Side control is a pinning position in Brazilian jiu-jitsu when you're perpendicular to your opponent and are not entangled in their legs. Typically but not always you're chest to chest with your opponent. It is one of the 6 main positions in BJJ and it's where you end up most often after passing the guard. But there isn't just one perfect version of side control. Depending on what you're … [Read more...]
Techniques
Submissions and Attacks from the North South Position
The north south position is a variation of side control where you're lined up at roughly 180 degrees to your opponent; your head is pointing towards his feet and vice versa. If you're skilled at the north south position you can make life hell for your opponent, especially since many of his standard side control escapes won't work in this configuration. And it also opens up some very … [Read more...]
The Folding Guard Pass for No Gi and MMA
The folding pass is a bread and butter guard pass that everyone should know. That's because the folding pass can be used in BJJ with the gi, submission grappling without the gi, and in MMA where guard passing is often mixed with ground and pound. Here's an excerpt from The Pressure Passing System with 4 x World Champion Fabio Gurgel breaking down how this exact pass can be used in no gi … [Read more...]
Last Ditch Matador Guard Pass Defense
The use of frames is key when you're defending against the Matador Pass, commonly known as Toreando or Bullfighter pass. If you engage in a battle of strength versus strength, then whoever is stronger will win. But if you can use frames to negate your opponent's strength then you can defeat much bigger and stronger opponents. Here's a video I filmed with Rory Van Vliet on defending the … [Read more...]
How to Do the Leg Drag Guard Pass
The leg drag is a modern addition to the world of guard passing in BJJ. It was popularized by world class competitors like the Mendes Brothers among many others. And if you spend even a little bit of time competing or watching major tournaments you will notice this style of pass being used successfully in every weight division, from white belt up to world champion black belt. Not only is … [Read more...]
The Synergism of Guard Passing and Leglocks
Many people think that you have to make a choice between getting good at leglocks or getting good at guard passing. But that's a false dichotomy. Guard passing and leglocks can be friends! You can use leglocks to set up your guard passes, and you can use guard passes to set up your leglocks. In the video below Oliver Taza shows how to use the leg drag guard pass to get into the saddle … [Read more...]
How to Leglock Someone in Butterfly Guard
Obviously it's relatively easy to enter into a leglock position if someone is lying flat on their back with their legs dangling in the air to the outside of your body. But if the other guy is using butterfly guard with his feet on the inside of your legs then it's it's harder to get into positions like standard ashi, outside ashi, the 411, or any of the other dominant leglock positions (click … [Read more...]
Announcing No Gi Leglocks with Oliver Taza!
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 All kidding aside, I've got something important to tell you about... How to Develop an Impassable Guard To help you make your guard … [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. But many intermediate grapplers don't know that you can actually use the Kimura technique on BOTH sides of your opponent's body. However, 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...]
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...]