Faria’s Jiu Jitsu: Perfect For Older Grapplers!

By Corey Kuropas, August 10, 2016

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Bernardo Faria is one of the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors in the world. A constant force in some of the most prestigious competitions, Bernardo has proven that he has a heavily perfected game for Jiu Jitsu. Faria’s game can work for anyone, but can especially work for older grapplers. The concepts and positions that Faria uses have a high success rate, and will be able to stop younger grapplers from using their athleticism. Here are some of the best parts of Faria’s game that you can use too.

Pressure passing –

An absolutely fantastic part of Faria’s game that will work very well for older grapplers is the use of pressure passing. When Bernardo uses pressure passing, he does a few things. First he slows the action down. The action goes from a fast sprint, to a controlled pace. He does this to create the right pressure to pass his opponent’s guard and get to a more preferable position. This works great for older grapplers due to the fact that you can negate a younger grappler’s athletic gifts. This is particularly evident when you use an over/under pass or a double under pass. To get some nice in depth knowledge on Bernardo’s style of pressure passing, checking out his DVD, The Pressure Passing Encyclopedia is a must!

The Pressure Passing Encyclopedia by Bernardo Faria – 4 DVD Set

Deep half guard –

Another great part of Bernardo’s game is his skillful use of the deep half guard. Anyone that knows about deep half knows of the benefits of playing this style of guard. Deep half allows you to keep the majority of an opponent’s weight off of you, while having a high probability of sweeps. With younger grapplers that try to blast takedowns, there is a chance you can end up on your back. When you do end up on your back, deep half is a great position to go to. Faria has a couple of high percentage sweeps he uses, one which is called the Faria sweep. In Bernardo’s DVD Escapes from Everywhere, he shows how to escape some truly bad positions to establish deep half. Check it out!

Escapes from Everywhere by Bernardo Faria – 4 DVD Set

Z guard –

One more part of Faria’s game that is great and highly underrated is his use of the z guard. Once again, he goes to this half variation due to the fact that he can keep an opponent’s weight and pressure off of him while working for a variety of sweeps to get on top. For young grapplers, getting on top and being able to apply a painful pressure is a frequent strategy. For older grapplers, using this position will stop younger grapplers from applying that strategy.

As you get older within Jiu Jitsu, you’ll see the need to change, modify and adapt your game to your own body. You will not be able to rely on the agility and strength of the younger generation of grapplers. Instead, use these concepts to help your game. You’ll be showing the young guys that tested technique and pressures is how the matches will be won.