The world renowned Jimmy Pedro is a master of everything Judo. The 6th degree black belt and two time Olympic bronze medalist has one of the most comprehensive and complete throwing games of any American Judoka. He also is the Judo coach that has worked extensively with BJJ and Judo star, Travis Stevens. Though he […]

With the recent prevalence of the heel hook in competition grappling, there is one submission that has in some regards fallen by the wayside: the ankle lock.  Many grapplers do not realize the efficiency and devastating power of the ankle lock, because of its legality in lower divisions, and because if done incorrectly it is […]

The first escape that anyone learning mount escapes should be is the shrimp escape. While the bridge escape and  hydraulic escape are both important and need to be learn, the shrimp has to be the number one priority. The shrimp will help you get your hips moving in the correct manner for Jiu Jitsu, and […]

The dead orchard is one of my favorite positions of the new school of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Created by 10th Planet black belt, Nathan Orchard, the position is a super controlling position that gives the user a lot of submission options. This past weekend, I entered a local submission only tournament and used the dead […]

When it comes to grappling arts, modern Brazilian jiu jitsu arguably reigns supreme once a match hits the ground, but it is far from perfect as a stand alone art.  Many of the best jiu jitsu based grapplers in the world pair their BJJ with Judo or wrestling for the purposes of being able to […]

Just about a month ago at the annual BJJ Pro LA tournament, Luiz Panza took home yet another championship win, adding another title to his collection. In his path to the title, he won his division by finishing all of his opponents. But in the finals, his match with Manny Diaz was especially impressive. While […]

When it comes to open guards, X Guard is one of the most dynamic. The position made famous by Marcelo Garcia, is a very flexible guard. When you get to it, a variety of sweeps and submissions become available to you. The other awesome aspect of the X Guard is that it can transfer easily […]

Rashguards to a no gi grappler is similar to how a superhero wears his costume. They are an integral part of our training. There are a plethora of options when it comes to them as well. Different companies, different designs, and of course, the different sleeve lengths. Sleeve lengths might seem trivial, but it is […]

The hip escape is single handedly one of the best escapes in all of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The hip escape works as a mount escape, side control prevention and the motion is the basis for most Jiu Jitsu techniques. It is day one stuff. In your first few BJJ classes that you’ve done, you probably […]

Royce Gracie black belt, Matt Arroyo is not only a great competitor but also a great teacher. Matt has shown time and time again that is he a super knowledgeable about the many facets of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. From the advanced techniques all the way to the basic fundamentals, he has some fantastic details on […]

Any experienced Jiu Jitsu competitor knows how dangerous the various open guards can be. When you try to pass the guard of a good open guard player, you can quickly see how tricky that it can be. While you need to learn how to pass guard, there is one tool that can work well as […]

Travis Stevens is one of the most badass dudes in modern grappling today. He is a Judo black belt, Judo Olympian with a silver medal, and a BJJ black belt under John Danaher. Travis has also competed in NAGA, Grappler’s Quest and Copa Podio. He has a very well rounded game. Chokes, leg locks, throws […]

For those of you who check out the many articles on BJJ Fanatics, you have probably seen one of the pieces that I’ve written. In addition to writing, I am a BJJ purple belt who has competed in BJJ, Submission Wrestling (no gi), MMA, Kickboxing and Boxing. Out of everything, I have mainly competed in […]

There is a style of guard play that has become extremely popular in recent years in jiu jitsu, the Z-Guard.  The Z-Guard is a position in which the guard player has an open half guard with their top leg framed at an angle across their opponent.  Why is this guard so effective?  And what does […]

One of the new school positions that I am a big fan of is the dead orchard. It was created by Eddie Bravo black belt, Nathan Orchard. If you haven’t seen it, it is quite the tight position to achieve. It essentially is a triangle choke with both of the opponent’s arms in, with one […]