For those of us who enjoy the x guard, you might find yourself wondering at how you can become better with the position. The x guard is such a valuable position to achieve and succeed with. There are plenty of sweeps, so if you’re a top player, it will help you get there without wasting […]

The arm drag is one of the best used weapons in all of grappling. From Jiu Jitsu to Wrestling, the arm drag is beneficial to any grappling competitor. On the ground, the arm drag is known for back takes, sweep options and some submissions, but standing it can be just as useful. The arm drag […]

Being stuck in side control is one of the worst feeling spots in all of Jiu Jitsu. The shoulder pressure on your face, the weight of your opponent and all of the possibilities of getting submitted from the position makes it a terrible place to be. That’s where your escapes come into play. If you […]

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 […]

Anyone that is a little guy in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu should become very friendly with the deep half guard. Deep half allows a smaller practitioner to easily manipulate and move a bigger opponent. Applicable in both gi and no gi, deep half has been the favored half guard position of world champions such as Bernardo […]