Does your BJJ academy or school spend a lot of time on practicing escapes?  If you're school is like most, the bulk of instructional time is spent focusing on learning techniques and positions.  For most of our jiu jitsu development, we are busy...

There's an old tradition called Spring Cleaning that you may have heard of where one spends time at the first sign of warm weather cleaning and organizing their home and lives.  It's a great opportunity to take a look at any clutter or...

We talk alot about half guard here at BJJ Fanatics. And this is for good reason.  Half guard works against BJJ athletes of all skill levels and most importantly can be implemented by practitioners of all levels.  With a stable of athletes like...

Hell may have officially frozen over.  One of the most successful BJJ and grappling coaches and instructors, John Danaher has joined forces with BJJ Fanatics to share his entire leg lock system. This highly anticipated instructional is slated to be nearly 10 hours...

Everywhere you look people are using half guard.  You can barely swing your belt around the mats without hitting someone who is working half guard from the bottom or top.  Bottom players are utilizing their hooks to keep their opponents from passing the...

Half guard is easily one of the most popular styles of guard and games being played today.  What was once seen as simply a desperate attempt to not have one's guard passed, has over the years developed into an extremely effective position ripe...

When should you start learning leg locks?  The simple answer is today.  End of blog.  Just kidding.  There are many more factors to consider, so we're here to help you out. Let's look at the actual complexities of this question to flesh out...

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few years and paid zero attention to BJJ competitions and trends, you have no doubt watched the incredible rise in attention that the lower half of the body has been getting in jiu...

The De La Riva guard has long been regarded as one of the earliest and most well-developed versions of open guard that have existed in the history of BJJ.  Popularized by its namesake Ricardo de la Riva who is credited with being the...

The leg weave pass is a powerful antidote to an opponent's half guard or Z guard.  By weaving your arm underneath their top knee shield leg and down over to either secure a grip on the bottom hook leg or all the way...

The use of half guard and all of its variations is all the rage right now.  More and more jiu jitsu practitioners are following the lead of Roberto "Gordo" Correa who was the first well-known competitor who began to popularize the half guard...

Pressure is one of the most important concepts you must ingrain into your mind and body when you train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Whether you are attempting to maintain a specific position such as side control or mount, advance to a new position by...

There are literally thousands upon thousands of jiu jitsu moves and positions.  And it can be argued that each of these moves might have thousands of nuances and variations.  As we continue to train and develop, we are exposed to more and more...

The more sweeps and submissions you can add to your game plan the more well-rounded and prepared you will be for the possible reactions your opponent can present to you.  Half guard is a deceptively simple and seemingly lazy position, where the bottom half...

Are you a fan of half guard?  Half guard can provide you with a super strong, but secure position that can withstand the onslaught of an aggressively passing opponent.  As you may or may not be aware, the bottom hook leg is absolutely...