The concept of connecting your guard sweeps to your guard passes is incredibly useful. Anytime you can use one technique to set up the next you have an advantage, yet many grapplers fail to follow up after a successful guard sweep. Let's go through both the theory and practice of this concept. If you start trying to this then we can probably improve your grappling overnight... The Theory of … [Read more...]
The Fundamental Movements of BJJ and their Advanced Applications
If you've ever gone to a single BJJ class then you've probably done some kind of warmup that included shrimping, bridging, rolls and other fundamental movements. Some of these movements were probably connected to techniques. The shrimping motion might have been connected to one method of escaping side control, the bridge might have been connected to a mount escape, and so on... But what … [Read more...]
A Quick Podcast and Video About Deliberate Practice
Have you heard the saying, "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!" A big part of perfect practice is being deliberate about your practice. That means having a plan. Knowing why you're training that day, what you're going to be working on, and how long you're going to be working on it. The idea is to break down your training into chunks small enough so that you … [Read more...]
The Cheapest Grappling Mat
I've trained on a lot of different types of mat in my day: wrestling mats, foam core mats, puzzle mats, and rock hard old school Judo straw tatami, just to name a few. And I've also rolled around on a lot of non-matted surfaces including concrete, wood and carpet. (Of all those surfaces, carpet is the WORST by far!! The carpet burns you can get on your head, back and elbows are … [Read more...]
The Open Guard System In App Form
I recently released the The Open Guard System with Jon Thomas. And today it's available in app format for your phone!! The open guard is the most complicated position in BJJ, so this best-selling instructional is designed to completely overhaul and vastly improve your open guard. This instructional gives you a step-by-step plan to dominate your opponent sweeps and submissions while keeping … [Read more...]
BJJ Training Pods
The 'training pod' concept is one possible way to keep yourself and other people safe during the coronavirus pandemic. It's clear that most coronavirus super-spreader events have certain commonalities, including Being indoors Being in close proximity Heavy breathing, loud talking, or singing Extended periods of contact It's incredibly unfortunate that BJJ checks all of these … [Read more...]
Train Hard AND Train Smart!
There's a saying in the British army that goes, 'Proper Preparation and Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance.' This is called The Seven P's, and it applies just as much to BJJ as it does to military matters. The truth is that any great accomplishment, from winning a tournament to getting your black belt, requires a TON of preparation and planning. Think of the training, the drilling, … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Guide To BJJ Solo Drills
by Ritchie Yip The ultimate guide to BJJ solo drills is a quick reference to exercises you can do on your own to help you with your Jiu Jitsu. The guide was designed for the absolute BJJ beginner in mind. However, even advanced practitioners may see drills in this guide that they haven't seen before or perhaps they've forgotten about. BJJ Solo Drills: Guard and Bottom Position The first … [Read more...]
Feeling Overwhelmed in BJJ?
There are so many techniques to master and so many different areas in BJJ to get good at that jiu-jitsu can seem totally overwhelming. The first step to solving this problem is to use a positional approach to BJJ (click here for a breakdown of what I mean by that). But after you understand the basic positions and how they relate to each other you still need to figure out which techniques - … [Read more...]
Oleg Taktarov Interview: Sambo in MMA and the UFC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s94y2uII3Oo I was absolutely thrilled to welcome Oleg Taktarov to my podcast. Oleg used his Sambo skills to win UFC 6, beat Dolph Lungren in a widely publicised boxing match, and fought at the infamous Pentagon Combat event which ended in a riot and got MMA banned in Rio de Janeiro. Oleg is also a great teacher - I personally use techniques and concepts I … [Read more...]
My 100 Word BJJ Manifesto
A long time ago I tried to break down my approach to learning BJJ and mastering techniques as succinctly as possible. And here it is in 100 words... I recently did a more detailed breakdown of what I meant by these 100 words on my podcast, so check out the breakdown at the links below... Option 1: Stream the Manifesto Breakdown Here Click on the player below to start the … [Read more...]
9 BJJ Solo Drills You Can Do With a Heavy Bag
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...]
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...]
Stephan Kesting and Grapplearts Free Instructional Giveaway
Hey guys, I'm super-concerned about the coronavirus AND the effect of the coronavirus on the art of BJJ. There's just no better way to transmit this friggin virus that rolling around on the ground with other people, so we have to stop training and quarantine for a while. View this post on Instagram THANK YOU to everyone who had taken a leadership position in this crisis and … [Read more...]
Himalayan Quality Cardio Training with Scott Loughney
In today's episode I talk to Scott Loughney about an incredible 640 km ultrarunning challenge in the highest mountain range of the world. Scott together with Ryan Wagner and Upendra Sunuwar successfully linked Katmandu, the capital of Nepal, with Everest Base Camp, a round trip distance of 640km. We really get down into the weeds with this one about the nuances of training for, and then … [Read more...]
An In Depth Interview with Oliver Taza from the Danaher Death Squad
Oliver Taza trains at Tristar in Montreal with Firas Zahabi and at Renzo Gracie's in New York City with John Danaher. With his impeccable technique and aggressive grappling style he has amassed an impressive array of wins at Polaris, Metamoris, the ADCC Trials, the No Gi Worlds, and many more competitions. In this episode we go deep into the training and technical development required to … [Read more...]
My First Martial Arts Teacher
When I was 8 years old I presented my mother with an ultimatum. I handed her a crayon-written note, "I want to go Judo. It is not fighting. I want to go NOW or I will go on strike." I was pretty serious about this, but Mama Kesting wasn't going to be that easily bullied. Needless to say I didn't get to go to Judo that year. In fact it took another 3 years of campaigning before I was … [Read more...]
Measure Your Training To Improve Your Training
Peter Drucker, the godfather of modern business management, once said, “You can't manage what you can't measure.” Now I don't think that Peter Drucker did Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (or any other form of martial arts) but the idea of measuring things in order to improve them applies to every field of athletic endeavour. So let's look at some concrete ways that we might quantify our training and … [Read more...]
Creating Your Optimal Training Environment, with Jon Thomas
In this conversation BJJ black belt Jon Thomas and I go deep into training and drilling methodologies that give you results as fast as possible. Jon is originally from the US but teaches at a school in Sweden. He still competes at a high level, so he has had to take extreme ownership over his results using reverse-engineering and a very analytical approach to his training. In this episode we … [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...]