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Techniques, Tutorials and Gear for BJJ, MMA and Submission Grappling

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Home » Emily Kwok

Emily Kwok

The Single Leg X Guard – A Surprising Way to Pull Guard…

December 9, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

How to guard pull to single leg x guard

Should you pull guard in competition?  And if you decide to pull guard, then how do you do it correctly? In a certain sense, I am uniquely unqualified to answer these questions... You see, much of my BJJ comes from 8th degree black belt Marcus Soares, and Marcus is very much from the old-school Carlson Gracie way of doing things. The Carlson approach to jiu-jitsu is definitely focused on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Competition, Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Competition, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, iPhone, Marcelo Garcia, Marcus Soares, No Gi, Pulling Guard, Single Leg X Guard, Submission Grappling, Takedowns, Video, X Guard

3 Open Guard Options vs. Standing Opponents

January 20, 2022 by Stephan Kesting

If you don't have a gameplan from the open guard then this position can quickly become a confusing and ineffective tangle of arms and legs . And open guard chaos gets much, much worse when you don't have a good grip on your opponent. Even a single solid grip on your opponent's arm, neck, foot, heel or gi allows you to control his posture, limit his movement, and set up your own attacks. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: For Beginners, Grappling Techniques, Self Defense Tagged With: Brandon Mullins, Butterfly Guard, Emily Kwok, Guard Sweeps, iPhone, Marcelo Garcia, Marcus Soares, Open Guard, Techniques, Video

When is the Best Time to Escape a Pin?

April 26, 2021 by Stephan Kesting

Transitional Escapes to Get Out of Pins on the Ground

I was recently asked an interesting question... "Stephan, when you're pinned is it better to wait for a good opportunity to escape, or to spend some energy to recover guard right away?" The answer to this is easy! Escape BEFORE the pin is even fully established. Your opponent didn't just magically appear on top of you; some kind of progression had to happen first! He opened your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Concepts, Emily Kwok, Escapes, Sidemount, Techniques, Video

Emily Kwok Interviews Me About BJJ School Culture and More – Podcast Episode 154

July 7, 2018 by Stephan Kesting

Emily kwok stephan kesting podcast on the Strenuous Life show

This was a neat interview I did with Emily Kwok from Princeton BJJ and star of the first How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent series. We focused on creating positive learning environments in BJJ, looking at the roles played by the students, the teachers, and instructional technology. We also covered whether I would do anything different if I was starting my BJJ training all over … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Podcasts, Training Tagged With: BJJ, Competition, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, History, Stephan Kesting, The Mental Aspect, The Strenuous Life BJJ Podcast with Stephan Kesting, Training

A Bow and Arrow Choke Escape

October 23, 2017 by Stephan Kesting

The bow and arrow choke is one of the most powerful chokes from the back in the entire BJJ repertoire. Many matches in the black belt division of the Mundials have ended with this choke, so you know it works! This attack is called the 'Bow and Arrow' choke because when you apply it your opponent gets bent sideways into a bow shape, while you stay straight (i.e. an arrow). Bending your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Bow and Arrow Choke, Chokes, Collar Chokes, Emily Kwok, Escapes, Rear Mount, Ritchie Yip, Submission, Techniques, Video

How to Finish the Rear Naked Choke

May 10, 2017 by Stephan Kesting

How to finish the Rear Naked Choke

This article is about the details you'll need to finish the Rear Naked Choke against quality opponents.  This submission, also called the RNC or the Lion Killer, is one of the most dominant, powerful and important chokes in BJJ, MMA and No Gi Grappling. If you get on your opponent's back, especially in a no gi situation, the Rear Naked Choke should be your number one finisher. However your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Grappling Techniques, Training Tagged With: Chokes, Emily Kwok, Gi, No Gi, Rear Mount, Rear Naked Choke, Rob Biernacki, Submission, Techniques, Video

My New, Favourite Butterfly Guard Pass (Step-by-Step)

January 27, 2017 by Stephan Kesting

favorite butterfly guard pass

Here's my new favourite guard pass! It uses opposite corner control (shoulder and knee) to rotate the body of your opponent plus a kick to disengage his hooks and prevent him from following you.  I call it the 'Kung Fu' or the 'Punch, Pull, Kick Pass'. I've been pulling this off consistently for a couple of months now, both against butterfly guard and also against some other forms of open … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Butterfly Guard, Emily Kwok, Guard Passes, Techniques, Video

How To Do the Bow and Arrow Choke

April 12, 2016 by Stephan Kesting

The Bow and Arrow Choke is one of the top ten most successful submissions in BJJ. And when you get to the upper ranks - purple, brown and black - where people really know how to prevent and counter many of the 'easy' submissions - the Bow and Arrow is one of the top three submissions in BJJ competition. My point is that if you do BJJ you've gotta know how to do the Bow and Arrow Choke! In … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Grappling Techniques Tagged With: BJJ, Bow and Arrow Choke, Emily Kwok, Gripfighting, Mount, Rear Mount, Techniques, Video

The Android BJJ Apps Are Finally Here!

October 21, 2013 by Stephan Kesting

Android BJJ Apps

The next generation of instructional Android apps have finally arrived! As evidenced by the fact that I slept about 2 hours last night, and now I'm in front of my computer AGAIN, it's taken a TON of development and testing to get here... But today we're releasing the first Android app in the 'How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent' series with myself and black belt world champion Emily … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Instructional Videos, Training Tagged With: Android, Brandon Mullins, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, iPhone, Video

How to Maintain Good Posture in Butterfly Guard

August 10, 2013 by Stephan Kesting

Posture in the butterfly guard is incredibly important.  With the butterfly guard (as with any guard position) good posture is the key to defending the guard pass, attacking with submissions, and/or sweeping your opponent. But maintaining good posture is easier said than done, because your opponent is actively working to break it down. In fact if I'm trying to pass someone's butterfly guard, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Butterfly Guard, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Sweeps, No Gi, Submission Grappling, Video

How to Stabilise Mount Against a Bigger, Stronger Opponent

August 8, 2013 by Stephan Kesting

Many smaller grapplers avoid the mount position because they feel it's too easy for a larger opponent to simply throw them off or roll them to the bottom. It usually takes a TON of work to get to the mount, and it really sucks when some big doofus simply sits up and rolls you to the bottom where you have to start all over again!= But there ARE ways to shut down this silliness, and allow you to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Android, Emily Kwok, Escapes, iPhone, Mount, Positions, Techniques, Video

The Most Important Concept for No Gi Takedowns

August 6, 2013 by Stephan Kesting

Takedowns can seem difficult, tricky and confusing. Especially if you're not gifted with a surplus of fast-twitch muscle and innately awesome timing. But my friend and BJJ world champion Emily Kwok has a concept that makes the whole takedowns game a LOT easier. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Mixed Martial Arts, Self Defense Tagged With: Android, Emily Kwok, Gripfighting, iPhone, Judo, No Gi, Takedowns, Techniques, Video

How to Salvage a Failed Butterfly Guard Sweep

January 12, 2013 by Stephan Kesting

The 'basic' butterfly guard sweep is one of the most strongest sweeps in grappling. That's why it shows up again and again at the highest levels of competition.  It's powerful, reliable, and works for a wide range of body types.  It works with and without the gi, on bigger people, smaller people, wrestlers, and judoka. This combination of power and versatility makes the butterfly guard sweep … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques Tagged With: Butterfly Guard, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Sweeps, iPhone, No Gi, Techniques, Video, X Guard

Hidden Techniques for Maintaining Rear Mount

December 10, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

When people teach the rear mount they often show you how to get your hooks in to achieve the rear mount, and then they teach you a couple of submissions from the back. Their idealized flowchart has two steps: Get your hooks in, Submit your opponent. Oh, if only life were so simple! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, iPhone, Marcelo Garcia, No Gi, Rear Mount, Rear Naked Choke, Submission Grappling, Video

No Gi Guard Passing Strategies vs. Bigger People

December 1, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

Passing the guard in a technical manner during no gi training can often be very frustrating, especially for people coming from a gi-based background.  To the uninitiated it just seems that things move too fast... That there aren't any good handles to control your opponent... And things seem even worse when you're going up against a bigger person who's not afraid to use his athleticism to fight … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Passes, iPhone, No Gi, Strategy, Submission Grappling, Techniques, Video

How to Set Up the X Guard

November 26, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

I love the X Guard.  It's such a high-percentage position. First of all, it can be applied from a huge number of open guard and half guard situations.  If you've ever watched an X Guard specialist you'll know that he needs just a tiny bit of room to insert those hooks and - BOOM - he's slithered into the X Guard. And once an opponent is caught in the X Guard he's going down!  In fact, by the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Butterfly Guard, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Sweeps, No Gi, Submission Grappling, Video, X Guard

Ambush Armbar from Modified Scarf Hold

November 26, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

I might not be 100% correct with the actual wording, but I'll always remember this fantastic quote from Karate legend Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace which I read in Black Belt magazine many years ago.  It went something like this: "There's always going to be someone bigger, stronger or faster than you, but there never has to be anyone sneakier than you!" Ain't that the truth!  Sneakiness … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Armbar, Armlocks, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, iPhone, Judo, Kesa Gatame, No Gi, Sidemount, Submission, Submission Grappling, Techniques, Video

How to Counter the Backstep Guard Pass

November 26, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

BJJ and submission grappling are in a continual state of evolution.  New techniques, tactics and strategies emerge, or are rediscovered, or are brought into the art all the time. The backstep guard pass is one such modern technique.  You won't see this guard pass in old-school BJJ … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Passes, Guard Sweeps, Half Guard, iPhone, No Gi, Submission Grappling

How to Pass Deep Half Guard

November 26, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

In the last 5 years the Deep Half Guard position has taken the BJJ and submission grappling world by storm.  And every serious grappler now needs to know how to neutralize and pass the Deep Half Guard. This position is a variation of the half guard.  If someone manages to get settled into this position underneath you then they're right under your center of gravity, can compromise your balance, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Deep Half Guard, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Guard Passes, No Gi, Submission Grappling, Video

How to set up and apply the head and arm choke

November 26, 2012 by Stephan Kesting

Here's a clip of Emily Kwok teaching something really cool - how to set up the head and arm choke (also known as 'kata gatame') from mount, and then how to ratchet it on so tightly that your opponent has no choice but to tap out, no matter how big he is. I've played around with the adjustments she shows, and it allowed me to REALLY tighten up this position WITHOUT using a ton of upper body … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Female Grapplers, Grappling Techniques, Instructional Videos Tagged With: Chokes, Emily Kwok, Grapplearts DVDs, Head and Arm Choke, iPhone, Mount, No Gi, Submission, Submission Grappling, Video

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