I was first exposed to something resembling the omoplata when learning a martial art known as Indonesian Silat from Dan Inosanto. A move where you use your leg to bend your opponent's arm behind his back is often used in Silat as a finishing move after taking someone to the ground. It turned out that this move (with slight modifications) also worked in the jiu-jitsu and judo training that I … [Read more...]
Gi
How to Build a Closed Guard System
Too many people end up in closed guard and try singular attacks. Armbar attack! Damn, that didn't work. Sweep attack!! Damn, that didn't work either. Take the back!!!! My opponent shut that down too... what am I doing wrong? The thing is that singular attacks (or, even worse, waiting for your opponent to make a mistake) might work at white belt level, but this sort of strategy just … [Read more...]
Don’t Concede the Initial Grip!!
When people are playing from the guard it's WAY too common that they just let their opponents get whatever grip they want. Once they've given the other guy the grips they're now on the defensive and have to fight out of whatever passing position they end up in. That's why the first thing you should do when you end up in the guard is to gripfight like crazy. Whoever dominates the grips is … [Read more...]
An Easy Way to Take the Back
Taking someone's back and achieving rearmount moves you right to the pinnacle of the BJJ positional hierarchy (click here for a downloadable guide to the BJJ positions). From the back you can attack your opponent with chokes and armlocks at will. By contrast he has very, very limited attacks he can use on you since all his weapons are facing away from you. Here's one of my favorite ways to … [Read more...]
Training for High Level Competition, with Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins
Today I chat with Black belt no gi world champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins about how the most efficient training methods to master the highly complex world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Lots of great takeaways in this one!! 02:18 - Learning technique only vs learning technique and theory 05:42 - Fundamental movements in BJJ 09:24 - Advanced applications of fundamental movements 14:48 - … [Read more...]
How to Set Up the Triangle Choke from Guard
Today we'll cover the real 'secret' to using the triangle choke against higher belts from your guard - it's all about the set up! Tapping out higher belts is a different thing than tapping out beginners... There are certain techniques that serve you well against white and blue belts. But when you climb the ranks and start sparring against higher caliber opponents some of those moves stop … [Read more...]
The Ball and Chain Sweep
The Ball and Chain Sweep is one of the highest percentage attacks from the de la Riva guard. This sweep has been used again and again by many high level competitors, and is one of the favorite techniques of BJJ World Champion Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins. In simple terms, to do the ball and chin sweep you start in de la Riva Guard, kick the guy's back leg away from you, sit up, feed his near … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Guide To BJJ Solo Drills
by Ritchie Yip The ultimate guide to BJJ solo drills is a quick reference to exercises you can do on your own to help you with your Jiu Jitsu. The guide was designed for the absolute BJJ beginner in mind. However, even advanced practitioners may see drills in this guide that they haven't seen before or perhaps they've forgotten about. BJJ Solo Drills: Guard and Bottom Position The first … [Read more...]
My First Martial Arts Teacher
When I was 8 years old I presented my mother with an ultimatum. I handed her a crayon-written note, "I want to go Judo. It is not fighting. I want to go NOW or I will go on strike." I was pretty serious about this, but Mama Kesting wasn't going to be that easily bullied. Needless to say I didn't get to go to Judo that year. In fact it took another 3 years of campaigning before I was … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Lapel Guard
It's 2020, and the game has evolved. If you don't add this lapel variation to your game IMMEDIATELY then you're destined to be left irretrievably behind, choking on the dust cloud of the sport. Check it out... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeRn8mPAmeI P.S. As I mention in the final seconds of the video above, there is only one gi guaranteed by it's manufacturer to be immune to the … [Read more...]
Dealing with the Gi in Grappling
Are you coming from a background in submission grappling or training mostly without the gi and trying to get into BJJ? Are you frustrated by the cloth prison (the gi) that's stifling your movements and allowing your opponent to wrap you up? I'm a big fan of being competent in both gi and no gi grappling, if for no other reason than self defense. Yes, you might get attacked on the beach … [Read more...]
The ‘Soft One, Hard Two’ BJJ Gripfighting Strategy
Have you ever heard the story about the old bull and the young bull, standing at the top of a hill, watching some cows? The young bull turns to the older bull and says, "Hey, let's run down there and each make sweet, sweet love to one of those cows!" The older bull retorts, "Why don't we just walk down there, nice and slow, and make sweet, sweet love to ALL the cows?" The original … [Read more...]
Some High Percentage Pin Escapes from the North South Position
One of the most common questions I get asked is "how do I escape from north south?" It's a totally understandable question, because the north south position is a TERRIBLE place to be stuck in! On the bottom your arms are dangling out ripe for armlocking, your neck is just waiting to be choked, and the whole time your opponent is smashing you with heavy pressure from the top. Some of … [Read more...]
Podcast Episode 85 – Ritchie Yip Discusses Transitioning from Gi to No Gi
No gi grappling is very popular these days, and a lot of people find making the transition from training with the gi to training without it tricky and difficult. In this episode Ritchie Yip and I go over some tricks and tips to make this an easier transition and to give you a fighting chance when you can't grip cloth to control your opponent. To listen to this conversation you could press play … [Read more...]
Mount Escape to Ankle Lock Position
If you're caught in mount the first thing you want to try are the conventional bridging and shrimping movements to escape. These are two of the gold standard escapes for a good reason; they work all the time. But as the old saying goes, man makes plans and God laughs. Even the best techniques are going to fail against some opponents and in certain situations so it's always good to have some … [Read more...]
Christmas Office Party Jiu-Jitsu
Tis the season, and there's a very good chance that you'll be going to one or more Christmas parties in the next few weeks. I hope those parties stay friendly, but you can never be too careful. Let's just say that things can go sideways QUICKLY! A little bit too much rum in the eggnog... The wrong person under the mistletoe... Accidentally giving your girlfriend an oversized piece of … [Read more...]
The Step-by-Step Clock Choke
The Clock Choke Heard Round the World We're going to go through my favorite step-by-step method for how to do the clock choke, but first let's talk about a the first time I saw the clock choke and a match that changed jiujitsu... It was in 1998 when Royce Gracie squared off against the Carlson Gracie Wallid Ismael. At the time Royce was undefeated in 5 UFC events and, in my eyes at least, … [Read more...]
Lapel Drag from Butterfly Guard and from Standing
The lapel drag (aka collar drag) is an incredibly important move from the butterfly guard. It's a legitimate sweep, but it's also an amazing setup for many other attacks. It's also low risk and doesn't require an elaborate grip to set it up. In this Youtube video Rob Biernacki shows some of the black belt details that'll make this sweep MUCH more effective, even against skilled, larger … [Read more...]
New Strenuous Life Podcast Episode with 5 x BJJ World Champion Bernardo Faria
I've just released a KILLER new podcast episode with 5 x BJJ World Champion on my Strenuous Life Podcast. (This is episode 086 of the podcast for anyone keeping track.) In this episode we talk about Bernardo's 'kidnapping' in the Philippines two years ago His thoughts on the results of ADCC 2017 The toughest guys he has ever rolled with Whether you can get your BJJ black belt … [Read more...]
3 Spider Guard Drills to Improve Your Sweeping and Submissions
The last time I had a filming session with my friend and training partner Ritchie Yip who runs a BJJ school in Vancouver, BC, he showed me something really cool... It was a series of 3 drills to improve your spider guard sweeps and submissions. The first drill is a relatively easy one to that develops hip mobility and leg dexterity. Spider guard is NOT a static position; as your opponent … [Read more...]