As a white belt, we are constantly looking for tips, tricks, and advice from the professionals on how to be more efficient, how to go further faster, ultimately, just how to survive our time as a white belt and come out the other...

The half guard is often seen as the first sing of arrival, or success as a new white belt, as it’s typically the next step, the next building block in your Jiu Jitsu game after you have started to understand and get comfortable...

Your Mind Will Get You to Black Belt and Beyond There are as many reasons to start training BJJ as there are students currently training.  Everyone who has ever walked into a Jiu Jitsu academy for the first time, whether they have consciously...

 Change or die as the saying goes.  If you’re not growing, you’re dying, some say.  We live in an interesting and exciting time as far as Jiu Jitsu is concerned.  We have Instructors like John Danaher who are completely changing the way Jiu...

Taking the first step in training is hard.  It’s arguably the hardest step in the entire Jiu Jitsu journey.  Sure, getting your black belt is going to be a challenge, heck, getting to blue belt will likely force you to overcome challenges and...

When it comes to submissions, I have always seemed to prefer a strangle or choke submission over a joint lock submission.  I think from a self defense perspective it makes sense to lean this direction because an opponent with a broken arm can...

If you have been training for some time you probably have come across the name Kurt Osiander. Between his Youtube Channel and larger than life personality Kurt is a unique representation of Jiu-Jitsu. His teaching style is a no nonsense approach that focuses...

Tom DeBlass has one of the most effective half guard games in the history of BJJ. DeBlass has molded his half guard in to a seemingly impenetrable brick wall, that’s frustrated many of the top tier passers of our time. His understanding of...

  The argument has been ongoing for years now. Sub Only Vs Points.... which is the best and how do they affect your game? The answer is actually a bit more complicated than most people give it credit for. Various rule sets all...

  The Half-Guard has become the most popular guard in modern jiu jitsu. It is a flexible attacking guard that allows for a myriad of sweeps and submissions, and unlike the traditional Closed Guard there is one major advantage: you only need to...

There are many stepping stones in martial arts that show progression in our comfort and dedication to the sport. First, you have to actually show up! Continuously attending classes turns into your first roll;rolling in class on a regular basis with your...

  Back Takes from The Turtle with Lachlan Giles Achieving a solid back take from the turtle position can be an arduous task. Cracking that shell and securing everything we need to transition to a clean back mount position can be very difficult...

  The side control. In many cases, it’s the first dominant position we become comfortable in. This was the case for me, and I still enjoy it, more so than the back or the mount. I feel more in control, and I really...

Guard retention. Its quite possibly the most important skill in BJJ. Whether you’re speaking in terms of self defense or sport, failing to properly retain the guard can have disastrous consequences. In a self-defense situation, your guard retention is your first line of...

It is extremely easy to get lost in the ocean of techniques when we start looking and exploring all of our options from a particular position.  What’s great about this is it enables us to develop our own unique style or game and...