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Half Guard

Podcast EP3: Erik Paulson; an MMA Master Coach Shares His Secrets

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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. Click Play Below to Listen to My Conversation with Erik Paulson... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx7gT-EXohM Recently I asked my newsletter readers if there was … [Read more...]

The Deep Half Guard (video)

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Nowadays you often see the Deep Half Guard at the highest levels of BJJ and submission grappling competition. But there are a lot of important details to the Deep Half Guard that you need to know before it becomes a powerful sweeping weapon. Because I saw this position working again and again, several years ago I decided to add it to my repertoire.  It's a bit like regular half guard except you … [Read more...]

The Very First Time I Used the Logsplitter Sweep…

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Check out this video, which shows the very first time I stumbled across the 'logsplitter' position. it was a complete fluke, but it still won me the match and a silver medal. Then read on to find out what happened AFTER that competition... Click here to watch the same logsplitter sweep video on YouTube. Cool, huh? This is a guard variation I now use all the time because it offers both … [Read more...]

Free Book About the Guard for Grapplearts Readers

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Heres's a really cool resource for you, something that I've received a TON of positive feedback on.  It's a free, downloadable book that breaks down the many different variations of the Guard position with detailed descriptions and lots of pretty pictures!  And you can grab it super easily, for free... … [Read more...]

Brabo Choke Defense

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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...]

One more Von Flue Choke

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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...]

Everybody Was Von Flue Fighting…

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When people first learn the Von Flue choke they often find that their opponent can bridge them over and then they end up on the bottom. If this is happening to you and you're getting rolled into a bad position when trying this choke then first check that your legs are perpendicular (i.e. at 90 degrees) to your opponent. If his head is pointing to 12 o'clock, then your legs should either be to 3 … [Read more...]

More Half Guard Resources

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If you're really serious about improving a particular position in your grappling arsenal then you'll seek out any and all resources that deal with the topic. The half guard is a position with a LOT of depth and MANY offensive options. Here are some of my favorite articles, videos and resources on Grapplearts.com that will help you develop a mobile, attacking half guard: … [Read more...]

Jiu-jitsu and Physical Attributes

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Physical attributes are things like balance, neck strength, limb length, explosiveness, leg flexibility, and percent body fat. Your physical attributes are the foundation of what you can do with your body, and are influenced by genetics, training, age and injuries. Some instructors teach as if everyone, regardless of age, build and flexibility, can use the same techniques. Well I'm here to tell … [Read more...]