Key Takeaways
- A No-Gi BJJ DVD covering entries to the back mount from different positions.
- Includes back exposure strategies from standing, top and bottom, as well as counter-attacking with back attacks.
- Features Triangle chokes, Kimuras, Americanas, and armbars to help set up back entries.
- BJJ World Expert Rating: 7 out of 10.
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Getting to the back, placing both hooks inside, and securing the shoulders is a nightmare these days. People have a bunch of different defense tactics they use, which include turning the back on purpose, but denying al the good bits that make it so fun for you as the back taker.
Well, back attacks have evolved, too, and now you have plenty of options to match modern back defense tactics. The I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD is a good example of how you can get the back from everywhere by sticking to a few common principles. Even though there is overly complex fluff in it, most of the stuff in this DVD is very easy to understand and use.
The Path to The Back
Getting people to show their back is not the easiest thing you’ll need to do in BJJ. Establishing a back control that earns you the coveted 4 points, meaning getting your hooks around the waist, is even more difficult. I’m not even going to mention finishing from the back.
Understanding the difficulty behind each of these consequential tasks is crucial for developing back takes that will provide you with the outcome you want – choking someone out. What that means for you is that you need to be thinking about getting the hooks in from any standing, top or bottom position before you even begin working towards exposing the back.
It is not enough just to do an arm drag for its sake and then try to think about what’s next. Keeping your end goal in mind is what ensures your path to the back doesn’t get blocked. The I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD offers plenty of ways to achieve this, even when using back takes as counters to your opponent’s attacks.
‘Darce Daddy’ Jake Straus
Jake Straus is an impressive character who is on the rise in the BJJ world. He is a brown belt under Vagner Rocha, an avid competitor, and it seems that he also has a knack for teaching. However, these are not the most impressive things about Straus.
A few years back, after a choke sustained in a tournament, Jake Straus suffered a stroke. After coming home, he felt strange and ended up being rushed to the ER, where they found a brain clot. Luckily, the outcome was positive, and Jake returned to training as soon as he could.
This kind of tenacity and love for Jiu-Jitsu certainly makes him stand out. Vagner awarded Jake his brown belt fairly recently, in August of 2024, and now we get to take a look at his very first instructional as well – the I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD.
I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD Review
Over the 4 volumes in the I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD, you get to discover routes to the back from all kinds of BJJ positions. Most of them are straightforward and reliable, while some are, well, out there. The material lasts for a total of an hour, coming up somewhat short by modern BJJ DVD standards.
Part 1 – Standing Back Takes
An aspect of back taking that people tend to overlook in BJJ is attacking while standing. Not with the goal of getting a takedown, but actually latching on to the back, hooks and all. That’s exactly what the first volume of the I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD covers.
Understandably, the arm drag plays a huge role in the setup, creating a route to the back, followed by the body lock as a means of staying behind the opponent. Jake also teaches you how to utilize mat returns to improve your positioning as you hit the mats with a back take.
I really appreciated that he goes deep into the scenarios he offers, covering potential reactions both standing a nd on the floor, including the opponent’s rolling. A few useful tactics for forcing hand on the mat and making the opponent sit down once you have the back feature toward the end.
Part 2 – Back Exposure From Top
In the longest part of the I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD, the focus is on getting the back off of passes and, to a lesser extent, pins. Straus begins with the double under passes, using it to force the turtle – a classic combo.
Passing butterfly, using body locks, step overs, and another look at arm drags, this time to create passing opportunities round off the movement portion of this volume. Jake introduces ideas to kill knee-elbow connections, ensuring you open up the inside space to start interesting hooks.
Straus uses an interplay between long and short hooks to get to and stay on the back, but also throws in submissions threats such as Kimuras, arm triangles, and armbars to divide the opponent’s attention.
Part 3 – Bottom Back Attacks
From the bottom, Jake explores an unusual position. Instead of doing closed and/or butterfly guard entries, he opts for the Octopus guard, a position that not many people use. That said, it is a guard that already places you halfway to the back, so it makes sense.
The half guard octopus is the main method presented and explained in the Jake Straus Back DVD, though several different back mount entry options. A version of octopus escape, done from the bottom side control, also features, but I think it’s too far-fetched to be effective. Reaping attacks that expose the back concludes this volume, bringing the focus back to reality.
Part 4 – Back Attacks as Counters
Probably the most fun and engaging part of the entire I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD is the final one, outlining strategies to use back attacks as counters. None of these are high-percentage moves, but they will work often, simply because they’re surprising and appear out of nowhere. Seemingly.
First up, to counter leg locks with some back attacks of your own, Jake shows you how to deal with single-leg X attacks by turning to Bolo action from Ashi. The concept extends to the 50/50 and outside Ahsi positions, providing a solid way of dealing with leg locks via back takes.
‘Darce Daddy’ had to include a Darce choke somewhere in there, even though this time the focus is on countering it with an Octopus guard back take. A sneaky take on the North-South inversion to the back rounds everything up.
Creating Motion in Jiu-Jitsu
Now that you’re aware that the path to the back requires you to think about where you want to end up first and that you have all the tools to get there, courtesy of the I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD, let’s talk about what your main problem is going to be. After all, you want all the stuff to work against the opponent’s right?
The one thing missing from the puzzle is motion. If you want to make all your back takes count, you’ll need to make sure you force the opponent not just to show you their back but also to keep showing it until you get there.
This is the trickiest part of any back take, also known as entry. Back exposure is when you manage to create a path to the back, much like in the instructional we went through above. Getting from that point of exposure to a complete back control position with hooks is where you’ll struggle the most.
Remember that the more you can force the opponent to move in a way that keeps their back exposed, the better you’re chances are of getting to it and finishing. It’s all in the DVD.
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Got ‘Ya!
Getting the hooks in on someone’s back feels almost as rewarding as sinking in that choke sometimes. Out of all the stuff presented in the I Got Your Back Jake Straus DVD, most of it is effective and easy to apply to anyone’s game, so my verdict is to go for it, especially if you’re interested in specializing in the back.
