Understanding The Heel Hook Submission – BJJ Leglocks – Part 5 Of 5
Professor Gustavo Gasperin and Dr. Mike Piekarski, DPT break down the most devastating Leglock, the Heel Hook. How to apply it, the difference between Inside vs Outside Heel Hook, and tips on how to prevent injuries.
Why And How To Incorporate Wrestling Into Your BJJ Training – Firas Zahabi
This video is about How to incorporate Wrestling in BJJ. In my opinion BJJ and Wrestling should all be training in one room just like all the Wrestling programmes across the world. Blending both Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling together leads to scrambles and sequences that we would others never have a chance to explore. Don’t miss out on adding this very interesting dimension to your game. – Firas Zahabi
Garry Tonon Ankle Lock Defense From 50/50, Plus Heel Hook Counter Attack
Garry Tonon shows some techniques and talks theories on how to defend an ankle lock from the 50/50 position. This video was made in 2016 after Garry’s May Seminar at Stout Training Pittsburgh – Team Renzo Gracie.
16yo Blue Belt Phenom Roberto Jimenez Defeats Black Belt!
Roberto Jimenez once beat a black belt when he was just a green belt (max belt level until turning 16)! Now as a 16 year old blue belt he is at it again!
This weekend, he out-pointed Jason Soliz at a tournament in Texas. This is the fourth time that he has defeated a black belt in his young career.
Watch the video below and give him a follow on Facebook by clicking here.
Check out another match below filmed by photographer guru Mike Calimbas! The kid is sick!
“Superman” Actor Henry Cavill Practices BJJ! Visits Renzo Gracie Affiliate!
Even Superman himself supplements his powers with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu!
“I had the pleasure and the honour of training at the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu academy in Florida. A huge thank you to professors @stanbeckbjj and @juanr200 for your hospitality, patience and of course your knowledge.” – Henry Cavill
The Art of Flopping Over: The Epidemic Of Losing Base And Balance Among BJJ Practitioners
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu clearly isn’t known for its takedowns. But is intentionally taking the bottom position always the best option in grappling?
We all started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to learn how to control the ground game. Wrestling, Judo and a slew of other grappling sports focus entirely on getting the other opponent down. But Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is so focused on ground fighting, that often practitioners will sacrifice balance and base as a trade-off for getting in a bottom position. While there is nothing wrong with “the bottom” strategically, sacrificing balance and base (herein: flopping over) is always a mistake.
But what is base?
Base or (Base of Support) is the area (width x height) of the bottom part of any upright structure.
(Beating up people because of liking geometry and not the other way around.)
Since we presumably have mobile legs, we have to consider our legs position and ability to move from said positioning when calculating our approximate base.
Below are three classic examples of base that we often consider when doing takedowns and striking arts. Let’s see which scenario is ideal for base:
Clearly the middle foot positioning gives us both a wide enough step (but not too wide) and deep enough step (but not too deep).
And what exactly is balance?
Balance (in terms of fighting) is the ability to keep oneself upright, by a means of keeping your center of gravity within a central part of the base. This is no easy task while attempting to move yourself and another human being.
So now that we understand what staying upright means in theory, how does that apply to grappling as a whole?
OK, I get the science of staying upright, but I still end up falling down.
Not to worry. Just like a white belt who doesn’t know the first thing about guard passing or sweeping, your takedown game probably only consists of submission attempts and those generally don’t help us stay upright. So, instead, let’s focus on some thing BJJ guys forget when standing:
Engaging on your terms
Don’t sit idly by while you are pushed or pulled in the initial phase of takedowns. The key to any good takedown (as is true in lots of grappling) is the set-up. Try to remain balanced and in good base when you get pushed or pulled. And when you have your footing, push and pull back!
Crossface, crossface, crossface!
If you don’t crossface when somebody is attempting a single (or even double) on you, your opponent will take you down all day long.
If you’re already doing BJJ and you don’t know what a crossface is, ask your instructor or learn about it on Youtube. It’s kind of a big deal.
Don’t Turtle!
Anyone who knows me I love the turtle guard. However, when I want to stay on top, it’s not the best place to be. Instead, if you find yourself in the turtle (from a failed shot or from being snapped down) you should diversify your turtle guard to learn a series of shoulder sweeps to sweep your opponent and come on top.
If you do turtle, turtle like Eduardo Telles.
NOTE: The classic log roll from turtle is one of SEVERAL moves and is by far the most predictable/easy to counter. If you only attempt it and just get pancaked, your turtle guard isn’t diverse enough to be called a guard.s
But what about base for BJJ, where we aren’t on our feet?
Good question. However, all of the above still applies for the ground game. Keeping that in mind, let’s cover some things we typically don’t remember when the fight hits the ground.
Use your head!
It’s good for thinking but the human head is even better for crushing! When it comes to grappling (standing or ont the ground), one of the most underrated appendages on the human body is the head.
If we think of all the tools we have at our disposal, we generally think about our hands, feet, maybe knees, but often neglect our good head positioning. (GIF credit to BJJScout)
What did the head say to the face?
SIT DOWN!
Don’t get overzealous with attacking
We’ve all been there. Your opponent is turtled or in the bottom of sprawl control and you get so excited to take his back or submit him and then you’re back where you started, on the bottom in some kind of guard. Some key points to remember in these moments:
– You don’t need to fall over when attacking the crucifix. It’s an even stronger position if you can lock it up with him still facing down, rather than having him lay on you.
– Underhooks prevent you from falling off the front when taking the back. We all love the seatbelt, but if you find yourself falling over the front of the guy’s turtle, you probably didn’t have a sufficient underhook. Switch to double underhooks if you feel this happening.
Don’t just attack the upper-body. The Truck is a great way to get your opponent worrying about his legs in a position where he’s mostly worried about his neck.
If we can stop from needlessly flopping over, we can use our guards to come on top and STAY there. Sweeping a guy 10 times in a match is cool, but wouldn’t you rather control him and submit him?
The All Powerful Hip Switch Half Guard Pass Tutorial
I titled this article “The All Powerful Hip Switch Half Guard Pass Tutorial” because this is currently my favorite way to pass the half guard. I fell in love with this pass because my coach used to absolutely crush me using it. He taught it to me, and now I crush people with it. Learn it and love it white belts!
Learn the 4 tricks that top Black Belts use and abuse to finish their armbar attacks. I see even experienced grapplers making mistakes that cripple their ability to submit opponents. These 4 techniques will have you taking arms home like its your job. This is part 1 of a whole series specifically on dismantling someones ingrained defenses that everyone does to shut down arm attacks.
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