Recently I was discussing MMA fighter Ben Henderson's ability to slip out of submissions. And that turned into a general discussion about countering, escaping, and slipping out of submission attacks. Something a lot of people don't realize about countering or defending submissions is there are at least three distinct timings to submission escapes... 1, You can shut down a submission early, … [Read more...]
Escapes
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...]
Two Rear Mount Secrets
Usually getting better at something like the Rear Mount in grappling is a slow process, requiring thousands of repetitions and many hours on the mat to master a technique. But sometimes transformations occur overnight! In the video below I share two 'secrets' that will double the effectiveness of your rear mount. These tweaks will make it much harder for your opponent to escape, and leave … [Read more...]
How To Escape the Headlock and Kesa-Gatame
The common headlock is often overlooked in BJJ - it's just not considered to be a very technical pinning position. But not training your headlock escapes is a HUGE mistake! … [Read more...]
One Of My Favorite Techniques…
Here's a breakdown one of my favorite techniques: the sitout from turtle position. It's a very versatile move: you can use it to finish a pin escape, or recover after a failed takedown attempt, or to get the upper hand during a scramble. … [Read more...]
Get Off the Ground!!!
Once you get good at Brazilian jiu-jitsu the ground will be your happy place. Rolling around and hunting for submissions will feel as natural as walking! But there's a time and a place for everything... … [Read more...]
An MMA Mount Escape and a New-To-Me Sweep
The last time I hung out with Denis Kang we shot a series of short videos on MMA techniques. It's rare to get an MMA fighter who wants to show you all his best techniques, but Denis is an awesome teacher as well as a great fighter. That's why I've received some great feedback about these mini-MMA-instructionals. Today's video is about a mount escape that's gaining popularity in MMA. The … [Read more...]
Marc Laimon’s Ankle Lock Defense vs. Ryron Gracie
In these photos Marc Laimon shows some of the techniques he used to defeat Ryron Gracie at Grappler's Quest in Las Vegas, November 6th, 2004. … [Read more...]
breath, breath, BRIDGE!!
One of the things I talk about in my Beginning BJJ online Course is the importance of not telegraphing your moves, particularly your explosive escapes, by holding your breath. Now this lesson led to many interesting conversations, including one with Mr. Will Wood, who trains with Garrett Erickson. … [Read more...]
Brabo Choke Defense
A fan of the half guard recently asked me how they could avoid getting caught in the Brabo choke: "I like going for the foot grab sweep from half guard. My problem is that I always get caught in a guillotine choke or Brabo choke when I go for the leg of my opponent. What can I do to stop getting choked all the time?" The first step of defending any technique is to understand the technique. … [Read more...]
The Unpassable Guard 1
Tricks, Concepts, Techniques and Drills to Prevent Opponents from Passing Your Guard In December, 2008, I sent out a Grappling Tip Email with a tip about not letting your opponent control your hips (see the first tip below). I then asked readers to share their own top tips for preventing or blocking the guard pass. Below is a selection of reader contributions on the topic of making your guard … [Read more...]
Countering the Half Guard Pass
Since I released my DVD on the Dynamic Half Guard I get a lot of questions on how to prevent certain guard passes. I cover a lot of guard pass and leglock prevention in that video, but it's *only* 2 hours long … [Read more...]
One more Von Flue Choke
As you know, in the last few newsletters we've been discussing body position for guillotine chokes and using the 'Von Flue' choke to recounter the guillotine. If you missed them you can click to see the first post here and the second post here. Well, thanks to Shaldag on the Sherdog.net forums I recently I found yet ANOTHER example of a the Von Flue choke being used in competition. This one is … [Read more...]
Never Get Guillotined Again!
OK, I have to admit that I'm exaggerating with the whole "never get guillotined again" title, but it's almost true. If you incorporate principle that I'm about to share with into your grappling two things will happen: you'll tap out to many, many fewer guillotine chokes, and you'll really increase how often you manage to finish your opponent's with the same choke. I was very happy when … [Read more...]
The Stiff Arm (in Grappling)
The stiff arm on the Heisman Trophy is an iconic posture in football, and it is used by players in every single game. In Brazilian jiu-jitsu, however, the stiff arm has a bit of a bad rap. One of the first lessons a grappler learns is to NOT push the chest with straight arms when trapped in the mount. This piece of wisdom is reinforced by training partners endlessly applying effortless … [Read more...]
The ‘Hip Hop’ Counter to the Anklelock
Here's on of the highest percentage leglock escapes from the Counters and Recounters section of the High Percentage Leglocks DVD. Click here to see the same Hip Hop Counter video on YouTube. … [Read more...]
Counter to the Rolling Toehold vs. de la Riva Guard
The rolling toehold is a very powerful, very surprising attack. Here's a way to counter it and shut it down when your opponent tries to do it to you. This clip is from Bonus Toeholds Section of the High Percentage Leglocks DVD. Click here to view the same Rolling Toehold Counter video on YouTube! … [Read more...]
A Pinch In Time
Grappling uses muscles that don't normally get a lot of attention in the gym. As evidence of this I'll point to the muscle soreness in unexpected places that otherwise fit people experience when they grapple hard for the first time. Today I want to talk about the importance and role of your thigh adductors, the muscle groups that bring your knees towards each other when your legs are apart. The … [Read more...]
Preventing & Escaping the RNC
A reader asked: Q:"How do I escape the Rear Naked Choke - I've tried all sorts of things and they don't seem to work..."\ A: The Rear Naked Choke (or RNC) is one of the top finishers in submission grappling and MMA. Once applied, the odds of an equally skilled grappler getting out of it successfully are very small, probably 5 to 10%. You have two general options: 1) Prevent it from being … [Read more...]
A Game of Inches
I was recently helping someone with their sidemount escapes, and of course we had to discuss posture when trapped in side mount. As I was working with this person we kept on returning to one particular detail … [Read more...]