You often hear about elbow-knee connection in BJJ, but what does it mean and, more importantly, how will it help you? To finalise a guard pass, your opponent must invade the space between your elbow and knee to gain control of your torso. Elbow-knee connection involves keeping your elbow touching your knee when you're in guard. This denies him the space he needs to effectively pass your … [Read more...]
How to Set Up Submissions So Your Opponent Gives You His Neck, Arm, or Leg on a Platter
A reader of my free email newsletter recently had a question about how to become better at setting up his submissions. The thing is, once you get past white belt, submissions don't just happen anymore. Chokes and joint locks need to be set up, which means taking your opponent out of alignment somehow and breaking his base, posture or structure. Once his alignment is broken, it's 100 times … [Read more...]
How to Train Jiu-Jitsu With an Injured Knee?
It can be really difficult to train jiu-jitsu with an injured knee because the legs and the guard are so central to the art. 90% of what you do might put strain on an already wonky knee. That being said, there are guard retention strategies you can use that rely mostly on upper body frames and DON'T require fancy legwork. This allows you to keep your injured leg mostly straight while continuing … [Read more...]
The Answer to Your Jiu-Jitsu Problem is Out There
So the other day in sparring I tried a variation of the berimbolo (an inverting backtake) that I don’t normally do. I was bigger, stronger, and much more experienced than the other guy. And all those stripes on my black belt should mean that techniques should work the first time I try them, right? Of course not. A black belt means that you're pretty good at some things but doesn't give you … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 116 – To Pull Guard in BJJ Competition, or Not?
Should you pull guard in BJJ competition or fight doggedly for the takedown. You'll get some answers to this perennial question in my conversation about pulling guard with BJJ black belt Rob Biernacki. To hear this podcast episode in full, you have a couple of options. The first one is to just press play on the embedded player below - easy as 1, 2, 3! The second (and better!) option … [Read more...]
This Skill is CRITICAL for Confidence on the Mats
The guard is the most important position in jiu-jitsu. And developing rock solid guard retention is one of the two highest bang-for-the-buck skills you can develop (the other is gripfighting). So whether you play half guard, spider guard, butterfly guard or upside-down inside-out reverse de-la-worm guard you absolutely have to know the principles and techniques to counter your opponent's … [Read more...]
What Is Required for Your BJJ Blue Belt?
In episode 380 of The Strenuous Life Podcast I talk you through what's generally required to be a competent blue belt, including... The 8 basic positions in jiu-jitsu A 3 phase strategy for beating a bigger person The real purpose of the guard The 2 types of submissions The hierarchy of positions How to stay safe in bad positions...and what to do next. The importance of … [Read more...]
Mix Up Your Training!
Don’t be afraid taking little detours in your training to explore a corner of the art to the exclusion of training everything, all at once, all of the time. By specializing in one little area you can make some serious breakthroughs and also you can avoid stagnation and boredom which is important for the long run. View this post on … [Read more...]
Deliberate Guard Passing Practice
If you're on top in the guard during sparring you've got a very important choice to make... Are you going to Fight him tooth and nail to get to a passing position, or Concede the engagement phase and let him have his guard of choice Both are valid options, but this is a choice you should make deliberately. Let's go through this in a little more detail... Option 1: Fight to Get to a … [Read more...]
The Jiu-Jitsu Drills of of Vitor Shaolin Ribeiro
When Vitor ‘Shaolin’ Ribeiro started talking about the drills he uses I paid attention! Shaolin has won the World BJJ Championships 4 times, held the 140 to 155 lb belt in Shooto, and has a long list of other titles. He is an outstanding competitor in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, submission grappling and mixed martial arts, so he knows how to train effectively and efficiently! Shaolin uses a variety … [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...]
Risk-to-Reward Ratios in BJJ Training
Nothing brings your progress to a screeching halt like an injury. Therefore the goal is to get as much benefit from your training while at the same time minimising the chances of getting injured during that training. To do that we have to recognise that some aspects of training are just more inherently risky than others. And we have to consider how much benefit we're likely to get from that … [Read more...]
How to Survive Training Layoffs from Grappling
Life is a balancing act, and most of us have multiple priorities. We have to juggle BJJ with work, family life, relaxation time, etc. A couple of days away from training never killed anybody. In fact, we're usually refreshed and eager to get back at 'er when we return! But sometimes the breaks are longer than a couple of days. Life intervenes, and before you know it weeks, or even months have … [Read more...]
Inclusive Jiu-Jitsu with Erin Wedekind
Erin teaches jiu-jitsu in Appleton Jiu-Jitsu. In this episode we have a great discussion of trans athetes in jiu-jitsu and a little bit of polite debate about trans athletes competing in elite sport. I found this a very informative conversation and gained some valuable perspective on the science of transition. More about Erin at metricsbjj.com Inclusive Jiu-Jitsu (Video … [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...]
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...]
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...]
The Four Variations of the BJJ Technical Standup
The technical standup is an absolutely essential movement in BJJ. It's used to get back to your feet in self defense and MMA, but also for finishing guard sweeps, defending against guard sweeps, guard retention, and a thousand other applications. Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins, a BJJ black belt world champion, breaks the technical standup into four different variations... The Full Technical … [Read more...]
Combining BJJ and Muay Thai, with Tyson Larone
I really enjoyed talking with Tyson Larone today on episode 360 of The Strenuous Life Podcast. He's a badass Jiu-jitsu black belt who also teaches Muay Thai and is a certified strength and conditioning coach. We went deep into developing effective training methods for the two arts, how to avoid injury, which experts we should listen to, training against resistance, and how to build a good mix … [Read more...]
Margot Ciccarelli, Travelling the World While Training Jiu-Jitsu
Multiple time World and European champion Margot Ciccarelli joins us take us through some of the following topics... Competing at the highest level while spending much of the year on the road, How to feel invincible on the mats, The importance of tempo changes in jiu-jitsu, Transitioning through different guards, Learning faster vs staying in your comfort zone, Switching from a … [Read more...]