This weekend in arguably the greatest BJJ matchup of the last decade and the one of the single most anticipated rematches in the history of the sport, Roger Gracie and Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida met on the mats in Rio.  A more perfect stage...

The journey to black belt is a long and winding road that will find you having many moments of frustration and many more of ecstatic joy and move through the various color belts achieving what few people ever attempt.  You participate in one...

The history and development of jiu jitsu can have some very interesting parallels to one's personal development.  In the beginning, most beginners are exposed to closed guard and the submissions and sweeps that can be initiated from this fundamental position.  As we begin...

Just a little earlier this year, the Grand Slam Rio tournament was one to watch. Some of the best in the world were competing. While some talented black belts were competing, everyone had a feeling that it would come down to two of the world’s best practitioners in the 94KG category.  And those two black […]

This past weekend was a big one for professional Jiu Jitsu fans. Besides the No Gi Worlds happening in California, the Eddie Bravo Invitational was also holding its ninth event in Los Angeles. The ninth edition of Eddie Bravo’s fast paced, submission only tournament did not disappoint. As of normal, there were fantastic finishes and […]

Have you ever heard the term, pulling the trigger? If you have been around combative sporting martial arts, it is probably something that you’ve heard at least once. Usually you will hear it in Muay Thai or Kickboxing. All it means is to not be so tentative. It means to go for your attacks when […]

Sparring (or rolling) in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is one of the reasons that the art is so effective. Unlike other styles of martial arts that perform their techniques in the air, with no real resistance, BJJ relies on actually proving its worth through sparring. BJJ students show their knowledge by using their techniques on fully […]

Everyone who follows the top BJJ tournaments in the sport knows about Luiz Panza. When it comes to gi competition, he is one of the top dogs and is by far the best at foot locks in the gi. In competition, Luiz has over 20 wins by foot lock, including straight foot locks and kneebars. […]

For this edition of the product spotlight series, I want to highlight some truly great pairs of shorts. For all of us that train a lot of no gi BJJ, you know you need a reliable pair of shorts. It is frowned upon to wear other athletic shorts that may have pockets or zippers on […]

Though everyone has a different opinion when it comes to competing in BJJ, I truly believe that you understand the whole art, you have to compete at least a few times in your life. While BJJ will work against almost anyone in a self defense situation, it is truly intriguing how the art works against […]

As Brazilian Jiu Jitsu proliferates, local and regional scenes become saturated with academies resulting in and increase in the number of competitions. I sometimes see people scoff at or ignore local competitions, but there are some major benefits to attending these tournaments, both to the local scene as well as to your own jiu jitsu, […]

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training, one of the best parts of training is rolling. For those who are new to Jiu Jitsu, rolling is the term that means sparring. It is where we get to use the techniques that we’ve learned in class, in a live situation with real pressure. But rolling is just a […]

The best position in all of Jiu Jitsu to get is being on your opponent’s back. There are so many different back attacks that you put him in the danger zone right away. The control of your arms in the seatbelt position and your legs working either as hooks or a body triangle is incredibly […]

Rafael Lovato Jr is one of the best American champions to ever step on the mat and compete in Jiu Jitsu. Starting BJJ at the age of 13, he would soar through the ranks and become known as one of the toughest competitors, becoming quite well known when he was a brown belt. Working with […]

Luiz Panza is a name that you might not know. People who just casually follow the sport do not usually know this very talented black belt. But he is a competitor that will blow up soon. Panza is a black belt from the infamous Checkmat team. He is a master of the botinha, known in […]