March 25, 2025

BJJ Quarter Guard is a Pretty Good Guard

This is my take on quarter guard. Quarter guard has become one of my go-to guards lately. I feel like it’s on a continuum of my bottom game: Stay on your side, control a hand So, of course if you play quarter guard flat on your back, it’s really more like a 3/4 mount position. Which is bad. However, from my side, it gives me easy access to deep half and/or transitioning to half guard, both of which are fine positions to be in:

March 24, 2025

BJJ Two Minutes To Learn Mount Escape

This is my go-to mount escape. I feel comfortable enough with this that I tend not to take mount on my opponents because I feel like mount is fairly easy to escape, say, 80% of the time. The basic idea is that you need to turn to your side. I like this version because it doesn’t require strength. A lot of mount escapes are about bumping your opponent or framing your opponent.

March 17, 2025

BJJ Two Minutes to Learn Guard Passing

This is my current system for passing guard. If I can access their neck then I use that to submit or pass. If I can’t, then I use Bernardo Faria’s over/under pass.

March 13, 2025

BJJ - Two Minutes to Learn Back Escape

Any time I find someone takes my back, the number on thing I’m looking for (assuming they have already scored on me by getting their hooks in), is to break the connection between their chest and my back. Once I break this connection, I have broken their angle to choke me and I am safe from their chokes. Given that the rear naked choke is consistently the number one submission across IBJJF, ADCC, and UFC competitions, this is priority number one.

March 10, 2025

BJJ Closed Guard Break

This is my answer to an opponent pulling closed guard on me. I find this so effective and high percentage, I rarely use closed guard myself. Sometimes it takes a little patience to make this happen, for example if they don’t want to let you grab the arm, but it works very well for me.

March 5, 2025

BJJ Simple Steps to Escape Bottom Side Control

This is the concept I use whenever I find myself flattened in bottom side control. Now, the number one way to not be flattened in bottom side control is to not lie flat when someone passes your guard. My observation is that being flattened is often a convention, where we think “oh, they are passing me, I need to defend from side control” and then we lie flat and assume a defensive posture.

March 4, 2025

BJJ Easy Side Control Concept

When I get in top side control, I’m looking to start submitting my opponent with chokes. Here is an example video of some of the chokes I hit regularly, depending on whether they turn into me, lie flat, or turn away. You’re not limited to these, it’s just an example of what you do with the concept.

February 26, 2025

BJJ Simple Sweep Concept

Here’s a video I posted about what to do from bottom half guard. In general, I like to make sure I always control their attack hand. If I give up the hand, it’s only for a high percentage chance at a sweep by overpowering one of their limbs:

February 26, 2025

BJJ Simple Leg Defense Concept

Here’s my simple concept for defending leg attacks: don’t let them connect their hands. Nothing is 100%, and this definitely works better the sooner you start controlling an arm. So be sensitive to leg attackers and grab an arm to prevent connection before they get into position for best results.

January 19, 2025

What Are We Guarding With Guard?

What are we guarding with guard in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? I’ve been doing BJJ for over 18 years. All that time I’ve been taught about guard and how it is what makes BJJ special. But I’ve never heard anyone discuss: “what are we guarding when we use guard?” Why do I think this is an important question? I think it’s built into the language. If I ask someone to guard my door, I’m asking them to make sure no one comes inside the house.

Posts

Simple concepts, not complicated moves.