Do you remember learning how to hip escape for the first time?  Of course, you do. You likely remember drilling hip escapes hundreds, if not thousands of times, and even to this day, provided you didn’t quit when you got your blue belt,...

When it comes to shooting takedowns, it seems there is no middle ground, we either do them, or we don’t.  I don’t see many people at the academy that sometimes shoot takedowns. The ones that I see that are shooting takedowns seem to...

What is your go to safe position?  For me I find I go to turtle a lot when I feel like I need to get away.  I will typically go to turtle and then sit back to guard or half guard or whatever...

There are so many things in Jiu Jitsu that fall into what I would consider to be a fundamental part of Jiu Jitsu.  . At the most basic level I would consider learning how to frame properly one of the first steps to learn...

  If you have ever been stuck in the Spider Lasso position, you know that it can be quite difficult to deal with. Getting stuck in Spider Lasso can feel like being stuck in the middle of a minefield. A simple misstep can...

Comedian Russell Brand recently earned his blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and posted a video in which he talks about the promotion ceremony and the hierarchy of BJJ. Even though his academy had a wide diversity among its students, Brand was struck...

When watching judo matches, most people only remember the massive throw that ended the match. They forget the important details that lead up to that moment, namely the grip fighting. Gripping is one of the most important skills in judo and jiu jitsu...

Is that the question? The debate has been a hot one for years, with traditionalists claiming that the Gi produces more technically adept grapplers. In most cases people develop a preference for Gi or No Gi, likely biased by which they are first...

Every white belt learns the cross collar choke as one of their first submission.  Every blue belt thinks they’ve got a good handle on the cross collar choke. But how many of us actually get submissions with the cross collar choke during a...

  Jiu-Jitsu has seen many evolutions happen over a relatively short period, at least in terms of official competitions. The “Meta”, as the cool kids call it, shifts continuously. One major strategy that has seen more implementation is the usage of the Lapel....

Guard passing has become such a broad subject over the course of BJJ history. Gone are the days where our training partners are only trying to push our knee down to pass or double under hook your legs for a stack. These traditional...

If you’re a smaller BJJ player, having a proficient guard is an absolute must. You’ll be forced to work from your back often and you need to possess the ability to reverse, redirect, and gain back superior positioning over your larger BJJ peers....

What frustrates you most when you are training live or rolling with someone?  There are a number of things that you could likely say in response to this. One of the things that I would venture to say we can all agree on...

When asking friends who train Jiu Jitsu what their favorite thing is about Jiu Jitsu, you may hear things like, I like that it’s fun and it keeps me in shape, or I like that I get to choke people as a hobby,...

  One of the most frustrating parts of training Jiu Jitsu is when something happens that forces you to take time off.  There are only a few things that truly “force” you to take time off, while some people use other things as...