Complete index
All JiuJitsuGuide guides
A complete Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu reference: written technique guides that explain the mechanics of each position, backed by an instructional library indexed by the exact technique you are trying to fix.
22 of 22 guides
Closed Guard: Posture, Angle, and the Attack Chain
Closed guard is a control position first and an attack position second. The work happens in breaking posture and building an angle before any submission appears.
Guard Retention: Frames, Hip Escapes, and Recovering Position
Retention is not scrambling faster than the passer. It is placing frames early, moving your hips before your legs are cleared, and getting a knee back inside.
Half Guard and the Underhook Battle
Half guard is decided by whose arm is under whose. Winning the underhook turns a defensive position into a sweeping one; losing it invites the crossface and the pass.
Butterfly and X-Guard: Elevation, Hooks, and Sweeps
Butterfly and X-guard both work by putting your legs underneath your opponent and taking their base away. The grips decide direction; the hooks supply the lift.
Open Guard: Distance Management and Grip Hierarchy
Open guard is a distance problem before it is a technique problem. Your feet, knees and hands each own a range, and the grips you take determine which range you keep.
Side Control: Crossface, Underhook, and Structural Pressure
Side control holds when your weight goes through the opponent's shoulder line and hips, not through your knees. Here is how to build pressure that is structural rather than muscular.
Mount: The Control Ladder from Low Mount to S-Mount
Mount is a ladder of heights, not a single position. Low mount kills the hips, high mount kills the arms, and S-mount hands you the armbar.
Back Control: Seatbelt, Hooks, and Chest-to-Back Connection
Back control is chest-to-back connection first and hooks second. The seatbelt decides which side you finish on, and your hips decide whether you stay there at all.
Turtle and Knee-on-Belly: Attacking the In-Between Positions
Turtle and knee-on-belly are transitional, not final. Both reward the person who keeps moving, and both punish anyone who settles in and waits for something to happen.
Escaping Mount and Side Control Without Panic
Escapes fail because you bridge before your elbows are back inside. Here is the order of operations that turns a pin into a recovered guard, and the breathing that makes it repeatable.
Guard Passing: The Three Passing Families and When Each Works
Passes divide into pressure, speed and leg-weave families. Which one applies depends on the guard in front of you and the grips you already own before you commit.
Sweeps: Off-Balancing, Blocking, and Finishing the Reversal
A sweep is three events in sequence: you take the base, you block the post, and you follow the roll all the way up. Miss one and it stalls.
Takedowns for Jiu-Jitsu: Level Change, Grips, and Landing in Position
A takedown in jiu-jitsu is judged by where you land, not by how far the other person travels. Grips, level change and finishing position carry the work.
The Armbar: Elbow Alignment, Hip Height, and the Finish
The armbar fails or finishes on details you cannot see from the outside: elbow alignment, hip height under the shoulder, and how the knees hold the arm in place.
The Triangle: Angle, Locking Mechanics, and Finishing Problems
A triangle that will not finish is almost never a leg problem. It is an angle problem, a posture problem, or a shoulder that never got pulled across.
Chokes from the Back: Strangle Mechanics and Hand Fighting
Back chokes are won in the hand fight long before the arm goes under the chin. Seat belt, harness control, and the timing of the strangle itself.
The Kimura as a Control System, Not Just a Submission
Treated as a submission, the kimura is a low-percentage grab. Treated as a control grip, it steers the opponent into sweeps, back takes, and eventually the finish.
Leg Locks: Ashi Garami Positions, Entries, and Training Safely
Leg locks are position-driven like everything else. Learn the ashi garami family, understand where your knee line sits, and set training rules before anyone rotates anything.
Your First Year on the Mats: What to Actually Focus On
The first year is mostly about surviving less badly and building a small set of positions you understand deeply. Here is what deserves your attention and what can wait.
Grip Fighting: Winning Hands Before the Exchange Starts
Grips decide whether a position is yours or theirs before either of you commits. Learn which hand to fight for, when to break, and how to keep your fingers healthy.
Rolling With Intent: Sparring Intensity, Injury Risk, and Progress
Sparring at maximum effort every round teaches very little and costs a lot. Here is how to choose an intensity, set a goal for each roll, and still get better.
Strength, Mobility, and Recovery for Grapplers
Grappling loads the neck, hips and grip in ways nothing else does. A small amount of targeted lifting, mobility and sleep protects the training you actually care about.