One of the most frequently asked questions in regard to the arm bar is when and why you should cross your legs. Various high-level instructors will tell you to never cross your legs while others will tell you that you should. With this...

Do you pay enough attention to counters and escapes? I find it’s pretty natural to spend the bulk of our time on attacking, acquiring dominant positions, and transitions. Sometimes we tend to put the counters and escapes on the back burner. However, they...

When you think of half guard, who do you think of? There are a lot of practitioners out there that use the half guard as their primary guard.  Do you think of Tom DeBlass? Perhaps Lucas Leite? Or maybe you think of Bernardo...

This is a video on how to do the perfect guard retention with arguably the greatest grappling coach on earth, John Danaher.  John has been working tirelessly on his new fundamental instructional series "Go Further Faster" and his second installment will be all...

I started competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu very late in my journey. In fact, I waited until deep in to brown belt to begin testing my BJJ pedigree against others. I wasn’t confident in my abilities for the longest time, and where I began...

One of the most popular submissions in Jiu Jitsu is the rear naked choke.  This submission is likely the most widely recognized submission from the those outside of the sport.  The rear naked choke is a soul crushing submission that once you get...

I’ll never forget walking in those doors the first time.  The hardest belt to earn thus far was that white belt. Showing up, not knowing anyone, not knowing much about Jiu Jitsu even, and honestly a little unsure as to what exactly I...

When you’re just starting out in Jiu Jitsu it’s likely one of the very first positions you learn is the closed guard.  The closed guard is sort of “home” if you will. This is where we start to learn all of the fundamental...

  The triangle choke in general is one of the strongest, most powerful submissions in modern day Jiu Jitsu.  The triangle choke, as you likely know involves strangling the opponent by trapping their neck and one arm inside of your legs and working...

As a white belt, we are constantly looking for tips, tricks, and advice from the professionals on how to be more efficient, how to go further faster, ultimately, just how to survive our time as a white belt and come out the other...

The half guard is often seen as the first sing of arrival, or success as a new white belt, as it’s typically the next step, the next building block in your Jiu Jitsu game after you have started to understand and get comfortable...

Your Mind Will Get You to Black Belt and Beyond There are as many reasons to start training BJJ as there are students currently training.  Everyone who has ever walked into a Jiu Jitsu academy for the first time, whether they have consciously...

 Change or die as the saying goes.  If you’re not growing, you’re dying, some say.  We live in an interesting and exciting time as far as Jiu Jitsu is concerned.  We have Instructors like John Danaher who are completely changing the way Jiu...

Taking the first step in training is hard.  It’s arguably the hardest step in the entire Jiu Jitsu journey.  Sure, getting your black belt is going to be a challenge, heck, getting to blue belt will likely force you to overcome challenges and...

When it comes to submissions, I have always seemed to prefer a strangle or choke submission over a joint lock submission.  I think from a self defense perspective it makes sense to lean this direction because an opponent with a broken arm can...