Getting caught in the De La Riva (DLR) guard can be a frustrating experience. A good DLR player can tie you up, disrupt your base and dominant with you sweeps. While there are some different approaches to defeating and passing the DLR guard, one of the easiest has to be using the leg drag pass. […]

The half guard is known as a position ripe with sweeping techniques. And while the sweeps are the bread and butter of the half guard, there are submission techniques that should not be forgotten. One of those oft forgotten techniques is the omoplata. The omoplata is a great technique. You can use it to submit […]

The closed guard will forever be one of the most noticeable aspects of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Royce Gracie made the position famous in the early days of the UFC, and it is used by everyone from white belts to black belts in competition all over the world. In fact, most people learn to fight from […]

For anyone that loves the no gi game of Jiu Jitsu has at some point, experimented with some of Eddie Bravo’s 10th Planet material. Since Eddie’s system is entirely no gi, he has some great insight on what is beneficial and what isn’t. Bravo’s style of half guard is known as the lock down. The […]

The single leg x guard is one of my favorite guards to play. Almost every time I play it I can get a sweep and use it to get to ashi garami. Then from there, I can go for all my fun leg attacks. While some Jiu Jitsu competitors like to sit guard and start […]

If you watch a lot of high level Jiu Jitsu, you’ll notice a particular foot lock that many black belts win with in competition. That foot lock is known as the estima lock. But what is the estima lock? Let’s go into a small history of this awesome leg attack. In the late 2000’s, brothers […]

In the past, I have mentioned how much the Georgian grip can change the dynamic of a throw. This grip allows for you to not only break the posture of the people you’re facing, but also allows you to have total control of where he can go. This time, I want to go over a […]

Passing half guard can be a difficult task.  If you make a mistake on top, there is the chance of getting swept or getting your back taken. So many people that end up in half guard top either get swept onto their back, or simply stall. But the ingredient to pass the half guard is […]

The spider guard is such a powerful open guard when it comes to the gi-centric guards. The anatomy of the spider guard allows for its user to make his opponent’s arms wide which totally controls the upper body. It also allows for a nice mix of sweep and submission attacks that very smoothly flow into […]

If you’re a Jiu Jitsu competitor that is interested in learning one of the best controlling open guards, then look no further than the spider guard. The spider guard is a favorite of champions such as Leandro Lo, Michael Langhi and Romulo Barral. By using the spider guard you have some pretty solid submission and […]

As a Ukrainian-American, Sambo has always interested me. Even well into my training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Sambo seemed to be the “black sheep” of the grappling styles. BJJ, Judo, and Wrestling are all pretty prominent, but Sambo was a rarer find, so to say. The interesting mix of Wrestling styles, Judo and Jiu Jitsu […]

Garry Tonon is a straight up no gi star. Tonon, who is competing this Sunday at the third edition of Submission Underground has proven time and time again that the Danaher Death Squad’s methods are painfully effective. Tonon has won EBI titles at lightweight, welterweight and even light heavyweight. Known for his varied leg attacks […]

This past weekend, Danaher Death Squad black belt, Gordon Ryan returned to his winning ways. After a disappointing loss at the end of 2016 at the hands of Felipe Pena, Gordon has rebounded in a big way. Last weekend, Ryan competed at the sixth edition of the Sapateiro Invitational. The tournament was stacked with great […]

This past weekend was a huge one for Leandro Lo. Lo competed at the 2017 European Open, deciding to compete in both the 94kg and absolute divisions. What would occur can only be called domination. Leandro took first place not only in the 94kg division, defeating Tanner Rice by armbar, but also took first place […]

No gi guard passing can be difficult at times. Unlike passing guard in the gi, there are a severe lack of handles. Collar, belt, and pant grips all disappear which makes guard passing seem futile at times. Once you get familiar with how to survive in and then pass guard, you will become a top […]