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...]
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3 Open Guard Options vs. Standing Opponents
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...]
New Self Defense Focussed Module for Your iPhone or Android Phone
People have been asking for me to include more self defense material on the Grapplearts BJJ Master App. And, as always, your wish is my command! The Self Defense Guard - a 2 module instructional for iPhone and Android - is now the newest module with the Master App. I did this instructional together with BJJ black belt Elliott Bayev. In it you'll get the techniques and strategies from … [Read more...]
How to Defend and Escape the Kimura from Side Control
7 Defending and escaping the Kimura when you're on the bottom of side control is always difficult. There are several different reason for this... First of all, the figure four grip used in the Kimura is very powerful control. It creates a natural handle that your opponent can use to manipulate your entire body, both in gi or no gi. And once your opponent has secured this grip it's a real … [Read more...]
How to Defend and Escape the Armbar from Guard
If you've been grappling for any length of time then you know that anytime you're in the closed guard you've got to watch out for the armbar from guard. It's one of the most common and highest percentage submissions in all of BJJ, submission grappling and MMA. So if we're going to be running into a technique like the armbar from guard this frequently then we HAVE to have some good answers for … [Read more...]
How to Defend and Escape the Rear Naked Choke
In the video above and in the article below we're going to talk about how to defend and escape the Rear Naked Choke. There's a reason that the Rear Naked Choke (or RNC) has finished so many matches in MMA, BJJ and submission grappling: it's a very powerful and super-difficult to escape submission! This effectiveness is the main reason that we've devoted so much time to this choke on Grapplearts … [Read more...]
The Standing Sakuraba-Style Kimura Armlock
The first time someone showed me the standing Kimura attack I was pretty skeptical... I was like, "yeah, that would never work, not in a million years!" Whoops, was I ever wrong. You see, shortly after I was introduced to that supposedly 'useless' technique, a Japanese fighter named Kazushi Sakuraba started used the standing Kimura to tear a bloody swath through MMA world, besting a … [Read more...]
The Core Concepts of BJJ
Rob Biernacki and I have previously released three BJJ instructional apps (Back Attacks Formula, Top and Guard Passing Formula, and Guard and Bottom Game Formula) which have been very well received in the BJJ community. (Judging from the number of 5 star reviews in the app stores they've helped a lot of people kick ass and take names on the mats.) The big news is that the final app in the … [Read more...]
New Instructional App: BJJ Guard Passing and Top Game Formula!
Hey, I've just released the latest Grapplearts instructional. It's called The BJJ Guard Passing and Top Game Formula (or 'Top Game Formula' for short). And it's available for Apple, Android and Kindle devices. And during the new release period it's half price (regular price $19.99 USD, this week only $9.99). Guard passing is without a doubt the most complex task in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. … [Read more...]
Rearmount from A to Z
The newest Grapplearts instructional was officially released today, and it's called 'The Back Attacks Formula!' And it's one of the very best instructionals that I’ve ever been involved in or have seen on the market. Not surprisingly Back Attacks Formula about taking the back from every position, staying on the back no matter how your opponent tries to escape, and then submitting your … [Read more...]
A de la Riva Guard Submission: the Triangle Choke
The de la Riva guard is often thought of as primarily being a sweeping tool. But you can also land a lot of different submissions from de la Riva guard too! The main submissions include the triangle choke, omoplata, armbar and a few leglocks. Here's one of my very favorite de la Riva guard submissions demonstrated by Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins. But before I go on I have to confess … [Read more...]
What is de la Riva Guard?
The de la Riva guard was initially created by and popularised by Ricardo de la Riva, but in the past few years it has exploded in popularity. Many world titles have been won entirely due to the competitor's skill in the de la Riva guard position. And that's because of a couple of things... First of all, if done correctly it offers an extraordinary level of control over your opponent, … [Read more...]
Non-Stop de la Riva Guard Instructional App Now Available!
We've just put out a brand new app that could add an entirely new aspect to your guard game! It's the 'Non-Stop de la Riva Guard' instructional app by Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins and myself. And it's available for iOS, Android and Kindle devices. The focus of this app is on giving you a simple and easy-to deploy system for the de la Riva guard. A gameplan that DOESN'T require you to be … [Read more...]
How to Take the Back from X Guard
It's almost impossible to use the Butterfly Guard without also using the X Guard... When you attack with the Butterfly Guard your opponent is going to be doing his absolute best to shut you down. For example, that means that he'll be posting hands and feet all over the place to stop you from sweeping him. When he posts his hands or otherwise gets them out of position it opens up … [Read more...]
Hitting the Omoplata from the Butterfly Guard
Many people use the butterfly guard only as a sweeping position. But that's a mistake because you can also hit powerful submissions from the butterfly guard. In fact attacking with sweeps sets up submissions, and attacking with submissions sets up sweeps. Attacking with both from any guard position makes your game so much more effective; why would you want to limit yourself to only one or the … [Read more...]
A High Percentage Triangle Choke from Half Guard
In this new video my friend, BJJ black belt and world champion Brandon ‘Wolverine’ Mullins shows how to set up and finish his favourite submission from the half guard. As you watch it pay attention not only to the details of the movement, but it's really the underlying pattern of bridging and shrimping that powers the whole technique. Breaking a technique down into its fundamental components … [Read more...]
How To Use Moves You Already Know to Do Advanced Techniques
We've just launched the latest Grapplearts BJJ instructional mobile app with my friend Brandon 'Wolverine' Mullins. It's called Advanced BJJ Fundamentals. The name of this app isn't accidental, because it's all about using the fundamental building blocks of jiu-jitsu to make learning easier, to amplify the effectiveness and reliability of your techniques, and to build an advanced … [Read more...]
How to Stop the Leg Shuck Pass
The leg shuck pass has become a very popular, very powerful way to pass the guard. This pass is applied from the feet against many types of open guard. It involves an angle change, hipping in, and pushing your opponent's leg out of position. If all goes well then you end up in a very good position on your opponent's side. You should definitely be familiar with the leg shuck, especially if … [Read more...]
My Favourite Spider Guard Variation and Triangle Choke Setup
The Spider Guard is a very diverse position. Normally you start with the Double Feet on Biceps variation, but after that there are a TON of variations (including the Leg Lasso, de la Spider, Reverse de la Spider, Spider X, Collar-Spider, and Collar-Sleeve variations). Of all these Spider Guard Variations the Collar-Spider is probably my very favourite. We'll go into more detail about it in … [Read more...]
What are the Leg Lasso and Spider X Variations of Spider Guard?
We've been talking a lot about the instructional apps in the Spider Guard Masterclass series... And today we're going to take a look at the third app in this series. It's called Spider Guard Masterclass Volume 3: Next Level Spider Guard, and it focuses on the Leg Lasso and Spider X variations of Spider Guard. This app covers a LOT of the techniques used by the top competitors in the world … [Read more...]