Break Your Opponent's Posture Like An Olympian

Posted by Fanatics Authors on January 26, 2019

How To Break The Standing Posture By Travis Stevens

Who is Travis Stevens? He made history by being the third male judoka from the USA to win a silver medal at the Olympic Games. Travis also holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the legendary John Danaher and Renzo Gracie. It is an understatement to say that he is accomplished in both Judo and Jiu Jitsu.

Travis was born February 28, 1986 and is a lifelong grappler. He began training Judo at the age of 6. He competed in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics in the men's half-middleweight (-81 kg) division. On August 9, 2016, Stevens made history by being the third American male judoka to win a silver medal in the Olympics. His other grappling accomplishments include the following: 2^nd place at the 2016: Grand Prix Havana. 3^rd place at the 2015: Pan American Senior Championships , 1st place at the 2015: Pan American Games Toronto, 3^rd place at the 2015: Pan American Senior Championships, 7^th place at the 2015: Grand Prix Dusseldorf, 2^nd place at the 2014: Grand Prix Zagreb, 1rst place at the Pan American Open Miami, 5^th place at the Grand Slam Tyumen, 2^nd place at the Grand Prix Havana, 3^rd place at the Pan American Championships Guayaquil, 2^nd place at the Grand Prix Tbilisi, 1rst place at the Grand Prix Dusseldorf, 5^th place at the 2013: Grand Slam Tokyo, 7^th place at the Grand Prix Abu Dhabi, 1rst place at the Grand Prix Tashkent, 3^rd place at the Pan American Championships San Jose , 1rst place at the Pan American Open Montevideo, 2^nd place in Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro ,3^rd place in Grand Prix Abu Dhabi, 1rst place in World Cup Tashkent, 2^nd place in Grand Slam Moscow , 2^nd place in Pan American Championships Guadalajara, 1rst place Grand Prix Dusseldorf,5^th place in World Cup Budapest and 5^th place in Masters Baku.

Travis Stevens has simple concepts that he applies to his throws, take downs and guard passing. His approach is simple, and makes him one of the best grapplers ever.

LEARN MORE

Stevens is an excellent teacher. On January 12, 2013 he opened FUJI Gym in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He spends the majority of his time teaching there. He also teaches at Renzo Gracie Fort Lee in New Jersey. When he is not teaching, he regularly trains at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City. Another testament to his ability as an instructor is the fact that his instructional videos for BJJ Fanatics are hugely successful.

In this video Travis Stevens explores how to break the posture of a standing opponent. He starts with his opponent pushing into him. Stevens does not opt to match strength for strength. Instead he relaxes his grip on his opponent’s collar. He lifts up on the collar and brings it across his opponent’s jaw line and then repeats the motion. Notice how the action brings Faria’s head back and forth. It is an important detail to note that the collar shake is not done up and down but rather left and right. This technique will kill your opponent’s posture and allow you the space to enter for take downs. Well done Travis. I can’t wait to run this on my training partners.

This video is a wonderful example of Travis’s ability to communicate technique to even novice grapplers. Like all of Stevens’ instructional videos, there is a lot of detail. I know that I often gain new insights every time I re-watch one of his videos. Travis Stevens’ instructional videos have a powerful impact on anyone who makes a careful study of them. Certainly, the Jiu Jitsu community is lucky to have him.

Travis Stevens is a John Danaher black belt and Olympic medalist in judo with the ability to break complex techniques down into simple, clear instruction.If you like this video, check out his new series Magic Guard Passing. You can get it here at BJJ Fanatics!

BUY NOW