The open guard is vast in its many resources. Without the solid and recognizable connection, we feel with many other guards, the open guard offers hundreds of possibilities, making it both exciting and a bit trying at the same time. You must...

  The Lapel Guard has been making big waves in the world of Jiu-Jitsu, and much like the Leglock Revolution the Jiu-Jitsu community has to adapt or get left behind. Martial Artists tend to get defensive when something new comes along. While it...

  We hear the term” inside positioning” with incredible frequency in BJJ. The concept of inside positioning is vast and it transcends all positions in the sport of grappling. Whether you’re a leg locker, a wrestler, a guard passer, or a guard player...

Catching a solid arm bar from the guard has never been a strength for me. If you’re like me, your first experiences learning the arm bar went kind of like this;We secured the arm and maybe the collar as well. We’d place...

  A good straight foot lock is worth its weight in gold. We hear a lot of BJJ players stating that they don’t tap to straight ankle locks. My response to this? Maybe its never been applied properly to your foot. A truly...

  The closed guard is quite possibly the most recognized position in all of BJJ. Even those that don’t have any experience with the art may associate the position with their limited knowledge of what BJJ is. In its earliest days, we found...

  The open guard is as exciting as it is versatile. The prospects for advancement here are many and there is literally a world of possibilities at the ends of our limbs. The open guard can be tough to understand at first, with...

  We could all use more efficiency when it comes to our guard. Of course, retention comes to mind here, as keeping a guard is first and foremost a priority. But efficiency transcends all the layers of guard. How hard are you working...

Where guard passing is concerned, the headquarters position has become a familiar hub of many passing progressions. I was first introduced to the headquarters position in early Rafael Lovato Jr. instructionals. Lovato added significant value to passing games all over the world with...

  When you watch highlights of competitions, it seems like the open guards, the lapel guards, and leglocks are taking over the sport. Its easy to overlook the older guards, like the half guard, the closed guard.  These old guards are still important...

When you think about building your game, specifically your guard game, what do you think of?  Do you immediately think about your closed guard and how you can improve it? Or maybe you like to use spider guard, or something else.  Generally speaking...

The short answer is Yes!. The reasons as to why Pressure Passing may be an effective type of passing for you will vary, but in general EVERYONE can play some form of pressure passing. For those not in the know, Pressure Passing is...

So all of us that train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu know what a gi is. The heavily stitched, cotton uniform that we wear when we train and compete. There are different colors, different brands, and different qualities, but in the end, we all wear the same uniform. But do you know the history of the […]

Escaping the back is a thing of beauty. It has always been my favorite escape as far as mechanics, body positioning, and strategery go. Although it can be an arduous task, scraping someone off that’s secured the rear mount is an important part...

It seems that over the years of training certain positions give me more trouble than others.   Often times I know I’m developing new skills in that position, however everyone around me is too.  When I look at my training as a whole,...