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...

Being inside someone’s closed guard is one of the worst places to be.  When we first start training bjj, this is one of the only guards that many people are familiar with and we find ourselves in the closed guard very often.  Many...

Recently, the topic of opening the closed guard has sparked a debate among high level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners.  Keenan Cornelius, who is infamous for his innovative approach and known for his mastery of lapels stated that opening the closed guard on 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...

Let's talk about "old person" jiu jitsu.  I say "old person", because the previously cliched "old man jiu jitsu" is a little out of date, especially with so many female grapplers out there.  We all face the march of time equally, so let's just...

The toe hold and the wrist lock are some of the most powerful submissions in bjj.  You are attacking a lot of bones, joints and ligaments when applying a toe hold or a wrist lock.  The wrist lock in particular is one of...

We all probably know what the arm bar is.  The arm bar is an extremely powerful submission that many people will learn in their first few weeks of bjj.  Mainstream MMA fans are also familiar with the arm bar from the countless fights...

They say that few things are guaranteed in life besides death and taxes.  We here at BJJ Fanatics would also add pressure passing to that list.  When you develop a strong pressure passing game, it will be inevitable that you will pass your...

The Over Under Pass is easily one of the most efficient and versatile guard passes falling under the pressure passing umbrella.  Pressure passing is also one of the most efficient and versatile styles of guard passing for grapplers of all levels and ages. ...

Learning submissions can be one of the best parts of bjj.  So many people believe that submissions are the core of Jiu Jitsu and that the submission is the most important element of bjj.  Whether that is true or not is very subjective,...

Submissions are one of the biggest parts of bjj, and one of the best ways to submit your opponent is by a chokehold.  There are various chokeholds that can be used, whether you are using the gi, doing self-defense, or doing no gi...

Being decent at jiu jitsu is as close to being a magician as many of us will get. The almost effortless application of leverage and angles to get a much larger, unwilling training partner or opponent to completely change their bodily course is...

Pressure passing is one of the best, most effective ways to address any type of guard game your opponents or training partners can employ.  Utilizing the grinding, methodical elements that make up pressure passing against anyone who specializes in closed guard, half guard,...

Chokes are one of the biggest parts of submissions, they are considered by many, the best submission.  This is because they can be utilized against any body no matter how strong they are.  The saying goes “we all have the same arteries.”  What...