Here's a simple, but still very effective, method to escape from the Armbar … [Read more...]
Escapes
Posture Under Side Mount
Recently we discussed the concept of ‘posture’ and how it applies when you’re pinned underneath someone. A few people have contacted me since then, asking for specific examples of posture while pinned. Let’s start with with just one pinning position: here are the three most common postures used to defend submissions and set up escapes while pinned in sidemount. … [Read more...]
Gracie Magazine Jiu-Jitsu manual
20 tips to enhance your play If you only read and keep the teachings presented here, you’re not going anywhere with your ground techniques. The following advices – useful in tournaments with gi, grappling, MMA and for the athletes personal evolution – ought to be studied between trainings. … [Read more...]
Trapped Flat in Half Guard? Do This!
The half guard can be a powerful attacking position so long as you stay on your side and maintain your mobility. However if your opponent gets his grips, flattens you out and drives all his weight onto you it really sucks. … [Read more...]
High Level Pin Escapes
How many times has someone almost gotten past your guard... ...You're just about pinned; it's just a matter of time... ...So you mentally relax, concede the position and prepare for the battle to get out of sidemount using your pin escape techniques. This approach can work, but it's very much the hard way of going about things. To make your life on the mats MUCH easier watch the video … [Read more...]
How to Defeat the Bigger Stronger Opponent NOW AVAILABLE
It's here! The How to Defeat the Bigger, Stronger Opponent DVD set is in stock, and ready to ship right now. Emily Kwok and I have been crafting this 5 DVD set for a long time, and it's one of the best instructional sets I have ever seen. … [Read more...]
What’s With ‘Sensitivity Training’ On The Mat?
There's just no way around it! Physical attribute are important in grappling. Some of the most important ones include speed, strength, balance, endurance, and flexibility. But there's another physical attribute that's often overlooked: sensitivity! … [Read more...]
Three Timings for Getting Out of Submissions
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...]
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...]