We all have those guys in our academies that love to play that pesky De La Riva guard, some of them even try and berimbolo us.  This can be a nuisance to many of us.  How can we beat the De La Riva...

The deep half guard has been around for decades.  Many of the top tier competitors have utilized this guard in some of the most prestigious grappling events.  Some of the famous deep half guard players include Bernardo Faria, and Jeff Glover.  Both of...

D'Arce Choke Basics The D'Arce choke is one of the most popular chokes in the family of head and arm triangle variations.  The history of the technique and how it got the name D'Arce choke is an interesting study in the ever changing language...

Many people have difficulty passing peoples guards in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Passing someone’s guard may be the most difficult part of bjj.  If you get a guy with a good open guard that is long and flexible it can be so hard to...

De La Riva guard has exploded with popularity in the last decade.  Many of the best Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors in the world have innovated the infamous De La Riva Guard.  Some of the competitors famous for using this guard are Caio Terra,...

The half guard position has been going through a renaissance lately primarily through the popularity and prevalence of half guard being used by world class practitioners like Bernardo Faria and Tom DeBlass amongst others.  A solid bottom half guard can make a smaller...

What does it mean to be "Old School" with regards to BJJ?  What types of techniques or positions are favored by those considered old school and those considered new school.  Is there really such a thing as "old school BJJ".   It has always...

Take a moment and think back to a simpler time, when you were just starting jiu jitsu and all you knew was the closed guard.  Ah life seemed to be so easy, all you had to do was keep your opponent wrapped up...

Rafael "Rafa" Mendes is considered one of the greatest featherweight BJJ competitors in history with 6 IBJJF world titles at black belt and multiple gold medals in ADCC.  His dominance began very early as he has held world titles at every belt level...

There is an endless variety of choke options that one has available in jiu jitsu or submission grappling.  One of the best variations that works well in both gi and no gi situations is the head and arm choke or arm triangle choke....

ADCC is the most prestigious submission grappling tournament on the planet.  The ADCC is every 2 years and many of the competitors consider this tournament the Olympics of grappling.  The ADCC happened this past weekend in Finland.  It was one of the best...

The dust is settling, falling like snow on the landscape in Finland as the world's elite grappling and jiu jitsu competitors reflect on the weekend's battles.  Most will go home, reflecting on matches which given another chance, they may have won.  A select...

If you're not doing leg locks, then what's wrong with you?? You're behind the times bro! Listen, we all know that leg locks are all the rage right now, right? They're everywhere! No Gi Grappling, MMA, Combatives... no IBJJF :( So I guess...

Passing is one of the hardest parts of bjj.  There are some people whose guards are so good that it is nearly impossible to ever pass.  One of the most frustrating aspects of bjj is attempting to pass the guard, especially when you...

When you are a wrestler and you start training BJJ it can be very frustrating.  This is because you have been a grappler for such a long time and now you are learning a completely different approach for grappling.  Some people will just...