I doubt I’ll ever be one of the greats in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  I know my limits. And one of my limits is that I can’t come up with the clever names that the greats manage to invent. One of those great...

When it comes to takedowns, we tend to gravitate toward the ones with big movements and lots of spectacle.  The Osoto Gari isn’t one of those. But you should learn it anyway. And really, the fact that it’s a simple move without a...

  Learning precise finishing details early on in your grappling career will pay dividends later, in the training room and on the competition mats. You will have more confidence in going for the finish and a deeper mechanical understanding. This series will examine...

We all know by now how important being able to pass the guard is.  We begin learning guard passes at the very beginning of our Jiu Jitsu career and never really stop learning, refining and perfecting them.  We also know that our sport...

The more we train the more we learn obviously, and as we begin to develop our game, a key component of that is to spend more time training with more difficult opponent’s.  If as you progress to blue belt you only train with...

There are a lot of different avenues you can take to get better at Jiu Jitsu.  While most all of them originate from spending time on the mats, how you spend that time and who you spend time with can help to mold...

  Guard retention is a popular subject, and for good reason. It’s probably one of, if not the most important aspect of BJJ there is. Understanding how to compose and maintain your guard can have a massive effect on the outcome of your...

For beginners, there’s usually one thing missing from their pressure passing.  And that’s pressure. For whatever reason, beginners try to pass an opponent’s guard without adding pressure.  Maybe they’re not used to the close contact of grappling sports? Or perhaps it’s the fact...

Keeping your guard intact is one of the MOST IMPORTANT skills one can possess in Jiu-Jitsu. Regardless of your wrestling ability there will come a time when you will be forced to use your guard. If you cannot keep your opponent from passing...

I’ve never met a person that felt ready or deserving of a stripe or belt promotion at the time it was given; Often times they seem to come on the nights we feel off and sluggish. If your professor, whether your current or...

There are few things in Jiu Jitsu more frustrating than fighting to get into mount only to get swept again. To beat this exhausting process, you can use techniques derived from Matt Thornton’s program that explains how to distribute your weight correctly and...

  We all get sloppy over time.  We take shortcuts. We forget the little details.   Don’t deny it.  If you came into my house, you’d see that I’ve dusted the front of the Blu-Ray player and Wi-Fi router.  But back where the cables...

  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...

Omoplata, Portuguese for scapula, is a great submission that uses legs and hips to extend the opponent’s shoulder joint past a normal range of motion. It is similar to a kimura but legs are used instead of a figure 4 hand hold. Not...

Well, it’s likely that your answer would be a question itself.  What kind of pressure are we referring to? How well can you execute your Jiu Jitsu technique while someone has you mounted, or in bottom side control?  Again, this would likely be...