No Gi Passing: Techniques vs. Principles With any aspect of Jiu Jitsu, there are two levels to think about. The first level, and the one that’s most obvious, is looking at individual moves in detail. It’s helpful to build our toolbox by...

What Exactly is a “Lockdown” Again? Today’s technique trick is a little advanced. If you haven’t played with these positions before, then I hope this is an enticing first look. The move I want to highlight is built off of a pretty specific...

  Get to the Ground With a Plan Takedowns are important. After all, even though we often begin rolling while seated, competitions start from the feet. There’s nothing more frustrating for a ground specialist than to be trapped standing with minimal takedown skills....

Recognizing Where You Are In order to understand heel hook defense, we need to be a little more specific. There are two general variations of this attack: the outside heel hook and the inside heel hook. An inside heel hook is also commonly...

  Protect Your Neck The guillotine is a brutal choke. It goes on fast, it goes on from many angles, and it doesn’t care how strong you are. This versatility and speed makes the guillotine an ideal choice for sport practitioners, who occasionally...

  If you are coming to this site, chances are you have heard the legend of how John Danaher became interested in leg locks. The story goes that Dean Lister was visiting the Renzo Gracie Academy in NYC. After seeing Lister submit his...

The Pressure is Mounting Part of learning Jiu Jitsu is learning to handle pressure from the bottom of any position you may end up in. At first, it’s not an easy task and even positions like half guard feel up close and personal....

  To Hook or to Hold? Leg locks were once considered unorthodox and dangerous, but times are changing. The leg lock game has risen to prominence in Jiu Jitsu circles in recent years as moves that were once considered off-limits make their way...

A Game of Choices Something beautiful about Jiu Jitsu is the sheer amount of styles that exist in the sport. After learning the basics, you can truly specialize in any type of game that you want to. There are many styles we’re familiar...

What’s in a Name? The D’arce choke, sometimes referred to as the Brabo choke, is an arm-in choke that can put a devastating squeeze on the opponent’s neck. Since neither name is very descriptive, feel free to take your pick! The most common...

From Bad to Worse Anyone who’s been on the mat, from white belt to black, has experienced the crushing pressure of side control from an experienced player. From this position, a seasoned grappler can access several submissions as well as holding a very...

  Jiu jitsu enjoys a special place in the grappling world. Over the past 30 years, jiu jitsu has been the fastest growing grappling art in the world. Interested observers could point to many factors to explain this phenomenon. The first UFC was...

The backside 50/50 has gained loads of popularity over the course of the past few years due to it being utilized at the highest levels of competition by some of today's most celebrated BJJ stars. Most notably, Lachlan Giles who managed to turn...

Keeping Our Tools Sharp The hip bump sweep is a technique that most Jiu Jitsu players encounter very early on in their careers. They find themselves in closed guard and in need of a way to reverse the position, and the hip bump...

The Four Horseman For most people, being on top while sparring is more comfortable than fighting from their backs. Learning to submit people from an apparently inferior position is a difficult transition for many people. At first, we learn to work from closed...