and trying to get into BJJ? Are you frustrated by the cloth prison (the gi) that's stifling your movements and allowing your opponent to wrap you up? I'm a big fan of being competent in both gi and no gi grappling, if for no other reason than self defense. Yes, you might get attacked on the beach … [Read more...]
5 Techniques for Knee Cut Guard Pass Defense and Prevention
It doesn't matter if you use closed guard, spider guard, butterfly guard, half guard or any other type of guard... At some point someone WILL try to knife through your legs using the Knee Cut Guard Pass! The Knee Cut is one of the most popular, most powerful guard passes out there. Every serious competitor uses some version of it, so you'll absolutely run into it!This is a promise, not a … [Read more...]
The 4 Directions for X Guard Sweeps
Every guard position relies on action-reaction. You fake a sweep in one direction, your opponent reacts, and then you take advantage of that reaction and take them the other way. This is true of every type of guard, but it's very easy to illustrate this with the X guard. In the video below I break down the 4 directional options for X guard sweeps... The sweeps are covered in a bit … [Read more...]
The ‘Soft One, Hard Two’ BJJ Gripfighting Strategy
Have you ever heard the story about the old bull and the young bull, standing at the top of a hill, watching some cows? The young bull turns to the older bull and says, "Hey, let's run down there and each make sweet, sweet love to one of those cows!" The older bull retorts, "Why don't we just walk down there, nice and slow, and make sweet, sweet love to ALL the cows?" The original … [Read more...]
Standing vs Kneeling Guard Passes
When you're trying to pass your opponent's guard you can use either standing or kneeling guard passes. (Of course if you're dealing with the closed guard you have an additional decision to make, namely whether you first stand or kneel to break the closed guard open in the first place.) Anyhow, there's a tendency for modern BJJ players to use more standing, mobility based passes, especially … [Read more...]
The 3 Steps to a Takedown
Many grapplers lack even a basic knowledge of takedowns, and this is a HUGE mistake. As far as I'm concerned if you're a submission grappler or a jiu-jitsu player who pulls guard in every competition then you need to have at least a few ways to get the fight to the ground from the feet. In having takedowns is just part of being a well rounded grappler, but it's also for self defense: you'll … [Read more...]
An Easy Armdrag Defense
OK, this is a quick post because it's only a short video that I filmed right before training today... If someone tries to armdrag you they're usually gripping your triceps area with their cross hand and pulling you hard, trying to either get behind you or elicit a pulling reaction. And it's a legit threat, because a good armdrag can set you up for a number of things, including... The rear … [Read more...]
The Strong and Weak Sides of the Guillotine Choke (And How to Use Them for Offense and Defense)
OK, today we're going to talk about something that's both very simple and incredibly important. I've explained this to SO many grapplers over the years it's not even funny, and most of the time the reaction is a "Doh! I should have known that!!!" Here's what I'm talking about... The guillotine choke has a strong side and a weak side. Attacking with a strong sided guillotine is MUCH … [Read more...]