It's a HUGE mistake to focus on techniques like biting, finger breaks and eye-gouging and avoiding techniques you can try out under pressure and against resistance in sparring. Here's why that's the case, and why most martial sports participants are actually far deadlier than most martial artists. To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 47 – Prison for 15+ Years for a Knock-Out?
In every story about every streetfight the centrepiece is the big haymaker that landed and knocked somebody out cold. It's a compelling story, but the reality is that whenever you do this you automatically run a very serious risk of killing the other guy. Your punch to the head may be powerful, but usually it's not nearly as dangerous as the second impact when his falling head lands on the … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 46 – Three Fundamental Elements for Every Martial Art
In this 13 minute rant I go into the 3 essential components that make up every martial art on the planet, a concept I learned from the famous Filipino martial artist (and protege of Bruce Lee) Mr Dan Inosanto! Lots of examples from Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, BJJ, MMA, Kali, Capoeira, and Kung Fu... To listen to this conversation you could press play on the embedded audio player below, but then … [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...]
Latest Grapplearts Instructional: The Self Defense Guard
Ultimately BJJ is a martial art, and that means knowing how to handle yourself in a real fight. I wouldn't advocate pulling guard in a streetfight, but if things go wrong then there's always the chance that you’re going to end up on the bottom. And if that happens the guard could save your life. But the way you use guard is different when you’re dealing with punches, bites, headbutts and … [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...]
Self Defense vs MMA with John Hackleman
The intersection of MMA and self defense has always been interesting to me, so I was thrilled to have a chat with John 'the Pitmaster' Hackleman recently. John is well known for coaching Chuck Liddell to the UFC light-heavyweight title, but he has mentored many other successful MMA fighters as well. But despite his success as an MMA coach the reason he started training martial arts was very … [Read more...]
Sport BJJ vs Self Defense BJJ
There are many reasons to train BJJ - fitness, camaraderie, having fun, taking on a challenge, spiritual development, learning to deal with challenges, wanting to compete - but at its core, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art. Martial arts means self defense. Self defense is a very big topic, but it has to include choking an attacker into a unconsciousness if need be. Here are two videos … [Read more...]
Japanese Jiujitsu vs BJJ
BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-jitsu) is undeniably the most popular grappling system on the planet right now. But BJJ came from Judo, and Judo came from the traditional Japanese Jiujitsu systems. So there's a direct lineage from Japanese Jiujitsu (aka Jujitsu or Jujutsu) to BJJ. Both arts contain chokes, pins, armlocks and leglocks, so what's the difference? There are differences in both the … [Read more...]
Mount Escape to Ankle Lock Position
If you're caught in mount the first thing you want to try are the conventional bridging and shrimping movements to escape. These are two of the gold standard escapes for a good reason; they work all the time. But as the old saying goes, man makes plans and God laughs. Even the best techniques are going to fail against some opponents and in certain situations so it's always good to have some … [Read more...]
How to Throw Defensive, Stiff-Arming, Bent-Over Opponents
A reader writes... Question: Hi Stephan, I'm looking for a way to incorporate some of judo take-downs into my BJJ game, but I'm having a lot of difficulty finding throws that work with the low center of gravity that is so central to the jiu-jitsu defence against throws. The defensive bent-over posture makes it nearly impossible to get good access to their hips, or even their legs while … [Read more...]
Eye Gouging, Hair Pulling, and Theodore Roosevelt with Historian Daniele Bolelli
This is definitely one of my very favourite Grapplearts Radio Podcast episodes to date. In it I talk with historian and martial artist Daniele Bolelli. When Daniele isn't training MMA or giving lectures to students he's busy creating episodes of his own podcast, History on Fire, which you should totally check out. Our chat went all over the place, including from the rules (or lack … [Read more...]
Every Martial Art Consists of These 3 Things…
I'm primarily known as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, but the reality is that I've trained in a lot of other martial arts too. These other martial arts include Combat Submission Wrestling, Kajukenbo Karate, Boxing, Wing Chun, Judo, Muay Thai, Hung Gar, Pekiti Tirsia Kali, Hsing I, Northern Shaolin, Maphalindo Silat, Capoeira, Tai Chi, Western Fencing, Freestyle Wrestling, Jun Fan/JKD, … [Read more...]
Self Defense, Weapons, BJJ, and Mexican Prisons…
BJJ is a great sport but ultimately - and even more important - it's also a martial art. And the core of every martial art has to be about combat; the fitness, discipline, camaraderie and fun is great, but they're all bonuses. It's fantastic to have an awesome spinning triangle from spider guard, but you ALSO need to understand how to use your art in the streets, which might … [Read more...]
BJJ Q&A Podcast with Rob Biernacki
There's a new Grapplearts Radio podcast out!! I recently brought Rob Biernacki - a BJJ black belt and the creator of the highly reviewed BJJ Formula apps - back into the studio for his second appearance on the Grapplearts Radio Podcast... We mostly did a Q&A format in which we answered reader questions about everything from passing the guard to organising your training, but we … [Read more...]
How to do the Armbar Without Crushing Your Balls
It's a question that I get from BJJ beginners all the time, "How do I do the armbar without crushing my balls in the process?" And it's a legitimate problem for people starting out their BJJ career. In fact, it's a simple equation... Elbow + Groin = OUCH!! Now you could wear a cup, but most intermediate and advanced players don't do that unless they're training for MMA. Instead of … [Read more...]
A Triangle Choke Escape that Requires Almost No Training…
Years ago I came back from an Indonesian Silat training camp led by Dan Inosanto. I showed up at BJJ class the next day and was telling a few guys about how much I had enjoyed the training. One guy with a slightly smartass tone asked me, "How would a Silat guy escape from my triangle choke then?" It turns out that there IS a very effective, super high percentage Silat escape to the … [Read more...]
37 Powerful BJJ Submissions for Grapplers
Have you ever wondered what the most popular and powerful BJJ submissions in BJJ are? Here's our list of the top 37 submissions taught in BJJ academies all over the world. WARNING: not all of these techniques are legal in IBJJF competition, or allowed at all schools. But it's still better to be familiar with these illegal techniques just in case someone tries to use them on you. And many of … [Read more...]
Podcast EP 34: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Principles with Rob Biernacki (plus Ninjas, Insane Martial Arts Instructors and Martial Arts Cults)
The latest episode of the Grapplearts Radio Podcast is out. In it I talk with Rob Biernacki, a friend, BJJ black belt, and contributor to Grapplearts (see the videos and articles he's been involved with here). Rob is known for his analytical style of teaching BJJ. He doesn't focus on being a 'technique collector, but rather specialises in sharing the underlying principles and concepts that … [Read more...]
Blocking Headbutts in the Guard
As I've said many times before, BJJ is a fantastic sport and fitness activity but at it's core IT'S A MARTIAL ART. And that means you have to keep an eye on how this stuff would work in a real fight. Someone recently asked me what you can do to prevent getting knocked out if someone on top of you is trying to headbutt you into oblivion. Good question. It's an important topic: before they … [Read more...]