While there are many great open guards in Jiu Jitsu, one of the most popular seems to be the De La Riva guard. The DLR guard offers some awesome guard sweeps. If you’re a person that loves to play the top game, but find yourself having trouble taking people down, the De La Riva guard […]

The baseball bat choke…how I can go on and on about the baseball bat choke. It is probably the single most versatile choke in all of Jiu Jitsu. You can literally hit the choke from almost any position. Half guard, knee on belly, side control and even while standing up. But did you know that […]

Anybody who watches the IBJFF black belt divisions knows Bernardo Faria. They also know his awesome, pressure style of passing that he uses to dominate his opponents. His signature pass is the over-under pass. He uses it to pass even the toughest of guards. For the longest time, it was thought that the over-under pass […]

Time and time again, I’ve said it…the arm drag is single handedly the most important tool in all of grappling. Whether it be Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Wrestling or Judo, the arm drag opens up a lot of opportunities for those that use it. Why it works in the stand up phase of grappling, is because […]

Do you constantly get beat by people using the De La Riva guard? Are you being swept over and over, while trying to pass? Well, you might be over-looking one of the best options to beat the DLR guard. That option is to submit. The majority of the time, people spend a lot of energy […]

The knee on belly position is one of my favorite positions in Jiu Jitsu. It is often referred to as the ego killer, as anybody who thinks they are a tough guy, becomes weak when you dig your shin into his gut. It is an uncomfortable position that gives its user an awesome set of […]

The north-south position can be a difficult nut to crack. Nobody ever just accidentally ends up there. Usually someone will get caught there due to a scramble, or possibly from a good, strong guard pass. But one thing is for sure. You do not want to end up there. If you stay there, because you […]

The triangle choke. You see it everywhere. You will see it used at IBJJF events, EBI, and even in the UFC. It does not matter what rule set is used or if there are gi’s or not, if grappling is allowed then the triangle choke will show up. The triangle is one of the most […]

So…you have finally decided to work on your half guard. You see some of the absolute baddest dudes in Jiu Jitsu with killer half guards. Bernardo Faria, Jeff Glover and Lucas Leite all use the half guard to its best potential. And honestly, it shows. The question then comes to mind, how can you improve […]

Sometimes it is best to go back to the basics. It can rejuvenate your game, since as you move up in experience/belts, your game expands. One of the basics techniques you can always revisit is the back step pass. The back step pass is an old school, basic yet effective way of passing the half […]

Catch Wrestling is known for its brutal pinning and submission techniques. Every single technique in Catch seems like a rough, tough way of destroying an opponent when it comes to grappling. Many techniques from Catch transfer over into Jiu Jitsu, just like Jiu Jitsu techniques transfer over to Catch. One of those techniques, is the […]

There are a few techniques from closed guard that are absolutely essential if you want to be a great guard player. One of those essentials is the hip bump sweep. The hip bump sweep is a sweep that you can always use and come back to, no matter how far your game evolves. This strong […]

For those of us that like to attack our opponents while they are in turtle, there is a whole world of attacks. Truck, calf slicers, crucifix, and arm bars all are possible from the turtle position. One particularly awesome way of attacking the turtle is to use head and arm chokes. D’arce chokes, anaconda chokes […]

The sumi gaeshi is one of the excellent throwing techniques from the art of Judo. It is a sacrifice throw, which means that even though you’re throwing your opponent, that you will go down as well. But just because it is a sacrifice throw does not mean it should be ignored. Sacrifice throws can be […]

It seems like that there is a large amount of guard variations these days. Take any basic guard and there is probably a variation or combo variation of it. While some of these can seem a little silly, there is one variation that works and should be taken seriously. That variation is the lasso guard, […]