Yes, the title is long.  This is no coincidence. It's an article about John Danaher, the resident mad scientist who seemingly spends the majority of his day in the 'blue dungeon' of Renzo Gracie's New York City academy honing the skills of a...

Let's face it, half guard is one of the most effective guard systems for BJJ players of all levels to use if they want to keep those opponents at a safe distance and prevent their guard passes.  Once you've got the fundamental concepts...

Leg locks are all the rage nowadays.  One can barely open up social media without seeing John Danaher's face on a meme or in a video talking about his philosophy of leg attacks.  If you're someone new to the leg game or perhaps...

Half guard is an extremely effective guard style that grew out of the basic need to prevent someone from completing a guard pass.  What was once the last ditch use of one's legs to hook one leg of the opponent's body tightly to...

Perennial jiu jitsu competition fan favorite and social media powerhouse,Tom DeBlass executed a flawless performance at Fight To Win Pro 72 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania recently.  His use of half guard to set up a devastating outside heel hook was a virtual clinic.  He...

In simplest terms, the guard in BJJ serves to keep distance between us and our opponents, typically by using our legs and hips as the first line of defense, supplemented by our arms and the grips of our hands.  The guard can be...

There is an old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me." that can be applied to one's BJJ development.  As we progress, we are constantly adding more and more techniques to our knowledge base in an effort...

One of the most important keys to success in BJJ is having a solid, well-developed guard pass arsenal.  Being able to effectively nullify an opponent's most powerful weapons (their legs and hips) is key to putting yourself in the best possible position to...

The butterfly guard is often considered one of the classic guard games in BJJ.  The use of the feet or hooks to elevate an opponent or work to stay connected can be traced back to the pre-BJJ days of Judo's ground techniques.  Butterfly...

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...

De La Riva or DLR guard has become extremely popular these days.  More and more people are refining this position and using it to win tournaments and do a bunch of fancy movements.  The DLR guard utilizes a hook coming from the outside...

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...

Half guard can be one of the best and worst places to start initiating a guard pass.  Some people have made a career from forcing half guard and smashing people from there.  This is a common method of passing by a lot of...

The half guard is basic, right?  We all learn this position as a white belt in the fundamental class so it must be easy, right?  Wrong.  The half guard is one of the most basic guards in bjj and it is one of...

All of us have probably heard of the half guard and many of us are probably even familiar with it.  Why is the half guard such a popular position?  What are the benefits and are there any negatives?  We have seen that the...