Controlling the hands in Jiu-Jitsu

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Controlling the hands in Jiu-Jitsu

In Jiu-Jitsu, controlling the hands is one of the best kept secrets. Control your opponents hands and wrists and it’ll be difficult for them to control you. The basis of connection in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the HANDS and FEET. We teach this concept often at Savarese Jiu-Jitsu (www.njbjj.com). These concept are true in similar art like Wrestling, freestyle and folkstyle, Judo and MMA. It is through these that we begin to connect to an opponent. we connect in ways that enable us to use the more powerful legs, hips and core to actually move an opponent around. But it all begins with hands and feet. It stands to reason then, that if you can control an opponent’s hands, it will be difficult for him to connect effectively to you.
Best of all is when you can consistently control his hands to shut down his attempts at connection. all at the same whilst at the same time you are able to quickly transition to your own effective grips so that you shut down his offense while enabling your own. When you come out to grapple, start at the the opponents hands and wrists and you’ll negate his offense while setting up your own.
For more tips follow us at https://www.instagram.com/savaresebjj/

BJJ: It’s all in the details

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BJJ: It’s all in the details

It’s a game of details and insights: Sometimes you can work on a move for months with little progress and then a single detail or insight that you pick up, sometimes by accident, sometimes by experimentation and sometimes by instruction, can transform it from mediocrity to excellence. It stands to reason then, that the most valuable asset you can have in this game is a curious and restless mind that constantly seeks knowledge. Without that curiosity you’ll settle wherever you are and accept that level, but when your mind pushes for insight that brings improvement you’ll never be caught on a plateau for long. Do you want to get good at BJJ? Depends on what you mean by “good.” Good enough to understand the general concepts, get decent at positions and learned a few escapes and submissions? About a year to 18 months, going two to three times a week. This would normally put you at about blue belt level, which isn’t bad. Good enough to truly understand set ups, transition chains and to be able to start treating it like an art? About 3 to 5 years. Most people can expect to be around purple belt then. Good enough to be able to teach others, generally understand any position, and have your own game or plan? Around 6 to 8 years. Most people are brown belts around this time. Good enough to be formidable to any person that you face in BJJ? Well, maybe 10 years or so, when you get a black belt. Even then, only a very few become what I’d call “world beaters” or those that can compete at the highest levels. These time frames can vary based on life circumstances, age and natural ability.

The power of your hips in Jiu-Jitsu

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The power of your hips in Jiu-Jitsu

The power of your hips in Jiu-Jitsu is essential. Here are some details about using the power of your hips: In most respects the human body is not particularly impressive in terms of generating power, but the hips and legs are a notable exception. When you can harness the power of your hips in a constructive way, you’ll find your combat effectiveness greatly increases. One of the best examples of this comes when athletes use their hips effectively against takedown attempts. Aggressively checking and stopping an opponents takedown with your hips and then pulling him onto your hips to lift and rotate him enables you to strongly counter takedowns and many forms of wrestling based guard sweeps. Probably the most commonly used variation of this is uchi mata. You’ll need an upper body connection, usually an over hook, but it’s the lower body that supplies the horsepower. Learning to quickly fit your hips into and under your opponents hips provides you with a tremendous source of power that you can call on at a moment’s notice and turn defense into offense. For more tips, follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/savaresebjj/

Why Jiu-Jitsu is so great

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Why Jiu-Jitsu is so great

I truly believe that one of the great reasons why classical Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is so successful as a martial art is it’s incredibly simple and clear basic directive. There is clarity of purpose in BJJ. You can explain it to a total neophyte in two minutes and it’ll make intuitive sense to him. In fact it’s so clear that I believe if you took two completely untrained people with no fighting experience of similar size and strength and explained the basic directive of Jiu-Jitsu to one of them but not the other, the one who had been taught that basic directive would have a considerably higher chance of victory if they fought each other, not because he has gained any skill – he hasn’t – but just because he now has an effective and proven SENSE OF DIRECTION while the other only has his instincts. When one person has a sense of direction and purpose in a crises and the other doesn’t – I’ll put my money on the fellow with a sense of direction and purpose every time. What is this basic directive of Jiu jitsu? It can be stated in a single sentence. WORK YOUR WAY TO THE MOUNTED POSITION OR REAR MOUNTED POSITION AND FINISH YOUR OPPONENT. It doesn’t matter whether it’s grappling or fighting. If you follow that simple directive and have the skills to do it against the resistance of your opponent – you’ll be a very difficult challenge indeed. Remember always that every rule, point allocation, recommendation, technique and tactic of Jiu jitsu Bia just a means to satisfying this basic directive. Never lose sight of its clarity and you’ll always know what to do and how to train and prepare.

The value of a good Jiu-Jitsu instructor

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The value of a good Jiu-Jitsu instructor

The value of a good Jiu-Jitsu instructor and the true value of mentorship are one in the same. Dedicating yourself to a teacher works for many reasons. The one that most people focus on is the most obvious – as a student we gain knowledge and information from good counsel and an expert eye. But mostly it works because once you’ve committed yourself fully to a teacher, you have a responsibility to actually GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR. This has less to do with anything specific that they do and a whole lot to do with the depth and obligation of the relationship. The only way to fully repay a mentor or teacher is by demonstrating that you have the wherewithal to evolve and grow in a way that actually matters. Being on the hook in this way puts you in a tough spot…which is exactly the point. It’s a commitment anyone can elect to undertake or renew regardless of where you are in your personal evolution, grappling career or jiu-jitsu lifecycle. It’s this dedication which forges the bond and, like it or not, there can be no true benefit as a student without such a commitment.

Using your legs in Jiu-Jitsu

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Using your legs in Jiu-Jitsu

Using your legs in Jiu-jitsu is important. Fight them with your legs! One of the most fundamental aspects of BJJ or all martial arts is it’s philosophy of always seeking to match your legs against your opponent’s arms whenever possible. All the best positions and submissions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu involve you connecting your legs to your opponent’s upper body to take advantage of the fact that the human body has a basic asymmetry between upper body strength and endurance versus lower body strength and endurance. So using your bottom half in Jiu-Jitsu becomes very valuable. If you can consistently match your lower body against an opponents upper body you’ll have a great advantage even when you’re smaller than your opponent. Make it your mission to always lead with your legs and you’ll go far in this game! Follow us for more tips on Instagram /https://www.instagram.com/savaresebjj/ 

What are the best BJJ moves for you?

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What are the best BJJ moves for you?

What are the best BJJ moves for you? Highly effective, but not universally effective: There are some moves in Jiu-Jitsu that are highly effective but not universally effective. What does this mean? It describes a move that works extremely well for those people whose body type supports the move, but doesn’t work at all for those people whose body does not support the move. A good example would a body triangle. If you are blessed with relatively long and thin legs and your opponent has a reasonably slim waist, a body triangle is extremely effective as a means of back control that is generally superior to basic hooks. Anyone can use it, should use it. However, a body triangle may well be impossible for students who have short, thick legs or an opponent with a large mid section. In these cases you can’t even get the move started. So what should we do? Should we focus on universality as the trait of our move selection? Or is it better to learn the most effective moves and just apply them cases by case where applicable? I do think there is a lot to be said for having a universal game, but I’m also a realist and understand that some moves (such a body triangle) are just so damn good that you’d be handicapping yourself if you didn’t use them when you could. Remember, moves don’t have to work for everyone in order to work for you.

Fighting your way out of trouble in BJJ

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Fighting your way out of trouble in BJJ

Fighting your way out of trouble in BJJ is a near certainty. If there is one certainty in Jiu-Jitsu it’s that your opponent will create every bit of havoc and trouble for you that they can. The typical pattern will always be one of you constantly having to dig yourself out of trouble and then get back on the attack. When we drill we typically just practice moves assuming we are in control of the action, but the reality is that in sparring and competition we are rarely in control of the action. Usually it’s a back and forth battle where you’re defending against your opponents attack with you working hard to shut it down and then trying to establish your own attack. This pattern is maintained until one of you fatigues or one of you can establish a position or move that exceed the others ability to defend. Get used to this sense of back of forth struggle. It’s exhausting and frustrating but it’s the essential nature of the game. If you can’t accept and embrace that, then you cannot expect to do well.

Your favorite move in Jiu-Jitsu

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Your favorite move in Jiu-Jitsu

Your favorite move in Jiu-Jitsu usually becomes the foundation for most of your attacks. When it comes to favorite moves, almost all great athletes have their signature moves. These form the basis of their attacking game. Once you develop one solid attacking move it will force opponents to react to it in predictable ways. This will enable you to develop follow up moves that counter your opponent’s counters to that original move. Thus does the original move function like the trunk of a tree and from that trunk grows multiple branches and from them more branches until a complete tree grows and emerges. In this way a few favorite moves can create great growth across your entire game. I usually discourage athletes from trying to FORCE a favorite move. It will usually come to you naturally and organically as a response to your body type and personality and coaching lineage. Once you have a few favorites they will form the bedrock of your offense. Add appropriate supplements to those moves in response to opponent’s resistance and soon you’ll have a complete offensive game that fits you as naturally as your favorite clothes

Staying compact in Jiu-Jitsu

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Staying compact in Jiu-Jitsu

Staying compact in Jiu-Jitsu in extremely important. jiu-jitsu is more often than not a sport that generally punishes extension. In general you’re better off in most situations keeping your elbows and knees close to your core and to each other. If you just work with this simple desiderata in mind – KEEP YOUR ELBOWS AND KNEES CLOSE TOGETHER AND CLOSE TO YOUR BODY – you’ll do better on the mats. As you grow in sophistication you’ll add the idea of inside positioning but that’s a longer story for a another day. Stay compact and you’ll stay alive – stay alive and you’re always in the fight!