Articles
Guides on guards, guard passing, training, competition and getting your footage reviewed.
Guards
Every major guard, how it works and how it gets passed.
- 01Closed guard4 minYour legs wrap around your partner's waist with your feet locked behind their back.
- 02Half guard4 minFrom bottom, your legs trap one of your partner's legs while you work for the underhook or a frame.
- 03Deep half guard3 minA half guard played underneath your partner, with your arms hugging the same leg your legs hold.
- 04Quarter guard3 minYour legs trap one of your partner's legs below the knee, usually when a half guard is nearly passed.
- 05Z guard4 minA half guard in which your top knee frames against your partner's hip or chest to keep them at a distance.
- 06Coyote guard4 minA half guard with a deep underhook, where your legs twist the trapped leg to take your partner off balance.
- 07Butterfly guard3 minYou sit up facing your partner with your insteps hooked inside their thighs.
- 08Spider guard4 minA gi open guard built on sleeve grips, with a foot pressing into your partner's biceps.
- 09Lasso guard4 minA gi guard where one leg wraps your partner's arm while you hold the sleeve of that same arm.
- 10De La Riva guard4 minOne leg wraps your partner's lead leg from the outside and hooks their inner thigh, as you grip that ankle.
- 11X guard4 minUnder a standing partner, you hug one of their legs and control the other with your legs crossed in an X.
- 1250/50 guard4 minEach of you wraps a leg around the other's same-side leg, so both have the same attacks.
- 13Rubber guard4 minFrom closed guard, one leg folds high across your partner's back and you hold your ankle or shin.
- 14Octopus guard4 minYou sit up beside your partner and reach an arm across their back, often from half guard.
- 15Pulling guard4 minGoing from standing straight to a guard, usually after taking grips, instead of going for a takedown.
Guard Passing
How to get past your partner's legs, pass by pass.
- 01Over-under pass4 minYour arms go one under and one over your partner's legs, and your weight pins their hips to the mat.
- 02Knee cut pass4 minYour knee slices diagonally across your partner's thigh to the mat, pinning that leg as your hips pass it.
- 03Leg drag4 minYou drag one of your partner's legs across your hip so both knees point to one side, then pass on the other.
- 04Toreando pass5 minWith a grip on each leg, you move both legs aside together and circle around them to your partner's side.
- 05Smash pass4 minYou fold both of your partner's knees to one side and settle your weight on their legs to pin them.
- 06Stack pass4 minYou fold your partner's legs back over them so their hips leave the mat, then pass around the legs.
- 07Body lock pass5 minWith your hands locked around your partner's waist, your head and chest pin them and your legs trap theirs.
- 08Leg weave pass4 minAgainst a knee shield, one arm weaves between your partner's legs to trap the bottom leg as you pin the hips.
Getting Started
For your first months on the mat.
- BJJ for beginners: what to expect in your first months of jiu-jitsuFor adults starting jiu-jitsu: how classes run, and five situations on the mat with the call an experienced grappler would make.5 min read
- BJJ white belt mistakes: six habits that slow your progressSix habits that hold new grapplers back in sparring, with a practical way to change each one.5 min read
Training and Progress
Plan your training, track it and get past a slow stretch.
- BJJ training journal: what to write after class and how to use itA five-line entry to write after each session, and a monthly read-through of your entries that shows what to work on next.3 min read
- How to get better at jiu-jitsu with the time you haveHow to divide your mat time, choose a focus position, use partners of every size, train around small injuries and learn from instructionals and your instructor.4 min read
- BJJ plateau: what to change when you are stuck in jiu-jitsuThe common signs of a BJJ plateau, what usually causes each one, and how to change your training to work through it.4 min read
Competition
Preparing for a tournament and learning from matches.
- How to build a BJJ competition game planThe decisions to make before the event, a call for each score and time left, and rounds that test the plan in training.5 min read
- How to handle BJJ competition nervesWhy your body reacts before a match, and how to compete with nerves through preparation, a breathing pacer, a pre-match routine and goals you control.4 min read
- How to prepare for your first BJJ tournamentRules to check before you register, and a stage-by-stage plan from a month out to the morning after.4 min read
- How to study BJJ matches and use them in your own gameA method for watching jiu-jitsu competition footage and turning what you see into drills and positional rounds.4 min read
Video Review
Filming your rolls and getting them reviewed.
- AI coach vs human coach: how each reads your footageWhere AI video analysis and a remote black belt review differ, from reading tangled positions to the techniques your belt may use in competition.3 min read
- BJJ roll review: what it is and what a black belt looks forWhy your own roll is hard to judge, how a reviewer reads a training roll and a match, and four ways to get feedback on your footage.4 min read
- How to film your BJJ rolls for reviewA setup for recording sparring footage a coach can follow, from where the phone goes to getting the files off it.4 min read