The Brown Belt in BJJ – Just A Step Away From Mastery

Do you know what every white belt dream is? Contrary to popular belief, it is not reaching black belt. Yes, the thought and desire exist somewhere in the background, but it is considered to be far in the future. White belts are all about getting the blue belt. As weird as it might sound, the only other belt that as far, if not farther, from the black belt, is a brown belt. It defies all logic, I know, but it is true. Reaching the brown belt is a saga on its own, and we’ve already covered each belt level’s struggles. Remember all the stuff blue belts have to deal with? Here’s a reminder: Common Blue Belt Mistakes

Having a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu is the final hurdle to that elusive black belt everyone expects marks mastery. Instead of just getting through the final “obstacle’ in no time, many people end up spending eternities at brown belt. That’s because it is harder to get from brown to black than it is to get all other belts before that. Here, we’re going to look into what makes a brown belt and how to make that final jump to the other side.

Traits Of A Brown Belt

As with all other BJJ belt levels, the time spent at the brown belt is marked by certain technical characteristics. It is well established that brown belts already know, or better said, are aware of, every technique in the BJJ arsenal. It is now about knowing techniques at this time as much as it is about the finest details in executing them. This is a very difficult thing to achieve and is more of a black belt trait, to be honest. But it is the one trait that needs to be attained at brown belt.

Knowledge of the fundamentals is a must for any experienced brown belt. And this is not only knowing how stuff is done. It’s the true knowledge of what makes a move efficient and all the ways in which it can be applied. Brown belts are in general beyond the experimental phase characteristic for purple belts. It is, instead, time to get back to basics and master the nuances. Given the teaching responsibilities of brown belts, knowing the details is paramount.

The personal defined grappling game that starts to appear at purple belt comes to the forefront at brown. This is the time of focusing on those areas of Jiu-Jitsu the work for you. By this time, most will have their collection of bumps, bruises, and injuries. This is a big factor in a brown belt defining his/her game. If you can’t do something, like inverted guard, you just need to look in another direction. You don’t need to learn anything new, just create connections that allow you to be as efficient as possible.

As mentioned, teaching is a huge part of being a BJJ brown belt. Teaching BJJ to others is going to refine all those fundamental details that you need to reach the next level.

Brown Belt Goals

Of course, the one common goal for all brown belts is getting promoted to black belt. However, apart from becoming a BJJ “master”, every other aspect of BJJ should be adapted to your level.

For those brown belts that have no current competitive ambitions, one major goal is just to be able to keep training. Your love of JiuJitsu is apparent by now and it’s the driving force that leads you to the mats every day. A job, a family and all that comes with life mean that time is hard to come by. The goal for the recreational brown belt is to form a style that’ll keep them safe and allow them to keep training. Be careful who you roll with and keep evolving on a daily basis, no matter how slow. If you’re interested in more details, check this Old Man Jiu-Jitsu article: https://bjj-world.com/old-man-jiu-jitsu-training-tips/

For the brown belt looking to become a teacher, this is the time to develop your teaching style. Make sure you think about what you’re going to show. Don’t allow yourself to just repeat the motions, give every class a thought before you teach it. Understand how to get through to the different types of learners out there. It’s a certain way to reach black belt soon.

As for the competitors, brown belt is the time to go all- out. You have to know the competition scene in detail. Expect everything from your opposition and learn how to analyze opponents. Make sure your training is preparing you for competitions because they don’t get more grueling than at brown belt. Also, stay in line with all the innovations that come around, since most of them are done by brown belts. remember Keenan when he was a brown belt?

Build Unbreakable Grip Strength For Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

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If you have ever trained grappling you are aware of how unusually much your arms ache after training. Whether it is Gi or No-Gi training, your arms, more specifically forearms are going to be on fire. If you’re new to BJJ or in your first tournament, you might even feel helpless when it comes to tying your belt back on. Jiu-Jitsu world our grips so much that it develops a certain level of grip strength on its own. But is this enough to get you through tough rolls high paced matches?

Grip strength matters a lot in BJJ. If you do not control your opponent, you won’t be able to do much to beat them. In terms of control, grips play a key role in manipulating your opponent. They provide levers, help build frames, can be used to construct wedges, or to finish submissions. Whether you’re gripping the Gi, the belt or just rashguard-covered anchor points, you need to be able to hold on. Grip strength needs to be addressed off the mats as well as on them, Given how crucial it is to grappling martial arts, it should be a huge part of any serious strength and conditioning plan.

Doing Gymnastics training will do wonders for both your grips and your BJJ in general. Learn how to incorporate it: https://bjj-world.com/use-gymnastics-to-become-strong/

The Role Of Grip Strength

A good level of grip strength opens up lots of opportunities for grappling athletes. Firm grips offer both the comfort of safety and an increased threat to your opponent. Strong grips can keep even the most technical opponent at bay, especially in a Gi environment. They can also make or break a submission, whether you’re the one doing it or escaping from it. Good grips are crucial for a solid stand-up game as well because you could hardly throw somebody unless you have a good grip on them. All in all, the stronger the grips, the easier the techniques.

Strong grips allow the body to move more efficiently, Weak grips, on the other hand, mean that the rest of your body is also going to be weaker. You might be able to bench, squat or deadlift enormous weights, but you’re only as strong as your grips. When grappling, if your grips give out your body is soon going to follow suit. Add to that an opponent with Popeye-sized forearms and you’re in for one tough match.

It is clear that grip strength is a priority for any self-respecting grappler out there. Remember that grips do not work in just one singular fashion. They have different complex mechanisms that make them strong or weak. It is precisely these anatomical features that need to be correctly trained in order to maximize grip strength for BJJ.

Pinching Grip Strength

An often overlooked aspect of gripping is so-called pinch strength. It is the strength of the connection between your thumb and one or more of your other fingers. More precisely, it is the strength of the connections at the tips of the fingers. We start off with this particular category of grip strength because it is the most difficult for athletes to master.

In Gi Jiu-Jitsu, pinch grips get a whole different meaning when it comes to controlling an opponent. Very often, in the heat of battle, proper deep grips are very difficult to establish. In cases like this, half-grips or variations are often the only available option. That’s where pinching grip strength comes in. Being able to hold on to a sleeve or pant leg just with the tip of your finger may be the deciding factor of a match. Holding on is going to allow you to either re-grip properly, or enough time to transition into a dominant position or out of danger. Talk about a last resort safety net!

Developing pinching grip strength is no easy feat. Training modalities that focus on this specific area of grip strength involve using the grip on appropriately thick materials and holding for time. In bodyweight terms, a towel or a Gi thrown over a pull-up bar is enough. Try to support your own weight with a pinch grip and you’ll be surprised at how weak you actually are. Weight plates (usually a couple of them at least) and wooden blocks can also be used for pinching.

The smart approach is a progressive loading one. If you can not do it for time, going for reps is your best option. Just make sure that your final goal is hanging as long as you can from a mechanically disadvantageous position.

Isometric Grip Strength

Isometric grip strength is probably the most important one for BJJ. The term isometric means that you’re holding a certain position without moving for a certain amount of time. In our case, this would be holding a Jiu-Jitsuspecific grip pattern in order to strengthen it.

Imagine you have your hand closed around a certain object. How long can you hold if there’s no resistance? Now imagine that there’s resistance coming from the object. It’s getting more difficult to hold on, isn’t it? Finally, imagine that you’re hanging from an object that trying to resist your hold at the same time. Now, you’re in a BJJ-specific scenario. This is something that happens to anyone in every roll, often on multiple occasions.

Grapplers are constantly in close-quarter situations and have to clinch in order to apply techniques and advance through positions. Being able to hold on while you’re maneuvering is essential for a good transitional game. A strong isometric grip means that you can pin a part of your opponent that would be instrumental in preventing you from executing something.

Training isometric grip strength requires spending time under tension. It means that your muscles need to get used to the stress of staying contracted without rest, for as long as possible. Farmer carries are an awesome way of developing iron-clad grips for grappling. You can go for distance or time, just make sure the weight you’re using is challenging. the timed deadlift is going to give all those meathead-oriented grapplers what they’re looking for. Ganging from a thick pull-up bar is the way to go for bodyweight training enthusiasts.

make sure you keep your fingers safe while training BJJ grips with these taping methods: https://bjj-world.com/best-bjj-finger-tape/

Crushing Grip Strength

Last but not least, being able to crush is a major advantage for any Jiu-Jitsu athlete. This aspect of grip strength is actually quite simple. You grab on to something. Then, you squeeze that something. Hard. It’s all there is to it. Imagine squeezing a beer can. You’re putting your fist around it and squeezing as hard as possible. The force of your action is going to crush the can inwards.

Crushing strength is the golden standard against which grip strength is measured. Dynamometers are used to measure one’s crushing strength in PSIs. In BJJ terms, crushing strength is essential to removing the grips an opponent has on you. Grip fighting is a dynamic battle of grips where crushing strength plays a major role. Whoever strips off the opponent’s grips and establishes tight isometric grips of their own is going to have the upper hand.

To train the crushing power of your grips, you can go the modern way or the ancient way. Do you know those grippers that bodybuilders swore upon in the 90s? Well, they’re exactly what you want to develop crushing power. In a more ancient manner, sticking your arms into a bucket of rice is going to do the trick. The idea is to get the muscles of your entire arm to work in coordination. To do so, you have to go for reps, the higher the better.

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How to Remember The Jiu-Jitsu Techniques You Learn

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A common analogy for BJJ is the one with the shark and the ocean. Come, on, you’ve heard it at least once. The ground is my ocean and I am the shark. Well despite a lot of grappling martial arts practitioners claiming to be sharks, only a few actually are. In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it is safe to say that all belt levels below black are nothing more than smaller fish. Learning BJJ is a long and tough process, which involves memorizing a huge number of Jiu Jitsu techniques and terms.

If you are a white belt or even a blue one, you’re probably still struggling with many of the names. The path of Jiu-Jitsu is such that it incorporates a multitude of languages in the nomenclature of moves. Some Jiu-Jitsu techniques have Portuguese names, others have English names and a small portion has Japanese terms, inherited from the original art. It’s no wonder that a white belt can’t swim in the BJJ ocean. They won’t just get eaten by the bigger fish. They’ll also drown easily in the names and nicknames of moves and positions.

How Many Jiu-Jitsu Techniques Are There?

In all honesty, I doubt anyone can provide a precise answer to this question. Jiu-Jitsu is so technically deep that most people attribute it to being endless. While this is most certainly not the case, it is arguably impossible to master BJJ in one’s lifetime. A big part of this is due to the technical diversity of the sport.

Different nomenclature systems for similar positions or moves do not help either. Eddie Bravo’s technique names are amongst the most creative, albeit weird ones in BJJ. But if you walk into a Gracie Barra academy you’ll most likely recognize only a few common terms. But, do not worry, there’s a method to all the madness. There are even ways to remember moves in a way that transcends inter-school naming differences.

I’m sure you already know that it gets easier with time. But you do not want to wait, and need to start categorizing all these moves that make no sense, straight away! Ok, hold your horses, it can be done. In Jiu Jitsu, just like in school, there’s a practical and a theoretical approach to it all. yup, there’s even homework included! Carry on reading.

Drill To Win And To Remember

Andre Galvao‘s famous ‘drill to win” phrase is one commonly accepted and used in the world of grappling. Actually, some forms of grappling martial arts, like wrestling, are extremely serious when it comes to drilling moves over and over again. Again, there’s a reason behind this, often perceived as a boring approach. It’s quite easy actually – the more you repeat something, the more you learn.

Drills in BJJ are organized in such a way that they stimulate muscle memory along with mental memory. You can not mindlessly perform BJJ drills just for the sake of it. You have to think about the Jiu-Jitsu techniques you’re doing and how you’re doing them. This body and mind engagement not only develops superior grappling coordination but also helps in remembering moves and their names.

Drilling half guard passes every session for a month is easily going to help you discern Z guard from a deep half guard. This holds true for other moves as well. Was it a Kimura or an Americana? Well, drill some closed guard Kimuras and you’ll get both the name and the movement pattern very quickly.

Word Associations

If drilling was the practical aspect of learning Jiu Jitsu, then this is the theoretical one. Very often, especially when you’re completely new to things, a personal touch can help you get into the groove of what you’re doing. So, a white belt giving names to moves shouldn’t be seen as disrespectful. Well, ok if they’re doing it without any attempt to learn the real name, it merits some talking to. But if a new student uses associations to remember Jiu Jitsu techniques, instructors should only encourage it!

Let’s say you’re Brazilian training in the USA. Portuguese names are no big deal, but all the other stuff really confuses you. Was it a flower or a pendulum sweep? Well giving Portuguese names to the same moves might help you categorize them more easily. Furthermore, you can use phrases to describe certain positions or offensive/defensive concepts. “Answering the telephone” against an arm triangle is one. Going into the “diamond’ position when attacking with a triangle choke is another. Opportunities are endless, you just need to get a little creative. Just remember to try and learn what your instructor teaches instead of renaming the art to suit yourself.

Scribbling Down Notes

This is where homework comes in the game. Actually, this one is great for all levels of BJJ practitioners. Even black belts often attend other black belts’ seminars. A BJJ seminar usually lasts in excess of 4 hours. That’s a lot of new material for anyone to absorb directly. So, choose your favorite notes app or just bust out the pad and a pen.

Whenever you’re having trouble remembering moves, give writing stuff down a go. You could do it right there on the mats after class, or wait till you get home. A cool piece of advice here is not to wait longer. Firstly, you’ll forget the key details about whatever you were trying to write down. Secondly, you might go into a new class and be overwhelmed with new content, thus completely forgetting what you were about to put down. So pay your due diligence and get into a post-training writing habit. It’ll do wonders for your BJJ game.

You could also go fully digital and ask to film the technical part of the class but this often draws too much attention. At seminars, not everyone likes to be filmed, so writing stuff down I way easier. So, next week write down everything that you’d like to remember about Jiu-Jitsu techniques after class. You’ll see that it won’t take long to make a habit out of it.

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How To Develop A Butterfly Guard Submission Game

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The butterfly guard is a specialized type of open guard that is highly efficient at the highest levels of Jiu-Jitsu. One specific aspect is that you do not have your opponent in a clinch with your legs, and your feet are not touching their hips. Rather, when employing the butterfly guard, your legs are bent in a way that resembles the butterfly stretch. Distance management is due to the hooks that your feet make behind the opponent’s knees or thighs.

The guard is probably BJJ’s most varied position. Closed guard, open guard, spider guard, rubber guard, half guard, butterfly guard, De La Riva, the list just goes on. Each guard has their uses and practitioners gravitate to one or more of these guards to use in their own games. So if you decide to play butterfly guard I can say that you decided well.

It’s a very versatile guard with so many options. It can be used very well in both Gi and No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and many other grappling martial arts. The main thing about butterfly guard is that you’re very mobile with it. When you play this guard you have numerous options and combinations for a lot of sweeps and reversals. Also, let’s not forget about many leg lock entrances that are pretty popular these days. If you were watching EBI or any other submission only event you could see that this guard is most leg lockers and guard pullers favorite position.

So, in this article I’ll try to explain and provide you with the butterfly guard basics like controlling your opponents, sweeping, submitting and everything else that butterfly guard can offer to you and there’s really a lot of it.

Controlling The Butterfly Guard

The most unique aspect of the butterfly guard is the apparent lack of distance control. Despite the loose-like control of the legs, control of the upper body is essential for an Eddie Cummings-like butterfly game. Typical gripping combinations include an over-under clinch, double-overhook clinch, double-underhook clinch, head and arm control, double wrist control or two-on-one arm control variations.

Once control is established with one of the gripping sequences, you are in a good position to attack your opponent. If the opponent isn’t versed in defending against the butterfly, it will become apparent quickly. Their base will be shifting all over, not knowing whether to sit up, lean forward, stand up or commit to passing your guard.

Let’s look at some highly effective submissions you can catch your opponent with while using the butterfly guard.

Butterfly guard sweeps are among the highest percetnage Jiu-Jitsu moves out there. Check out all the rest top moves here: https://bjj-world.com/highest-percentage-jiu-jitsu-moves/

Efficient Arm Attacks

The armbar from the butterfly is executed when you can use your underhook to help elevate your opponent’s arm and prop it on your shoulder. Controlling your opponent by gable gripping your hands directly or slightly above your opponent’s elbow ensures your opponent is stabilized to finalize the attack. When your opponent begins to retreat, he will push to extend his arm. This is exactly what you want them to do, as you need to isolate the arm for an armbar. Just make sure you crunch up, applying maximum tension to the opponent’s elbow joint.

Butterfly Guard Triangles

Another effective submission from the butterfly guard is the triangle. While overhooking one of your opponent’s arms, try to sweep your opponent to the opposite side. Effectively sweeping your opponent will put them on their back. Getting to a dominant mount or a side control position is always welcome.

However, an experienced opponent won’t wait to be swept to their back. They’d much more likely look to place their hand out to balance their base. Still keeping your overhook, you can use your free arm to grab the wrist that your opponent is using to balance themselves. From there, it is crucial to bring your leg, from the overhooked side, up and around their your back. Next, the knee from your other leg should reach towards your chest and around your opponent’s based arm. This allows you to cross your legs behind your opponent’s neck.

Once you’re in this “diamond” position, the triangle isn’t far away. Often times you will have to angle your body, relative to your opponent’s body, by kicking your foot off your opponent’s hips or even the ground.

“Wolverine ” Heel Hooks

Eddie Cummings was the pioneer of dangerous leg attacks from the butterfly guard. The “Wolverine” opened all grappling martial arts practitioners to the endless opportunities of leg locks.

Very often, your opponent will avoid your butterfly like the plague. If you did a good job of closing the distance and securing an over-under clinch than you’ll be ready to execute the butterfly sweep. This is usually going to lead your opponent to stand up. The idea is to avoid being swept and to avoid your butterfly guard, altogether.

However, the opponent has just placed themselves in leg lock territory. The Single-Leg X, also known as the Ashi Garami, requires you to straighten one of your legs through your opponent’s leg and wrap your leg around the leg on that side. Continuing to bring your foot further in front of your opponent’s thigh will force your opponent to turn away. That’s the moment they expose the heel of that foot. Gable gripping around that exposed heel and twisting that leg inwards, towards the opponent, typically forces the opponent to tap out.

If your looking to get more in-depth with the Wolverine’s leglock game check this article out https://bjj-world.com/john-danaher-leg-lock-system/

The Unorthodox Approach – Gogoplata

The more flexible you are in your legs, the more this submission makes sense to use. When trying to sweep your opponent towards their free arm side, your opponent likely will stretch their arm out to counter the sweep. Grabbing that wrist, or even blocking your opponent’s arm with your forearm, will prevent your opponent from collapsing the space you have made while attempting to sweep them.

Flexibility is your best friend in this next step. Using your leg on your overhooking side, quickly maneuver it around and up your opponent’s back, over their head, and under their chin. Finish the Gogoplata using both hands to pull your opponent’s head toward you, over your own shin. For added pressure, palm your own heel and push up, while using your other hand to grab the ball of your big toe and pull downwards.

Guillotine Choke

The guillotine is a refreshing option to surprise your opponent with. Ever since Marcelo Garcia revolutionized bot the butterfly guard and the guillotine, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has never been the same.

As your opponent bases their hand out, keep the overhook on the arm and use your other arm to wrap your opponent’s head. Finishing the Guillotine requires clinching both hands together and falling off to your side. To stifle your opponent’s front roll escape bring the leg from your overhooked arm side out and over your opponent’s back. As far as variations go, both the arm-in and the high elbow guillotines are at your disposal.

Now that you’ve seen a few good submissions from butterfly guard, it’s time to put this knowledge to use. Next time you train BJJ, start off your sparring matches from the butterfly guard and see if you can get your opponent in a submission. Remember that trying to sweep is always going to open up submission opportunities. Now go and train!

The 5 Best BJJ Supplements For High Level Performance

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BJJ requires dedication both on and off the mats. You can’t be involved in the Gentle Art if you’re out of shape and your diet isn’t on point. Now, let’s face it, a squeaky clean diet in today’s society requires a major effort. Most people that are willing to eat clean but do not have sufficient time, decide to look for easier ways out. One such way is reaching for pills and powders. now, before you go off buying every magic supplement you see on TV make sure you know what works and what’s nothing more than marketing. There is an essential stack of BJJ supplements for grappling martial arts enthusiasts. It’s made up of the basic stuff that’s not too expensive and works. Give it a shot!

Remember that in today’s world there’s much more to protein powder than just regular, good old whey protein. We have blends, whey, casein, beef, cricket protein, and even super pump-up uber-bulk hope cans. There are a million and one different products out there and they all claim they’ll turn you into the Hulk. Since Jiu-Jitsu is not at all about getting pumped up, but rather about improving performance let’s see some BJJ supplements that actually help grapplers.

Before you go looking for supplements, make sure your diet is in order. Everything you need to know about eating for Jiu-Jitsu.

The 5 Best BJJ Supplements:

Whey Protein Isolate

Why should you be taking protein supplements? Well because protein shakes aren’t only for stacking on body builder-like muscles. They are great time-saving meal replacements that prevent catabolism eliminators and make everyday life easier. Imagine if you miss a full meal and all you have in your bag is a banana. A starchy fruit like that is surely going to boost your energy, but it as a whole, is not enough. You cannot bring a plastic knife to do a steak knife’s job.

Remember, the money you put into a good high-quality protein will be paid back in full with results. The last thing you want is to be swallowing down a shake that tastes like ground-up chalk. Keep your stomach happy and your performance top-class. If any of the BJJ supplements are worth splurging on, it’s this one. And make sure to shun all the blends and modern formulas. Whey protein isolate is the closest to milk-derived whey with maximal protein content. Just go for it. You and your gut will thank me later.

Branched Chain Amino Acids

BCAA stands for Branched-chain Amino Acids. It is one of, if not the most important supplement we can take as grappling martial arts practitioners. Most BJJ people train almost every day, we do strength and conditioning and try a diet or a weight cut at some point. But what we do not want to do is lose muscle due to a catabolic state. This is when our body instead turns to break down our muscles for nutrients. Enter BCAA, the catabolism destroyer.

What BCAAs do, is increase our body’s protein synthesis and promote the cellular transport that carries out protein synthesis. They also increase the cell’s capacity to synthesize protein. On top of it all BCAA’s decrease the breakdown of protein. BCAA’s modulate the way our body processes protein and let us process more all the while maintaining the breakdown of protein so we get the most out of it. As far as BJJ supplements go, it’s a must-have!

Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is one of those supplements that has gotten mixed responses over the years. Creatine increases productivity on and off the mats helps build muscle by aiding in recovery and strengthening skeletal muscles. It provides an energy boost to help our muscles fire off more rapidly when we need them. Sometimes, in those hard training sessions, or in the finals of Worlds, that slight boost that gains you a second of advantage could be the turning point.

Creatine is an amino acid that, in effect, helps buffer the build-up of lactic acid. Lactic acid builds up is what we know as muscle fatigue, cramping or “burning out.” The trick with creatine is that you will need to “load” your system for a few days in order to build up a surplus. Generally, recommended doses are 20g per day for 5 – 7 days before switching over to a maintenance amount of 5 grams a day. The 20 grams of the load should be taken in 5-gram portions throughout the day. The best part is that creatine is practically flavorless and easily added to your post-workout shakes without any notice. Oh, and it is very cheap. A BJJ supplements stack mainstay if you ask me.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Fact check. We can not produce Omega-3 fatty acids naturally. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils help build muscle, increase metabolism, reduce inflammation, increase organ function and promote weight loss. All of which, in a healthy manner, means that if you want to lean down and maintain muscle mass, you should add in fish oil.

Joanna Jedrzejczyk sure could’ve used some help with her weight cut. Make sure you take your fish oil so that you avoid similar struggles: https://bjj-world.com/joanna-jedrzejczyks-weight-cutting-video-its-a-torture-for-human-body/

If you want to live longer and have a functioning body, you should take fish oil. Even if you are a polar bear that loves salmon and BJJ, you should still take fish oil. You see, even if you are eating pounds and pounds of salmon, you can never really get enough. Luckily, you can supplement with Omega-3 fatty acids and get your fair share.

Fruit And Vegetable Powders

Despite always being told to eat our veggies, sometimes we just can’t get down to doing so. And some of us just plain do not want to. However, a lack of fruits and veggies weakens your body’s self-defense capabilities. Green foods, berries, citrus all provide key vitamins, minerals, and powerful nutrients we need to not only survive but thrive.

Luckily, a few companies have come up with multivitamins and greens supplements. These powders are quick, easy, and taste good. It’s understandable when you say that you do not have time to boil water and cook asparagus before rushing out to roll, but you have no excuse not to grab a scoop of some of the greens’ supplements in your stack, throw it in the shaker, and hit the road. Do yourself a favor and improve your immunity. Supplement with greens on a daily basis.

All in all, you take your training seriously. Take your diet seriously. Well, they go hand in hand. Your training without proper nutrition is like a Gi without a belt. Remember to eat well and train hard. Supplements are exactly as the word implies, supplemental. You should not be living off supplements but you should work them into your diet to fill in those gaps or lapses in nutrition that you do not get. There is no harm in adding a shake and some fish oil into your diet, there is only gain.

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Worm Guard – The Evolution Of BJJ’s Most Annoying Guard

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Lapel guards do present a major problem in modern BJJ. The Gi is a powerful weapon to use against any opponent. There is a multitude of chokes and different positions available through Gi manipulation. A unique trait of BJJ is using the opponent’s Gi against them by trapping them with various lapel guards. The lasso guard reigned supreme amongst open guards at the highest level of competition. However, as of late, another guard has taken over the mantle of most annoying guard to pass. Queue the notorious and very annoying, worm guard.

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worm guard and beyond - Keenan's Lapel Encyclopedia — Techniques List

Ask any BJJ practitioner and they’ll tell you how much they despise the worm guard. It is a variation of the seated half guard, made more secure with the use of the lapel. The worm guard first surfaced in 2014, courtesy of BJJ European and World Champion Keenan Cornelius. Keenan has utilized the worm guard in many of his high-level black belt matches successfully. So much so, in fact, that other notable BJJ World Champions like Joao Miyao and Rafael Mendes soon followed suit. Of course, the entire Jiu-Jitsu community is never far behind when something as attractive and efficient as this guard comes along

Why Is The Worm Guard So Effective?

So, what is it that makes the worm guard so effective (read annoying)? In essence, the worm guard is a way of restricting your opponent’s movement by re-enforcing your open guard with their own lapel. This open guard position was developed by Atos Team’s Keenan Cornelius. Well, former Atos team member, anyway.

From a mechanical standpoint, the worm guard is essentially a seated/De La Riva guard variation. The one main distinction is that the focus of control switches from the outside leg hook to the lapel. Why? Well, the lapel, along with the inside leg provides 360-degree control, leaving no openings. If you start in a seated or De La Riva guard, you always want the inside leg on the opponent’s hips. This is your main starting point. You also want the lapel out of the belt on the same side of the inside leg. The goal is to wrap the lapel around the inside leg and grip it with the opposite side arm. Doing this places your opponent’s leg in a circle made by your gripping arm, your inside leg and their lapel. The level of control is insane.

Simply lying to your side with everything in place as described is going to make your opponent lean forward. That’s an effortless posture break if ever there was one. What can the opponent do? The leverage created by this control severely restricts the movement of the passer, as well as their ability to put pressure on the bottom grappler. This way, a variety of sweeps, reversals, and back takes open up for the bottom player. Let’s say they try to knee slice. The inside leg prevents it. Backstep? There’s no way out of the loop created by the lapel grip. Pressure passing? They’ll go flying!

How Did World Champions Deal With the Worm Guard?

So, after the first version of the worm guard emerged, and Keenan got the best of most, what was the response? As expected, it didn’t take long for the top-level grapplers to start devising solutions. It is not that the guard is any less effective, it is just more of a fair fight now that we know a thing or two about it. Or so we thought, anyway. Just like with everything in BJJ, the worm guard also evolved and got better. Or more annoying. Whichever way you prefer it.

Initially, I think it was 13 x BJJ World Champion Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida who figured out a great way to shut down Keenan’s guard. Buchecha’s concept worked by removing the main tool of the worm guard – the lapel. When they fought, Buchecha focused on breaking the lapel grips. Eventually, he did pass Keenan’s guard and won the match. Breaking the lapel grips will break the opponent’s complete worm guard game. However, achieving this is not as easy as it sounds.

The worm guard players soon started merging the worm guard with other guards. The De La Worm and Spider Worm guard, for example, were some of the earliest hybrids. They took care of the grip problem, but now, a different issue presented itself. Bruno Malfacine used his base and stability to effectively prevent Miyao from sweeping him with the worm guard. Not even the De la Riva hook could make any difference. Malfacine remained in a squatting position, making it difficult for Miyao to create any space for a sweep. Bruno closed most of the gaps in the guard, making it impossible for Miyao to get a sweep because he couldn’t really feed the lapel grip.

Passing The Worm Guard

Ultimately, people actually went a step further and found out how to pass the worm guard, rather than just counter its attacks. And it has everything to do with posture. Having good posture, regardless of which guard you are passing, is essential in BJJ. The minute your posture is broken, it will be easier for your opponent to attack. This is especially true in the case of lapel guards.

Arguably the world’s greatest guard passer, Rodolfo Vieira showed zero respect for Braulio Estima’s lapel game. It was not a worm guard variation but the concepts still apply. Throughout the match, Vieira keeps his posture rock solid, making it difficult for Estima to maintain the lapel grip and attack.

Leandro Lo also had his say on the matter. Lo has one of the best passing games in the sport. When he came up against Keenan Cornelius and his worm guard for the second time, he had a few answers ready. Lo used the cross-face to pressure Keenan into releasing the guard. To achieve it, Leandro steps over the De la Riva leg, forcing a switch from the worm guard. This effectively gets him into the half guard, and he passes with ease.

Which brings us to the latest evolution. Did Keenan choose to work on the worm guard in particular? Yes, he did, but he didn’t leave it at that. He created four more “cousin” lapel guards that now tie together into the most comprehensive lapel guard system ever put together!

Keenan’s Response And The Evolution Of The Lapel Guards Encyclopedia

What is the next step after the worm guard, you might wonder? Well, it is the ringworm guard, of course. Yeah, it is not one of the best-named guards, but it is equally as pesky as ringworm. So, in that sense, the naming is spot on. However, that is far from the final spot in Keenan’s lapel wizardry.

Three more lapel guard variations now provide options most of us have never dreamed of having when it comes to playing guard. The Reverse De La Worm (a Reverse De La Riva guard hybrid), the Squid Guard and the Gubber guard are the latest and greatest of Keenan’s inventions. Unlike the initial worm guard, all of these guards actually work together, feeding off each other. This means that now, whatever someone does form the worm guard, there’s a solution. And the solutions come in the form of far worse lapel guards that now actually feature even direct submission options.

If you’re really interested in learning them all, an entire series of articles won’t even scratch the surface. Your best resource is actually picking up the 10-part “Lapel Encyclopedia” instructional, available in both DVD and digital format. Keenan’s Lapel Encyclopedia features everything, from opening lapel guard concepts to worm guard strategies and recovery. Of course, each of the five guards gets a volume of itself, along with an entire volume filled with submission options. In fact, check out the most detailed review of Keenan’s Lapel Encyclopedia featuring the worm guard right HERE!

In Summary

The Worm guard evolution is just as captivating as that of any move in modern Jiu-Jitsu. Do you need to know it? Absolutely, particularly if you do Gi Jiu-Jitsu even on occasion. However, if you’re really interested in using it as your main tool in competition, particularly at a high-level, you need the entire Lapel Encyclopedia system. It is more than worth investing in.

If you’re interested in Buying Keenan Cornelius’ Lapel Guard Encyclopedia you can check it HERE.

BJJ vs. Judo – What Are The Main Differences?

BJJ World

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the ultimate system for battles taking place on the ground. No other grappling art comes even close to the magnitude of opportunities that BJJ offers. Despite many claiming, it is an all-encompassing art, it is not. BJJ is a specialized art and a highly specialized one at that. Judo, the BJJ predecessor and modern co-member of the grappling arts, is the polar opposite. Judo focuses almost exclusively on the way a fight reaches the ground, largely ignoring what happens after going down. So, why do both these arts focus on such different aspects fo the grappling game? Let’s peg them one against the other in a BJJ vs Judo debate and look for the answer.

Japanese Jiu-Jitsu is the common predecessor of both BJJ and Judo. This ancient system gave birth to Judo first, and through it, to BJJ much later on. After decades of each art developing in its own direction, the two still have plenty in common. However, despite their unbreakable historical bond, both arts today have more differences than similarities. This is mainly due to a few key aspects that influence both arts’ trajectories. BJJ vs Judo, which has progressed more and why? Let’s see…

Brazil vs. Japan – A Cultural View

To begin with, despite the common historical origin of both arts, they have geographically very different birthplaces. Japan, on one hand, is an epitome of Eastern culture and warrior traditions. Brazil, on the other hand, is as relaxed as it gets, with passion being commonly related to its people. As such, both cultures influenced their respective arts to large extents.

Brazilians transformed Judo into BJJ, after learning the art from a Japanese master that lived in Brazil. They needed to modify the sturdy traditional Japanese art to their body types and character. So, the Gracies started modifying and came up with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Japanese people are known to be very loyal to tradition. They’re known as calm and calculated people. In turn, Brazilians are more of a “wild card” due to their highly passionate characters. Japanese judo practitioner Nishi Yoshinori once described the Gracies as being very reckless in their martial arts approach. Seeing how Helio had his arm broken by Kimura and had almost died after being choked, one could see his point. Brazilian culture also favors challenge matches over tradition, with victory at all costs as the main goal. The Japanese have a much more structured approach, one based on hierarchy, tradition, and respect.

This does not mean that Brazilians are disrespectful, it just outlines the intricate and deep cultural influences behind the BJJ vs Judo debate.

BJJ vs Judo – Technical Differences

As previously stated, the grappling areas of focus differ greatly for both arts. Judo begins with grips, as does BJJ. However, the grips play a much more important role in Judo. The principle of Kuzushi (or unbalancing) is crucial for a successful Judo game, and grips are the key aspect of it. Judo mostly takes places standing, with both grapplers looking to throw their opponent to the ground. Only if both of them end up grounded, they resort to chokes and/or joint lock, to a much lesser extent than BJJ.

BJJ can be thought of as the grappling art that continues where Judo stops. Much like Judo’s approach to ground fighting, BJJ looks at throws only as a means of reaching the ground. Once down, BJJ athletes have an extensive array of tools to dominate and finish an opponent. Such is the confidence of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners, that they often pull the opponent over them and attack from their backs. In Judo, such action would result in a straight loss.

This brings us to the rulesets. Each art has different rules based on the strategy of combat. During the course of its existence, Judo has significantly restricted submissions and lots of “potentially dangerous moves”. To gain victory, one must throw their opponent on their back to win the match. Otherwise, different points are awarded for different actions. Submissions are a way of winning, but they must be applied in a certain, very short, time frame.

In BJJ, victory can be obtained in many ways. The clearest way is via a submission hold (choke or joint lock). BJJ’s point system is much more elaborate than that of Judo. Throws and takedowns score way fewer points than in Judo. Matches can be won by advantages or a referee’s decision as well.

Also, check:
-Judo Guy Subdues a Bully at Supermarket
-Muay Thai Legend puts on a GI to fight High Level Judoka in a Match with BJJ Rules
-Rickson Gracie vs 6x Russian Judo Champion

BJJ vs Judo – The Mindsets

Remember the point about Brazilians being wild and reckless and the Japanese more calm and inclined towards hierarchy? Well, it all goes, pretty much down the drain in the mindset department.

The plane of movement in Judo (mostly on the feet) makes for much more aggressive matches. The nature of the art revolves around throws, which require both speed and explosiveness. Such characteristics mean that a Judo Match is much more fast-paced than in BJJ. To be honest, two BJJ athletes attempting Judo throws at a competition look very different to two Judo practitioners doing the same.

Taking place on the ground, BJJ is much slower paced than Judo, meaning there’s more time to think about things. Modern BJJ has much more of a flow about it than the start-stop action in Judo. So, in this instance, BJJ is the more cerebral approach, but only because ground fighting doesn’t allow for as much unrestricted movement as standing does. The vast repertoire of techniques available to a BJJ practitioner also influences their decision making during a fight, meaning they can take more time to achieve their goal.

A Match Made In Heaven?

We started off this article as a BJJ vs Judo debate, but we’re going to finish it with a sense of unity. In all fairness, the differences of both arts are actually why they’re so compatible with each other.

Both arts have their respective areas of specialization, meaning they could use the other’s expertise in other fields. As such, a perfectly rounded grappler would be able to effectively throw their opponent at will. However, instead of stopping there, the match could go on thanks to the comprehensive technical depth of BJJ. In a self-defense scenario, this is a priceless combination, allowing proficiency in both areas of fighting.

On another note, both mindsets could benefit each other as well. Sometimes, a little Judo aggression on the ground can be a game changer. Moreover, staying calm on the feet could have its benefits too, keeping a practitioner from rushing into traps. A merger it is then!

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