Double Trouble Leglock attacks

/in /by


Double Trouble Leglock attacks

I went over this after class w/ Dan and Elion after class monday night so I decided to blog about this attack for our advanced students. Double trouble: When it comes to joint locks, here is a an axiom that once learned and understood, will make a big difference to your performance. WHENEVER YOU GO TO BREAK A LIMB DURING A COMPETITIVE MATCH, NINETY PERCENT OF THE RESISTANCE WILL COME FROM THE ACTION OF THE OTHER LIMB. This is true for both arm locks and leg locks. If you try to break the left arm, most of the initial resistance will come from the holding action of the right arm. If you go to break the right leg, most of the resistance will begin with the movement, blocking, or locking of the left leg. As such, whenever we get into position to break a limb – WE HAVE TO BE READY TO CONTROL AND SHUT DOWN THE EFFECT OF THE OPPOSITE LIMB. If you can do this you will immediately create twice as much danger to your opponent (double trouble) than if you only focus on the limb you’re trying to break. Learn to CONTROL an opponent as you move towards the joint lock by controlling BOTH limbs, and then learn to manage the transition to the isolated single limb when it’s time to BREAK him – if you can do this, you will become a dangerous joint locker indeed. Here, Craig Jones uses the principle of double trouble to tie up an opponent and then brilliantly managed the transition from two legs to one so he can generate the pressure required at championship level against the toughest opponents to get the win. Make the principle of double trouble part of your submission mindset and double your effectiveness.Two men are wrestling on a mat in the ring.

Controlling your opponent in BJJ

/in /by


Controlling your opponent in BJJ

Controlling your opponent in BJJ is a necessary skill for any good grappler. Here is the thing about control.. the fundamental goal of good Jiu-Jitsu is always control that leads to submission. In addition, a good indicator of the degree of control you have is HOW MUCH SPEED AND EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH DO YOU HAVE TO USE IN ORDER TO SUCCESSFULLY APPLY YOUR SUBMISSION HOLD. As a general rule, if you can only get opponents to tap by exploding into submissions at maximum speed and strength, you are not really controlling your opponent and you are using speed as a substitute for control. This will inevitably lead to a high failure rate in the log run and you will leave a string of many injured training partners in your path. Then, nobody will want to train with you. When you can use submission holds to RESTRAIN MOVEMENT and apply them in SLOW MOTION with the same devastating effects as you do at maximum speed and power,  then you know you are on the path to mastering CONTROL. Here, our student Franklyn Rodriguez, shows his ability to lock down a very powerful opponent as he immobilizes him with a powerful side control w head control and tired his opponent. Finally, this lead to the mount position and an armlock finish. Make CONTROL your goal and you can choose how you apply your submission holds and run the full range of gentle to devastating applications of submission depending upon your circumstances. If you learned something from this blog, check back again here at www.njbjj.com for more tips on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Offensive and defensive initiative from BJJ guard

/in /by


Offensive and defensive initiative from BJJ guard

Offensive and defensive initiative from BJJ guard. This is a question I always get. There are 2 different kinds, offensive and defensive opening moves from guard. Whenever you are in a competitive match with a skilled opponent and making use of guard position, there will be times your opponent has the offensive first move and is fighting to pass, and you are primarily defensive. Sometimes, you are fighting only to retain your guard with no thought of offense. Then, there will be other times where you have the offensive first move. Maybe you are trying to sweep or submit your opponent and he is in defensive mode with no thought of passing. So, usually it goes back and forth until there is a score. Furthermore it is very important that you fight to finish every defensive period with a transition into some form of guard that enables you to enter into an offensive period. Any BJJ practitioner cannot just continually play defense or try to retain their guard (guard retention.) Any good opponent will eventually crack even the toughest walls, and if and when they do pass your guard, they will surely win a decision. Every cycle of defense/retention must be followed by an immediate switch into an offensive cycle where you carry the fight to your opponent. You have to find your game and at the completion of every act of retention, go straight into counter offense to start your own period of offense. Leglocks are great for this. Whatever method you choose, make sure follow each period of defense/retention with your period of offense/sweep/submission – that way you will carry the fight to your opponent rather than just getting worn down over time by continuous defense.
if you like this article, please check back tomorrow for more tips at www.njbjj.com

Position and standing technique in BJJ

/in /by


Position and standing technique in BJJ

Position and standing technique: From the first day you begin your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey, you got told the importance of position. Position before submission has always been the motto of BJJ or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. You were probably told that position is more important than anything else and you should work mostly upper body submissions. There is a reason why you were told this. Because in the vast majority of cases, it is true. However, when you were shown standing techniques, all the talk about position was abandoned. But, position and standing technique in BJJ are just as important. You were probably just shown some random takedowns and told to do them from wherever you were. This is a mistake. THERE ARE JUST AS MANY DEMANDS AND NUANCES IN THE STANDING GAME AS THERE ARE IN THE GROUND GAME. In addition, and just like the ground game, getting good position first makes applying the takedowns much easier and your success rate skyrockets. Just like it’s “position before submission” on the ground, the theory of position before most takedowns on the feet applies as well. I am often asked “what are the dominant positions in the standing game?” Well, there are several, but the one I always like to teach first is to constantly seek to get a dominant position OUTSIDE your opponents elbows. If you can get an advantageous position outside the elbows, most takedowns are easier to apply. When you go to grip up with your opponent, seek to get outside his elbows and either attack directly from there or as your opponent tries to recover and square up with you. Having that first positional advantage will make the takedowns so much easier to apply. Don’t think that position is just something that only applies to the ground game. It’s just as valuable on the feet. Start your journey by always trying to find ways to get outside your opponents elbows and go from there.

The best positions to finish in BJJ

/in /by


The best positions to finish in BJJ

The best positions to finish in BJJ are usually considered the mount and the back. So, make sure you have good chokes and control from those positions of importance. History has shown that chokes from rear mount have been the single most successful and versatile form of submission in Jiu-Jitsu. All students should do everything in their power to increase their skill in this area. Less well known however, is the idea that one of the best ways to increase your success with rear naked chokes is to get good at chokes from the front headlock position. My friend John Danaher, widely considered one of the top BJJ instructors in the world, used to say the front headlock position was so dominant, he believed points should be scored in competition for it. Once you establish a reputation as having dangerous chokes from front headlock position, opponents will be forced to go into strong defensive reactions to that threat. Their reactions will be so strong and predictable that they will make the task of shifting to the back position to set up rear naked chokes much easier than they would otherwise be. Diversion will always be one of the best means to break through strong defenses in combat sports. In addition, and a good choke attempt from the front headlock position is an excellent diversion for a quick go behind and entry into your favorite rear attacks. So make sure you can attack well both front and back with your choke attacks, since improvement in one will always lead to increased success with the other (this goes in both directions, though usually front to back is preferable over back to front because it leads to a more controlling position.) See you on the mats.

BJJ offers something for everyone

/in /by


BJJ offers something for everyone

BJJ offers something for everyone, it one of the best things I love about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Some want to compete, some lose weight, some maybe just want to make some new friend with common fitness goals. Maybe some want to be a MMA fighters. People from all walks of life, doctors, lawyers, fireman, policeman, office workers, high school athletes etc fill our mats daily.

Here are two ways of the biggest ways of studying Jiu-Jitsu: One of the beautiful things of Jiu-Jitsu is that you can approach it in two very different ways. Both of which are very profitable to your development. The first is to study Jiu-Jitsu as a martial art/combat sport in itself. If you study Jiu-Jitsu as a stand alone art by itself you can make fast progress and really focus on pure grappling. I still believe after all these years that just BJJ by itself makes for an extremely effective fighting style. Even a very highly ranked fighter would have to be very wary of a very good Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who had no MMA training and stay away from certain positions and play a smart tactical game to win. The other approach is to see BJJ as a component of a complete fighting style that borrowed from various combat sports to produce a well rounded MMA style that covered everything. This is generally the best approach for fighting but is often not suitable to part timers or older athletes or professionals who simply can’t risk daily injuries while working a full time job. Many BJJ students are BJJ specialists who dedicate their time to single discipline, BJJ as a self defense art the way the Gracie Family created it. Takedown to grappling position to submission. Someone like Georges St Pierre is the all rounder who uses Jiu-Jitsu training as a vital component of an overall program as a professional MMA athlete. Both are wonderful ways to approach the art. I’ve always loved the fact that BJJ can adapt to the needs of its followers like this and it has created some amazing memories for me as a coach and competitor to see different athletes with different goals working together in their own directions.

www.njbjj.com  will be back tomorrow with more BJJ advice
A group of people in white uniforms doing sit ups.Two people in a judo match on the ground.

A woman in white uniform sitting on the ground.

The power of the closed guard

Pulling the trigger on submissions in BJJ

/in /by


Pulling the trigger on submissions in BJJ

Pulling the trigger on submissions in BJJ sometimes takes time to learn, but is a necessary skill in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Opportunity won’t last forever, sometimes, it’s just a flash. The higher in rank you get, the smaller the openings become.  Jiu-Jitsu is a game of movement. As the two athletes move around each other, opportunities to attack will naturally arise. No doubt all of you will already have your favorite opportunities. In addition, some of you will favor front headlocks, some kimuras, some leg locks from variations of leg attacks. Arguably the most effective opportunistic scramble targets are the back and mount- whichever one you favor – understand that the opportunity will be fleeting and the better your opponent, the more fleeting it will be. As such, you must build the capacity to PULL THE TRIGGER UPON OPPORTUNITY. You will need to build this skill in two ways. First, building the skills that lead to success with the move. Second, building the defensive skills that will enable you to recover in cases you fail to succeed with the move. Fear of the consequences of failing in the split second of opportunity has stopped more athletes from attempting the move when the opportunity was there than athletes who tried and failed. In a world of fleeting opportunity it’s not just about the skills that make the move work, but about the confidence to pull the trigger and attempt it, for without the attempt, no amount of skill will be of value in that fleeting time you have to perform the move you seek. See you on the mats.

Finishing your single leg

/in /by


Finishing your single leg

Finishing your single leg is something that needs to mastered. The second you make contact with the leg, you have to attack your opponents balance. One of the most common problems with Jiu-Jitsu practitioners/competitors is a tendency to simply pick the leg up when going into their high single legs. . As a result, their opponent escapes. Because their opponents can easily maintain balance on one leg and because they are in good balance, they can immediately go into strong counters. Counters like guillotines, kimuras, as well as leg lock entries. These present all kinds of problems. It is very important that the second you get two hands to the leg, you immediately exert strong downward pressure with shoulder/chest while pushing with your head so that your opponent is out of balance with weight on his heels of his feet. Often this will force him to use his arms to help regain balance. In addition, this precludes him from using this arms to lock up his guillotine, kimura and leg lock counters. This will put all his attention with staying up rather than attacking you. Then you can focus on the task of completing the takedown without the distraction of defending yourself from his counters. Make a habit doing more than picking the leg up. Make sure you go further disturb his balance at the same time and keep him hopping and reaching so they he never gets settled enough to counter attack so you can make a smoother completion to your takedown.
If you enjoyed this article, check back at www.njbjj.com

Uke and Tori meaning in BJJ

/in /by


Uke and Tori meaning in BJJ

I am often asked, what is the meaning of Uke and tori in BJJ? To answer, almost all drilling in a Jiu-Jitsu class is done with one person, usually a professor or instructor, who is PERFORMING the move being practiced. That person is the Tori (Tori – the executor of the technique). In addition, the other person who has the technique  BEING PERFORMED UPON THEM is the Uke (Uke – the receiver of the technique). For the students of Savarese BJJ, the uke is often Elliot, Nate or Maverick. In some places, being the Uke is an honor, as you are someone the instructor trusts to be in lock step with him and not interrupt his “flow” while teaching. One of the best ways to learn in Jiu-Jitsu is to be the Uke to a more advanced Tori. When I started Jiu-Jitsu, I was often the Uke to my instructor David Adiv (www.gracienj.com) at his school at the Somerset Hills YMCA. At first I was nervous but realized I was learning a lot more by having the techniques being performed on me and feeling them. As time passed I benefitted immensely as first, I felt what perfectly executed technique should feel like first hand, and in time I got closer and closer to replicating that in my own training. Second, I gained insight on technique that can only come from feeling it rather than just watching it. Third, I learned about the correct reactions to the technique as they were taught in chains and combinations. When you are the Uke in training,  recognize it as a tremendous opportunity to boost your skill level indirectly and be loose, not stiff. Soon the best people in the Academy will want to drill with you and you will accelerate your learning even faster. In addition, if you are the guy that when it’s time to get a partner for drills and everyone walks away from you and no one makes eye contact, that’s a pretty good sign that you are not a good Uke during positional drilling and need to improve.

Winning scrambles in BJJ

/in /by


Winning scrambles in BJJ

Winning scrambles in BJJ in a very big part of the live training process. As your reaction time and defense improves, so will your ability to win the position in a scramble. There are an infinite number of possibilities in a scramble, but there should be only one goal…the opponents back. If you follow the sport side of BJJ, John Danaher’s students seem to excel at this in no-gi and guys like the Miyao brothers, Mendes brothers and Keenan Cornelius as well. It can be hard to know what to do in the fleeting time and motion of a scrambles. The single most useful thing you can have under these circumstances is a sense of direction. You can actually go in several good directions in a scramble, but in my opinion the best direction will always be towards your opponents back. (and the mount as well, Khabib Nurmagomedov excels there). The back is a big target, a huge percentage of our body’s surface area, so it will always be available at some point as you move through a prolonged scramble. Once you get there it enables you to control and finish the toughest opponents. When your world is a confusing tangle of limbs flying around the mat,  keep your thought process simple and clear, aim for the back. Remember, in a race between a speedster with no sense of direction versus someone with a tight BJJ game who knows exactly where he wants to go, – the tight game will beat the speedster every time.

Check back tomorrow at www.njbjj.com