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...

What’s your gripping mindset?  Mindset on gripping? What does that even mean?  I’m supposed to have a gripping mindset? Who knew? The ultra successful have a plan, process or system for everything they do.  Yes this includes gripping. So what does it mean...

One of the first things we learn when we start training is how to pass the closed guard.  Typically, we either learn the stack pass, knee over pass or knee slice pass, or potentially all three.  There is no disputing that being able...

When it comes to choke submissions there are dozens and dozens of options out there, some more sneaky than others, and some more brutal than others.  As we start exploring chokes outside of the traditional cross choke and triangle choke that are typically...

  The omoplata has been about as illusive to me as a four-leaf clover. It seems like I’ve been able to acquire the position since the inception of my training, but the finish is incredibly rare. Many of us fall into the omoplata...

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...

As a fan of the no-gi jiu jitsu scene, there are many amazing characters and athletes to watch and learn from. Some are colorful, and some are no nonsense warriors who treat every match like it’s their last. I feel it’s very rare...

  When it comes to attacking from side control, the possibilities are quite vast, especially in the gi. There are hundreds of attacks ranging from arm bars to simple collar chokes, but with the gi in the mix a whole new range of...

It is likely that you have, at some point in your life heard someone say “mindset is everything” in one way or another.  Jiu Jitsu is no exception. Your mindset in Jiu Jitsu is what will determine how people see you as a...

  What does it take to not have your guard passed for 13 years of competition? For most people this would require quitting Jiu-Jitsu! For Xande Ribeiro it took a fundamental understanding of DEFENSE that is matched by few. Xande is widely considered...

So often we hear people say things like, that submission doesn’t work for me it’s only for (insert a body characteristic that they don’t have here…) tall, short, big, small, etc. grapplers.   The reality is that most submissions can be used by...

As our sport evolves, we are seeing more and more high level wrestlers bringing techniques to the mats that are forcing us to think differently and respond differently than we maybe had to in the past.  Wrestlers typically bring a very fast paced,...

  It is a little hard to fully describe the energy in the Las Vegas Convention Centre as I walked in this morning to be part of this year's IBJJF World Masters Competition. On the first day the black belts from across the...

  When we train in the gi, one of our main focuses should always be how we can our opponent’s gi against them. Whether that’s to gain superior position, breaking posture, or involving the gi in the application of a submission, we must...

  The Butterfly Guard is seeing an explosion in use at the highest levels. Athletes like Gordon Ryan, Adam Wardzinski, and Jon Satava have used the Butterfly Guard to both sweep and/or submit their opponents. Even better Butterfly Guard isn’t exclusive to Gi/No-Gi...