Masafumi Matsumoto I bet most of you hate being on the receiving end of the spider guard. Dealing with the spider guard can be tricky even when you know what to do. It’s even worse when you don’t know how to deal with it. You’d feel like a puppet manipulated by a puppet master. In this post, …
Here’s a question for those of you who practice BJJ with gi*: Do you think you have to break every grip when you try to pass your opponent’s guard? (Your opponent’s grips can bother you in no-gi as well, but usually not as much as in gi.) Or breaking some grips if not every grip? …
Defensive skills matter a lot in BJJ, but I suppose that not many people voluntarily practice this aspect of grappling with delight. Perhaps it’s because practicing submissions is more fun. Perhaps it’s because you have to suffer more when you practice defense. If you had to choose either triangling your training partner or practicing triangle …
At the beginning of your BJJ journey, you need guidance from your coach, but as you progress, you will need to learn how to learn and practice new techniques on your own. And, frankly, it’s more fun to let your curiosity guide you and to explore what works for you on your own. In this …
I hope you enjoyed my previous post on Ethan Crelinsten’s rear naked choke trick against Fabricio Andrey. I’ll write about the same match again, but this time, I’ll focus on Ethan’s wrestling up sequence that brought Fabricio down to the turtle position before Ethan managed to take Fabricio down. For those of you who are …
Ethan Crelinsten beat Fabricio Andrey by rear naked choke at WNO’s November 2022 event. Ethan’s whole sequence that led to the finish was beautiful — he wrestled up from the reverse de la riva, caught Fabricio with the rear body lock, returned Fabricio to the mat, and took Fabricio’s back from the turtle position. Now …
Trying to win in every sparring round is not the most productive or effective use of your time. You could do that sometimes or with certain training partners, but I don’t recommend doing that with everybody all the time. Here’s why: You would be more likely to stick with what you are already comfortable and …
After being promoted to a brown belt, I decided to do something about the lack of my guard passing skills. Until then, I just played the guard position as much as possible, and I even worked hard on improving my triangle choke because if I could finish my opponent from the guard, I would never …
Tani otoshi is a sacrifice throw in Judo. The name means “valley drop.” It’s often taught as an easy, basic throw in BJJ because it doesn’t require complex movements. It turns out that tani otoshi is considered as one of the most dangerous throws when it’s done incorrectly and/or the receiving player reacts in a …
Jacob Couch (a.k.a. Hillbilly Hammer) managed to make his false reap entry work against Gordon Ryan at Who’s Number One a while ago. Although Jacob didn’t get a heel hook finish, he did get to the saddle position via his false reap entry. What Jacob did against Gordon is worth noting and studying if you …