Some super-exciting news for you... Today I've just released No Gi Leglocks featuring Oliver Taza! Oliver is a phenomenal grappler. He trains with the Danaher Death Squad in NYC and with Firas Zahabi (Georges St Pierre's trainer) at Tristar in Montreal. Oliver has used his DEEP knowledge of leglocks to amass wins at Polaris, Metamoris, the ADCC Trials, the No Gi Worlds, and many … [Read more...]
How To Do the Over-Under Pass
The over-under guard pass is one of the classic pressure passes in BJJ. In it you absolutely kill your opponent's hips by coming over one of his legs and under his other leg with your arms. Then you spike your shoulder into your opponent's belly which pins his lower body the floor and puts a tremendous amount of weight onto him and makes it hard for him to breathe. This pass has changed … [Read more...]
A Closed Guard Passing Strategy
In a world full of butterfly guards, lapel guards, and upside-down-reverse-de-la-Riva guards it's sometimes easy to forget about the oldest guard of all: closed guard. But if someone who is good at closed guard clamps their legs around you and gets his hand in your collar than MAN, are you in trouble!! With that deep grip he's going to destroy your posture, make it impossible for you to … [Read more...]
Mount to Deep Half Guard Escape
Here is one of my favorite ways to escape the mount position. It relies on briefly achieving quarter guard which is essentially the mount position where you have one of his feet trapped between your legs and then transitioning to the deep half guard. This wouldn't necessarily be the first escape you would use in an MMA or self defense situation (since it exposes your face to punches) but in … [Read more...]
How to Do the Leg Weave Guard Pass… And How to Counter It Too!
The 'Leg Weave' pass (also known as the 'Hip Smash') is a pressure guard passing technique that relies on correctly positioning your bodyweight to pin your opponent's hips and then methodically work your way past his legs. It relies more on sensitivity, weight distribution, and patience than on speed and athleticism. As such it's a great pass for older, slower grapplers to use against the … [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...]
How to Escape Side Control
Being stuck under side control (aka 'side mount,' or '100 kilos') is one of the great challenges in jiu-jitsu. Here your opponent is able to put a TON of weight onto you, crush your face, attack your arms and neck, and advance his position by getting to the mount or taking your back. In short, being on the bottom of side control sucks, and you have to have some good ways to escape … [Read more...]
Free Audio Download of The Roadmap for BJJ
The Roadmap for BJJ book tries to help you make sense of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by breaking down the underlying 6 fundamental positions of art. It focusses the hierarchy of BJJ positions (i.e. which positions are better than others) and then breaks down the relationships and transitions between the positions. If you're new to the art then you should come away with a new understanding of what's … [Read more...]
Making the Armbar from Guard Harder to Escape
How many times have you gone for an armbar from the guard only to have your opponent escape your attack, pass your guard, and then smash you from a dominant position? This is an incredibly common scenario, but it really doesn't need to happen nearly as often! The truth is that by making some simple tweaks to your technique and the sequence in which you apply that technique you'll make the … [Read more...]
Bottom Saddle to Heel Hook Transition
The 'Saddle' - also known as the Inside Sangaku, the Honeyhole, and the 411 position - is probably the most powerful leglock position in all of grappling. This position gives you powerful control over your opponent's ability to move, counter and escape. It also lets you apply a devastating inside heel hook, which twists the leg in a much worse angle than a regular heel hook. (Here are some … [Read more...]
Near vs Far Side Kimura Armlocks
Most grapplers know how to apply the Kimura armlock on the far side of their opponent's bodies. It's an attack taught at white belt that you see in every grappling competition. And many intermediate grapplers don't know that you can actually use the Kimura technique on both sides of your opponent's body. But the near side Kimura is an absolutely critical position for controlling your … [Read more...]
3 Tips to Tighten Any Joint Lock Technique
It' s not easy to tap out a high level grappler with a joint lock. First of all their submission prevention is tight. They do everything they can to stop you from getting the submission in the first place. Next, their defense and escape techniques are also top notch. If you give them even an inch of slack they'll use that space to wiggle out of the submission. Finally elite grapplers are … [Read more...]
The Step-by-Step Armbar from Mount
The armbar from mount is often taught as the 'CPR' armbar where you're mounted on your opponent, he sticks his arms straight up, you put both your hands on his chest and swing around into the armbar. It's slick, it's smooth, and it looks great. But the only reason the CPR armbar works is because your opponent has broken his own structure by pushing on your chest. Good opponents will almost … [Read more...]
Wristlocks in BJJ
Wristlocks are submissions that bend the wrist by bending, flexing, extending or rotating the hand relative to the bones of the forearm Some martial arts like aikido, hapkido, and traditional Japanese jujutsu specialise in wristlocks, making them a major part of their curriculum. Most of the common BJJ jointlocks target the elbow (e.g. straight armbars), shoulder (e.g. Kimura and … [Read more...]
Leg Action in Rear Mount – How to Put the Squeeze on Your Opponent
The rear mount is one of the very best positions you can get in BJJ. In rear mount you're behind your opponent and can attack him with chokes and armlocks (not to mention strikes in an MMA or self defense context). And there's pretty much bugger all that he can do to you... But it can be a lot of work to get here. You have to pass his guard, induce him to turn, secure your grips, get your … [Read more...]
How to Defend the Leg Weave Guard Pass
When you're learning BJJ basics you've got to become familiar with the most common techniques first - they are the low hanging fruit and also the techniques that you're going to face most often on the mat. The Leg Weave Guard Pass is one of the most typical ways to pass the Guard so you better have a good answer for it! Here's a simple and effective way to stop, and then counterattack, when … [Read more...]
How to Counter the Toreando Guard Pass
So there you are, on your back and fighting your opponent with your legs. Maybe you're using the Spider Guard, the Butterfly Guard, or any other variation of Open Guard, but regardless, both you and he are jockeying for grips and position. You’re trying to set up your guard sweeps and submissions, and he’s trying to pass your guard. Then - disaster! Your opponent grips both your pant … [Read more...]
3 Huge But Easy-to-Fix Kimura Armlock Mistakes
Here are 3 tweaks that you can implement immediately to make your Kimura armlock MUCH more effective right away! Add these modifications to your Kimura and you'll find that you tap out a LOT more people. The main mistakes and how to fix them are covered in detail in the video below, but here's the overview... Problem: losing control of the arm you are attacking. Solutions: first choke … [Read more...]
The ‘Head Mount’ – A Secret Position to Pin a Squirmy Opponent Flat on his Back
Don't you hate those super-squirmy guys? Even if you pass their guards they just shimmy their flexible gumby legs around and you're right back in guard where you started from. Here's one of my biggest tips on how how to shut down their game and pin them to the floor like a butterfly on a lepidopterist's museum display board! The central concept is to pike up and use what I call the ‘Head … [Read more...]
Back Attacks 5: How to Switch to an Armbar Submission When You’re on the Back!
Many people are surprised to learn that the straight armbar is a reliable, high-percentage, and super-powerful submission, from the back when you're grappling in BJJ, No Gi or MMA. Here's Rob Biernacki of BJJ Formula fame showing exactly how to do that. This is part 5 in a series on the so-called 'weak side' of the back we're releasing on Youtube and is a small part of the Back Control module … [Read more...]