The de la Riva guard has exploded in popularity in recent years. Since it was popularised by Ricardo de la Riva there have always been sweeps and submission available from this position but the ascent of the berimbolo (a spinning-and-upside-down method of taking the back) has made it even more popular among the BJJ competition crowd. So even if you never ever plan to use this style guard … [Read more...]
Submission
Joao Miyao teaching the Ninja Armlock from Berimbolo
Here's some seriously advanced stuff for you: renowned black belt competitor Joao Miyao breaking down the Ninja Armlock from Berimbolo. In the exclusive Grapplearts Field Reports Video Miyao uses his bread and butter move - the Berimbolo sweep - from the leg lasso position to spin into an unexpected and hard to defend armbar. If you're completely new to the Berimbolo sweep then you might be … [Read more...]
Five Great Followups to a Failed Triangle Choke
The Triangle Choke is definitely another one of those Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu signature moves. It's a super-powerful submission and it is responsible for ending a LOT of BJJ, MMA and submission grappling matches. But the sad fact is that no submission works for everyone, or on every opponent all the time... For example, sometimes your legs can be too short to apply an effective triangle … [Read more...]
The Easiest Way to Teach (and Learn) the Armbar from Guard
The armbar from guard is one of those bread-and-butter techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. A signature move, if you will. Unfortunately it can also be difficult for some people execute the mechanics of the armbar from the guard correctly. It's easy to get confused with all that gripping, shifting, adjusting and swivelling, and then completely botch the whole technique. But I've found a way to … [Read more...]
The Biggest Gi Choke Mistake (And How to Fix It)
How a single 'quick fix' can triple the power of your gi choke attacks Gi chokes are a fundamental and effective strategy in BJJ. Maybe the two best known gi choke are the cross collar choke from guard and the cross collar choke from mount. We'll explore that choke in more detail below, but rest assured that it has been used to submit world class competitors at the highest levels of … [Read more...]
A Sneaky Armbar Escape
The armbar escape in the video below is one of my favourite armbar defenses. I like it because it's simple and effective against a wide variety of grapplers, but also because of the reaction it gets from people who were oh-so-close to armbarring you. They'll either laugh or swear out loud after you get out; either reaction is pretty gratifying! I learned this from MMA trainer and former … [Read more...]
My Bread and Butter Armbar Escape
The armbar is one of the most common, most popular, and most powerful submissions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. If you train with anybody your own level or higher then you're gonna get caught in it… often. You need to have answers for this problem…. In fact you need to have multiple escapes that work for different variations of the armbar. You need a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C, D, and … [Read more...]
How to Defeat The Judo-Style Rolling Armbar
Love her or hate her, Ronda Rousey is an armbar machine. At UFC 168 she defeated Meisha Tate with her eighth armbar in eight MMA fights. This armbar streak is an amazing achievement, and a lot of people (including a lot of people who don't actually train) have been asking me how to counter this attack. I was thinking about doing this but it turns out that someone beat me to it. Ronda got … [Read more...]
Clark Gracie Shares Some Rear Naked Choke Tips
I recently did a podcast interview with Clark Gracie at a friend's house. After the interview we were talking about the rear naked choke and I realised two things: A) my friend had mats, and B) I had a camera in the car. This was a great opportunity to pick his mind some more, so we quickly set up shop and Clark shared some really great tips about setting up and amplifying the power of the … [Read more...]
Keenan Cornelius’s Inverted Spinning Armbar Explained…
In the No Gi super fight at the 2013 BJJ Expo between Keenan Cornelius and Lucas Leite there was an absolutely spectacular submission. Keenan hit an inverted spinning armbar from half guard that impressed the hell out of everyone who saw it. First, here's the match itself. The armbar sequence starts at about 8:01. I interviewed Keenan earlier this year and thought he shared a lot of … [Read more...]
Five Reasons to Grapple in a Streetfight
A lot of self proclaimed self defence experts will emphatically and categorically tell you to "never, ever go to the ground in a streetfight." But no single strategy works in every situation, and anyone telling you to always do something, or never do something, is automatically wrong. The truth is that you may well be forced to use your grappling skills in a self defense context. I've added … [Read more...]
Kangaroo MMA with Rear Naked Choke!!
This might just be the coolest thing I have ever seen. A Kangaroo MMA match complete with kicks, clinching, takedowns and a bona fide chokeout for the submission of the night! From my vantage point it looks like Joey actually used the 'short choke', rather than the classic Rear Naked Choke, but in this situation it was just as effective. And the next time we're all arguing about whether a … [Read more...]
The Omoplata vs the Marceloplata vs the Baratoplata
Here's a 12 minute tutorial I just put out breaking down two really cool variations of the Omoplata armlock which is one of my all-time favourite techniques. The first variation is called the 'Marceloplata' - it's named after superstar grappler Marcelo Garcia who popularised this technique. The Marceloplata is a great option to use when you've almost finalised a regular Omoplata but your … [Read more...]
How to Counter the Cross-Collar Grip
When you're in your opponent's guard one of the most annoying things he can do is secure a really good cross-collar grip on you. True, this grip doesn't have much utility for MMA or no-gi training (in fact being too reliant on it can create some really bad habits for when the gi comes off), but in BJJ the cross-collar grip is a serious problem. When your opponent snags a cross collar grip on you … [Read more...]
How to Maintain Rear Mount, Improve Guillotines, and Thwart ‘Combatives’ Experts
Rear mount seems like such a simple position: I mean, you're basically just piggybacking on your opponent, right? Well, success in jiu-jitsu usually means doing simple, fundamental things with a high degree of sophistication and attention to detail. And rear mount is no different - switch your grip by a couple of inches, have your hand open instead of closed, do the wrong thing for even a … [Read more...]
My Favourite Kneebar Defenses and Escapes
The kneebar is one of my very favourite submissions - it's become a bit of a signature move, in fact. So it's always a man-bites-dog moment whenever someone attacks me with the kneebar and I find myself on the receiving end of this powerful leglock. (The nerve of some people! Sheesh!!) Anyway, here's a YouTube video excerpt from my Submission Defense app (available in Apple, Android, & … [Read more...]
Three Keys to Escaping Any Submission
Some people might not be the greatest grapplers but are still notoriously hard to submit. Obviously technique is important, but there's more to slipping out of submission than just knowing the escape techniques. In fact the most important thing is knowing WHEN to apply your techniques. If you use the right technique at the wrong time then it won't work. For example I remember rolling with a … [Read more...]
Tap Out Less Often! The ‘Submission Defense’ App for Android…
After a ton of planning and working with video editors and Android app programers, I'm thrilled to announce that Submission Defense - the latest Grapplearts app for the Android platform - is finally ready!! This app was designed with one single-minded purpose: to help you tap out much less often. This app takes you through my very favorite escapes for many of the most common and most … [Read more...]
The Armbar from Fifty-Fifty Guard by Keenan Cornelius
The fifty-fifty guard is a strange creature. In it you and your opponent face each other in the exact same position with your legs intertwined. On the one hand there's no doubt that it's a really powerful sweeping position for whoever's on bottom. But on the other hand it has a reputation as a really horrible way to stall. (Some people just rack up a few sweep points and then use the … [Read more...]
6 Steps for an Effective Sleeve Choke
I know, I know, I KNOW! I go on and on about how tapping out is no big deal, and how you can get injured if you let ego get in the way, and how everybody gets caught from time to time… But there I was, leaping all over the place to escape a submission, becoming increasingly desperate as the noose tightened around my neck, just because the whole thing seemed so cheesy. Let me jump back a … [Read more...]