There are few things worse than being stuck under someone in North South position.  Being stuck here becomes increasingly less fun the bigger and or sweatier the opponent is at the time.  I remember when I first started training there was a student...

When we first start training, we are taught the closed guard position along with a few sweeps and submissions from the closed guard position.  We are also taught how to open an opponent’s closed guard and either go over the opponent’s legs using...

Passing the guard is one of, if not the most important skills to develop.  Guard passing is one of the many things in Jiu Jitsu that never gets easier, it’s constantly challenging us because as we get better at guard passing, our opponents...

Gi or no gi, the shin to shin guard is an incredibly useful position with a multitude of interesting utilities. Once the position is established, we can use it to reverse, transition, and funnel our opponent’s in to a whole host unfavorable scenarios....

Although it is not as popular as it once was, deep half guard was once one of the most utilized positions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Although it is just as effective now as it once was, Jiu Jitsu is a sport that is...

Although the guillotine is one of the most simple and versatile submissions in Jiu Jitsu, while also being one of the oldest, it is one the most underutilized submissions in the sport. Students will go through white belt and even blue belt without...

Half guard has been and will always be one of the top positions grapplers utilize in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It is easier to attack sweeps and submissions from half guard, especially against skilled opponents, because when compared to closer guard, the guard player...

If you have been training Jiu Jitsu, you have probably heard of Edwin Najmi. Edwin is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt training out of California. Edwin began his martial arts training as a child and eventually progressed to become one of the...

One of the most frequently asked questions in regard to the arm bar is when and why you should cross your legs. Various high-level instructors will tell you to never cross your legs while others will tell you that you should. With this...

Do you pay enough attention to counters and escapes? I find it’s pretty natural to spend the bulk of our time on attacking, acquiring dominant positions, and transitions. Sometimes we tend to put the counters and escapes on the back burner. However, they...

When you think of half guard, who do you think of? There are a lot of practitioners out there that use the half guard as their primary guard.  Do you think of Tom DeBlass? Perhaps Lucas Leite? Or maybe you think of Bernardo...

I started competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu very late in my journey. In fact, I waited until deep in to brown belt to begin testing my BJJ pedigree against others. I wasn’t confident in my abilities for the longest time, and where I began...

One of the most popular submissions in Jiu Jitsu is the rear naked choke.  This submission is likely the most widely recognized submission from the those outside of the sport.  The rear naked choke is a soul crushing submission that once you get...

When you’re just starting out in Jiu Jitsu it’s likely one of the very first positions you learn is the closed guard.  The closed guard is sort of “home” if you will. This is where we start to learn all of the fundamental...

  The triangle choke in general is one of the strongest, most powerful submissions in modern day Jiu Jitsu.  The triangle choke, as you likely know involves strangling the opponent by trapping their neck and one arm inside of your legs and working...