How To Prevent And Pass The BJJ Deep Half Guard

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The BJJ deep half guard is a position that many of the most successful competitors use on a regular basis. It keeps the bottom person in complete control of what is going on in the match. It can slow down even the most agile of grapplers, and it is a position to sweep virtually anybody. You can see why lots of world champions have the tendency to go for the BJJ deep half guard whenever possible. And not just world champions, but more and more competitors of all levels seem to gravitate towards this position. Which makes passing it a real problem.

To say that passing the BJJ deep half guard is an easy task would be a lie. It is a guard that’s going to take a lot of careful maneuvering and precise details. If you get even the slightest detail wrong, you’ll be flying faster than you can realize what’s going on. Passing the deep half requires you to discover exactly where your balance is and how to keep adjusting it until you win the structured game. One thing to remember is that, while the BJJ deep half guard is a dangerous position, once you manage to establish a few key elements, you’ll render it useless pretty quick. However, given its dynamic nature, it is easy for an opponent to get you back, so any passes or counterattacks need to be fast and deliberate.

Speaking of world champions that excel in the deep half guard position, Bernardo Faria is a 5 times world champion whose deep half game is second to none! His “Battle Tested Half Guard” DVD set features the deep half heavily, including some passing principles. It is the ultimate guide to the deep half guard position by far!

BJJ Deep Half Guard Trouble

The BJJ deep half guard presents a very difficult puzzle to solve because of two main issues. The first is the fact that your opponent has what is the ultimate Jiu-Jitsu position – underneath your center of gravity. Furthermore, they have incredible dynamic control over your base thanks to the leg lever. Let’s look at both these problems deeper.

The positioning problem is the first crucial problem and is actually the first one you need to address from the top. The positioning of the opponent below you, while keeping your thighs apart is a superior one in any grappling martial art. This means they’re directly under your center of gravity and need next to no strength to manipulate your balance. The more control over your center of gravity an opponent hs, the easier it will be for them to sweep you.

As if that’s not enough, the position offers incredible control over both your hips. The reason for this is that from the deep half position, your opponent has direct control over one of your legs. It includes controlling the lower part of the leg with their feet, and the upper with their arms. Moreover, they can control the other hip directly with one of their arms. As long as the opponent has the correct grips, you won’t be able to move an inch without giving away a sweep or transition. What’s worse is is that the opponent doesn’t have to wait for you, but can create Kuzushi at any time.

Position Zero

In accordance with the two main issues the BJJ deep half guard presents, you’ll have two specific tasks from the top as well. Your first task is to stabilize your position. Your second task is to neutralize the opponent’s possibilities. Once you’re able to achieve them, you can start thinking about passing, or getting into a superior position.

First, remember that you need to find a way to get your hips over the opponent’s central line. This is the line that vertically divides their torso into two even halves. Your goal is to get your hips towards the side that’s nearer to you. This should be done fairly early, though. In order to make sure you prevent your opponent from sneaking underneath you, the first order of business is head control. You’ll need to get your near side under their head, like for a classic cross-face. At the same time, sprawl back as hard as possible. This won’t get you out straight away, but it is going to prevent the opponent from establishing full BJJ deep half guard.

If you can’t get your hips back, you must think about going up and over. That means raising your hips off the ground as high as possible. This takes away their control and allows you to use the knee of your trapped leg. The goal is to get that knee to the ground, ending up in a three-quarter mount position. While this is not the best position to be in, it certainly is one that can allow you to focus on passing the deep half, while keeping you safe. If you’re looking for a better position zero to pass the deep half, you’ll end up disappointed.

Sweep Prevention

Out of the many sweeps available form the BJJ deep half guard, most aren’t going to work form one of the two above positions. With the exception of the waiter sweep. The waiter sweep is one of those absolutely undefendable sweeps if you let the opponent get past the point of no return. For information purposes, this is the moment they get a grip on your trapped leg after bending it. The reason this sweeps works despite you somewhat recovering balance is the underhook grip under your thigh. This is what gets your opponent the anchor they need to leverage your extended leg into the waiter sweep position.

Seeing as it’s notoriously hard to defend, you have two main avenues of approach. There is a safety zone, but you’ll need to really master it in order to stay there. Even then, unless your opponent gives up on it, you won’t be able to do much. The one thing you must do to secure position lifts the opponent’ head as high as possible off the mats. Also, make sure you trap their foot under your armpit with your elbow. However, your only viable option here is actually going down. However, there’s no need to give away a sweep when you can get a submission instead.

Or, you could choose the easier option. Let your opponent get you off base and start the sweeps. the moment the start swinging up, use the fact one of their legs is swinging and snap a toe hold on it. They won’t get seep points because they’re not going to be able to stand up and you get a submission anyway.

Passing And Counter Attacks

On a more attacking note, once you get a position zero, you can think about attacking. One great thing to go for, from the sprawl and head control position, is a back take. The focus here is on the Nar sid arm, which you need to lift and get over and around your opponent. To make things clear, you need to get them into the gift wrap position. This will enable you to enable you to get a seatbelt grip which, in turn, enables you to get the hooks in and establish back control. The best thing about this is that you get full points for the back and a great position to finish from.

Another solid option is to go for a direct submission. This is going to ensure that you get a pass, at the very least. When in the BJJ deep half guard, aim to get an underhook on the far side arm of the opponent. This will allow you to get tight control over the arm. From there, lift your hips up and slide your bent leg over the opponent’s head. You’ll end up in a near armbar position. From there; it is easy to free your trapped leg and use it to finish the armbar. Or, if the opponent tries to counter or escape, you’ll get side control for sure.

The Best Half Guard Instructionals:

Half Domination by Tom DeBlass
Lucas Leite’s Coyote Half guard
The Battle Tested Half Guard by Bernardo Faria
The Z-Guard Encyclopedia by Craig Jones
High Precision Half Guard and Reverse Half Guard by Jake Mackenzie
High Precision Half Guard by Jake MacKenzie Vol. 2

Top Foods For A Muscle Building BJJ Diet

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BJJ World

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What’s your BJJ Diet like? If you truly want to excel on the mats, you should already know by now that your complete lifestyle needs to be al about Jiu-Jitsu, this includes nutrition as well. Actually, the role that a BJJ diet plays is second only to training Jiu-Jitsu itself. Nothing else, from recovery to strength and conditioning, doesn’t come even close to the importance nutrition has. To that extent, people usually focus on an impossible task when they look to tailor their nutrition. Even with the help of “nutritionists”, it’s very hard to find the working formula for you.

The common thing for most grappling diet plans was mainly formed bodybuilding until about a decade ago. Today, ti’s MMA fighters and their weight cutting systems that grapplers look up to. Unfortunately, none of them really help. The first mistake is not knowing what you can actually achieve. the magic bullet everyone is looking for is to build some muscle and strip off all fat at the same time. Well, you can’t. There’s absolutely no way that you can take a building down and start rebuilding it at the same time. What your BJJ diet should be all about is building muscle. Yeah, you read that right.

The best person in the world of nutrition, for BJJ, MMA, or any sport is George Lockhart. He is the undisputed, undefeated nutrition champion of the world. With a roster of over 100 UFC fighters getting one-on-one time with him is next to impossible. Yet, if you get your hands on his “Nutrition And Weight Management System” you’ll be set for life. The amazing bundle of three DVDs and an E-book is everything you need to build the perfect BJJ physique.

The Optimal BJJ Physique

One thing many people fail to truly understand is how strong they need to be for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The thing with strength is that it comes in many forms. Without getting overly technical, let’s just say that fro Jiu-Jitsu, all you need is to be strong enough for your weight class. And, in all honesty, strength without muscle is just not going to happen. So, the logical conclusion is that you need to make sure you have the most muscle possible for your weight class.

One thing to consider is the strength to weight ratio. Strength is a very relative thing. the ultimate goal is to be stronger than anyone in your weight division. An unattainable goal is to look to be the strongest in the absolute division (unless you’re an ultra-heavyweight). In order to be the strongest version of yourself, you’ll need to ensure you have maximum functional muscle and as little fat as possible. This means most of your weight is going to be from muscle, which, in turn, means you can be incredibly strong for your weight.

You also have to factor in our weight cuts. regardless of how lean you are, you’re still going to have to drop a few pounds to get into your weight class. While your BJJ diet should be all about getting you muscular, remember that the last 3-4 weeks before a competition are going to be about cutting excess weight, most of it water weight. And, you are going to lose some muscle, so be ready for that oo. the trick here is, that even if you lose some muscle, you’ll keep your strength gains, provided you train right.

BJJ Diet guidelines

Let’s go over some key points of a BJJ diet. The first thing to do is focus on what kind of food you eat. That means nutritionally dense, real, as unprocessed as possible food. Unless you get this point right, nothing else you do is going to have an impact. Next, what you don’t eat is just as important as what you eat. nd, the first thing to go is sugar! Cut the sugar and all the processed stuff (yup, that means no bacon too) and focus on real foods.

Now that food selection is covered, we can look into the specifics of a solid BJJ diet plan. First, you’ll need everything. You’ll need fat, you’ll need carbs, and of course, you’ll need protein. In that sense, while you do need to keep protein high, there’s no need for bodybuilding-like levels. just try and eat protein with your three main meals and you’ll be fine. you’ll be amazed at how much muscle you can build with relatively little protein compared to what supplement companies swear upon.

Before we get into the specific food that’ll get you more muscular, let’s clear up one final myth. You don’t need to go keto, nor completely exclude fat sources from your diet. Your body needs the carbs to build muscle and the fat to regulate hormones that help build muscle. The one thing to remember is not to combine high fat and high carb content in one meal. Have most of your carbs and sugar right after training, and make sure your last meal of the day is only protein and fat. During other meals, keep either fat or carbs lower and you’ll be more than fine.

Food List

By now it should be clear that for BJJ you need to be leaning towards a muscle-building nutrition plan. Furthermore, your BJJ diet should be all about functional muscle, not just puffing up. AS you get more muscle, your metabolism raises and you need more food to just retain your muscle. If you really dial your nutrition in and limit fat gain, you’ll end up looking more jacked as you get more muscular.

The final thing to realize is that you won’t be able to build muscle at the rate you’re seeing on the internet. If you manage to put on 5 pounds of muscle in six months, then you’re doing amazing! Those are realistic expectations, for real athletes that focus on eating real food! What you’re also going to get is some real results in competitions.

Eggs

The staple of any muscle-building diet starts with eggs, of course. Eggs are one of the best food you can eat on any diet really. They’re one of the foods that you can eat both when you’re gaining weight, and when you’re cutting before a tournament. Eggs are extremely rich in protein, they’re cheap and they’re also a great fat source. They improve heart health and help control cholesterol. Plus, they’re delicious as hell and you can combine them with virtually anything!

Meat

Meat is where you need to be careful. For starters, if it is processed it doesn’t have a spot in your BJJ diet. Furthermore, if it’s red meat, it has to be beef and it has to be as lean as possible. Limiting it to once a week is probably your best bet. With chicken, stick to breasts of the skinless and boneless variety. And go for fish. A lot of fish. Chicken and turkey breast and fish are lean meats that give you the best bang for your buck. Plus, they’re budget-friendly and very easy to prepare in a variety of delicious ways!

Cheese

With cheese, you’re going to want to be really careful. it is extremely easy to jack up fat content through the roof when eating cheese. While cottage cheese, that’s high n protein and low in fat is the to choice, it’s by no means an exclusive choice. You can still leat your cheddar, Monterey Jack, or any other natural variety, as long as you’re careful of the carb and fat mixing rule.

Nuts

One of the staples of healthy diets today is nuts. However, what most people don’t realize is that nuts do not mix with everything. Plus, they’re really high in calories and it’s really easy to overdo them. While you want those calories when on a muscle-building BJJ diet, you still need to be careful. Do not exceed one serving of nuts per day. Speaking of which, that serving can come from any nut variety or nut butter for that matter. To be honest, staying away from peanuts and peanut butter is a good idea. Stick to cashew/almond butter.

Nuts offer lots of healthy fats, protein, and a host of crucial minerals that grapplers need. Plus, they’re really satiating and are very easy to take with you everywhere for a snack.

Veggies

With vegetables, the take is that everything is good. Well, not really. If you want to build muscle, you need to understand what kind of vegetables you need first, second and third. First up are your leafy greens. If it has a dark green color, you need to eat as much as you can (not want) of it. Spinach, kale, broccoli, spirulina, you name it. You should have as much as possible for them.

Secondly, high protein vegetables need to be a large part of your BJJ diet too. That means peans, chickpeas, peas, green beans, and other legumes. They’re the perfect way to compliment egg and meat protein. As you can see, you can get more than enough protein in a day out of real foods only.

Finally, you’ve got your starches. Potatoes, beets, yams, sweet potatoes are all great, but you need to exercise caution. If you’re having any of the above, make sure you’re not including grains in the same meal as well. Additionally, make sure your protein source is a lean one, and that the only fats included in the meal are those you need to cook the food.

Supplements

Finally, a word on supplements. If you’re really deadset on taking them, make sure you’re staying away from gainers, fat burners, pre-workout stuff, and all similar products. The very basics are all you need to supplement a good BJJ diet. Some protein, some creatine, a bottle of multivitamins, and a bottle of fish oil. That’s all you actually need. Anything else means you’ll only get very expensive urine.

https://bjj-world.com/george-lockhart-nutrition-dvd-book/

The Best Fat Loss Conditioning Exercises For Jiu-Jitsu

The Complete Guide To Intermittent Fasting For BJJ

How To Practice Jiu-Jitsu As You Get Older

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BJJ World

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Training Jiu-Jitsu gets so fun over the years that people don’t even want to think about having to stop at a certain point. In all other sports, there’s an age limit past which even recreational training becomes hard. With BJJ, this aging line is not as fixed as other sports or other martial arts. If you’re 50 years old and going at it like you’re 21, you’re probably not going to be able to stay in the sport for much longer. If you’re 50, however, and you’re all about taking it easy, playful and light, you’re going to be able to practice Jiu-Jitsu well into your advanced age. it’s all about the approach and your mindset.

The thing with older grapplers is that they sometimes fail to evolve. BJJ is all about constant evolution on every level. This also includes evolving on an individual level. The longer you train, the more stress your body is going to absorb. That means that you need be able to evolve and adapt as you age, or you’ll be forced to cut your BJJ journey short. Once you hit a certain age limit, you need to be aware that age, injuries and a host of other factors are going to impact how you practice Jui-Jitsu. At this point, it won’t matter what you used to be able to do. Your past competition successes are now just stories and you simply can’t keep training like when you were a top competitor of 25.

The Truth Of Training Jiu-Jitsu When You’re Older

The first thing to address is intensity. Remember how you had to check your ego at the door when you first started training BJJ? Well, if you want to practice Jiu-Jitsu as an old-timer, you’ll need to revisit this state of mind. The trouble with BJJ is that as we get better at it, our checked egos tend to return. And ego is going to be the end of you if you treat every roll like a survival round that you absolutely have to win because you’re a certain level.

At one point as an old-timer, you’ll have to accept that younger people are going to be better grapplers than you. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re more technical, but they’ll be able to beat you9 times out of 10. Especially if you’re trying to match their intensity. What you have to accept is that younger people, even lower belts are going to get the better of you. And it is perfectly ok.

Practicing Jiu-Jitsu is about different things during different phases of life. When you’re younger, you’re gunning for glory, trying to destroy everyone in the gym and in tournaments. As you get older, you put tournaments on the back burner, but keep being a beast in the gym. Finally, you’ll also need to accept that you can’t roll as good as before. Age does have a distinct and predictable effect on your physicality. Your body is just not going to be able to take the wars you did in the same manner when you’re 60.

How To Practice Jiu-Jitsu Forever

As you get older, you’ll need to adopt a different mindset when you go to practice Jiu-Jitsu. Now, rolling for ego is simply not an option. What needs to become the goal now is rolling for fun. And to do that, you’ll need to become very picky.

The moment you get int a roll with a young hungry competitor, you’ll end up right back into it. it doesn’t matter if you wanted to take it easy and playful, they don’t and you’ll get sucked into it. As you get older, choosing your training partners makes all the difference. Find people that think in the same manner as you Keep things playful, have fun and keep developing as a grappler instead of looking to win every exchange in every roll.

Older age is the time where you really start enjoying art. You enjoy every moment of immense control or every little detail that makes your partner go “wooow”. This is the priorities now, instead of getting 10 taps per roll. If you try to go for taps, almost everyone younger than you in the gym is going to beat you. And this is not an issue! The time for victories is over for you. The focus should now be staying as injury-free as possible and enjoying every second you get to be on the mats.

The older you get, the more important BJJ fundamentals become. Just take a look at a real old-timer in Kurt Osiander. The enigmatic black belt is all about functional and simple techniques that take next to no effort to execute. His “Fundamentals Of A Jiu-Jitsu Renegade” DVD set is a top guide on how to practice Jiu-Jitsu when you become an old-timer yourself!

The Helio Gracie Approach

If there’s one great example of how you can practice Jiu-Jitsu at a really old age, it’s Helio Gracie. He managed to keep practicing until his 90s. However, the way he approached Jiu-Jitsu at 90 was very different to his approach when he was 30.

First and foremost, at this age, drills should become your best friend. Find someone that wants to work with you and simply go over Jiu-Jitsu movement. It is not about the reps, but about the perfection of execution. Plus, you can always find a partner to drill scenarios with you, which is a great way to emulate a roll without any of the stress and intensity.

another thing Helio used to do was roll for defense. He’d start with people on his back, choke sunk in. From there, his focus was all about winning every little detail and neutralizing the threat. This allowed Helio to train up until the very end.

And finally, remember that all those years in BJJ mean that now, what you do in the Academy is different. At this point, it is all about passing your knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu on, rather than learning new things. It is all about keeping the BJJ fire burning, but giving back to the art that has made your life such a fun ride!

Old Man Jiu-Jitsu – Training Tips For Older Grapplers

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VIDEO: Garry Tonon Defeats Sung Jong Lee via Guillotine Choke in One Championship

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BJJ World

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VIDEO: Garry Tonon Submits his 3rd Opponent and Remains Undefeated in MMA

Garry Lee Tonon is still undefeated in his MMA career with 3 wins by submissions. A few minutes ago he submitted his third opponent in ONE FC Championship Sung Jong Lee.

The first round started with an exchange of few strikes until the point where Tonon secured a takedown on Sung Jong Lee. As it was hard for Tonon to keep Lee on the floor both fighters returned to the feet very soon. Tonon took the better of that situation and managed to land a few knee strikes, and Lee connecting a few nice strikes on Tonon.

At The beginning of the second round, Tonon was landing multiple kicks while Lee was responding with strikes. It was back and forth fight where Tonon got caught and got a cut under his eye although he was winning the stand-up exchanges.
With around three minutes left in the second round, Garry again did a great Takedown and immediately went for a guillotine choke. Lee was able to defend the choke for almost a minute but after Garry did some adjustments he got the tap from Lee with 2:20 minutes left in the second round.

The way Lee lost this fight was probably very disappointing for him as he’s the member of the 10th planet in Korea. Before the fight happened Lee was very thrilled with it.

“When I first heard his name, I couldn’t believe it,” Lee says. “I was surprised and thrilled all at the same time.”

Sung Jong Lee was 100% sure he’ll win against Tonon explaining it that he’s better all-around MMA fighter.

“I am a mixed martial artist with jiu-jitsu as one of my strengths,” he explains. “I cannot ignore his power and experience, but I am a better all-around martial artist.”

As confident as Lee was he ever went so far to say that he wants to submit Tonon:

“Many people will tell you that it will be impossible to submit Garry Tonon, but I will try my best to display my jiu-jitsu on the night,” Lee said.

Unfortunately for Sung Jong Lee, he wasn’t able to submit Garry Tonon, and he was submitted instead.

As you can see in a video below “The Lion Killer” did a beautiful guillotine choke in the second round. Garry’s coach and friend Tom DeBlass commented Garry’s victory on his Facebook profile:

“Beautiful guillotine choke in the second round by @garrytonon. Garry showed an incredible amount of poise in this fight. Although Garry dominated the stand-up exchange, he got caught one time that opened up a cut under his eye. It didn’t phase him at all” – Wrote Tom DeBlass

Bruce Lee Wanna be Body Slammed to K.O. in a Street Fight

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BJJ World

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For some people, it’s still hard to understand that the world of martial arts has changed. With MMA, BJJ and other real fighting sports around, it’s pretty hard to understand why is that so and why some people abandon reality from their own views.

It’s obvious that a lot of martial arts these days are highly ineffective but they still gather a lot of people. While it’s ok that people train what they want, they should know where they stand in reality. I mean, their instructors should explain that to their students.

If Bruce Lee is still alive I’m sure he would completely abandon his old school ways of fighting and would be a huge fan of MMA and sports-related with MMA like Muay Thai, BJJ, Wrestling etc… But that’s not something his fans think and that’s the reason some people still stick to Wing Chun kung fu, Jeet Kune Do and other ineffective sports.

In the video below we can see an example of a guy still living in a world of Bruce Lee. Unfortunately for him, he got body slammed and KO’d pretty hard. We could say that this lesson was learned the hard way.

Jack Donovan

The Worst Fake Martial Art Demonstration Ever

The Best Jiu-Jitsu Books – Complete Guide

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BJJ World

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In today’s world, learning is a very multifaceted activity. Classes are, of course, the absolute best way of learning. There’s no substitute for going to a regular class. The structure of class means you get to learn new stuff, try them out, and then engage in sparring with multiple different opponents. In addition, there are also open mats, private lessons, DVDs and YouTube videos, and online forums. However, there’s one learning tool that is just as important as all of the above, yet people today seem to have forgotten about it. BJJ books play an ever-important role in the development of grapplers, which is why we shouldn’t shy away. Unlike real-time classes, live sparring, and video instructionals, the best Jiu-Jitsu Books bring something completely different to the table.

While you can’t actually learn martial arts from books, you can learn a lot about them. BJJ books provide information on the Gentle Art that you can’t really obtain otherwise. The thing with books is that they do not have to be a source of learning specific techniques. On the contrary, BJJ books are there for the greater picture of BJJ as well as extremely specific subjects. Books are crucial in the development of high-level grapplers. that said, every grappler should have an essential BJJ book collection right next to their DVD collection. This is the only way of truly covering all the bases and using every available learning tool to better yourself.

Learning From BJJ Books

While learning about martial art from a book might sound like old school as it gets, stops and think about it. There’s a reason why BJJ books still keep coming out, even in the digital age. Back in the day, before all the DVDs, digital instructionals, podcasts, and YouTube, BJJ books were the only source of knowledge outside of the Academy. And even then, books on the subjects were quite scarce, given the subject matter and how recent BJJ is as a martial art.

The first thing to understand about learning from books is to manage expectations. This is especially true for younger generations, who are used to digital instruction way more than written one. As you’ll see further on, the Best Jiu-Jitsu Books focus on a bunch of different subjects, despite all of them being specific for the art. As such, you’ll need to choose the subject that pertains to you most at the moment. For example, if you’re a complete beginner, something about the history, meaning, and overall structure of Jiu-Jitsu should be what you’re after. Conversely, if you’re an advanced competitor, perhaps looking into BJJ concepts will benefit you more than choosing a book that explains techniques. Even biographical books, outlining people’s experiences in the art can have a significant learning impact on you at a certain point of your grappling journey.

Finally, remember that learning via books does not mean carrying around a 500-page paperback with you at all times. While for most, a real book is preferable, there’s nothing wrong with digital books. Just get your whole collection in E-book format and you can have it with you everywhere you go. To that extent, even audiobooks might have a place, but not many BJJ-related ones are available in this format.

The Best Jiu-Jitsu Books For Your Collection

Today, unlike a decade or so ago, the choice of BJJ books is huge. that, of course, means that the quality is also somewhat diluted. Since there’s no real overview, even a fake black belt could come out with a book nowadays. This means that you might end up paying for information that has nothing to do with actual Jiu-Jitsu. To that extent, we’ll try to help you reduce the clutter as much s possible. To that extent, we’ll outline the 8 best of the Best Jiu-Jitsu Books that every grappler should have in their collection.

Before we get into the actual book choices, let’s try and define the characteristics of the “perfect book”. First and foremost, the author must know what they’re talking about. A renowned coach/competitor, regardless of the belt, needs to be the author. Furthermore, the language needs to be understandable for grapplers of all levels. Next, it is preferable for the book to be available in both digital and hardcopy versions. Finally, the books need to be as extensive as possible, containing information prudent to beginner and advanced students alike.

While the perfect book might not exist, we managed to put together the Best Jiu-Jitsu Books collection for you. Read and enjoy it!

1. Mastering Jiu-Jitsu by Renzo Gracie, John Danaher, and Carlos Gracie Jr.

Mastering Jiu-Jitsu Renzo Gracie John Danaher Book — Click on Image to Learn More

Surprise, surprise. The number one title you find in our best Jiu-Jitsu books collection is a piece by John Danaher. It seems that escaping the eccentric Jiu-Jitsu savant is impossible. Well at least if you want to really become world-class. This time, however, Danaher features as part of a very, very good collaboration between real Jiu-Jitsu masters. Joining him in this volume are Renzo Gracie and Carlos Gracie Jr. The three of them produced one of the masterpieces of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when the written material is the topic.

“Mastering JuJitsu” is as close to the perfect book as you can get. It features everything you need to know about Jiu-Jitsu, broken down by three of the greatest coaches ever. The book features chapters on strategy, tactics, and even specific technical instructions. What really makes this book stand out is the fact it offers a very precise explanation of the “phases of combat”. This means it focuses on everything, from primary engagement, through takedowns to finishing on the ground.

The book also covers an in-depth history of Jiu-Jitsu as well as profiles of some of the most prominent fighters as well as studies of their game.

2. Jiu-Jitsu University – Saulo Ribeiro

Saulo Ribeiro is a household name when it comes to BJJ. He already has a huge DVD set bearing the name “Jiu-Jitsu University”. What most people do not know, is that there’s also a book with the same title, predeceasing the video instructional by some time. If you truly want to understand Saulo’s concepts of BJJ, you need to acquire the book first, and the video material later on.

The “Jiu-Jitsu University” is all about simplifying BJJ for people who have no idea what it is. Beginners need to have this book as soon as they get their first Gi. It is an essential guide to what lies ahead on the mats. The book has a very specific methodology. It begins with explaining how to survive an offense or attack, before you transition into solid defense, and ultimately, launch your own, unstoppable offense. This book is all about the fundamentals of BJJ, along with a lot of the Ribeiro brothers’ philosophy of Jiu-Jitsu.

Something this book offers that you won’t find in any other title is the detailed breakdown of the BJJ belts. Saulo goes over every belt, explaining requirements, expectations, and what to focus on. A bestseller even among the very best Jiu-Jitsu books out there.

3. The Gracie Way: An Illustrated History of the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Family by Kid Peligro

This one is also a must-have, purely because of its historical value. There’s no point in doing anything if you do not know the story behind it. And this book delivers the whole story behind the family responsible for the grappling addiction of today. The book features a very systematized overview of the Gracie family.

Everyone, from Helio down to Ryron and Rener has their own chapter in the book. It goes over everything there is to know, from early beginnings, through the formation of the IBJJF and Gracie Barra, to the state of BJJ in recent times. The book is also full of pictures from crucial moments in the development of the sport of BJJ as we know it today. It’s not just one for the history buffs, but a real gem that must be a part of your BJJ books collection.

4. Drill To Win by Andre Galvao

This one is a real staple. No matter how long (or short) you’ve been involved in BJJ, you’ve heard of this one. And you’ve also most likely heard of the author. Andre Galvao is one of the top grapplers of all time. He is the man behind one of the most successful BJJ competition names – Atos Jiu-Jitsu. Galvao is also a multiple-time world champion, both in IBJJF and the ADCC. This rich competitive pedigree of his is enough to make him an authority in the field. So when he writes a book about how to succeed in becoming a real grappling machine, there are no questions it is quality material.

“Drill to Win” is the ultimate guide to BJJ drills for competitors. Andre demonstrates how to correctly approach drilling and how to keep it fun while you’re doing it. He connects techniques into drills, ranging from beginner level to highly complicated advanced ones. The key thing you’ll learn from this book is how to recognize which parts of a technique are the most important to pay attention to. When you’re able to do that, you’ll know exactly what you need to drill to win and why this book is among the best Jiu-Jitsu books of all time.

5. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Globetrotter: The True Story About A Frantic, 140-Day Long, Around-The-World Trip To Train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Christian Graugart

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Globetrotter Book — Click For More Info

Remember those experience-based books we talked about? Well, it’s time to include one in our best Jiu-Jitsu books guide. And there’s hardly a better example of grappling experience and true Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle philosophy than that of a BJJ Globetrotter. Christian Graugart ran into a real emotional roller-coaster that drove him to start an incredible around-the-world journey based on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Christian traveled the world in about six months, focusing on nothing but BJJ during his trips. All the lessons, both good and bad, that he learned helped him shape his own BJJ philosophy which is he goes over in-depth in the book.

In case you are unaware, Christian started a whole movement named “BJJ Globetrotters” after his traveling experience. The Globetrotters travel the world to train BJJ and also organize highly entertaining camps at incredible locations. Learn how it all came to be and perhaps you’ll find inspiration for your Jiu-Jitsu journey.

6. Advanced Jiu-Jitsu by Marcelo Garcia

Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Marcelo Garcia Book — Click For More Info

Who wouldn’t like to learn from Marcelo Garcia? Be it at a seminar, private, video instructional, or a book! Well, as far as this final one is concerned, you can easily achieve it. Garcia has a book out, very appropriately named “Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu”. In all honesty, I find that Garcia, much like Danaher is not a coach for complete beginners. he is one to guide advanced students into becoming the best version of themselves. This is exactly what his book is going to do for you.

Marcelo’s book is a highly technical one, which i why it is intended for advanced students. It covers more takedown techniques than any other book in our best Jiu-Jitsu books collection. Moreover, it features both attacking, defending, and countering while on the feet. As it progresses, the book goes over a bunch of submission setups, all highly recognizable as Marcelo Garcia’s signature moves. Actually, when it comes to back attacks, this book should be the first choice learning tool!

7. BJJ Techniques To Defeat Bigger Stronger Opponents by Dan Faggella

BJJ Techniques To Defeat Bigger Stronger Opponents by Dan Faggella book — Click For More Info

Finally, one for all the “tiny” grapplers out there, I included. All of us smaller framed grapplers need a way to deal with heavier and stronger opponents, which oftentimes, means everyone else in the gym. Dan Faggella is the hero of smaller grapplers, thanks to his blueprint for not only surviving but beating the bigger guys.

The most important thing Dan teaches in his book is the mindset. How you approach rolling/competing against bigger guys will determine your success. On top of that, he goes deep into the conceptual side of BJJ and how you can neutralize the obvious advantage bigger opponents have. Furthermore, he outlines numerous techniques that are true giant killers. A particular section to pay attention to is the guard passing one.

8. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Master Book by Helio Gracie

Gracie Jiu Jitsu book by Helio Gracie — Click on Image to Learn More

Helio Gracie’s book is probably the most comprehensive one ever produced when it comes to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. There’s a lot of important information in it with more than 1300 full-colored pictures and explanations on techniques, Helio’s diet, and much more. According to the fact that Helio is a creator of the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu combat system, this one is a must-have if you’re into Gracie JJ, Helio, and everything surrounding it.

Final Words

Let yourself enjoy some time off, well, everything. All you need is to pick up one of the best Jiu=Jitsu books we picked out and enjoy! You can choose books for leisure reading, you can learn about the history of the sport or even technical stuff. Pus the best part about a book is that you can always decide to go back and read it over again whenever you feel like it!

Cyborg Replied to Gordon Ryan, Tom DeBlass on Gordon: “His recent actions have nothing to do with me…”

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BJJ World

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Recently, Gordon Ryan signed up to IBJJF World No-Gi championship. Immediately after that, he confirmed his sign up on his Instagram profile with a picture of his sign up and some “nice” words:
“Hey, guys…. stay the fuck home.”- wrote Gordon Ryan.

As you can see his bracket in a picture below he’s in the same division as BJJ legend Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu is and Cyborg wasn’t very happy with Gordon words. He replied to him:

“I see You still didn’t grow up with your black belt and learned about respect. The BS u create around yourself is not what BJJ is all about. It will never be about the medals and titles my friend. I thought your coach had already taught you that. Your acting takes from the champion you could be. I’m fighting since you were in diapers kid. Learn to respect. And you can bet I’ll be ready for you.”

Anyway, Gordon Ryan’s and Cyborg’s No-Gi IBJJF Worlds division, for now, is consisted of very good BJJ fighters like Adam Sachnoff and others and it’s not even in question that there’ll be more of them. As we can see it’s going to be a very interesting division and obviously the most interesting match will be against Ryan and Cyborg.

At the ADCC 2017, Gordon Ryan easily submitted Cyborg with an, but IBJJF has different rules where there’s no heel hooks and other devastating legs attacks and positions so it still remains to see how will Ryan be able to deal with those rules. While we don’t get in the question his knowledge of Jiu-Jitsu, IBJJF rules could take his very powerful weapon away and that’s exactly why Cyborg could shine.

Who do you think will end up as a winner in Gordon Ryan vs Roberto Cyborg Abreu match and how?

Gordon Ryan Replied to Cyborg:

“I love how people say “BJJ is built around respect and honor”. No, it’s not! It’s built around savage Brazilians kicking the shit out of people just because they could.
Storming gyms of other martial arts and fighting their instructors just to show how superior BJJ was. And While I think that’s fucking awesome, it’s not the fairytale you guys tell about respect and honor.
This sport is built around real men who didn’t give a fuck and took what they wanted.”

It’s pretty hard to disagree with Gordon on this one.

Tom DeBlass shares his opinion on this situation and debate between Gordon Ryan and Cyborg and it seems like Tom DeBlass and Cyborg share the same view on Jiu-Jitsu.

“Here is a picture of Roberto Abreu and I competing in 2009 ADCC. We battled nearly 10 years ago and since then we have both managed to help bring Jiu-Jitsu to a positive light worldwide and Cyborg has managed to win some titles that put him among the best competitors in history. This is before @gordonlovesjiujitsu was even training. Fast forward nearly a decade and young Gordon has an ADCC title and arguably is one of the best no-gi grapplers that history has ever seen. Guess what, Jiu-Jitsu is about more than winning titles. I am not a perfect guy by any means, and I make a ton of mistakes. Yet one code I try to live by is the martial code. Respect. I cannot condone the recent actions by Gordon talking shit to Cyborg. Cyborg is someone like myself, who has given so much back to the Jiu-Jitsu world. One year ago we put on a seminar together giving all of the earnings to hurricane victims. I believe Cyborg has a place in history that should always be respected. You all know me, I don’t like the shit talk and if someone talks disrespect to me I am old school and will handle it on site. I’d rather not talk at all. Cyborg and I have managed to keep a positive relationship from the first moment we stepped on the mats to battle one another, and I expect to maintain that for life regardless of competing. I have enough problems in my life, I don’t need them with someone on the same mission as myself. I love Gordon like a little brother but I do not control him. His recent actions have nothing to do with me or any of my team. He spoke as his own man. I hope everyone has a great Sunday.”

Gordon Ryan Ridicules McGregors Jiu-Jitsu, Gameplan and Preparations

Gordon Ryan DVD/DIGITAL/EBOOK – Getting SWOLE As A Grappler

A Collection Of The Best No-Gi BJJ DVD Instructionals

Standing Guillotine Defense Techniques You Must Know

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BJJ World

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When it comes to guillotine chokes in BJJ, most people think they can get out fairly easily. having one defense, and perhaps the Von Flue choke in your arsenal is actually a pretty good defensive strategy against guillotine chokes. However, guillotine chokes are a very sneaky category of submissions. there are plenty of varieties and they work from virtually everywhere. that involves the standing position. While the standing guillotine is somewhat rare in BJJ competition, it does work and is often used in MMA and no-gi grappling. This aspect of guillotine defense is something most people do not consider important until it is too late.

The standing guillotine offers a very unique problem. Unlike on the ground, there are no legs to impede motion in lateral directions. This means you can move to each side. However, the problem you face is one of very very strong posture control. Alongside that, the opponent has a lot of space to finish the choke. Since you’re far off the ground, gravity is going to be working against you here. This makes standing guillotine defense something that you need to pay specific attention to. Why? Because believing your ground guillotine defense strategy will work on the feet is a great way to get you napping fast.

Tom DeBlass is the most “unsubmittable” grappler in the world at the moment. okay, he does tap but it is so rare that decades might pass between two taps. This sal due to his successful submission defense. His DVD set “Submission Escapes” has everything you need to master counters to all submissions, including all kinds of guillotines.

Deconstructing The Standing Guillotine

The standing guillotine choke works much like the guillotine choke on the ground. One thing you need to know is that arm-in guillotine from the feet is rarely successful. This is the reason almost nobody looks o use them. Furthermore, if someone tries to set up an arm-in guillotine on the feet, except that they’re trying to get eth fight to the ground rather than finish directly.

The standing guillotine is basically a Marcelotine done on the feet. While the grips might differentiate between a Marcelotine, high elbow guillotine, and a power guillotine, the configuration remains the same. the opponent is going to have your head under their armpit, with a tight lock around your neck. The advantage for your opponent si that their whole weight is behind you, so posturing up is impossible. On top of that, they have a lot of leverage available to get the choke in. This means they can switch between air and blood chokes, making life a real hell for you. Unless you can defend properly.

The standing guillotine choke is quite easy to prevent – keep your head higher than your opponents. This theory, however, does not translate into a successful standing guillotine defense. Staying upright is just going to open you up to all kinds of takedowns. So, this is definitely not an option. The truth is, you’ll find yourself in a standing guillotine at one point or another during your BJJ career.

Standing Guillotine Defense

Standing guillotine defense options all revolve around one main principle – creating space. The real issue here is that creating the space you need to keep breathing until you mount a defense is really hard to obtain. Unsurprisingly, most guillotine defense techniques are based on the fact that you can move laterally without any restriction. This makes lateral movement your only way of creating space to get out of a tight-standing guillotine choke.

While standing and grounded guillotine defenses do differ, there are still some main traits to both. One such example is the fact that you must have control over the wrist of the choking arm. without it, no defense, standing, or on the ground has any hope of working. The following three defense options all include a common thread – grabbing the choking arm. Since they all work off the same principle, you can combine them between each other, until you manage to make one of them work. Just remember, not getting choke is problem number one. Getting out of the guillotine position comes in second.

Hopping Defense

As funny as this may seem, hopping around like a bunny is actually our best bet. Why should you ho? Well, if you’re caught in a standing guillotine, every hop is going to achieve two things. First, it’s going to help you create space. Next, it is going to provide make your opponent’s arms tired over time. However, not just any kind of hopping is going to help you here.

The moment you’re caught in a standing guillotine your first reaction needs to be to get one of your arms over the opponent’s shoulder. This should be the arm that’s on the side opposite of where your head is placed. This is going to provide a hook that you can use as a power source to create space. Furthermore, the other arm should build a frame on the opponent’s thigh on the other side. this means you can create space in a diagonal pattern, and even use it to take the opponent down.

Once you have your arms in place you can start hopping, aiming to get both your legs to the side of your opponent’s far side leg. this is the side opposite of where your head is. Once you have it, a simple pull and push with your arms is going to get the opponent down. WEHiel you can go for a Von Flue choke, a better bet is to skip over and go straight into an arm-triangle choke.

Guillotine Defense To Takedown

You could also use a similar approach to go straight into a takedown, thus completely rendering the guillotine ineffective. The one main thing to remember here is posture. Despite the fact you might not be able to truly regain full posture, you must make an effort to raise as far up as you can. Of course, you’ll need to keep an arm on the choking arm at all times. From there on, you can focus on changing the angle. Just like with the hopping guillotine defense, you’ll want to get out toward the side opposite of the choking arm.

This angle creates an opening for you to go into a few different takedowns. You could pick up the near side leg for a single-leg takedown, for example. Or, you could go for a body lock and get the opponent to the ground that way. Of course, there’s the option of a double leg as well, but that might get you too square to your opponent, meaning they can finish the choke. Personally, I like to stick to the single-leg takedown from there.

Braulio Estima Escape

The final guillotine defense is actually one that’s the highest percentage of them all. It is also the mechanically simplest one. Still, it requires you to go against everything you know about guillotine defenses, so it may not be the best one to start with. It is, however, one that works at the highest levels of the sport.

Braulio Estima calls this defense the Anti Guillotine. When you’re in a standing guillotine, the goal is to place both hands on the opponent’s hips. When you do this, you’ll be looking to go back with your legs as far as possible. this creates the space you need, despite looking like it is going to choke you. The reason for this is that the escape actually goes in the other direction. Once you manage to straighten your arms you just need to circle your head out of the opponent’s grips. This means you’ll be stepping towards the choking side. The direction of the circle is toward the side opposite of the choke, of course. it is a very simple one, yet it may be uncomfortable until you get the hang of it.

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The Best Guillotine Choke Escape Options And Counters

Four Full Mount Escapes Every Grappler Needs

The Tomoe Nage – Sumi Gaeshi BJJ Takedown System

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BJJ World

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The key thing that is a mark of advanced grapplers is the ability to adapt to situations. Hand in hand with those abilities goes the skill of combining techniques that are similar in nature. This is a great way to ensure that you can accomplish a specific goal using whatever is at your disposal, as opposed to forcing a singular technique. A great example of this ar takedowns. After blue belt, you’ll hardly manage to pull off a takedown by going for just one well-practiced move. It doesn’t matter how good you are with it, people are going to be able to block it with relative ease. This is where combinations and systems come into play. A great one for grapplers of all levels is the Sumi Gaeshi – Tomoe Nage takedown system for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The thing with the Sumi Gaeshi and the Tomoe Nage throws is that people in BJJ often use them in a wrong manner. On top of that, even Judokas do not combine these two neighboring moves too much, which is a real shame. For BJJ, these throws offer all the rewards without any of the risks. The reason for this is the fact that they put you under an opponent, which is arguably the second best place to be, apart from heavy top positions. Ending up under an opponent means you have control over their center of gravity and their legs are going to pose no problem. Furthermore, it means you can enter into the throws from a variety of guards, in addition to the usual attacks from the feet.

The Sumi Gaeshi

The Sumi Gaeshi takedown is one of the most attractive moves that do not place you in a risky spot. To that effect, attacking the Sumi Gaehsi can be done in three distinct manners.

The first approach is a proactive one. To attacks with a Sumi Gaehsi, you’ll need to have the opponent’s posture completely broken. This is achieved through Kuzushi or off balancing your opponent by using a sleeve grip. Once you have the opponent leaning towards you, place a grip on their belt, right on the middle of their lower back. This places your elbow into position to press on their spine, keeping their posture broken for good. Now, place the same side leg as the arm holding the belt inside the opponent’s same side thigh. From there on, you get to your butt and kick with the hooked leg, sending the opponent flying over.

The reactive path of attacking the Sumi Gaeshi is off a single leg takedown attempt. WHenver an opponent has you in a single leg, they’ll need to secure the leg before getting you down. Simply placing the belt grip is going to prevent the takedown. From there, your leg is already in a position for the throw.

Finally, open guards like the butterfly guard or the butter-half guard are also prefects for a Sumi Gaehsi. Once you have a hook in, there’s no escape.

The Tomoe Nage

The Tomoe Nage is somewhat different than the Sumi Gaehsi. It is crucial to be able to make a difference between the two, in order to be able to use them as a combination. For one, the Tomoe Nage is a throw that you execute on an opponent that has an upright posture. Secondly, the positioning of the leg is not inside the thigh as a hook, but on the hips, very similar to a guard pull.

The Tomoe Nage has two great variations – the straight and side or Yoko Tomoe Nage. For the straight version, you want to have a sleeve and collar grip and of course, off balance the opponent. The goal is to make them pull their hips back. As they do, you can place your leg on their hip. This makes most people retreat, even more, expecting a guard pull. As they try to pull their posture up, you simply jump up towards them and go for the same site and roll motion as with the Sumi Gaeshi.

The Yoko Tomoe Nage is quite an advanced version that you’ll need to drill a lot. It involves you falling at an angle so that when you throw your opponent, they spin through the air in addition to going over you. The beauty is that it works off a straight Tomoe Nage as well as as a Sumi Gaeshi.

Travis Stevens has a black belt in both BJJ and Judo. When you’re looking for takedown advice, his material should be on the top of your list. Especially when he’s presenting it with the help of a Judo legend Jimmy Pedro. “The Takedown Blueprint” DVD instructional is the only instructional you’ll ever need to ensure your Judo for BJJ is of a world-class level.

Putting It All Together

The first thing that determines your takedown success with the Sumi Gaeshi – Tomoe Nage is how your opponent reacts. The best way to go about things is to try to get the Sumi Gaehsi first. The usual trouble with trying a proactive Sum iGaehis setup is that the opponent’ won’t give away their posture lightly. This, however, sets them up for a perfect Tomoe Nage entry. But the cycle doesn’t end here.

The great thing about this system is that you can switch between takedowns. If the opponent decides to peel off the leg you’re placing on the hip for a Tomoe Nage, you can always go in two directions. Once, you can try to get the posture down again, which this time is going to be easier. Of course, if that doesn’t work, there’s no need to give up. Instead, change the angle and give the Yoko Tomoe Nage a try. Out of the three, this one is bound to work if you get it right. And, of course, you can also always throw in a guard pull to make things interesting.

Actually, you can use a fake guard pull to set all of the above techniques up. As a bonus, know that you can hit everything both form standing and from butterfly guard variations as well. Keep experimenting with it and remember that you need to accomplish a goal, not just finish a technique. And the goal here is to send the opponent flying!

Throws And Takedowns For BJJ That Really Work

Double Leg Takedown – How to Do It & The Most Common Mistakes

The “Grave” Wrestling Cradle System For Jiu-Jitsu

Joe Rogan Kettlebell Workout For Grappling And MMA

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BJJ World

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There’s hardly a grappler alive that doesn’t listen to the Joe Rogan podcast. Rogan is the voice of martial artists in the entertainment business, and especially that of grapplers. After all, he is a 10th planet Jiu-Jitsu black belt by both Eddie Bravo and Jean Jacques Machado. The charismatic UFC commentator is also a big fan of strength and conditioning on top of martial arts. He leads a really healthy lifestyle that includes squeaky clean nutrition and grueling conditioning sessions. And, if there is one tool Joe praises above all others, it is the kettlebell. So, we managed to discover what a Joe Rogan kettlebell workout looks like and we bring it here for you to try!

Conditioning for martial arts was originally nothing more than guesswork. Through the years, and thanks to MMA and high-level grappling, it slowly evolved into real science. However, just like with most elaborate aspects of life, its evolution also brought a lot of quasi-science with it. In fact, today there’s so much information on how to train, that you’ll most likely get it wrong. And the more you try to learn, the worse your end result will be. Unless you have the platform to talk to the top people in the industry about very specific aspects of it. Which is exactly what Rogan has. So, a Joe Rogan kettlebell workout means a program that’s based on the teachings of the truly best people for the job.

In terms of using kettlebells for BJJ, the ultimate guide you can get is “Kettlebell Essentials – An Instructional Guide” by Mike Perry. This is a DVD set that covers everything you need to know about training with kettlebells. More specifically, about training with kettlebells in order to become a better conditioned grappling machine.

Mike Perry Kettlebells for BJJ — Click for more info

Kettlebells For Jiu-Jitsu

Kettlebells, for those that do not know, are basically cannonballs with handles attached on top. They come in a large variety of weights and even come in different shapes and sizes. Mr. Rogan, for example, uses ones that are shaped like a gorilla’s head when training. Although today it is accepted that kettlebells are a Russian “invention” there might be evidence that even wrestlers in ancient Greece used these versatile tools. Even if we take it from Russian origin, it still gives kettlebells a good 200+ years advantage compared to other training tools. Kettlebells definitely is the number one choice training tool for grapplers if history is anything to judge by.

Kettlebells are an inexpensive training tool, that can train multiple athletic qualities at once. Training with them doesn’t require much space and is fairly easy to master. The design is such that the weight is always distributed evenly, even when you train with two kettlebells at once. For Jiu-Jitsu, kettlebells mean you can train both strength, conditioning, and power at the same time. Plus, you can get into position and motion patterns very specific to the sport. The Turkish get-up is one such example. Oh, and, to quote Rogan, they “look manly as hell”.

The reason we went for a Joe Rogan Kettlebell workout today is precisely because of Joe’s love for kettlebells. Despite kettlebells now featuring regularly in every gym across the world, not many people know how to use them correctly. Moreover, very few people can actually make grapplers or MMA fighters better just by using kettlebells. Rogan has seen and heard it all, so he is the best filter to reduce all the nonsense and get eh best possible workout routine to make you a real monster!

Joe Rogan’s Training Philosophy

Joe Rogan’s training philosophy is just as important to understand as the moves in the workout. To keep things uncomplicated, Rogan likes simple, multifunctional moves, that actually make you stronger. In addition, he knows the demands of grappling, especially in terms of conditioning. So, choosing kettlebells is no accidental thing for him. Rogan’s obsession with fitness means that he’s tried everything there is and chose to focus on kettlebells. That right there is reason enough to do the same.

Despite being 51 years of age, Rogan is still going strong. Kettlebells fit his methodology perfectly as they do not put his body under too much undue stress. Rogan likes to keep things very simple and never pushes to failure. He is a follower of Pavel Tsatsuline’s methodology, which leans towards training more often for less time than doing two-hour-long sessions. And kettlebells are the best tool to achieve this, while also improving your athletic abilities.

One main thing you’ll notice about the Joe Rogan Kettlebell Workout is the low number of repetitions. According to Joe, if you can do 10 reps with a certain weight, you should only do 5. that way you’re not going to overtax your body. Remember that you need to train grappling first, and condition yourself second. Pavel likes to use a method called “greasing the groove” which means doing a fairly small volume of work, with moderate intensity, but doing it very often. Joe’s workout is based on this very important principle.

The Ultimate Joe Rogan Kettlebell Workout

First of all, always start with a thorough warm-up. There’s no point in picking up 90 lbs of kettlebells if you’re not ready and loose. Next up, despite this being a Joe Rogan kettlebell workout, it is going to feature a chin-up bar as well. You could do the workout with only a couple of kettlebells but including a chin-up bar is better.

Rogan starts with 2 warmup sets of really light weights and 20 reps per exercise. He uses two exercises to get ready for the main circuit later on. The first one is the two-arm kettlebell swing and the windmill.

After warming up, Rogan hits his kettlebell circuit which is the main part of the workout. He repeats the circuit 3-5 times, with 2 minute rests between each take. Here’s the circuit:

Front Position Kettlebell Deadlifts: 5×5 reps
Kettlebell Overhead Sit Up: 5×8 reps
Lying Rotational Press: 5×8 reps
Alternating Kettlebell Cleans: 5×5 reps on each side
Turkish Get Ups: 5×10 reps

Finally, Joe hits a couple of sets of some bodyweight work. This includes 2 sets of chin-ups and bench dips. If you want to take it up a notch, do parallel bar dips instead. Make sure you do them as straight sets and go for as many as you can hit in 30 seconds. Rest 2 minutes in between once again.

Finally note that Joe does this workout himself, and well, have you seen him? He is jacked!

How To Train To Get A Jacked BJJ Body – Workout Program

The Ultimate BJJ Core Workout Program

Conor McGregor’s Nutritionist George Lockhart on Joe Rogan Podcast

BJJ Deep Half Guard Trouble

Position Zero

Sweep Prevention

Passing And Counter Attacks

The Best Half Guard Instructionals:

Related Articles:

The Optimal BJJ Physique

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Food List

Eggs

Meat

Cheese

Nuts

Veggies

Supplements

The Truth Of Training Jiu-Jitsu When You’re Older

How To Practice Jiu-Jitsu Forever

The Helio Gracie Approach

Learning From BJJ Books

The Best Jiu-Jitsu Books For Your Collection

1. Mastering Jiu-Jitsu by Renzo Gracie, John Danaher, and Carlos Gracie Jr.

2. Jiu-Jitsu University – Saulo Ribeiro

3. The Gracie Way: An Illustrated History of the World’s Greatest Martial Arts Family by Kid Peligro

4. Drill To Win by Andre Galvao

5. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Globetrotter: The True Story About A Frantic, 140-Day Long, Around-The-World Trip To Train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Christian Graugart

6. Advanced Jiu-Jitsu by Marcelo Garcia

7. BJJ Techniques To Defeat Bigger Stronger Opponents by Dan Faggella

8. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Master Book by Helio Gracie

Final Words

Gordon Ryan Replied to Cyborg:

Tom DeBlass shares his opinion on this situation and debate between Gordon Ryan and Cyborg and it seems like Tom DeBlass and Cyborg share the same view on Jiu-Jitsu.

Deconstructing The Standing Guillotine

Standing Guillotine Defense

Hopping Defense

Guillotine Defense To Takedown

Braulio Estima Escape

The Sumi Gaeshi

The Tomoe Nage

Putting It All Together

Kettlebells For Jiu-Jitsu

Joe Rogan’s Training Philosophy

The Ultimate Joe Rogan Kettlebell Workout