Marcelo Garcia is maybe the very best person in the world at attacking the turtle position. But before I tell you how I know this first hand, I should point out that as you get better you'll run into the turtle position more often. This is because when you're pinned by an advanced player it's pretty damn hard to put them back into your guard. And the other main escape option is to go to … [Read more...]
Why Men Should Grapple Women (and Smaller Men)
Here's a very interesting email from a female reader that I thought I'd pass along... Hi Stephan, I just read through the article called "Why Should Women Grapple?" … [Read more...]
Three Great Bodyweight Conditioning Routines for BJJ
It's January and all the gyms are packed with newly-inspired fitness junkies. But you can't always get to a gym, and sometimes the weather makes it tough to go for a run. The beauty of bodyweight, however, means that you can work out almost anywhere. … [Read more...]
Podcast EP3: Erik Paulson; an MMA Master Coach Shares His Secrets
Erik Paulson is an MMA Master Coach. He's trained tons of fighters competing at the highest levels of Mixed Martial Arts. And he held the Shooto light-heavyweight title in Japan for 5 years. He's also my friend and a mentor. Recently I asked my newsletter readers if there was something in particular you wanted to ask Erik. (Hey, if you were signed up for the FREE Grappling Tips newsletter … [Read more...]
Confessions of a Reformed ‘Unco’
I got some good feedback on the last post (Advice for a Frustrated, Clumsy and Uncoordinated Grappler) and want to share a couple of tidbits with you today. Here's what one anonymous Australian BJJ student in his thirties had to say … [Read more...]
Teaching BJJ to Kids
Game Theory; How I Learned to Teach BJJ to Kids, A Guest article by John Connors and Jon Grayzel … [Read more...]
Tips for Having a Great BJJ Private
Preamble: I recently talked about BJJ private classes gone bad. This tip is about how to make sure that that doesn't happen. Training in a group setting under the watchful eye of your main instructor is a good thing. … [Read more...]
Private Lesson Horror Stories
I'm a believer in taking private lessons with instructors, especially those that you don't get to train with on a regular basis. And I've taken my share of privates; some were great, but others were real stinkers. … [Read more...]
Starting BJJ Classes?
If you're thinking about starting BJJ classes in the New Year, then I want to give you another head's up about my new BeginningBJJ eBook and eCourse. About 2000 people signed up in the past two weeks for these free materials (which is a pretty overwhelming response)! … [Read more...]
The Pre-Fight Check In
A few days ago, in class, it was time to spar. I walked over to an older white belt, new to the club, who was standing by himself at the edge of the mat. I introduced myself and asked if he wanted to do some rolling. … [Read more...]
Balancing Mat Time with Conditioning
Forget the work-life balance! Let's talk about something much more important: the balance between mat time and conditioning. I bring this up because one of the questions I get asked most frequently is about how to structure one's training and conditioning for maximum benefit … [Read more...]
Just Get Dressed
Last week I talked about how you sometimes have to bail out of a planned training session. Well let's turn the situation around and talk about motivating you to get your butt back on the mat. … [Read more...]
Grappling Girls
I have added a couple of new articles written by, and for, female grapplers. The first is a compilation of different reasons women might want to study grappling, and the second is guide for women stepping onto the mat for the first time. … [Read more...]
How to Find a Grappling School
Every couple of weeks I get an email from a reader asking if there are any good BJJ, MMA or submission grappling schools close to where they live. Unfortunately I rarely have specific advice for them, because there are just too many good schools out there. … [Read more...]
Teacherless Training
A reader writes: Q: "I would like to hear you address grappling with no formal teacher or school. What are the benefits/downsides to this? What should we be careful to avoid? This is the situation I am in now, I get to practice with some good guys but have actually never had formal training. " … [Read more...]
Chess and the Mat
Several years ago I posted excerpts from a Peter Gzowski book that took research conducted on chess grandmasters and extrapolated it to sports performance. This article was called The Mind of a Champion. … [Read more...]
Learning from the Internet
In my recent sparring sessions with the gi I've been having great success with a technique I learned on the internet. Actually to be a little more precise, I learned a critical detail about a technique I already knew on the internet, and this has made all the difference to successfully applying this technique. … [Read more...]
The MOST Important Training Gear
Over the last couple of months I have written about various pieces of training gear, ranging from wrestling shoes to mouthguards. Looking over these tips I realized I had left out the single most important, completely indispensable training gear of all: your partner! … [Read more...]
Don’t be Afraid of Making your Students Better (Than You)
Normally in this newsletter I try to help you tap other people out, or at the very least make it more difficult for others to tap you out. This week's advice will result in you getting tapped out MORE often, not less, but you'll be a better grappler because of it. Let me start with an example. Recently I taught a sparring partner a new choke to attack the half guard (the 'Brabo' choke). This … [Read more...]
From Silat to Submission Grappling
Last week I discussed some of the connections between traditional Japanese Ju-jutsu and modern submission grappling. These connections shouldn’t be too surprising, given the direct lineage from one to the other. … [Read more...]