Inversions and going upside down have become part of mainstream jiu-jitsu. There are now many techniques where you flip upside down temporarily to achieve your defensive or offensive goals Now can you train BJJ without ever inverting? Absolutely! But can you compete at a high level without inverting? Probably not. I think it's safe to say that every high level competitive blackbelt today … [Read more...]
Posture
3 Ways to Apply the Omoplata Armlock Submission (and Stop the Rolling Escape)
The omoplata is one of my very favorite armlocks. There are so many opportunities to get to this submission from almost every guard position, the top, in scrambles, etc. And because you're using the strength of both of your legs against his arm it has the potential to be an ultra powerful submission! Trouble is, against better opponents the omoplata often turns into a sweep: your opponent … [Read more...]
Three BJJ Guard Posture Mistakes That’ll Get You KILLED on the Mats
Using the Power of Posture and Positioning to Prevent Problems (Note to the reader: this lesson #5 from of the Beginning BJJ Course. To receive the other lessons by email please sign up for the free email-based course) Whenever I've got someone in my guard I watch them very carefully for mistakes. If they make a mistake (and if I can capitalize on it quickly) then - boom - they're gonna get … [Read more...]
The Reverse Armbar from Closed Guard
I was a white belt when I first saw the reverse armbar from closed guard (also known as the 'arm crush', the 'razor lock, and the 'cutting armbar'). At first I was pretty skeptical. I had all kinds of reasons why it probably wouldn't work. And then I started running into more and more people who had been submitted by it... And then I started getting caught in it too... And then I … [Read more...]
Three and a Half Techniques to Escape from a Tight Closed Guard Overhook
Just the other day I shared four counters to a pesky deep cross-collar grip from closed guard. Well, the cross-collar grip isn't the only way your opponent might try to destroy your posture... There's another posture-breaking grip that can be just as bad, and unlike the cross-collar this one can be used in BJJ, MMA and submission grappling. Gi and no gi. … [Read more...]
How to Counter the Cross Lapel Grip from Closed Guard
Your opponent sneaking his hand deep on your lapel is always a bad situation. Once he has this grip on you from his closed guard he can use it to break your posture forward, which kills your ability to pass the guard and is very tiring to fight against... ...or he can use it to attack you with cross-collar chokes (which have ended a LOT of matches)... ...or he uses your frantic reactions … [Read more...]
Crowdsourcing Your BJJ
There's never been a better time to get better at BJJ. A sixteenth century samurai who wanted to improve his duelling skills had relatively limited options. If he put up with enough hazing and character testing then, maybe, his sensei would eventually decide to teach him some good stuff. And hopefully he would have learned some things by watching, or participating in, the occasional sword … [Read more...]
A Easy Way to Stay Out of Trouble in the Guard
Posture, posture, posture... Everyone talks about posture as THE solution to staying out of trouble in the guard. Every guard pass ever taught starts out with, "First, make posture in the guard." But the trouble is that your opponent knows this too. If you're in his closed guard, and if posture is good for you, then posture is bad for him. So guess what? He'll work like crazy to disrupt, destroy, … [Read more...]
Some Sample Lessons for the BJJ Beginner
As you probably know, I write a free newsletter called the Beginning BJJ eCourse. Just to give you a taste, here are some of the tips that get sent out in that newsletter - some sample lessons, if you will. … [Read more...]
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...]
Grip Fighting (Using Your Legs)
Grip fighting is very, very important in grappling. Getting your preferred grip and preventing your opponent from getting his grip is a key component of setting up throws with the gi, takedowns without the gi, sinking chokes, passing the guard, sweeping your opponent from the guard, and so on. … [Read more...]
How To Get Posture While Pinned
We recently talked about some examples of good defensive posture when you're on the bottom, achieving good posture when pinned under your opponent is the first, and often the most critical, step in the escape process. … [Read more...]
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. … [Read more...]
Posture Outside of Guard
Practitioners of submission grappling and BJJ quickly learn about the importance of posture in an opponent's guard. If you have bad posture in the guard you will get swept and submitted all the time. … [Read more...]
Armdrag Counters
Q: "What are some simple ways to prevent armdrags as well as handle them once they're in process or completed?" A: Armdrags are a great tool to get behind your opponent or to set up other moves. They can be used on the ground (e.g. from the butterfly guard) or on the feet (e.g. to set up a tackle). They are simple, powerful and effective, and because of that they are also pretty popular, so … [Read more...]
Side Mount Escape Help
A Reader Asked: Q: I keep getting trapped in side control. Sometimes I can't even get my hips loose to attempt an escape. Some of the guys I train with are really good and get so tight, epecially trapping my hips between their knee and arm, that I can't move my hips at all. … [Read more...]
OK, Enough Already, I Get It!
Lessons in grappling (and life in general) repeat themselves until learned. Sometimes there are techniques or principles that you learn, take for granted, teach to others and then slowly forget … [Read more...]
Breaking Posture with the Shakedown
Here’s a little trick, or technique, you can use to prevent your opponent from establishing posture and passing your guard when you are wrestling with the gi. Several years ago I was training with Marcello Grosso, a Carlson Gracie Black Belt... … [Read more...]
Wrestler’s Base in Guard
Have you ever grappled with a high-level wrestler and been frustrated by their uncanny sense of balance? You might be trying to use a guard sweep and just about have them swept over. Suddenly – pop – they somehow manage to end up back on top and driving into you again. … [Read more...]