The grappling art of Jiu Jitsu contains submissions that can be divided into joint locks and strangles. Each class of submissions has its circumstantial benefits when compared to the other. Within each class however, there are important variances to consider when thinking about...

Essential Positions We All Must Know, And Are The Pillars Of Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is such a big art. There are so many different techniques, for a new practitioner though, they want to know what particular submissions and positions they should put...

 Even a back take can have a silver lining What's that old cliche about teaching an old dog new tricks?  Recently during a visit to Carlos Farias' academy in Arizona, Bernardo Faria met Parker Lapp and that cliche was turned on its head...

A Simple No-Gio Technique That Will Help Your Closed Guard Defense So, as an addendum to yesterday’s piece about how to deal with being inside the closed guard in no gi, Lachlan Giles presents us with another idea. This time he touches on...

Failed Kimura? Not Now! Be Able To Advance Your Position! Securing a kimura on a much stronger individual can be incredibly difficult. If they have extremely strong grips, or have locked the arm that’s being attacked close to their body, we might run...

Think about your first few classes as a white belt hitting the mats for the first time. What were some of the offensive techniques you learned? I’m sure the armbar would be an agreed technique we learned and used often being they were the only...

Sneaky Arm Lock For A Quick Submission! We love sneaky submissions that come out of nowhere. Especially when your opponent may be in the middle of mounting their offense and we take advantage at just the right moment. These may be some of...

A Dangerous Guard Is A Powerful Tool Passing the guard without the gi has its own set of concepts that must be adhered to. We commonly see practitioners electing to stand up when choosing their preferred method of getting by the legs. Standing...

Bullys Are ALWAYS Ready. YOU ALWAYS Be Ready In ALL Weather Conditions BJJ does not work in the “street”, it does not work on uneven surfaces or anywhere that is not matted! We hear it all the time, usually from disillusioned traditional martial...

Make Your Opponent Unsafe, Even When They Stand The closed guard is both a safe and effective position for a bottom player to be in when grappling. It can be used to defend against strikes in self-defense situations or MMA and to attack...

Defeat the Stack Throwing up arm bars from the bottom can be risky business if you don’t have all the proper mechanics in place. It can be made even more difficult if your opponent happens to have a size advantage over you. One...

In the latest edition of his wildly popular Move of the Week series, jiu jitsu renegade Kurt Osiander comes to us from his Empire Jiu Jitsu Academy in San Francisco to share a sweep and submission combo that you can easily add to...

When we have a chance to learn from legends, our ears perk up. OG BJJ practitioners have a way of taking seemingly simple themes and explaining them in a manner that can make you feel like you’ve been lost in the dark for...

Have you ever been in a situation where you asked your BJJ instructor how to get out of a particular position or submission and they've simply paused, looked at you and said "Don't get stuck in that position" or "Don't get caught"?  To...

Seeing submission availability helps maintain dominance Recognizing that the arm bar from the back has become available should definitely be on your radar. It’s a critical skill. But as we progress through the submission, and should it begin to unravel, we’ll need methods...