BJJ / Grappling Tips: How to pull guard in competition

While most fights go to the ground (self defence, MMA and / sportive grappling with or without the gi), they all start standing. Pulling guard at jiujitsu competitions is the subject of many jokes of meme. Some are even funny:

Fact of the matter remains that you will spend the majority of your grappling career (BJJ, nogi submission wrestling, MMA and to some extent even Judo and Sambo) either using the guard position and all its variations (Open, Close, De La Riva, Half, Spider, Galaxy, Ping Pong...etc.) to attack your opponent or trying to deal with and pass your opponents' guard.

The guard is NOT an artificial position created by one or two fighters to gain the element of surprise but rather a naturally occurring  geometry of two bodies:

BJJ Seminar & Summer Grading: New School BJJ with Helio "Soneca" Moreira

The day started with 7 black belts

I recently had the pleasure & honour to attend Professor Helio Soneca's Summer Grading and seminar at Ernest Bevin College in Tooting, South London. The seminar was open to all and was immediately followed by New School BJJ's Summer Grading.

The Instructor

Helio Pires Moreira, aka Soneca, is a big deal. The man is a bit of a legend to be fair. He's one of the first black belt produced by the powerhouse Gracie Barra back in the old days. The NAGA, Brazilian Nationals- & Mundial champion has a lot to teach so when I heard he was coming over to London for the third time to teach and grade at his affiliate New School BJJ, I jumped at the opportunity. I mean, how many black belt do you know who started jiujitsu at the age of 8? Exactly!

BJJ Tips: Applying Armlocks and Teaching Gracie Jiujitsu

For a long time, I have been in love with Gracie jiujitsu and over the past 11 years, I have taught hundreds if not thousands of hours of group and private lessons and on a few occasions whole seminars*.

Showing the details of the armbar from guard

My first seminar at Forca Martial Arts.

My Charity Seminar at Stockport Gracie.

Happy seminar participants

BJJ Tip: Saulo Ribeiro shows his attacks from mount: Cross choke and armbar

You go to the gym to learn, not to compete. Grappling/BJJ has a series of positions and the fastest way to get good is to immerse yourself in the "map" that is grappling. You need to visit all the locations and familiarize yourself with the neighbourhoods. I know that many grapplers give this advice but they usually refer to starting in disadvantageous positions (working escapes...etc.), which is very sound advice indeed.

What I’m referring to however is giving EVERY POSITION a chance. Are you decent from side control top but you often get bucked up from mount? Are your gi chokes miles better than your arm bars? Make a commitment to shelve what your good at for a couple of months and exclusively work on what you feel is shaky, but don’t see it as a chore!

In this clip, one of the best jiujitsu fighters and teachers Saulo Ribeiro shows us his secrets to attacking with the double attack (cross choke and the arm lock) from the mounted position:



Remember why we are in this game. It’s because we love it. Look at working your weaknesses as a fantastic opportunity to tighten your game but also as a gift to your partners to sharpen their counters. Or as every great jiujitsu coach / instructor I have ever met and learnt from says: Enjoy the process!

--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Check for more resources on Amazon.com:

Invisible jiujitsu: Rickson and Helio Gracie student Pedro Sauer shares secrets of Invisible jiujitsu

With the creation of the new Jiu-jitsu Global Federation under Master Rickson Gracie, everyone is talking about Gracie Jiujitsu. One of the elements at the heart of jiujitsu instruction is the "feel" of the move and the "weight distribution".

I recently had a 2 hour telephone conversation with my instructor Eddie Kone, Gracie Jiujitsu black belt under Royler Gracie, about when he was training at Gracie Humaita and Grandmaster Helio would walk in and part with his wisdom on how best to increase the leverage in techniques and how the difference was never some large, visible move but always a practically invisible detail that you had to feel and experience to appreciate.

"People look, but they don't see. They listen but don't hear!" Eddie Kone

Here's a brilliant example. 8th degree coral belt in Gracie Jiujitsu Pedro Sauer shows what invisible jiujitsu is all about from a couple of positions:

How a small key can open a large padlock: Jiujitsu solutions are often smaller than you think!

I was unlocking the gym where I teach NoGi grappling last Tuesday and noticed this: this huge, hefty padlock that was blocking me from entering the room didn't necessarily need the biggest key to open it and allow me in. I'll say that again: the size of the obstacle did not necessarily reflect the size of the solution or even the effort needed to solve it.

 For those who know jiujitsu, the above is the definition of leverage. I once told John B Will that levers are multipliers of effect and he loved it so much he put it in one of his fantastic articles on his blog. A very proud moment for yours truly.

 I strongly believe in that. The right solution at the right time at the right angle can unravel the biggest and, seemingly, most insurmountable challenge. This is why I fell in live with Judo and Gracie Jiujitsu.

BJJ tips: armbar escapes, guard passing and the two voices of the mind

I recently competed in BJJ at our regular InterClub event “SubNorth”. I am no champion grappling competitor, as most of you know, but I did have a great day and while I did lose both my jiujitsu matches, I still came with some very beneficial first-hand knowledge and experience:

1.       I had first-hand experience grip fighting with a very good purple belt. I applied my newly acquired judo knowledge in both gripping offensively and grip breaking. This allowed me to dominate the grips in the standing phase

2.       I tested my standing guard opening and passing with great success. In fact, the majority of the points I scored were guard passing points.

3.       I accidently came up with this awesome way to prevent a guard recovery that flexible players do, where they fold upside down from side control and somehow manage to re-insert a foot for the guard or half guard. It worked a treat!

4.       I tested my half guard sweeping system (switching from the Old Skool to the Plan B plus using the deep half guard to sweep and prevent guard passing)

5.       I tested Saulo Ribiero’s Armbar defence and escape from “University of JiuJitsu”. I had played with that jiujitsu technique before, but never tested it in a competition. The great bonus was that it made my opponent think that he still had a chance and tired him out massively until I passed to his side.

That’s something I want to talk about. That moment when you get caught. That moment when your opponent transitions from a position that may or may not be uncomfortable (mount, side mount, back) to a position of actual threat (and armbar, a choke, a footlock..e.tc.) and your brain splits into two parties:

·         One party is telling you you’ve had a long day. You’ve hung around waiting for your damn category to start and you’re tired now. You have better things to do. This other guy wants it more than you. He’s hungrier for this than you. You have nothing to prove, he’s already kinda got the arm, choke or foot. Let him have it. Let go, tap and we can all go home and forget about this day.

·         The other party has other plans. It sings from a very different hymn sheet. You didn’t hang around all day long for this. You have plans for the evening and you don’t want to spoil them with the feeling that you gave up. Just blank gave up. You want this more than your opponent. He doesn’t deserve it. You have nothing to prove to anyone else but everything to prove to yourself. It’s no longer about jiujitsu. It’s no longer about the foot, the arm or the choke. It’s about you. Use the technique you know and work your way out.

The line between these two is very thin and if you’re not careful, you might injure yourself. I am a big believer in tapping early to avoid injury, but I am also a huge believer in investigating the mind through jiujitsu. For that, you will need a partner you can trust.

It's a thin line. Very thin.

--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling tips: Fixing the Most Common Armbar Mistakes

Hip movement is the heart and soul of Brazilian jiu jitsu and grappling in general. When trying to lock a submission such as the triangle or the armbar or even the triangle armbar (serious ninja mystery!) then the most important factor for success is getting your engine (the hips) aligned to the joint you're trying to attack (the elbow (armbar) / the neck (triangle))

When attacking with an armbar from guard, use the foot on the hip
to align your hips with the elbow you're attacking

Question: Where does red in the second picture need to move the hips to put on a triangle-armbar?

Answer: You're hips are always chasing the joint you're trying to break, in this case the elbow, so to his / her left.

If you're countering the posturing escape against the triangle choke with
an armbar, it's very important to move your hips out and align them with
the elbow you're attacking

In the first instance, get your foot on the hip, or on the mat if you have long legs. That's not the main issue. Why you put the foot down is. You put it down so you can: chase the elbow, both by rotating but more importantly to bridge your hips up into the armpit to trap the elbow, while the second leg climbs and clamps on their back. Which way do you move your hips? You chase the elbow. If it's their right arm you've trapped, you scoot your hips to their right (your left) and both align yourself behind the elbow and make sure it’s high on your body and not almost out past your groin.

Always chase the elbow, or whichever joint you’re trying to lock. Everything else should fall into place from there.

I will leave you an excellent video from Mr Stephan Kesting on correcting arm bar mistakes:



--------------------------------------------------

ZHOO ZHITSU IS FOR EVERYONE!

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

BJJ / Grappling tips: How best to learn BJJ / Grappling: Listen to my actions and see my words

The best way to learn BJJ, grappling or any other activity is to focus on the details of the fundamental skills. The more we understand grappling details, the better we understand the whole picture and the reason for that is because everything is connected in BJJ. If you do the first three moves correctly, there is a higher probability that what you do after that will be good too.

My strongest memory of enhanced learning is from spending a lot of time with my karate instructor sensei Siamak back at the Gothenburg Kanzenkai. On one occasion, we were practicing lead leg inwards foot sweeps entry to punches (ashi barai to gyaku tsuki) and I just couldn't get the sweep to work. I was bashing the hell of my partner's leg (to his dismay) but I just couldn't get it to budge. I asked sensei over to watch and correct and very quickly he realised what I was doing (or rather not doing). Simply, my angle of entry was a little off (I searched the internet for pictures to demonstrate what I'm saying and these two are the best I could find)

This is the angle I was coming at

this is the correct entry angle

While that technique did become my favourite attack (and I still use it, even in BJJ), it's what he said afterwards that was one of the most important lessons I've had in martial arts and learning in general:

"You must always try to steal the most amount of knowledge from all your teachers. We as instructors always strive to share as much as possible, but there will be times when a move or detail gets missed. We are only human. You must not only watch my actions and listen to my instructios, but also listen to my actions and see my words"

Translation to BJJ speak:

BJJ / Grappling Tips: mat time - fundamentals v combinations v crazy jiu jitsu

Here is an example of three technique sequences that are aimed at different levels of proficiency in BJJ:

Americana from mount: Everyone should know how to perform this technique. It's a basic and very very effective Brazilian jiu jitsu attack from mount and while there are many good instructionals on how to perform the Americana from mount, I feel that Ryron and Rener show it best in the Gracie Combatives (watch here for free, courtesy of Gracie University) course. If you don't want to go the link, this clip from 2007 Gracie Insider is very good too.



Amrbar counter to the americana prevention: No technique will work all the time and on everyone. Every technique in grappling and BJJ has counters and counters to the counters and here is a beautiful example. It's beautiful because of it's simplicity. It's almost impossible to finish the americana shoulder lock with one of your arms still trapped under the opponent's head so a simple way to prevent them from finishing it is to trap that arm there with a heavy head and a death grip. As you progress in grappling and BJJ it's important to learn to combine your attacks and the counter demonstrated here by Mr James Smart at the Gracie Academy in Cape Town (I trained privately with James during my last visit there and he is very good) is an excellent transition.



Omoplata counter: This is just crazy. This is just mad ape-shit jiu jitsu from Mr Paulo Sandsten and I mean that in the bestest way possible. I honestly have no idea what the hell is going on here but I find it very intriguing. Becoming creative with your jiu jitsu is a beautiful process that everyone should "indulge" in. I say "indulge" because I don't think this is where the majority of mat time should be spent but when someone with solid jiu jitsu fundamentals invests in his or her creativity in grappling, you get this kind of beauty. The fact that the clip comes from somewhere in my homeland of Sweden is the cherry on top.



I don't feel beginners should only ever practice fundamentals or that black belts should never dedicate time to the good ol' elbow knee escape et al. In fact, Stephan Kesting said it best recently when referencing the way the staff at Google work - They spend the majority of their time of productive activities. Maybe 70% or so on the fundamentals. They also invest 25% of their time on projects that may or may not lead to productive outcomes. These are not fundamentals but they rest firmly on them. The last 5% is spent on totally bonkers and out-there activities. Crazy shizzle that is not necessarily aimed at producing anything of use but, funnily enough, sometimes does!

--------------------------------------------------

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill and Brutal TShirt: Made By Grapplers For Fighters

----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks

BJJ Tips: How to get better armbars from the guard. Vincente Jr shows his tricks

Armbars from guard are a great attack in Brazilian jiu jitsu. They can result in an impressive joint lock submission, a choke, a nice sweep or even a back take.

The opponent knows this, at least the good ones do, and will try to stop you. In this video by BJJWeekly, Vincente Jr (a third degree black belt under Ricardo De La Riva) shows a very nice use of combined levers to better control the arm:

For more of Vincente Jr's fine grappling work, check out his excellent BJJ blog.

Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi

Proudly sponsored by Predator Fightwear: Built for the kill

----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks

BJJ / Grappling Techniques: 143 Armlocks by Ryron Gracie

How many Brazilian or Gracie Jiu Jitsu arm locks can you do in 10 minutes?

In this recent video, Ryron Gracie, the eldest grandson of Helio Gracie, whips out143 armlocks in less than 10 minutes :). Possibly, the first armbar / armlock BJJ record video ever!




Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi ----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks

BJJ / Grappling Techniques: Armbar from Closed Guard

How to perform an armbar from guard in BJJ on someone who knows what they are doing, an expeerienced opponent. Roger Gracie black belt Nick Gregoriades off shows us the technical details of controlling and locking the arm in a very tight arm bar from the closed guard. From grips, to controlling the arm, to locking the shoulder all the way to obtaining the correct angle for your guard and attacking with the armbar. Nick shows you how to perform the armbar in a way that counters what an advanced BJJ player would do to defend the armlock from closed guard.



Liam "The Part Time Grappler" Wandi ----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks

Understanding BJJ: Linking Grappling Techniques

“See Construction”

Please read the above phrase 5 times in your head.

Now please read it again 3 times loud enough for you to hear your own voice (but not necessary loud enough to alarm innocent bystanders, or sitters)

What does it mean?

Do you want me to help you a little? OK, I will put it in a sentence that has Brazilian Jiu Jitsu / Grappling / MMA context:

“As a BJJ athlete, I have travelled the world to see construction!”

I’m sure most of you fine; intelligent people have figured this out by now. If you haven’t, it’s not your fault. It’s a trick. Pesky me!

Now read this:

“As a BJJ athlete, I have travelled the world to seek instruction!”

“See Construction”
“Seek Instruction”

It’s an easy mistake-a to make-a.

Now take that and think about all the moves you’re struggling to make work in BJJ / Grappling. Have a think about that flower sweep you just can’t pull off or the armbar that people seem to escape at will. After you’ve examined it properly and ensured all the technical details are adhered to (and you still can’t make it work) then start thinking about the set-up or the move you do just before.

1. Are you breaking their posture before entering your technique?
2. Are they stationary or are they in motion, generating momentum that you can perhaps use?
3. If you’re linking two or more BJJ manoeuvres, is it very obvious that the first one is just a fake? My Karate sensei always stressed that the first move should always carry enough of a threat to warrant their reaction.

Before initiating the flower sweep, break their posture then release so they posture up and raise their centre of gravity.

If you can’t keep the arm in place to armbar, attack with a deep; threatening palm-up palm-down cross choke and watch them chase you with that arm trying to block the choke.

Basically, if you can’t see the construction, you should seek some instruction.



Here is Gracie Humaita black belt Mr Raphael Lovato Jr. talking you thru the Flower Sweep. Watch and learn from the best!



----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks

BJJ Video Tips: Finishing Straight Armbars from Spider Web / Mount

I have decided to make and post more videos. They really help me get my point across but more importantly, they help start a discussion from the blog readers.

Here is a short video I made with my brother Mr Sam Wandi demonstrating how a weight management principle I picked up in Yoga can be applied to positions and submissions in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. To demonstrate the point, I use the straight armbar. Please let me know what you think:



----Did You Like This Article?--- Click here to add The Part Time Grappler to your Favourites / Bookmarks