Effective scenarios from open guard

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Effective scenarios from open guard

Effective scenarios from open guard are plentiful. What scenarios must you be effective from in open guard? The vast majority of guard play in Jiu-Jitsu is from open guard. There are many variations of open guard and the sheer amount of material you need to learn can seem overwhelming at times. Rest assured however that when you look at open guard in terms of the number of possible scenarios from which you must be effective (a rather small number) rather than the number of possible moves (an extremely large number) then things seem much more manageable. Your opponent has three options, kneeling, one knee on floor and standing (within the standing category there is a particularly important option – the split squat, often referred to as “headquarters†position. You have two options, you can be seated or you can be lying on your back and having the face upward. So the number of possible general scenarios is not so big. You will need at least a couple of trusted and effective moves in each of those scenario combinations. Seen in this light you can see it’s a very manageable project. My favorite move when I’m seated and my opponent is on his knees has always been the hook sweep (essentially a ground version of the sumi-gaeshi standing sacrifice throw). It works equally well in the gi and no gi and combines extremely well with many other moves – particularly leg locks. Make sure your training program covers all the scenarios of open guard and soon you will be able to attack regardless of which scenario you may find yourself in.

Using your head in BJJ

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Using your head in BJJ

Using your head in BJJ is important in so many areas. First, your head is a heavy weight at the end of the longest lever of the human body. So learn to use it effectively. In addition, the average human head weighs just over ten pounds (around 4.5kg) and is positioned at the end of the longest lever in the human body, the spine. As such, it can be used to supply a surprising amount of weight in directions you need if used correctly. You can use your head position to nullify what could be a dangerous underhooks. Learning to use the placement of your own head and the displacement of your opponents head is a big part of what it means to maximize the nature of the human body to advantage. Ten pounds may not seem like much, but when it’s connected to a long lever it can get very heavy indeed as that lever gets lowered over your target. Think about connecting a ten pins dumbbell to a good sized stick and then holding the other end of the stick in your hand. As long as you keep the stick vertical it is quite manageable – but as soon as you lower the weighted end of that stick it quickly becomes a very heavy burden indeed! Here at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com) we teach you to learn to use your head in similar ways and you can become a burden to even a very strong opponent in ways that can point you towards victory.

Understanding your legs in BJJ

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Understanding your legs in BJJ

Understanding your legs in BJJ: A distinguishing characteristic of Jiu-Jitsu is the tremendous emphasis out upon grappling your opponent primarily with your legs. First, the guard position in all its many variations is stressed more than any other. Therefore, it is important that you understand the broad principles that enable your legs to be an effective weapon in the fight from bottom position. Understand that the hips are the engine room of the guard position, they drive everything and are the strongest parts of your body in connection with your legs. They provide the power and position that underlies guard play. By shifting side to side and slowing you to move between seated and supine positions they can out you in a position to attack and defend effectively. The kness are your shield in defense. The closer to your torso the stronger your defense, as long as you present two knees in front or around your opponents waist/hips (open and closed guard) or around one of his legs (half guard ) you are defensively sound and have the possibility of offense from underneath. Your feet solidify the connection/grip of your legs upon your opponent. In addition, they transmit the power of your hips and knees in meaningful ways to your opponents body. Don’t just touch your opponent with your feet, grip them with your feet. And you will be able to use your legs as you do your arms. We are big on this theory at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com). We spend all our lives using our hands and arms for a multitude of difficult tasks without thought. Jiu-Jitsu asks you to do the same with your feet and legs. When you do, you will be a very dangerous opponent from underneath.

Attacking Open Guard in BJJ

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Attacking Open Guard in BJJ

Attacking Open Guard in BJJ requires a couple of small steps to start dictating the pace. First, off balancing forward and backwards. In addition, a distinguishing characteristic of great guard players is their constant use of off balancing their opponents as a precursor to their big attacks. The main directions of thos attacks from guard are forwards and backwards (there are some good off balancing moves side to side especially when wearing a gi, but most or forwards and backwards). When you go to off balance someone forward from open guard, the best methods usually involve a pull with your upper body and a push with your lower body. Also, while off balances in backward directions usually (though not always) involve a push with the upper body and a pull with the lower body. The idea is to create a simultaneous application of two forces at two locations in opposite directions. That is what knocks an opponent off balance and creates the movement you will need to break through a tough opponents stance and posture and get your moves to work! Here at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com), we really stress getting your opponents back on the floor and making an agle to start you passing series.

Win or Learn in Jiu-Jitsu

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Win or Learn in Jiu-Jitsu

Win or Learn in Jiu-Jitsu is a statement by one of our Grandmasters, Carlos Gracie. For many it’s just a saying but it is indeed a way of life in BJJ that can be very beneficial if followed. When it’s over, focus on the why of the session. When sparring or a match is over, it tempting to just let emotion fill your mind. Joy if you performed well, sadness or frustration if you lost. That’s fine initially, but at some point you want to go into ANALYSIS. In order to improve, you must eliminate the mistakes made in previous performances. Even when you win you make mistakes. But the focus shouldn’t be about winning or losing, it should be about learning and your own personal growth. NEVER compare yourself to others, your journey is your own. This is a strong message we teach at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com). Continual improvement is more about elimination of error than it is about addition of new moves or tactics. Learning new moves takes substantial time, eliminating mistakes can in most cases be done relatively quickly. Just as it’s easier to make a car go faster and perform better by making it lighter than it is to put in a new engine in order to make it more powerful, so too, removing errors is easier than adding new moves. Next time you’ve had a grueling training session or match, take the time afterwards to analyze your mistakes so that tomorrow you can begin the removal of errors that lower your current performance.

Training alone in BJJ

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Training alone in BJJ

Training alone in BJJ – Three directions to make genuine progress when you can’t be in the dojo: Whenever I have students who can’t make it to the dojo for regular training I always encourage to work hard in three specifics ways. The first is to put time into solo movement drills/training. Every sport has a unique set of postural and movement demands required to play efficiently – those of Jiu-Jitsu put an extraordinary emphasis on floor movement, especially from supine (back on the floor) positions. The more efficiently you exhibit the underlying movements of a sport, the better you will perform the moves and the faster you will learn new ones. Second, stay in good shape. Jiu-Jitsu is a contact martial art where physicality plays a big role in the outcome. This is an opportunity to increase your overall physical prowess with gains in strength and flexibility. Over the years I have seen every variation of strength and conditioning program. No one method stood out as obviously superior to the others. I’ve never seen an athlete or group of athletes take on a new strength program and suddenly get dramatically better results than they were previously. Find a program that suits you and which you enjoy and which has a proven record among respected athletes and trainers and you can’t go wrong. Third, seek to increase your knowledge of the sport in all aspects. Knowledge is power. Very often just knowing one new piece of information can get you a win where previously you would have lost. Video is the preferred method of knowledge acquisition when the dojo is closed. Study the games of the great athletes past and present, if you find that difficult due to inexperience (at championship level the action is sometimes difficult to understand or confusing or unclear), instructional videos from your favorite athletes are a great alternative. Using this three directional approach means that when you return your body will move better, you will be stronger and more flexible and your mind will know more – this will set you up for rapid progress rather than deterioration during your time off. It has worked for all my athletes and it will work for you too!

Take your time in BJJ

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Take your time in BJJ

Take your time in BJJ, allow yourself to see opportunities. When you have a good position, TAKE YOUR TIME! One of the traits of good Jiu-Jitsu practitioners is that they know when they have to hustle and when they can slow things down. A great skill that you need to develop is that of consolidation. A big lesson we teach here at Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com), when you get a good position, let the position work for you! The only time you should be working hard is when you don’t have a good position. The whole purpose of good position is that it creates a situation where the other guy has to do more work than you do. If you are working harder than him when you are winning something is wrong. Allow your opponent to make the mistake and capitalize. Set them up 3or 4 moves ahead. Next time you get a position take your physical tension down a notch and switch your effort to the mental game of plotting your next move. As the body relaxes, the mind gets more active and it’s the mind that will guide you to your next step.

Shutting down movement in BJJ

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Shutting down movement in BJJ

Shutting down movement in BJJ will make your top game tough to beat. If you understand exactly what the main underlying body movement patterns of Jiu Jitsu are, you can shut them down. In addition, if you can shut down the movements, then you can shut down the moves and escapes. The vast majority of the moves from bottom position, everything from pin escapes, guard retention, sweeps etc etc all involve the body movement of shrimping (in its various manifestations). It stands to reason then, that if you study exactly what is required to shrimp your body, then you will know exactly what it is required to shut it down. And if you can shut down shrimping, you will have shut down any move from bottom position that is reliant upon shrimping to work. Shrimping always has three key elements. A planted foot, a moving hip and a moving head. If you can stop any of those three elements, you can shut down the movement overall and any subsequent moves that were based on it. This is why I put a heavy emphasis upon learning the underlying solo body movements of Jiu-Jitsu, in warmups warm up before class and as a specialized study in its own right. Understand the movements and you can grasp how to shut them down. Shut down the movement and this shut down an opponents moves. Here, our Savarese BJJ Academy (www.njbjj.com)  Baba does a good job stopping a shrimping movement at the head and hips to prevent any effective defense to his passing attack.

Two people are wrestling on a blue and orange mat.

Shutting down movement in BJJ

Passing guard one step at a time

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Passing guard one step at a time

Passing guard one step at a time is something that is commonly taught here at Savarese BJJ Academy (bergencountybjj.com). In addition, it is my favorite way to pass guard. There are many effective ways to pass an opponents guard, each has their good and bad points. But if I had only one way to pass guard for the rest of my life, I would unquestionably choose the method of forcing my way to half guard and passing from the half guard. Of all the methods out there, this is, in my experience, the most versatile and the most high percentage of all ways to pass the guard. It works equally well gi or no gi, grappling and fighting. As well as MMA. All my students excel at it and it figures very heavily in their passing game. No other method of passing can create such direct pressure upon the opponents head, which is a big part of why it is so successful in world championship competition. Next time you get stymied in a someones guard, break it into two steps. Force your way forward into half guard and then pass from there! I guarantee more success.

The 3 roads to victory in MMA/BJJ

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The 3 roads to victory in MMA/BJJ

The 3 roads to victory in MMA/BJJ that I believe in are taught here at Savarese BJJ (www.njbjj.com)
1) Perfect Execution : The first is to have such PERFECT EXECUTION of technique that it can be known and anticipated by an opponent but he simply cannot stop it (this usually requires a skill and/or athletic disparity such as speed, strength or size) between the two opponents at hand.
2) Systematic Control: The second is based on SYSTEMATIC CONTROL where the idea is to have such an elaborate system of set ups, controlling grips and positions, that an opponent is gradually funneled into an ever more controlling predicament that increasingly limits his defensive options until escape becomes virtually impossible (this is typically only possible when extreme control and a slower pace is available which usually means ground techniques). Take away all of their abilities to defend your attacks and they have no way out.
3) Deception: The third is to be able to DECEIVE an opponent as to what your real intentions are and achieve a breakthrough via feint/fake/misdirection that creates an opening or weakness that can be exploited before he can detect the ruse and create an effective resistance (this is typical done more in speed based elements of combat sports usually standing techniques where speed is far easier to generate than on the ground)

If you follow these 3 roads, first in your training at the Academy, during positional training, live training or drilling after class, you will notice a significant jump in your Jiu-Jitsu.