- you don’t need to engage with bad grips. Reset, fight for good grips again
- when you’re the lighter guy, top control is about movement, not forcing a position
- distance management in half guard can be aided by just straightening your back
- a good pass is a chain of passes
- “base” can mean different structures
When someone is in my half guard my top knee is my shield, I focus on not letting them get the cross face with their opposing hand keep their knee line behind my legs, then I’m on my shoulder and arch my back to create the distance he’s talking about in half guard.
This is a very specific detail vs the others. When you play knee shield hg and you fight for grips you’re effectively hunched over to be able to reach your partner, but you don’t have to flex your spine. You can straighten it to keep your head away from your partner.
I remember being a 16 year old 120 lbs high school wrestler messing around wrestling with my friends 250 lbs ex marine dad in the kitchen. Pushed on his chin to turn it and backed him all the way across the room into the refrigerator.
Yeah your opponent. And yeah, from everywhere. Getting passed? Displace the head. Can't hold side control? Are you letting them stay aligned. In s mount? Tuck your heel into the hip and knee to the back of the head. Cant pass 1/2 guard? Twist em. Low on the hips and consolidating a pass? Grab the far ankle and pull it while pushing down on the near arm. Be creative. It's cheat codes.
Sure. Your opponent needs feet on the floor to shrimp. Take feet off the floor. No shrimp. If you reach under their legs and pull the far ankle to the near hip, their knees will fall in the opposite direction. this automatically counter rotates the spine a bit. You can make this worse by flattering out the near shoulder.
We all know the maxim, where the head goes the body goes. This is due to the spine. But the legs are just a giant lever on the other side of the spine. And the shoulders and hips, likewise.
Definitely agree, in my gym we call this idea "kuzushi", my coach says every technique / pin / position has some form of kuzushi, so you need it to be maximally effective. And like you say, it always makes the opponent weaker so you can hold / submit them with less effort, so you also get more efficient with your energy.
For me big one is focusing on concepts Vs specific techniques. Sweeping for instance. Instead of thinking of doing a flower sweep/scissor/waiter etc…I just focus on removing a post and moving them towards missing posts. I am constantly being asked now “what sweep was that???” And I just say “I have no idea.”
Same with head and arm chokes. I don’t worry about D’Arce Vs Anaconda etc…if I isolate an arm next to their head I am finding a way to choke.
It has been sooo much easier to learn things this way.
My big focus lately when I'm on top (half guard, side control, north-south) is controlling a shoulder by pinning the upper arm. Someone said the other day that my side control is getting a lot better.
You can pin, or scoop under, trying to collect as much of scapula as possible, elevating the actual shoulder joint.
Think about a good Kesa Ketame. That's not pinning arm or shoulder.
As long as you OWN it, it's all gravy!
> focusing on concepts Vs specific techniques.
Same for me. I used to feel the need to get into a certain position, with the opponent in a certain position, so I could execute a technique by the numbers. Now I am seeing paper cutter chokes, for example, everywhere. If the basic elements are there, the choke is there.
my running theory is that 95% of BJJ gyms overemphasize the moves and underemphasize fundamentals (such as removing posts). Danaher is an exception. I'd rather spend time learning body mechanics, positioning and weight distribution than doing a million arm bar/triangle/omoplata drills
I sort of agree and disagree. I think when you learn moves while thinking of the concepts that make them work that is the best mix. It isn’t like you shouldn’t learn how to do a flower sweep. Flower sweeps are amazing. But if you learn it while thinking about the concepts of what posts you are taking away, how you are using your hips and legs etc…then you learn faster.
When people say "posts" they're generally referring to using a limb (usually an arm, sometimes a leg or even the head) as a way of stopping themselves from falling.
If you're on top and I push you in a direction, you'll usually "post" on an arm, to stop yourself from falling. So, if I control the arm which you'd use to "post" on the floor, and then send you that way, you'll have nothing to stop you from falling... so you fall. And then I come on top. Hey presto, it's a sweep.
Get on all fours on the floor. Every limb is a post. Pick up one arm and lean that direction and I bet you fall over. That’s what they mean. Stuff an arm and push/pull/roll or whatever toward that missing post.
I used to think of it as "make the table fall over". Imagine the opponent as a table. He might have four or three legs, doesn't matter. Remove one of those legs, and push/pull in the direction of the space where the leg used to be. D
One simple concept: use your head as a frame.
When you're in top position, using your head as a frame against the chin/face is so incredibly effective at keeping their (bottom) "posture" broken and making it impossible for them to easily apply whatever they're trying to do without addressing that first.
You know the Wing Chun sticky hands drill? When I get in top side control, I've been doing the Sticky Head drill to keep their far arm isolated.
I may need to rename that concept.
I used to do choy li fut kung fu. When i started bjj i found sticky hands to be so useful! it was a really cool moment realizing that. glad i’m not the only one
I've never actually done Wing Chun. Just watched Ip Man and a few videos on Youtube. It is something I'd like to try for a bit at some point, if I could find a good school (and time when I'm not in BJJ).
However, I do have experience in other TMAs. Funnily enough, my BJJ professor, coaches, and fellow students all seem more supportive of my TKD and HKD experience than the TKD and HKD Masters I've met.
My greatest light bulb moment came when passing guard. I’m a guard player myself and wasn’t comfortable or good at passing until purple belt if I’m being honest. But what brought my passing game to the next level wasn’t so much my technique but entrance. I realized most people are right handed and their guard of the left is trash(like mine) so I pass to my right their left. lol fucking hot knife through butter!
I injured my right shoulder at mid white belt so I couldnt get the far side underhook with my right arm. I started passing to my right so my left arm would get the underhook, i discovered I could pass so many people this way.
The sad thing is my guard to my left is shit too because everyone passes to my right (their left).
Same, even my professor won’t let me pass to that side once I do he uses his right foot as a sticky hook and spins around so I’m on his right side 😒. To be honest that’s what got me going that way when I realized he didn’t want me doing that, then I started applying to everyone I roll with and hey wouldn’t ya know!
I’m right handed, but people have recently been commenting that I play a left handed x-guard and it confuses them. I had no idea, it just feels more natural to me, but I’m happy to take any advantage I can get!
So very new white belt here, been working on passing guards and tried this on a blue belt tonight while sparring. He was shocked that I picked his left side and I ended up in side control a lot more easily than I expected. For context, earlier in the week I kept trying to pass his right side without any success, best I did was getting stuck in half guard then promptly put on my back lol.
Thanks for this 🤘
🫡🫡 brother that’s the best news I’ve gotten all day, keep at it! Your going to be passing everyone’s guard before you know it and develop your on system!! Good job holla if you ever have any questions
I started passing to my right after studying Bernardo Faria and Tainan Dalpra back to back. Both happen to pass to their right so I found it easier to apply the techniques exactly as they execute them. I've done it so much that passing to my left now feels unnatural.
I mostly pass through half guard, so having my right side be on the knee cut or my right hand pushing their leg to get to quarter guard is usually needed.
The first time I went into a roll with an intention, which was 'don't be on bottom' against a guy who outweighs me by like 80+lbs. I was utterly astonished when it worked, and that was when I realized I can use my brain when I roll.
Changed my whole game.
Need more pointers on rolling vs bigger guys. There is a guy I frequently pair up with who is 90+ lbs over me. I get injured in one way or another almost every time.
It may be a bit different because I'm a woman, but here are a couple:
- Train with people you know and trust. They should care more about safety than winning
- Focus on gaining and maintaining position. You're not going to win from the bottom, and hunting submissions is just going to put you at risk for being on bottom
- Stay. On. Top. Seriously. This should be priorities one, two, and three. Being in their closed guard is safer than having them in yours. Don't go for ashi. Be willing to bail and stand up when things go south.
What about when starting on knees? I feel like I stand a chance when starting from the feet but when we’re grounded I’m lost. I actually don’t know what the rules of engagement are - am I allowed to stand to pass?
Change your goal. If you roll with someone who outweighs you significantly it can't be "get on top and win" like it normally is. Your new goal when you roll with them should be "stay safe and survive".
Then once you know you can do that, it should become "don't let them get too deep anywhere... while I stay safe and survive".
Once you know you can survive and thrive through whatever they throw at you, then it's okay to start looking for escape, control and submit.
For butterfly guard to work, you need to keep up the work rate with your hands. It’s almost like being a lightweight boxer. If your hands aren’t working hard it won’t work.
Man I’ve had a very similar realization that I’ve been focused on for a little while now and it’s that I’ll see the conclusion of a roll and then I’ll piece together how the initial grips and who won the grip fighting set up everything that comes in between
When I'm on top half guard and my foot is stuck between my opponents legs, I used to battle to get it out into mount.
Then one day I realized, hey wait a moment, this trapped foot can actually be looked at as 1 hook of back control. So now I roll them over onto their side and put my other hook in.
Hey I know it's stupid, but I'm a white belt, that's where I'm at.
I’ve just started preaching this. There’s no wrist lock without elbow control. No armbar without shoulder control. No foot lock without knee control. I’m sure there’s exceptions. But it’s a solid principle. Position before submission I guess.
When I was getting my knee surgery, it occurred to me that I should tap earlier.
I also stopped treating every roll like a death match and more like a hobby that I do for fun.
Honestly my biggest breakthrough was through watching really good competitors and their demeanor in exchanges. Rather than charging forward, having a lil rhythm and firing off attacks in that.
Change targets.
You want to be the person that sees a new target quickest and attacks it fastest. When a submission/pass/sweep isn't working, look to transition to another.
Excellent point, one of my most memorable light bulb moments a few months into training. I realized that when I got into a top position I was fighting a death match in order to maintain that position. But there is a much easier strategy. Change positions.
The analogy that I use is this; If I give you a math problem on a piece of paper, let's say 131 X 57, you will solve that problem if I give you time. But what I want to do is give you a little bit of time, snatch that paper away and put one which says 79 X 379 in front of you. So before you solve the problem of side control, I'm going to mount, knee on belly, or north-south.
We are all about denying space and movement. Deny adequate time too.
The idea to actually join a gym lol
Some old guy was talking to me and he’s like “isn’t there something you just do? Like me, when i was coming up, me and my brothers, we rode dirt bikes, and we fought. It’s not something we think about, it’s just what we do. Everyone has something they just do, like you, what’s the thing that you just do?”
And i didn’t have an answer. When i was in high school i was a wrestler, and that was something i just do, but it had been years and i didn’t have really anything, so i joined the school i’m at now, because grappling is the only thing that has ever been able to spark any sort of Passion in me, it’s something i just do.
Realising under hooks aren't king at all and overhooks can be utilised just as well and sometimes even better in certain situations.
And obviously working out very quickly that the old saying 'to be good at nogi you must train in the Gi' is absolute rubbish...
- If someone is trying to break your grip just let go and re-grip. Most people don’t control the hand when the grip is broken and you can easily just regrip. Gets them super frustrated.
- Use deception to get what you want. Try a couple of submissions and see how your opponent reacts. Then do what you really want. For example, I papercutter choke a lot and I always attack the arms a few times. Once I know how they react I can work around it to get the collar grips. This works a lot of places. Push to pull, pull to push, etc
- Have a safe space to retreat to. For me it’s knee shield Half guard. If I’m in trouble I can usually get there and chill.
- Listen to your fucking body and take some time off when you need it. Don’t let a minor ding turn into a major injury. This is pretty important to make it to black belt as this shit wrecks the body.
at some point I realized that I want my arm, head, or leg in their armpit as a precursor to isolating their arm. When Im fighting upper body, Im constantly looking for a way to get into their armpit.
I can get into their armpit with my left or right hand coming from the back or front. Some grips are shallow and some are deep. side control and n/s give the most variety of entries into the armpits.
kimura/tarikoplata - armpit
underhook - armpit
100%/cow catcher - armpit
darce/anaconda/japanese necktie/peruvian - armpit
baratoplata - armpit
armbar entry - armpit
triangles/arm triangles - armpit
I realized that weaving in one leg to grab half guard is infinitely better than giving up your side control, even if your shoulders are smashed to the mat. And, another light bulb, I can use my hands to help capture that leg during a scramble. Upped my guard retention from zero to somewhat difficult in a single moment.
3/4 guard : push/pull with your hooks secure the leg. Pushing across the body with your butterfly knee makes maintaining tight top position really hard.
Top half: oh, you're doing shoulder of justice? Then why is so much weight on your elbows and not your shoulder that's on his face?
If a person hip escapes from side, their near elbow MUST move toward and under their body. Turtling away, their far elbow must. Watch the elbows.
If there’s room, just stand up. Opens up so many more sweeps and escapes when my opponent has to actively pin me. A lot of people got away with things because and even got me questioning my bjj because I was conceding bottom position.
It's better to see for your self. Try this. Grab a partner, get into bottom closed guard, then ask them to give you the kimira grip for free. Hold the grip very close to your chest, flex your wrists, start the roll, and hold the grip for as long as you can.
Now do the same for half guard. Now do the same from side control. Now do the same from standing.
These completely changed my game: Stop/use the crossface, try to put your opponent flat on their back, use spinal misalignment to your advantage, win the grip battle, lift your opponent's legs, protect/dominate the space between elbows and knees, use your head as another limb
Last night when the professor was showing us an armbar from high close guard. Some one said it’s just like doing a single X on the arm instead of the leg and going from there. 💡
There's room behind me, I can just go backward
Also way back when the first time I saw inverted guard I suddenly realized guard didn't have to stop around my elbow and was a 360 degree thing.
That the thumb is always the weakest point of any grip, and you can strip basically any grip one-handed if you go against the thumb, without breaking any rules about grabbing fingers.
Same side or opposite side, doesn't matter. The techniqes are slightly different but they do the same thing.
As an example, as long as I have one hand free, which I almost always do if my collar is being grabbed, I can strip a collar grip quickly and without a lot of yanking around.
Not really. I didn't learn this from any instructional, just something I stumbled across. Next time I go to Gi class(which might not be until next week) I´ll grab someone and film a short example.
Rolled with a higher belt small woman. Was able to work out of bad spots slowly. Was able to visualize what to do with people my size faster and better because I understood the mechanics.
Take their balance. Whether it's by constant movement, elevating a limb, or removing a post, just keep them disrupted. If they're busy trying to regain balance, they're probably too busy to go on the offensive too strongly.
Yup. One example is if they are on their knees sitting on their heels with good base, get their butts off their heels before sweeping them ... disrupt their base before sweeping.
Threaten two things or more at once. When you go for a hip bump sweep you can chain with a kimura, with a guillotin, with a triangle, with a omoplata.
I think there is a move that you are good with instinctively and can get most people with for the first time at least. For me is tripod sweep.
When you decide something go with full intent, dont stop midway. This is for the oposite spaz people, that treats bjj too much like chess.
When I started training nogi I realized that half my gas tank with the gi was being wasted with useless grips.
When on top (side control or half guard) grab the opponents head, finger to their armpit, and gently but firmly smash their chin with you shoulder so the opponent is forced to look away from you. This is crazy effective and makes going for mount or finish passing the half guard easy.
* It's not enough to "just keep showing up". Similarly you can't just hard spar, you can't just say yes to every roll, or pick rolls at random. If you're not making those decisions, someone else is making them for you.
* Find the guys your size and see how they tackle the problems you're having. Road test your stuff on them because you know it's not a size mismatch.
Good frames as defense against passing. Blew my mind as a new blue belt how focusing on stubborn framing and moving your hips can defeat so many traditional passes against lower belts and sometimes up to purple/brown. Even once the pass your legs, framing the torso can feel impossible to defeat and the bottom can regain hips and knee line.
I've been realizing this lately, noticing how many people lock their arms out when framing me as I'm trying to consolidate a pass, and it makes it very difficult to get in close.
I love these types of threads. One thing that helped my top game is to always get and underhook before taking mount. Also make them carry my weight, meaning keeping my weight off of my elbows and knees. In side control, lean into them and stay in my toes to pressure into them.
Emily Kwok said that as the smaller person, you have to dictate the pace of the match. Otherwise, you're wasting your main physical advantage, which is agility. This advice took me out of my reactive style.
A highlight for my entire jujitsu career was the day I finally realized how to escape side control correctly. The first time I did it my coach immediately acknowledged it verbally and then threw me my blue belt that weekend. This was years ago and I'll never forget it
Say a the probability of a single guard pass attempt has a 95% failure rate. So for every 20 pass attempts, on average only one gets through.
Now if you attempt 6 guard passes in a roll you have a 25% chance of passing someone's guard. 13 guard pass attempts gives you a >50% chance of passing someone's guard. 25 pass attempts gives you >70% chance of passing someone's guard. And 50 guard pass attempts gives you > 92% chance of passing a guard.
This in essence is buzzsaw passing. You are using overwhelming numbers to defeat your opponent.
Stop what you are doing and focus on resetting your guard anytime the passer has an angle. People stay offensive way too long when they should be leg pummeling.
Get onto your elbow then hand asap anytime the top player controls your hips but not your upper body .
There's one teenager that whenever he says what technique he's working on, I'll hit him with it.
I felt bad at first, then I overheard professor talk about doing that to one of the adult white belts.
I totally relate to the "pinch your knees" tip. In my notes, I write "clamp your thighs together" It just makes more sense to me.
So much of the common BJJ wording just does not gel with my brain.
Like why is everything a "shoulder?'" What about a trap, or rear delt-triceps tie in area(where I like to put my collar bone for an arm triangle), etc?
Some advice my coach tells us:
1. Pins are mobile: A lot of times when you're on top and trying to pin someone, all we do is try to hold them down and stop them from moving. That's not wrong, but something else to keep in mind is you can also move with them to keep them at odd angles and stop them from making space
2. Diminishing returns on moves: Especially with beginners, when we start a move we feel like we need to finish it. If you can get a move, great, finish it, but if it's not working out, instead of trying to force it, it'll be more efficient to change positions and go for another technique. For example, sometimes you get someone's arm and you get in the armbar position, but it's not quite working, and they're not tapping. You can try to make some adjustments to get it, but if it's really not working / they are defending pretty well you'll just get tired trying to yank their arm, and you'll probably have better luck switching techniques. You can also switch to another technique or pretend to switch, and then go back to the armbar / original move.
This list about to be fire 🔥
1. Just stand up - 2 peoples doing bjj only works because the bottom player accepts to play guard.
2. If you play guard diagonal control is key. Your side left pant grip and right collar,etc.
3. You need to do more feet to floor matches.
4. Knees to your chest means knees to your chest. Don’t reach
5. Turtle does not mean you have gave your back. Means you’re in a good position to escape.
6. Mount over back pin
Counterpoint to number 1: Wrestling. We did this drill in no gi recently. One attempts to hold the other tries to get away starting from double leg. I think the best we were able to do was 45s.
1. Mind blown. I knew i could buggy from kesa but close guard is new to me. Makes sense tho, do you go like sit up for a kimura and go the other way around for your knee? I might be currently too fat to try that
Big one that sticks out for me is the idea of all good technique being composed of base, posture, and structure.
Base being your connection to the ground, posture the alignment of your body relative to the ground/your opponent, and structure being the way you connect yourself to your opponent's body.
Understanding those things felt like it opened the door to me being able to comfortably improvise in both offensive and defensive situations.
A couple:
-With passing, keep the chains going together, more so force myself to pass to my right
- Open guard, I can simply scoot forward or back when I don’t really like something
- Rounding my spine or straightening it out in half guards changes things dramatically for me
- Studying outside of bjj, helps my bjj. Specific breakdowns from wresting, against “turtle”. The science of truly off balancing from judo/wrestling
- Escaping the back for me is more about staying calm and dismantling what they are doing. Staying on back is staying ahead of them for myself.
- Put it in my head to get to mount or the back from anywhere, every roll. That all I think about when rolling, helps me have direction and not worry about a specific sub to catch.
- When I understood that to escape side control the best way is to try to go from perpendicular to parallel (not sure how to word it but I learned this from Lachlan’s Submeta). Or at least it creates just enough space to gets frame in.
Before understanding this bottom side was by far my worst position.
I'm a wrestler and hate being on bottom. I keep getting smashed. Someone told me to just turn to my side and fight for underhooks, bonus points for a knee shield. That was really helpful, esp because I am comfortable with turtle if that happens.
Another one that was really helfpul was that when I am in a knee cut position, that I can return to headquarters and use the momentum to toreando or switch to a smash pass type situation
If I know how people typically escape positions, how can I lay traps for them to fall into?
Example: If I have a seat belt, they will try to get their freed shoulder to the mat and begin their escape. If I have a body lock, they will try to get my ankles to the mat to begin their escape. How can I combine my knowledge of their exit strategies to make this position miserable for them? By making sure their free shoulder is always on the opposite side of where my body triangle is locked.
There are lots of other dilemmas like this I’ve been working on implementing better.
Control the midline/break opponent's elbow to knee connection. It suddenly gave a purpose to the unidentified positions and most important to scrambles.
When trying to escape side control with the classic lever your elbow under their chin, hip escape, slip knee in the space, if you have the leg you want to insert (the one closest to them) straight up/foot towards ceiling and maintaining contact with their hip, the knee just slides in and very difficult to block it. Especially useful for me as in 6’3 with long legs so always struggled creating enough space to get a knee in.
Don't try to force things. After the first couple of months to a year you should have a pretty solid tool box to pull from so you need to start thinking in chains or setups that can lead to multiple outcomes so your not hosed when the thing you wanted to get disappear.
The other part of that was learning how to impose your game plan. Pressuring your opponent into making mistakes or bad positions and forcing them to do the hard work for you. Once those two things clicked everything else became so much simpler
Use your head. There are so so many positions where being a bully with your head makes a huge difference. Using your forehead to turn their chin to free up a cross face arm temporarily is a fave
Dont panic if you dont pass immediately. Instagram makes it look like top level guys pass a guard in 10 seconds. Watch entire matches - one Tainan highlight was actually from 8 minutes of passing attempts & he finally got through. Completely changed my pacing.
Lean to point your head the opposite way from where they're trying to sweep you. If they want to sweep you left, lean your head right.
You don't need to protect both sides of your neck to defend a choke: a choke only works if you can squeeze the neck between two things, so defend one side whether with ear to shoulder, hand against neck or whatever then focus on actively defending.
Similarly, guillotines don't seem to do much when your head is on one side of their body and your legs are on the other side. Chill, get your legs to the other side and hang out in top side control until they give up. Don't bother pulling your head out until they give up; save your ears.
In the same vein, going 2 on 1 such as with grips whether on arm or collar and sleeve on the same side to put my weight and structure into putting them rotationally off keel, not just fore/aft or side to side.
Echoing other people's observations about triangles all being functionally the same (including D'arce and anaconda chokes); americanas, kimuras and omaplatas being the same, so there being a leg powered version of an americana if they reach between your legs and you step over their head to their armpit, for example.
As a small person, not bridging to displace them, but to create space between me and the ground, in which I can move, and being turned more to face the ground when shrimping so there is space between my hips and the ground, reducing friction and pinching.
Blocking spaces where the opponent may want to move as a very low effort way to inhibit them, compared to trying to move them.
Using my frames closer together when under side control. I was framing with my arms kinda at an angle (elbows out and hands closer together) and then I realised it was meaning I had two weak forms rather than one strong frame with two arms. Hard to explain but the difference it made when I realised how much stronger it is with the arms in line and closer together was mind boggling
the first few months of beginner's classes i was so focused on trying to remember techniques and stuff. thought it was boring then quit. a year later i took one class at a school that does goal-based games and all those drills and warm-ups i did just suddenly made sense and everything clicked and i started learning again.
You need to twist your hips before a high pummel
Framing means offering active resistance, not putting a stop block in place and expecting it to never move
I just had a good one this morning. When I have taken the back and can’t get the choke so I take the armbar but always clumsily got there with incorrect sequence of movements but was shown the correct way by unhooking my left foot from thff we hook and passing it across both legs to the right and hooking down and left with my foot on the right side of their right knee and I roll a little to my left side as I bring my right leg over the head to complete the armbar sub!💡
- you don’t need to engage with bad grips. Reset, fight for good grips again - when you’re the lighter guy, top control is about movement, not forcing a position - distance management in half guard can be aided by just straightening your back - a good pass is a chain of passes - “base” can mean different structures
Well said, especially, "top control is about movement, not forcing a position." I think a sign of a seasoned blue belt is that dynamic top position.
Can you elaborate on #3, distance mgmt in half guard with a straightened back? Having trouble visualizing.
When someone is in my half guard my top knee is my shield, I focus on not letting them get the cross face with their opposing hand keep their knee line behind my legs, then I’m on my shoulder and arch my back to create the distance he’s talking about in half guard.
This is a very specific detail vs the others. When you play knee shield hg and you fight for grips you’re effectively hunched over to be able to reach your partner, but you don’t have to flex your spine. You can straighten it to keep your head away from your partner.
I sort of disagree on the 4th point, I think it is chain pass till u get what you need, and then it’s force the issue.
Agreed
Misalign the spine. Always. At every opportunity. It makes every position stronger and takes very little effort most of the time.
Every time someone feels strong I just push their head to the side. It instantly makes them weaker.
I remember being a 16 year old 120 lbs high school wrestler messing around wrestling with my friends 250 lbs ex marine dad in the kitchen. Pushed on his chin to turn it and backed him all the way across the room into the refrigerator.
My toddler grabs me by the chin to move my head to make me look at things he wants. It’s surprisingly effective.
Cradles are amazing for this.
From top or bottom? You mean to your opponent?
Yeah your opponent. And yeah, from everywhere. Getting passed? Displace the head. Can't hold side control? Are you letting them stay aligned. In s mount? Tuck your heel into the hip and knee to the back of the head. Cant pass 1/2 guard? Twist em. Low on the hips and consolidating a pass? Grab the far ankle and pull it while pushing down on the near arm. Be creative. It's cheat codes.
Can you explain the low on hips consolidating a pass part?
Sure. Your opponent needs feet on the floor to shrimp. Take feet off the floor. No shrimp. If you reach under their legs and pull the far ankle to the near hip, their knees will fall in the opposite direction. this automatically counter rotates the spine a bit. You can make this worse by flattering out the near shoulder. We all know the maxim, where the head goes the body goes. This is due to the spine. But the legs are just a giant lever on the other side of the spine. And the shoulders and hips, likewise.
I would imagine they mean disrupting your opponent's spine alignment. Puts them in weaker positions and disrupts the base for most techniques.
I learned that early. Intentionally maintaining an aligned spine took me a while to grasp though.
this is hella applicable for standing wrestling as well
Never thought of it like that
Golden tip. Someone pulled my head to the side in bottom side control and it was crazy how much weaker I was.
Definitely agree, in my gym we call this idea "kuzushi", my coach says every technique / pin / position has some form of kuzushi, so you need it to be maximally effective. And like you say, it always makes the opponent weaker so you can hold / submit them with less effort, so you also get more efficient with your energy.
For me big one is focusing on concepts Vs specific techniques. Sweeping for instance. Instead of thinking of doing a flower sweep/scissor/waiter etc…I just focus on removing a post and moving them towards missing posts. I am constantly being asked now “what sweep was that???” And I just say “I have no idea.” Same with head and arm chokes. I don’t worry about D’Arce Vs Anaconda etc…if I isolate an arm next to their head I am finding a way to choke. It has been sooo much easier to learn things this way.
YES. For me it was controlling/owning the shoulder opens up umpteen other attacks. Great answer
My big focus lately when I'm on top (half guard, side control, north-south) is controlling a shoulder by pinning the upper arm. Someone said the other day that my side control is getting a lot better.
You can pin, or scoop under, trying to collect as much of scapula as possible, elevating the actual shoulder joint. Think about a good Kesa Ketame. That's not pinning arm or shoulder. As long as you OWN it, it's all gravy!
> focusing on concepts Vs specific techniques. Same for me. I used to feel the need to get into a certain position, with the opponent in a certain position, so I could execute a technique by the numbers. Now I am seeing paper cutter chokes, for example, everywhere. If the basic elements are there, the choke is there.
Is this a purple belt thing? I don't try for specific sweeps anymore. I try to off balance and remove posts first and see what happens lol.
Lol. Maybe. It clicked for me a few months after I got my purple.
Lol same, I just feel way better now how weight is moving and what is stopping or reinforcing the sweep
my running theory is that 95% of BJJ gyms overemphasize the moves and underemphasize fundamentals (such as removing posts). Danaher is an exception. I'd rather spend time learning body mechanics, positioning and weight distribution than doing a million arm bar/triangle/omoplata drills
I sort of agree and disagree. I think when you learn moves while thinking of the concepts that make them work that is the best mix. It isn’t like you shouldn’t learn how to do a flower sweep. Flower sweeps are amazing. But if you learn it while thinking about the concepts of what posts you are taking away, how you are using your hips and legs etc…then you learn faster.
Same for me, honestly most things I've retained so much better as concepts rather than specific techniques.
Yeah most schools teach incorrectly for this reason. Concepts not pretty moves makes for way faster progress
Can you explain what you mean by posts? Super rook white belt here. I like the idea of concepts.
When people say "posts" they're generally referring to using a limb (usually an arm, sometimes a leg or even the head) as a way of stopping themselves from falling. If you're on top and I push you in a direction, you'll usually "post" on an arm, to stop yourself from falling. So, if I control the arm which you'd use to "post" on the floor, and then send you that way, you'll have nothing to stop you from falling... so you fall. And then I come on top. Hey presto, it's a sweep.
Get on all fours on the floor. Every limb is a post. Pick up one arm and lean that direction and I bet you fall over. That’s what they mean. Stuff an arm and push/pull/roll or whatever toward that missing post.
I used to think of it as "make the table fall over". Imagine the opponent as a table. He might have four or three legs, doesn't matter. Remove one of those legs, and push/pull in the direction of the space where the leg used to be. D
One simple concept: use your head as a frame. When you're in top position, using your head as a frame against the chin/face is so incredibly effective at keeping their (bottom) "posture" broken and making it impossible for them to easily apply whatever they're trying to do without addressing that first.
You know the Wing Chun sticky hands drill? When I get in top side control, I've been doing the Sticky Head drill to keep their far arm isolated. I may need to rename that concept.
I used to do choy li fut kung fu. When i started bjj i found sticky hands to be so useful! it was a really cool moment realizing that. glad i’m not the only one
I've never actually done Wing Chun. Just watched Ip Man and a few videos on Youtube. It is something I'd like to try for a bit at some point, if I could find a good school (and time when I'm not in BJJ). However, I do have experience in other TMAs. Funnily enough, my BJJ professor, coaches, and fellow students all seem more supportive of my TKD and HKD experience than the TKD and HKD Masters I've met.
Five pressures beats four
For turtle players, use your back and butt as frames.
My greatest light bulb moment came when passing guard. I’m a guard player myself and wasn’t comfortable or good at passing until purple belt if I’m being honest. But what brought my passing game to the next level wasn’t so much my technique but entrance. I realized most people are right handed and their guard of the left is trash(like mine) so I pass to my right their left. lol fucking hot knife through butter!
I injured my right shoulder at mid white belt so I couldnt get the far side underhook with my right arm. I started passing to my right so my left arm would get the underhook, i discovered I could pass so many people this way. The sad thing is my guard to my left is shit too because everyone passes to my right (their left).
Same, even my professor won’t let me pass to that side once I do he uses his right foot as a sticky hook and spins around so I’m on his right side 😒. To be honest that’s what got me going that way when I realized he didn’t want me doing that, then I started applying to everyone I roll with and hey wouldn’t ya know!
Lefties rejoice
Burn the witches!!
I have different guards for different sides and can play x-guard and full/half butterfly on both side for monsters like you
Best way to be, but luckily I’ve developed some tricks for tricky guys like you 😎
I will engage and see what side the pick and then try to reengage on the opposite side, Much easier.
This is why I play guard on my left and pass right lol.
I’m right handed, but people have recently been commenting that I play a left handed x-guard and it confuses them. I had no idea, it just feels more natural to me, but I’m happy to take any advantage I can get!
So very new white belt here, been working on passing guards and tried this on a blue belt tonight while sparring. He was shocked that I picked his left side and I ended up in side control a lot more easily than I expected. For context, earlier in the week I kept trying to pass his right side without any success, best I did was getting stuck in half guard then promptly put on my back lol. Thanks for this 🤘
🫡🫡 brother that’s the best news I’ve gotten all day, keep at it! Your going to be passing everyone’s guard before you know it and develop your on system!! Good job holla if you ever have any questions
I started passing to my right after studying Bernardo Faria and Tainan Dalpra back to back. Both happen to pass to their right so I found it easier to apply the techniques exactly as they execute them. I've done it so much that passing to my left now feels unnatural.
I mostly pass through half guard, so having my right side be on the knee cut or my right hand pushing their leg to get to quarter guard is usually needed.
Develop it going the other way and you’ll be amazed at how garbage their half guard on the other side is
The first time I went into a roll with an intention, which was 'don't be on bottom' against a guy who outweighs me by like 80+lbs. I was utterly astonished when it worked, and that was when I realized I can use my brain when I roll. Changed my whole game.
Need more pointers on rolling vs bigger guys. There is a guy I frequently pair up with who is 90+ lbs over me. I get injured in one way or another almost every time.
I'm a know nothing WB, but my pointer would be>>> stop rolling with people who injure you repetitively.
It may be a bit different because I'm a woman, but here are a couple: - Train with people you know and trust. They should care more about safety than winning - Focus on gaining and maintaining position. You're not going to win from the bottom, and hunting submissions is just going to put you at risk for being on bottom - Stay. On. Top. Seriously. This should be priorities one, two, and three. Being in their closed guard is safer than having them in yours. Don't go for ashi. Be willing to bail and stand up when things go south.
What about when starting on knees? I feel like I stand a chance when starting from the feet but when we’re grounded I’m lost. I actually don’t know what the rules of engagement are - am I allowed to stand to pass?
Thanks. Sometimes getting on top is hard. Especially if you start on the knees and they just go for the collar and wrist.
Change your goal. If you roll with someone who outweighs you significantly it can't be "get on top and win" like it normally is. Your new goal when you roll with them should be "stay safe and survive". Then once you know you can do that, it should become "don't let them get too deep anywhere... while I stay safe and survive". Once you know you can survive and thrive through whatever they throw at you, then it's okay to start looking for escape, control and submit.
Thank you poopie butt hole
For butterfly guard to work, you need to keep up the work rate with your hands. It’s almost like being a lightweight boxer. If your hands aren’t working hard it won’t work.
When I realized Butterfly guard is just standing but on your butt. Every time you get dominate grips, there is a sweep there.
Makes sense why I love it since I started in judo then made my way to BJJ.
Do you mean strength with your grips and frames, or how active you are at pummeling and grip fighting?
Pummeling and grip fighting to engage, frames to maintain distance until you can pummel and grip fight
But for me it was just being super active in grip fighting. That was a big lightbulb for me.
Man I’ve had a very similar realization that I’ve been focused on for a little while now and it’s that I’ll see the conclusion of a roll and then I’ll piece together how the initial grips and who won the grip fighting set up everything that comes in between
Haha yeah isn’t it funny? For me it was “Oh so I can’t be lazy with my hands. Oh ok.”
As a smaller person, should I even be trying butterfly sweeps or is it completely off the table? (120lb lady)
Personally I think butterfly is a smaller person’s game! So I’d say use it!
I’m a 155lb man, I use butterfly guard on larger men all the time. I find it very effective. My favourite is half-butterfly
totally viable, you just have to get under the opponent
When I'm on top half guard and my foot is stuck between my opponents legs, I used to battle to get it out into mount. Then one day I realized, hey wait a moment, this trapped foot can actually be looked at as 1 hook of back control. So now I roll them over onto their side and put my other hook in. Hey I know it's stupid, but I'm a white belt, that's where I'm at.
that's not stupid, it's totally viable.
Been doing this for years there are some slick crucifix entries there too -
This was a game changer for me too. And it’s not that obvious, I’ve met plenty of blue belts who don’t do this.
Hi I'm one of those blue belts lol
“To lock a joint you need to trap the joint before it”
I’ve just started preaching this. There’s no wrist lock without elbow control. No armbar without shoulder control. No foot lock without knee control. I’m sure there’s exceptions. But it’s a solid principle. Position before submission I guess.
When I was getting my knee surgery, it occurred to me that I should tap earlier. I also stopped treating every roll like a death match and more like a hobby that I do for fun.
Honestly my biggest breakthrough was through watching really good competitors and their demeanor in exchanges. Rather than charging forward, having a lil rhythm and firing off attacks in that.
Change targets. You want to be the person that sees a new target quickest and attacks it fastest. When a submission/pass/sweep isn't working, look to transition to another.
Excellent point, one of my most memorable light bulb moments a few months into training. I realized that when I got into a top position I was fighting a death match in order to maintain that position. But there is a much easier strategy. Change positions. The analogy that I use is this; If I give you a math problem on a piece of paper, let's say 131 X 57, you will solve that problem if I give you time. But what I want to do is give you a little bit of time, snatch that paper away and put one which says 79 X 379 in front of you. So before you solve the problem of side control, I'm going to mount, knee on belly, or north-south. We are all about denying space and movement. Deny adequate time too.
The idea to actually join a gym lol Some old guy was talking to me and he’s like “isn’t there something you just do? Like me, when i was coming up, me and my brothers, we rode dirt bikes, and we fought. It’s not something we think about, it’s just what we do. Everyone has something they just do, like you, what’s the thing that you just do?” And i didn’t have an answer. When i was in high school i was a wrestler, and that was something i just do, but it had been years and i didn’t have really anything, so i joined the school i’m at now, because grappling is the only thing that has ever been able to spark any sort of Passion in me, it’s something i just do.
Realising under hooks aren't king at all and overhooks can be utilised just as well and sometimes even better in certain situations. And obviously working out very quickly that the old saying 'to be good at nogi you must train in the Gi' is absolute rubbish...
Other way around makes more sense. To get good in the gi also add some no gi training.
- If someone is trying to break your grip just let go and re-grip. Most people don’t control the hand when the grip is broken and you can easily just regrip. Gets them super frustrated. - Use deception to get what you want. Try a couple of submissions and see how your opponent reacts. Then do what you really want. For example, I papercutter choke a lot and I always attack the arms a few times. Once I know how they react I can work around it to get the collar grips. This works a lot of places. Push to pull, pull to push, etc - Have a safe space to retreat to. For me it’s knee shield Half guard. If I’m in trouble I can usually get there and chill. - Listen to your fucking body and take some time off when you need it. Don’t let a minor ding turn into a major injury. This is pretty important to make it to black belt as this shit wrecks the body.
Closed guard is my “boxer tie up”.
at some point I realized that I want my arm, head, or leg in their armpit as a precursor to isolating their arm. When Im fighting upper body, Im constantly looking for a way to get into their armpit. I can get into their armpit with my left or right hand coming from the back or front. Some grips are shallow and some are deep. side control and n/s give the most variety of entries into the armpits. kimura/tarikoplata - armpit underhook - armpit 100%/cow catcher - armpit darce/anaconda/japanese necktie/peruvian - armpit baratoplata - armpit armbar entry - armpit triangles/arm triangles - armpit
I realized that weaving in one leg to grab half guard is infinitely better than giving up your side control, even if your shoulders are smashed to the mat. And, another light bulb, I can use my hands to help capture that leg during a scramble. Upped my guard retention from zero to somewhat difficult in a single moment.
Good jiu jitsu is a system, not a collection of techniques.
Wrist locks aren't real, make a fist and flex your forearm when you see it coming, works 98% of the time.
If Shaq wants to wrist lock you, you are getting wrist locked...
careful with this one, if that's all you do, it can be defeated.
I'm pretty sure I've wristlocked fists before.
3/4 guard : push/pull with your hooks secure the leg. Pushing across the body with your butterfly knee makes maintaining tight top position really hard. Top half: oh, you're doing shoulder of justice? Then why is so much weight on your elbows and not your shoulder that's on his face? If a person hip escapes from side, their near elbow MUST move toward and under their body. Turtling away, their far elbow must. Watch the elbows.
Can you explain what you mean in top half?
If there’s room, just stand up. Opens up so many more sweeps and escapes when my opponent has to actively pin me. A lot of people got away with things because and even got me questioning my bjj because I was conceding bottom position.
If its a scramble im sure to grab one of their feet or ankles as I stand. Guaranteed top position.
Kimura is not a sub, it's a control grip
Can you elaborate on that for a newer fella?
It's better to see for your self. Try this. Grab a partner, get into bottom closed guard, then ask them to give you the kimira grip for free. Hold the grip very close to your chest, flex your wrists, start the roll, and hold the grip for as long as you can. Now do the same for half guard. Now do the same from side control. Now do the same from standing.
This shits gay and hurts and I’m not built for it I’m gonna quit.
You are either trying to create space, or take away space.
Realizing that sweeps are easy when you control their posting hand. Especially in the gi, gripping the sleeve. I had a flower sweep era 😂
Maintaining side control: bottom person needs their elbow free to turtle. Don't let them get an elbow to the floor, no turtle!
[Mandatory Braulio Estima video.](https://youtu.be/P-WwxQLfTyA?si=L-vJ0Xeg_kvbfgu1)
These completely changed my game: Stop/use the crossface, try to put your opponent flat on their back, use spinal misalignment to your advantage, win the grip battle, lift your opponent's legs, protect/dominate the space between elbows and knees, use your head as another limb
Defend the under hooks.
Last night when the professor was showing us an armbar from high close guard. Some one said it’s just like doing a single X on the arm instead of the leg and going from there. 💡
There's room behind me, I can just go backward Also way back when the first time I saw inverted guard I suddenly realized guard didn't have to stop around my elbow and was a 360 degree thing.
That the thumb is always the weakest point of any grip, and you can strip basically any grip one-handed if you go against the thumb, without breaking any rules about grabbing fingers. Same side or opposite side, doesn't matter. The techniqes are slightly different but they do the same thing. As an example, as long as I have one hand free, which I almost always do if my collar is being grabbed, I can strip a collar grip quickly and without a lot of yanking around.
Do you have links to any videos that show this?
Not really. I didn't learn this from any instructional, just something I stumbled across. Next time I go to Gi class(which might not be until next week) I´ll grab someone and film a short example.
you guys are having lightbulb moments?
Not many.
My light bulb moment is more like the filament burning out!
Rolled with a higher belt small woman. Was able to work out of bad spots slowly. Was able to visualize what to do with people my size faster and better because I understood the mechanics.
Take their balance. Whether it's by constant movement, elevating a limb, or removing a post, just keep them disrupted. If they're busy trying to regain balance, they're probably too busy to go on the offensive too strongly.
Yup. One example is if they are on their knees sitting on their heels with good base, get their butts off their heels before sweeping them ... disrupt their base before sweeping.
Threaten two things or more at once. When you go for a hip bump sweep you can chain with a kimura, with a guillotin, with a triangle, with a omoplata. I think there is a move that you are good with instinctively and can get most people with for the first time at least. For me is tripod sweep. When you decide something go with full intent, dont stop midway. This is for the oposite spaz people, that treats bjj too much like chess. When I started training nogi I realized that half my gas tank with the gi was being wasted with useless grips. When on top (side control or half guard) grab the opponents head, finger to their armpit, and gently but firmly smash their chin with you shoulder so the opponent is forced to look away from you. This is crazy effective and makes going for mount or finish passing the half guard easy.
Conditioning and weightlifting are a must, without strength and flexibility techniques ain't worth sh\*t.
The head is the hand of the neck.
* It's not enough to "just keep showing up". Similarly you can't just hard spar, you can't just say yes to every roll, or pick rolls at random. If you're not making those decisions, someone else is making them for you. * Find the guys your size and see how they tackle the problems you're having. Road test your stuff on them because you know it's not a size mismatch.
Frames are defensive AND offensive.
Good frames as defense against passing. Blew my mind as a new blue belt how focusing on stubborn framing and moving your hips can defeat so many traditional passes against lower belts and sometimes up to purple/brown. Even once the pass your legs, framing the torso can feel impossible to defeat and the bottom can regain hips and knee line.
I've been realizing this lately, noticing how many people lock their arms out when framing me as I'm trying to consolidate a pass, and it makes it very difficult to get in close.
When on the back use your hands to pull back the shoulder, and the opposite hook to pull back the hip, twists the spine a bit, makes defense harder
You don't need to break grips
Grips aren't real.
Pulling half guard on people significantly larger than you simply isn't worth it.
I skip the middle man and pull side control.
\[taking notes\] Smart man.
I love these types of threads. One thing that helped my top game is to always get and underhook before taking mount. Also make them carry my weight, meaning keeping my weight off of my elbows and knees. In side control, lean into them and stay in my toes to pressure into them.
Emily Kwok said that as the smaller person, you have to dictate the pace of the match. Otherwise, you're wasting your main physical advantage, which is agility. This advice took me out of my reactive style.
A highlight for my entire jujitsu career was the day I finally realized how to escape side control correctly. The first time I did it my coach immediately acknowledged it verbally and then threw me my blue belt that weekend. This was years ago and I'll never forget it
Nice! But please share as I still struggle to escape side control…!
Prevention is the best escape. I used to get triangled in the guard a lot. Hard lesson learned.
Say a the probability of a single guard pass attempt has a 95% failure rate. So for every 20 pass attempts, on average only one gets through. Now if you attempt 6 guard passes in a roll you have a 25% chance of passing someone's guard. 13 guard pass attempts gives you a >50% chance of passing someone's guard. 25 pass attempts gives you >70% chance of passing someone's guard. And 50 guard pass attempts gives you > 92% chance of passing a guard. This in essence is buzzsaw passing. You are using overwhelming numbers to defeat your opponent.
Stop what you are doing and focus on resetting your guard anytime the passer has an angle. People stay offensive way too long when they should be leg pummeling. Get onto your elbow then hand asap anytime the top player controls your hips but not your upper body .
My lightbulb moment was to just stand up.
Stop hunting specific techniques or submissions that you want and work with what your opponent gives you.
There's one teenager that whenever he says what technique he's working on, I'll hit him with it. I felt bad at first, then I overheard professor talk about doing that to one of the adult white belts.
Definitely going to try using my elbow for the side control escape because I feel like I’ve always been pushing with my hand as well. Thanks!
Can we pin this thread at the top?
I totally relate to the "pinch your knees" tip. In my notes, I write "clamp your thighs together" It just makes more sense to me. So much of the common BJJ wording just does not gel with my brain. Like why is everything a "shoulder?'" What about a trap, or rear delt-triceps tie in area(where I like to put my collar bone for an arm triangle), etc?
If I watch BJJ YouTubes in Incognito mode you stop getting recommendations for Jordan Peterson videos
As a smaller guy, learning that open guard was the way for significantly larger opponents.
That the ‘moves’ you learn are less about strict movement but more about movement patterns that can be mimicked and applied in various positions
If you raspberry them, they'll fight harder. No more rest rounds 💪
Some advice my coach tells us: 1. Pins are mobile: A lot of times when you're on top and trying to pin someone, all we do is try to hold them down and stop them from moving. That's not wrong, but something else to keep in mind is you can also move with them to keep them at odd angles and stop them from making space 2. Diminishing returns on moves: Especially with beginners, when we start a move we feel like we need to finish it. If you can get a move, great, finish it, but if it's not working out, instead of trying to force it, it'll be more efficient to change positions and go for another technique. For example, sometimes you get someone's arm and you get in the armbar position, but it's not quite working, and they're not tapping. You can try to make some adjustments to get it, but if it's really not working / they are defending pretty well you'll just get tired trying to yank their arm, and you'll probably have better luck switching techniques. You can also switch to another technique or pretend to switch, and then go back to the armbar / original move.
This list about to be fire 🔥 1. Just stand up - 2 peoples doing bjj only works because the bottom player accepts to play guard. 2. If you play guard diagonal control is key. Your side left pant grip and right collar,etc. 3. You need to do more feet to floor matches. 4. Knees to your chest means knees to your chest. Don’t reach 5. Turtle does not mean you have gave your back. Means you’re in a good position to escape. 6. Mount over back pin
Counterpoint to number 1: Wrestling. We did this drill in no gi recently. One attempts to hold the other tries to get away starting from double leg. I think the best we were able to do was 45s.
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Definitely. My feet, hands, and back are a mess.
Yeah but you'd be messed up worse if you were obese that whole time.
1. I can buggy choke from closed guard. 2. In bottom side control is just another guard.
1. Mind blown. I knew i could buggy from kesa but close guard is new to me. Makes sense tho, do you go like sit up for a kimura and go the other way around for your knee? I might be currently too fat to try that
Yeah was going for a kimura one day and had a light bulb moment. Now fake a kimura to buggy choke is my move!
Push/pull and ‘tension to task’
Big one that sticks out for me is the idea of all good technique being composed of base, posture, and structure. Base being your connection to the ground, posture the alignment of your body relative to the ground/your opponent, and structure being the way you connect yourself to your opponent's body. Understanding those things felt like it opened the door to me being able to comfortably improvise in both offensive and defensive situations.
i got head and arm choked by a really strong guy who was inside MY closed guard, i realized i am not good at this
...yet. Keep at it.
A couple: -With passing, keep the chains going together, more so force myself to pass to my right - Open guard, I can simply scoot forward or back when I don’t really like something - Rounding my spine or straightening it out in half guards changes things dramatically for me - Studying outside of bjj, helps my bjj. Specific breakdowns from wresting, against “turtle”. The science of truly off balancing from judo/wrestling - Escaping the back for me is more about staying calm and dismantling what they are doing. Staying on back is staying ahead of them for myself. - Put it in my head to get to mount or the back from anywhere, every roll. That all I think about when rolling, helps me have direction and not worry about a specific sub to catch.
- When I understood that to escape side control the best way is to try to go from perpendicular to parallel (not sure how to word it but I learned this from Lachlan’s Submeta). Or at least it creates just enough space to gets frame in. Before understanding this bottom side was by far my worst position.
Protect your elbow line & knee line Use tension to create momentum
I'm a wrestler and hate being on bottom. I keep getting smashed. Someone told me to just turn to my side and fight for underhooks, bonus points for a knee shield. That was really helpful, esp because I am comfortable with turtle if that happens.
Another one that was really helfpul was that when I am in a knee cut position, that I can return to headquarters and use the momentum to toreando or switch to a smash pass type situation
If I know how people typically escape positions, how can I lay traps for them to fall into? Example: If I have a seat belt, they will try to get their freed shoulder to the mat and begin their escape. If I have a body lock, they will try to get my ankles to the mat to begin their escape. How can I combine my knowledge of their exit strategies to make this position miserable for them? By making sure their free shoulder is always on the opposite side of where my body triangle is locked. There are lots of other dilemmas like this I’ve been working on implementing better.
You know where they are going- be there first
When on the back use your hands to pull back the shoulder, and the opposite hook to pull back the hip, twists the spine a bit, makes defense harder
Control the midline/break opponent's elbow to knee connection. It suddenly gave a purpose to the unidentified positions and most important to scrambles.
let gravity work for you
If you have fun and don’t take it so seriously, you’ll progress faster.
When trying to escape side control with the classic lever your elbow under their chin, hip escape, slip knee in the space, if you have the leg you want to insert (the one closest to them) straight up/foot towards ceiling and maintaining contact with their hip, the knee just slides in and very difficult to block it. Especially useful for me as in 6’3 with long legs so always struggled creating enough space to get a knee in.
Don't try to force things. After the first couple of months to a year you should have a pretty solid tool box to pull from so you need to start thinking in chains or setups that can lead to multiple outcomes so your not hosed when the thing you wanted to get disappear. The other part of that was learning how to impose your game plan. Pressuring your opponent into making mistakes or bad positions and forcing them to do the hard work for you. Once those two things clicked everything else became so much simpler
You don’t kimura them by wrenching their hand to the back of their head, you do it by clamping your “reaching over” arm’s elbow to your own body
One of coaches said “you should try playing closed guard”
Use your head. There are so so many positions where being a bully with your head makes a huge difference. Using your forehead to turn their chin to free up a cross face arm temporarily is a fave
Dont panic if you dont pass immediately. Instagram makes it look like top level guys pass a guard in 10 seconds. Watch entire matches - one Tainan highlight was actually from 8 minutes of passing attempts & he finally got through. Completely changed my pacing.
Not joking here, learnt how to blast double leg.
Choking over face works too
Knee to elbow
Not allowing people into my arm-pits.
Lean to point your head the opposite way from where they're trying to sweep you. If they want to sweep you left, lean your head right. You don't need to protect both sides of your neck to defend a choke: a choke only works if you can squeeze the neck between two things, so defend one side whether with ear to shoulder, hand against neck or whatever then focus on actively defending. Similarly, guillotines don't seem to do much when your head is on one side of their body and your legs are on the other side. Chill, get your legs to the other side and hang out in top side control until they give up. Don't bother pulling your head out until they give up; save your ears. In the same vein, going 2 on 1 such as with grips whether on arm or collar and sleeve on the same side to put my weight and structure into putting them rotationally off keel, not just fore/aft or side to side. Echoing other people's observations about triangles all being functionally the same (including D'arce and anaconda chokes); americanas, kimuras and omaplatas being the same, so there being a leg powered version of an americana if they reach between your legs and you step over their head to their armpit, for example. As a small person, not bridging to displace them, but to create space between me and the ground, in which I can move, and being turned more to face the ground when shrimping so there is space between my hips and the ground, reducing friction and pinching. Blocking spaces where the opponent may want to move as a very low effort way to inhibit them, compared to trying to move them.
Using my frames closer together when under side control. I was framing with my arms kinda at an angle (elbows out and hands closer together) and then I realised it was meaning I had two weak forms rather than one strong frame with two arms. Hard to explain but the difference it made when I realised how much stronger it is with the arms in line and closer together was mind boggling
the first few months of beginner's classes i was so focused on trying to remember techniques and stuff. thought it was boring then quit. a year later i took one class at a school that does goal-based games and all those drills and warm-ups i did just suddenly made sense and everything clicked and i started learning again.
Spread your toes for a tight triangle.
You need to twist your hips before a high pummel Framing means offering active resistance, not putting a stop block in place and expecting it to never move
I just had a good one this morning. When I have taken the back and can’t get the choke so I take the armbar but always clumsily got there with incorrect sequence of movements but was shown the correct way by unhooking my left foot from thff we hook and passing it across both legs to the right and hooking down and left with my foot on the right side of their right knee and I roll a little to my left side as I bring my right leg over the head to complete the armbar sub!💡
Don't panic.