THE Best Submissions and Positions Stephan Kesting & Ritchie Yip

Essential Positions We All Must Know, And Are The Pillars Of Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is such a big art. There are so many different techniques, for a new practitioner though, they want to know what particular submissions and positions they should put their time into right away for self defense. Stephan Kesting and Ritchie Yip explain their reasoning behind their favorite submissions and positions for self defense in the two videos below!

Guillotine: Ritchie chooses guillotine because you can do it from standing and the ground and it is so easy to get into. It can be as easy as snapping someone down standing right in front of you straight into it or off of a poorly executed takedown like a front tackle. You do not have to transition a whole lot to get it, it is right there in front of you.

Rear naked choke: Stephan chooses the rear naked choke. He says that even though you have to change your configuration (by taking them down, getting behind them, etc) that it is a safer position because you are now behind your opponent. Explaining that should that person possibly have a weapon, being behind them makes it a little more difficult for them to get you with it as well as the rear naked choke possibly being a quicker submission. Another benefit of the rear naked choke is that you can use it on someone who is attacking somebody else, because you are already behind them.

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Triangle choke: Ritchie explains that if you are fighting on your back and the attacker is intent on striking you, it is easy to catch a triangle choke. From his triangle choke Ritchie can control the distance and range with his hips as well as the attackers hands and posture, as well as actually choking them unconscious.

Armbar: Stephan chooses armbar because it can be done from the top or the bottom from common positions such as hands or arms pinning your throat. He explains that typically, arm bar is easier for people to learn compared to the triangle choke because there are less moving parts in the technique.

Heel hook: Stephan then makes an argument that heel hook should be on the list because of how easily you can destroy someone's leg with it and incapacitate them, especially somebody bigger. He says that it can be hard arm barring a strong opponent, but the ankle with always be weak. Ritchie then says that this technique can be especially effective against someone who is standing over top of you striking you. They show you can easily sweep them from that position, land in ashi garami and finish a heel hook or even transition all the way to a position such as 4/11 and do an inverted heel hook because arguably, that can defeat someone even as big and strong as Brock Lesnar.

Omoplata: rephrasing the question, “what is the perfect submission to hold somebody?” Stephan chooses omoplata because you have them belly down in a shoulder lock with both arms controlled, preventing the attacker from getting up or accessing a weapon. Stephan shows that he can also land significant strikes from here should the situation call for it.

Rear clinch with double underhooks: Stephan explains that the safest spot is behind somebody. From here he can control the attacker and ultimately take him down and either control, submit, or strike from there.

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Side mount: Stephan shows that even though side mount is great for controlling and pinning somebody, it has some deficiencies when the attacker is looking to bite you or if there is a third party of people looking to intervene and attack you because allm the bottom person has to do is hug tightly to your body and stay attached, holding you in place. This position does not give you the option to bail out should you have to.

Knee mount: From knee mount, Stephan puts 90% of his weight into his knee, pinning the attacker, with the rest of his weight on his kickstand leg, allowing it to remain mobile so he can adjust his balance to a bumping and bucking attacker. From knee mount he can then look to strike and assert a ton of pressure, something an untrained person will not be used to dealing with. Stephan then shows that the standard collar and sleeve grip is a pretty good grip for self defense because it allows control, heavy pressure, does not allow the attacker to access a weapon and the ability to defend against strikes and grabs.

Technical mount with gift wrap control: With the gift wrap the attacker cannot hit Stephan, access a weapon with the controlled arm and should the free arm go to deploy a weapon Stephan can see it and and strike the attacker to change his mind to the punches hitting him instead of continuing to dig for a weapon.

Omoplata: Should Kesting have to hold somebody down for a long period of time, his choice position is from the omoplata. From the top mount, if the attacker is hugging your waist (a common untrained reaction) Stephan steps up and pinches with one leg and tosses it over the head, then he uses his verbal commands to put the attacker belly down. Stephan says to use your verbal commands (like a cop would) because an untrained person may not know that their belly is where they need to go to relieve the pain. From here Stephan says that yes he is more tied up with the attacker but the positions gives him great control, the attacker cannot bite him, hit him, or stab him and any time Stephan needs to, he can exert pressure on the shoulder.. Should he have to disengage he shows and easy way to do it. All Stephan does is lean back, release the arm and stand up.

Whether you are new to BJJ or just the self defense aspect of the art, these techniques and the situations shown to get into them are great starting points for anyone. Get in the gym and drill these!

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