Tom DeBlass has been a black belt for over 9 years now.  He recently received the third degree on his black belt, awarded to him by his longtime instructor Ricardo Almeida, himself the very first black belt from the legendary Renzo Gracie.  Not...

At most academies, BJJ promotions can be few and far between.  Whether it is a stripe or a new belt, chances are you've put in a lot of work before you are considered for or rewarded with a promotion. It can take upwards...

Recently, ADCC and UFC veteran Tom DeBlass took to social media to address the age old question of whether or not jiu jitsu competition is necessary to be promoted and ultimately earn your black belt.  There are a wide variety of stances on...

Training BJJ is not a solitary activity.  Just like it takes a village to raise a child, as the old saying goes, it takes an academy, an instructor and a lot of training partners over the years to raise a black belt.  One...

 Over the course of your BJJ training, one of the most important concepts that should stay in the forefront of your mind and training agenda is the idea of "position to submission".  In the early days of our learning and training, we are...

Anytime someone is talking about opening or closing an opponent's guard, they are speaking about the the opponent's legs and whether or not they are wrapped around the waist and locked at the ankles, or in one of the dozens of positions that...

American Jiu Jitsu legend Rafael Lovato Jr. recently posted on social media that he and fellow black belt Tom DeBlass have been working on a potential match up sometime in 2018 with a February tentative date at the ADCC USA Open in Florida. ...

The longer you train BJJ and the more techniques you become exposed to, you begin to build a base of knowledge of techniques.  Some techniques might tend to come easier to you, so you will naturally gravitate towards those favored techniques that you...

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...

Picture it, you're coming at your opponent or training partner with your absolute best guard pass attacks and they're unable to stop you.  Just before you lock them down into side control, they hip away and come to their knees.  Their elbows retract...

The arm drag is an extremely important technique to learn which opens up entries to back takes, sweeps, and even submissions.  The beauty of the arm drag is that it is one of those positions that pays incredible dividends in jiu jitus on...

It can be argued that the most important promotion that someone can attain in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not the promotion to the coveted black belt, but instead is the promotion someone can give themselves when they trade in their own belt and...

Today, right here and now, you are going to stop asking yourself if you are too old to train BJJ.  If you have not started, today is the day that you find the nearest reputable BJJ academy and set up a time to...

Half guard was once considered a last ditch attempt to prevent one's guard from being passed.  It wasn't until the 1990's when the position became recognized for it's offensive potential through the BJJ game of Roberto "Gordo" Correa, who was actually dealing with...

The words "motivation" and "discipline" get thrown around and hashtagged a million times a day in the world of BJJ social media.  There are thousands upon thousands of motivational quote sites that pair up some famous quotes with photos of people sweating or...