Tags

Tag: Cheat Sheet

Guides

BJJ Cheat Sheet: The Easiest Decision Tree You Will Ever See

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.

Tag: Guide

Guides

BJJ Cheat Sheet: The Easiest Decision Tree You Will Ever See

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.

Guides

A Wrestler's Guide to Starting BJJ: Long Version

This is a living document that will change as I update my thinking over time. I’m a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I was also a fairly successful high school wrestler. I also have ADHD, which means I tend to focus on a handful of simple one or two step concepts in my grappling instead of learning 10,000 complex moves. When I started it was all “get used to being on your back” and “learn guard.

Tag: Main Quest

Guides

BJJ Cheat Sheet: The Easiest Decision Tree You Will Ever See

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.

Tag: Escape

September 28, 2025

How DDP Should Have Escaped Chimaev's Crucifix

When I watched the Dricus Du Plessus vs Khamzat Chimaev fight, I thought I was going to have a new technique to work to dominate from side control: the crucifix. But the next day when we went to workshop in the gym, I realized that top crucifix is not a very good position to hold. Here is my take on how to escape. Now, there are variations where top player can lean deeper, lean more with their head on the mat, etc.

April 29, 2025

BJJ Mount Escape On a Literal Giant

This is my standard mount escape: comb my hair to protect my neck get my hip free and turn to my side control a hand and scoop out the back or entangle the legs This day I was fortunate to have Nathan, our 6'6" 270 lbs giant as a demonstration partner. I don’t know if you can tell from the video, but it’s clear to me he is getting bored of the demonstration and just wants to submit me, so some of this really is me trying to escape his mount before he chokes me.

Tag: MMA

September 28, 2025

How DDP Should Have Escaped Chimaev's Crucifix

When I watched the Dricus Du Plessus vs Khamzat Chimaev fight, I thought I was going to have a new technique to work to dominate from side control: the crucifix. But the next day when we went to workshop in the gym, I realized that top crucifix is not a very good position to hold. Here is my take on how to escape. Now, there are variations where top player can lean deeper, lean more with their head on the mat, etc.

Tag: UFC

September 28, 2025

How DDP Should Have Escaped Chimaev's Crucifix

When I watched the Dricus Du Plessus vs Khamzat Chimaev fight, I thought I was going to have a new technique to work to dominate from side control: the crucifix. But the next day when we went to workshop in the gym, I realized that top crucifix is not a very good position to hold. Here is my take on how to escape. Now, there are variations where top player can lean deeper, lean more with their head on the mat, etc.

Tag: Low Single

September 8, 2025

Best Takedown in BJJ: John Smith Low Single

I learned this takedown back in the early 1990s off a bootleg John Smith Sunkist Kids VHS tape. It got John Smith 6 world championships and two Olympic gold medals and it got me a state placement in Ohio. Even though I’m 47 years old now, I still use it to take down most opponents from standing, including our local NCAA all American wrestler. The down side is that even though this looks simple, it’s a high skill level move.

Tag: Standup

September 8, 2025

Best Takedown in BJJ: John Smith Low Single

I learned this takedown back in the early 1990s off a bootleg John Smith Sunkist Kids VHS tape. It got John Smith 6 world championships and two Olympic gold medals and it got me a state placement in Ohio. Even though I’m 47 years old now, I still use it to take down most opponents from standing, including our local NCAA all American wrestler. The down side is that even though this looks simple, it’s a high skill level move.

May 10, 2025

Gold Medal Sprawl

When I was 14 or 15 I went to a wrestling camp hosted by 1960 Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist Doug Blubaugh. Doug was quite a character and I’ll mention a little bit about him in order to honor his memory now that he’s gone. When I went there he was an old man with diabetes. But the gristle that won him a gold medal was still visible. He would joke about how he had both narcolepsy and cataplexy and so if he sat down while teaching he would fall asleep and if he laughed while teaching he would fall asleep.

Tag: Wrestling

September 8, 2025

Best Takedown in BJJ: John Smith Low Single

I learned this takedown back in the early 1990s off a bootleg John Smith Sunkist Kids VHS tape. It got John Smith 6 world championships and two Olympic gold medals and it got me a state placement in Ohio. Even though I’m 47 years old now, I still use it to take down most opponents from standing, including our local NCAA all American wrestler. The down side is that even though this looks simple, it’s a high skill level move.

May 10, 2025

Gold Medal Sprawl

When I was 14 or 15 I went to a wrestling camp hosted by 1960 Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist Doug Blubaugh. Doug was quite a character and I’ll mention a little bit about him in order to honor his memory now that he’s gone. When I went there he was an old man with diabetes. But the gristle that won him a gold medal was still visible. He would joke about how he had both narcolepsy and cataplexy and so if he sat down while teaching he would fall asleep and if he laughed while teaching he would fall asleep.

April 5, 2025

30 Seconds for an Impassible Guard

When I was a white belt I thought the key to having a good guard game was to lock on and hold guard no matter what. Now that I’m a black belt I’ve come to believe that making your guard impassible is less about locking down and more about knowing when and how to bail out when you feel your guard is getting passed. If you can prevent your opponent from securing a scoring position (side control, knee on belly, north/south, mount, back take), then you can make your guard impassible.

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.

Guides

Wrestling to BJJ: Short Version

Work in progress as I add videos My experience as a state placer in high school wrestling was that you can be pretty good at wrestling with only 4-5 moves. This guide is my attempt to give you a winning BJJ game in the simplest, shortest way possible with 4-5 common things you need to know. I’m assuming you already have a good takedown in your arsenal, so I won’t cover that.

Guides

A Wrestler's Guide to Starting BJJ: Long Version

This is a living document that will change as I update my thinking over time. I’m a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I was also a fairly successful high school wrestler. I also have ADHD, which means I tend to focus on a handful of simple one or two step concepts in my grappling instead of learning 10,000 complex moves. When I started it was all “get used to being on your back” and “learn guard.

Tag: Guard Pass

June 19, 2025

Devastating Hip Switch Pass

This is my take on Marcelo Garcia’s hip switch pass. At least, when I visited Marcelo’s gym in NYC, the hip switch pass was a big part of the game there. As I’ve been playing with it, especially on bigger guys, I’ve noticed a couple entries to leg attacks that will either give a submission or, by avoiding the submission you get the pass. The basic idea is: Flatten their hips to the mat with your body.

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.

Tag: Knee Bar

June 19, 2025

Devastating Hip Switch Pass

This is my take on Marcelo Garcia’s hip switch pass. At least, when I visited Marcelo’s gym in NYC, the hip switch pass was a big part of the game there. As I’ve been playing with it, especially on bigger guys, I’ve noticed a couple entries to leg attacks that will either give a submission or, by avoiding the submission you get the pass. The basic idea is: Flatten their hips to the mat with your body.

Tag: Toe Hold

June 19, 2025

Devastating Hip Switch Pass

This is my take on Marcelo Garcia’s hip switch pass. At least, when I visited Marcelo’s gym in NYC, the hip switch pass was a big part of the game there. As I’ve been playing with it, especially on bigger guys, I’ve noticed a couple entries to leg attacks that will either give a submission or, by avoiding the submission you get the pass. The basic idea is: Flatten their hips to the mat with your body.

April 18, 2025

The Most Annoying Submission In BJJ

I got caught with this submission about 15 years ago and it’s stuck with me. To my mind it’s the most annoying way to get subbed in BJJ just because of the emotional roller coaster from “I took their back I rule” to “wtf was that cheap $*#!” Some folks like to build games around doing weird submissions from inferior positions. I know a couple of black belts who love to give up their back so they can try to catch arm-bars.

Tag: Finishes

May 13, 2025

How to Finish A Front Headlock Like Makhachev and Merab

I’m traveling in Italy right now with no access to make videos. Hopefully I’ll be able to drop in to train in Rome this week. But in the meantime, I figured I’d get this concept down in written form. I’ve come to believe that front headlock position is the second most dominant position in BJJ. Just look at what Makhachev did to Moicano - completely passed up taking side control to go for a D’Arce choke from front headlock.

Tag: Front Headlock

May 13, 2025

How to Finish A Front Headlock Like Makhachev and Merab

I’m traveling in Italy right now with no access to make videos. Hopefully I’ll be able to drop in to train in Rome this week. But in the meantime, I figured I’d get this concept down in written form. I’ve come to believe that front headlock position is the second most dominant position in BJJ. Just look at what Makhachev did to Moicano - completely passed up taking side control to go for a D’Arce choke from front headlock.

Tag: Sprawl

May 10, 2025

Gold Medal Sprawl

When I was 14 or 15 I went to a wrestling camp hosted by 1960 Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist Doug Blubaugh. Doug was quite a character and I’ll mention a little bit about him in order to honor his memory now that he’s gone. When I went there he was an old man with diabetes. But the gristle that won him a gold medal was still visible. He would joke about how he had both narcolepsy and cataplexy and so if he sat down while teaching he would fall asleep and if he laughed while teaching he would fall asleep.

Tag: Takedown

May 10, 2025

Gold Medal Sprawl

When I was 14 or 15 I went to a wrestling camp hosted by 1960 Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist Doug Blubaugh. Doug was quite a character and I’ll mention a little bit about him in order to honor his memory now that he’s gone. When I went there he was an old man with diabetes. But the gristle that won him a gold medal was still visible. He would joke about how he had both narcolepsy and cataplexy and so if he sat down while teaching he would fall asleep and if he laughed while teaching he would fall asleep.

Tag: Mount

April 29, 2025

BJJ Mount Escape On a Literal Giant

This is my standard mount escape: comb my hair to protect my neck get my hip free and turn to my side control a hand and scoop out the back or entangle the legs This day I was fortunate to have Nathan, our 6'6" 270 lbs giant as a demonstration partner. I don’t know if you can tell from the video, but it’s clear to me he is getting bored of the demonstration and just wants to submit me, so some of this really is me trying to escape his mount before he chokes me.

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.

Tag: Mount Escape

April 29, 2025

BJJ Mount Escape On a Literal Giant

This is my standard mount escape: comb my hair to protect my neck get my hip free and turn to my side control a hand and scoop out the back or entangle the legs This day I was fortunate to have Nathan, our 6'6" 270 lbs giant as a demonstration partner. I don’t know if you can tell from the video, but it’s clear to me he is getting bored of the demonstration and just wants to submit me, so some of this really is me trying to escape his mount before he chokes me.

Tag: Annoying

April 18, 2025

The Most Annoying Submission In BJJ

I got caught with this submission about 15 years ago and it’s stuck with me. To my mind it’s the most annoying way to get subbed in BJJ just because of the emotional roller coaster from “I took their back I rule” to “wtf was that cheap $*#!” Some folks like to build games around doing weird submissions from inferior positions. I know a couple of black belts who love to give up their back so they can try to catch arm-bars.

Tag: Back Take

April 18, 2025

The Most Annoying Submission In BJJ

I got caught with this submission about 15 years ago and it’s stuck with me. To my mind it’s the most annoying way to get subbed in BJJ just because of the emotional roller coaster from “I took their back I rule” to “wtf was that cheap $*#!” Some folks like to build games around doing weird submissions from inferior positions. I know a couple of black belts who love to give up their back so they can try to catch arm-bars.

Tag: Novelty

April 18, 2025

The Most Annoying Submission In BJJ

I got caught with this submission about 15 years ago and it’s stuck with me. To my mind it’s the most annoying way to get subbed in BJJ just because of the emotional roller coaster from “I took their back I rule” to “wtf was that cheap $*#!” Some folks like to build games around doing weird submissions from inferior positions. I know a couple of black belts who love to give up their back so they can try to catch arm-bars.

Tag: Guard

April 5, 2025

30 Seconds for an Impassible Guard

When I was a white belt I thought the key to having a good guard game was to lock on and hold guard no matter what. Now that I’m a black belt I’ve come to believe that making your guard impassible is less about locking down and more about knowing when and how to bail out when you feel your guard is getting passed. If you can prevent your opponent from securing a scoring position (side control, knee on belly, north/south, mount, back take), then you can make your guard impassible.

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 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.

Tag: Guard Retention

April 5, 2025

30 Seconds for an Impassible Guard

When I was a white belt I thought the key to having a good guard game was to lock on and hold guard no matter what. Now that I’m a black belt I’ve come to believe that making your guard impassible is less about locking down and more about knowing when and how to bail out when you feel your guard is getting passed. If you can prevent your opponent from securing a scoring position (side control, knee on belly, north/south, mount, back take), then you can make your guard impassible.

Tag: Quarter Guard

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:

Tag: Wrestlers

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 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.

Guides

Wrestling to BJJ: Short Version

Work in progress as I add videos My experience as a state placer in high school wrestling was that you can be pretty good at wrestling with only 4-5 moves. This guide is my attempt to give you a winning BJJ game in the simplest, shortest way possible with 4-5 common things you need to know. I’m assuming you already have a good takedown in your arsenal, so I won’t cover that.

Tag: Passing

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.

Tag: Back Escape

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.

Tag: Closed Guard

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.

Tag: Day 1

Guides

Wrestling to BJJ: Short Version

Work in progress as I add videos My experience as a state placer in high school wrestling was that you can be pretty good at wrestling with only 4-5 moves. This guide is my attempt to give you a winning BJJ game in the simplest, shortest way possible with 4-5 common things you need to know. I’m assuming you already have a good takedown in your arsenal, so I won’t cover that.

Tag: Bottom

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.

Tag: Side Control

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.

Tag: Sweeps

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:

Tag: Leg Defense

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.

Tag: Beginner

Guides

A Wrestler's Guide to Starting BJJ: Long Version

This is a living document that will change as I update my thinking over time. I’m a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I was also a fairly successful high school wrestler. I also have ADHD, which means I tend to focus on a handful of simple one or two step concepts in my grappling instead of learning 10,000 complex moves. When I started it was all “get used to being on your back” and “learn guard.

Tag: Intro

Guides

A Wrestler's Guide to Starting BJJ: Long Version

This is a living document that will change as I update my thinking over time. I’m a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I was also a fairly successful high school wrestler. I also have ADHD, which means I tend to focus on a handful of simple one or two step concepts in my grappling instead of learning 10,000 complex moves. When I started it was all “get used to being on your back” and “learn guard.

Tag: General Principles

December 4, 2024

Get One Hand By Their Neck To Choke Them

I’m a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. But even though I was a successful wrestler in high school, it took me 18 years to get my black belt. Looking back, I believe part of this is because I have ADHD. Typical BJJ multi-step move of the day type instruction does not work for me. Now that I’m a black belt I spend a lot of time thinking about simple, general principles that I actually do remember.

Tag: Submissions

December 4, 2024

Get One Hand By Their Neck To Choke Them

I’m a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. But even though I was a successful wrestler in high school, it took me 18 years to get my black belt. Looking back, I believe part of this is because I have ADHD. Typical BJJ multi-step move of the day type instruction does not work for me. Now that I’m a black belt I spend a lot of time thinking about simple, general principles that I actually do remember.

Tag: Seminars

Seminars

Seminars

I love to travel. I love BJJ. I love to teach BJJ. If you think I could add something for your gym, hit me up on reddit or instagram and let’s set something up.

Tag: Strategy

November 12, 2024

I'd Rather Fight a One Armed Man

I’m a 46 year old black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. One of my reasons for writing this is I have ADHD (as I suspect a lot of us do), and so I constantly struggle with traditional BJJ “move of the day” type instruction. So I’m trying to look for key concepts I can remember when I forget the 17 step combo I was just taught 5 minutes ago. Today’s concept is:

Tag: Black Belt

May 11, 2024

My Dad Got a Black Belt in 3 Months

My dad spent 3 months in Japan in 1964 and got his judo black belt from the Kodokan – the mother ship of Judo schoools – going from white to black belt in 3 months. I’m not sure if this is the fastest anyone has ever done this, but I figure it makes a nice story that folks might be interested in, and it dawned on me that time is running out to see if there is anyone still alive who might have personal knowledge to fill in the gaps that I don’t know.

Tag: Judo

May 11, 2024

My Dad Got a Black Belt in 3 Months

My dad spent 3 months in Japan in 1964 and got his judo black belt from the Kodokan – the mother ship of Judo schoools – going from white to black belt in 3 months. I’m not sure if this is the fastest anyone has ever done this, but I figure it makes a nice story that folks might be interested in, and it dawned on me that time is running out to see if there is anyone still alive who might have personal knowledge to fill in the gaps that I don’t know.