3 Main Stages of BJJ

I also like to think of this as the “main quest” in video gaming terms. There are plenty of side quests (mount, knee on belly, back take, closed guard, etc.). Side quests can be fun and very rewarding. But you shouldn’t spend time on them until you can complete the main quest reliably.

Standing

S1. Pull guard to half guard.

Get the match to the ground before you get taken down or punched.

Bottom

B3. Not Guard

1. Get to your side. (e.g. from side control, or mount)
2. Control a hand.
3. Reclaim guard e.g. use turtle to reclaim half guard.

B2. Other Guard

1. Transition to half guard.

B1. Half Guard

1. Sweep them (2 points, now you’re winning)

Top

T3. Other Guard

1. Get to half guard (e.g. from closed guard)

T2. Half Guard

1. Flatten their hips or shoulders to pass guard. (now you’re winning 5-0)

T1. Passed Guard

1. Choke them. (now you’ve won)

Emergencies

There are also 2 emergencies that pause your progression: being choked or being joint locked. You need to recognize the danger zones, pause and address the danger, then you can resume progression.

E1. Their Arm (or Leg) By Your Neck

1. Comb your hair
2. Grab one hand two on one if you can’t comb your hair.

E2. Your Arm (or Leg) Controlled

1. Regain control of your limb.
2. For legs attacks this is often by preventing their grip.

Summary

Obviously there is more to BJJ than memorizing a flow chart. You will need to have mat awareness and practice to make this work. But… this is literally the decision tree in my own brain whenever I am rolling. If I’m on bottom I’m either not in guard, in another guard, or I’m in half guard, and I know what my general principles are to progress from no guard -> other guard -> half guard. Get to my side, control a hand, reguard is the same whether they take my back, mount me, or have side control.

Similarly, if I’m on top, I’m either in another guard, half guard, or passed guard. If other guard I funnel to half, if half I work my passes by flattening their hips or shoulders, once I pass their guard I get a hand by their neck and choke them.

Once you internalize this flow, you can make your own variations. You can work takedowns to skip straight to top from standing. You can work in back takes once you understand that a back take is essentially a form of guard pass (you’ve removed their leg defense from the equation). The variations are infinite, so have fun!

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