4 Guard Survival Strategies For Small Players

There are a few uncomfortable realities in Jiu-Jitsu. Such as, Size does matter!

Smaller, lighter Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu students will immediately relate, having the uncomfortable and direct experience of being smashed under a bigger opponent. The game is simply different when you are the much lighter person in the roll, and your training partners outweigh you by 10 to 50 lbs!

That said, there are advantages that a lighter BJJ practitioner enjoys over their heavier, slower, and longer-limbed training partners. A smaller Jiu-Jitsu fighter most often enjoys a speed advantage. With shorter limbs, they can more easily find space to slip a hook in and start an escape, and many develop superior technique out of the necessity to survive.

If you observe the more skilled, lighter students in your GB Jiu-Jitsu school, there are a few guard survival strategies that they all seem to have in common, and they demonstrate the effectiveness of Jiu-Jitsu for smaller people.

We are focusing on the guard bottom position as that is where smaller students will most often end up in rolling. Sometimes, you don't have any choice but to play bottom against a heavier training partner. By spending so much time at the bottom, they become very effective at defending and winning from the guard.

The GB Online video catalogue features different guard series that show specific aspects of the bottom game that can help smaller BJJ students do like Grandmaster Helio Gracie famously said: "Survive..then win!"

Here are the 4 most important guard survival strategies for smaller, lighter Jiu-Jitsu students.

1- Great Hooks and defensive guard to stop the opponent from quickly throwing the legs aside and passing. You are going to need some strong hooks to be able to control your opponent from passing. The ideal guard game will also prevent the bigger opponent from applying their weight and smashing you.

The strong hooks of the Spider guard and Lasso Guard have helped countless smaller Bjj fighters in keeping the pressure off and controlling the guard passer. Check out these excellent video resources.

1A- Gracie Barra Lasso Guard

The Lasso Guard System with Professor Thiago Aso

1B- Gracie Barra Spider Guard
Keeping the Pressure Off: Spider & Lasso Guard by Professor Ana Laura Cordeiro

2- Using Leg Entanglements. Leg entanglements come in several different forms - Outside Hook guard or De la Riva guard, X-Guard, Single Leg X-Guard, 50-50 guard, and so on. These guards are great for slowing down standing guard passers. These leg entanglements are especially great for No-Gi, where the sleeve and collar grips have disappeared. 

The Single Leg X-Guard might be the most powerful tool for No-Gi guards for lighter players. This series, 12 Ways to Help You Win with Single Leg X-Guard by World BJJ Champion Professor Ana Laura Cordeiro, teaches you how to control and then attack much bigger opponents using and connecting the different leg entanglements.

3- Have a major submission threat from the bottom

Out of all of the possible submission attacks from the guard, there is one attack that is most successful for smaller students (who may have shorter legs and not as effective with triangles) - the Armbar from the guard. The female Jiu-Jitsu students who tap bigger training partners tend to be really skilled at the straight armlock from the guard.

When you develop a dangerous submission threat from the bottom, your opponents won't be so confident and fearless to take chances to try to pass your guard. 

The Armbar Arsenal by Fabiana Borges features multiple strategies and techniques for setting up and attacking the Armbar from the bottom.

4- Guard retention and replacement skills

Many Gracie Barra students ask about how to escape the dreaded stuck in the bottom-of-side control position. But if we rewind the tape, we see the problems started earlier, when their guard was passed. Preventing the pass in the first place and avoiding getting pinned under heavy side control is an overlooked guard skill. And learning how to recover your guard is one of the most important - if underrated - skills in Jiu-Jitsu.

Professor Ian Cardoso goes into depth on how lighter students can retain and recover the guard in the GB Online instructional series Your Guard Will Never Be The Same. Check it out.

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Professor Alexandre "Cafe" Dantas Top Half Guard Submissions

If a World Champion and 4th degree GB black belt asked you what you wanted him to show you, what would be your request?

GB Online did just that with Professor Alexandre Cafe Dantas asking the members "What position would you most like to see from Professor Cafe?"

Jiu-Jitsu students' most popular answer was the Half Guard. Not only did Professor Cafe agree to share his favorite Half Guard techniques, he doubled the techniques and taught BOTH Top and Bottom Half Guard techniques - each position with its own video series.

This week Professor Cafe focuses on submissions from Top Half Guard. He demonstrates that you can attack nearly every part of the opponent's body - neck, arms, shoulders and legs from the Top Half Guard.

Check out Professor Alexandre "Cafe" Dantas Half Guard Submissions from the Top here

Typically, as Jiu-Jitsu students, we are taught to pass the Half Guard to advance to Side Mount. That is one of the main strategies certainly, but as Professor Cafe shows in the Top Half Guard submission video series, it is not the only option.

Professor Cafe takes advantage of the top position in applying pressure to the opponent and making them uncomfortable. When the bottom fighter is uncomfortable, they fatigue rapidly, and expose themselves to submission attacks when they try to escape the pressure.

Professor Cafe shows the following chokes, Armbars, Kimura, and Knee Bar variations from Top Half Guard:

1. Knee Bar from Top Half Guard

2. Spinning Knee Bar from Top Half Guard

3. Arm Triangle - Darce Choke From Top Half Guard

4. Kimura Counter To The Under Hook 

5. Kimura To Straight Armbar 

6. Brabo Choke From Top Half Guard 

7. Gift Wrap From Top Half Guard

8. Straight Armbar - Ude Gatame from Deep Half

9. Kimura Counter Kimura From Top Half Guard 

See all of the Top Half Guard submissions from Professor Alexandre "Cafe" Dantas in Half Guard Submissions from the Top

Perhaps the best part of Professor Cafe's teaching style is his emphasis on the easy-to-miss details that make all the difference in the success of the technique. It's possible that you have seen many of the techniques before, but dismissed them as not being a good fit for their game because of a lack of immediate success when you first tried them. 

You may have been missing a key detail in the mechanics or timing of the technique, that when fixed, suddenly makes the technique work on fully resisting opponents.

In the Top Half Guard submissions, Professor Cafe shares many of the crucial, black belt details that may not be obvious the first time that you see the technique.

What is your go to submission from Top Half Guard?

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No-Gi takedowns for Jiu-Jitsu by Professor Pedro Marinho

Wrestling takedowns and hand fighting for Bjj.

If you vowed to work more on your standup game after your last BJJ competition this week on the GB Online Blog, we have some help with takedowns for you.

Professor Pedro Marinho is one of the top professional no-gi grapplers in the world in 2024 and recently taught a No-Gi takedown seminar at Gracie Barra headquarters in Florianopolis, Brazil.

The Arm Drag

The focus of the no-gi takedown seminar was the wrestling hand-fighting technique known as the Short Arm Drag for BJJ. The rules and points are different between Olympic wrestling and No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu but the Arm Drag is a central technique to both sports.

The Arm Drag isn't a takedown by itself, but it is a critical part of the standup game. Getting a takedown on an experienced opponent isn't as simple as shooting in on a double leg takedown and scoring 2 points. You need to get past your opponent's defense by hand-fighting and closing the distance. That's where the Arm Drag comes in.

Professor Pedro Marinho teaches the gripping details and footwork for the Arm Drag and the bodylock takedown from the clinch in the seminar videos. But there is more to the takedown game than just knowing a few moves.

Professor Pedro demonstrates how he applies several important principles to his takedown game in the seminar. Check out the  No-Gi takedown seminar

Distance 
Professor Pedro says that the distance between the two opponents will determine what takedown you use. If you are too far away from the opponent when you go to enter into your double leg takedown, the opponent has sufficient time to sprawl and defend.

Have a Takedown System 
Professor Pedro teaches that it's not often that you can enter directly with a takedown and be successful. The majority of your attempts will be defended by your opponent and you need to know what move to follow up with. Connecting your different takedowns creates a system and allows you to flow seamlessly from one attack to the next.

Your favorite techniques will form the center point of your system. We say your system because, as Professor Pedro says, each individual will have specific techniques that work best for them. Professor Pedro loves the Knee Tap and Front Headlock, but you may prefer a Single Leg or Trips.

The system Professor Pedro shows in the seminar is based on the initial Arm Drag entry, and Professor Pedro chains follow-up techniques depending on the opponent's reaction...which leads us to our next takedown principle.

Attack the opponent's reaction
If you have watched the excellent GB3 with Professor Flavio Almeida, you will be well acquainted with the Jiu-Jitsu principle of "Attack the Reaction." In the course of teaching the seminar, Professor Pedro shows how he sets up each technique by attacking something and anticipating the opponent's defensive reaction.

Professor Pedro knows the finite number of possible ways the opponent will react and takes advantage of the timing and shift in balance by the opponent and attacks in the opponent's weak area. The smart Jiu-Jitsu student will study the opponent's reactions to their favorite techniques and use the opponent's defensive reaction to execute the takedown.

Some of the techniques covered in the No-Gi takedown seminar by Professor Pedro are Arm Drag, collar tie, Russian 2-on-1, Whizzer, Uchimata, Bodylock, Front Headlock, Guillotine choke, Armbar, and Kimura from Side Control.

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Gracie Barra 5 Best Women's Self-Defense Techniques

Many of the Bjj technique videos that we see in our social media feeds are sports Jiu-Jitsu in nature. The sweeps and advanced guards are a lot of fun to practice in rolling, but many of the positions may not seem applicable to self-defense situations.

The number one reason many women start training in Bjj is they are looking for self-defense. 

Women who start training in Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu will begin their learning in Jiu-Jitsu, focusing on self-defense Jiu-Jitsu techniques that address the most common real-life situations. Specific techniques that provide solutions for what someone is likely to encounter in an incident of a physical confrontation.

Check out the Top 5 Self-Defense Techniques for Women on GB Online

GB Online talked with Professor Dawn Korsen and Professor Jodi Walshe (who both started training together since white belts and graduated to black belt simultaneously) about women's self-defense at Gracie Barra. Both black belts teach women's classes at GB San Clemente, California, and share their thoughts about the Jiu-Jitsu techniques for women's self-defense.

GB Online asked: Why is training specifically for self-defense necessary for women?

Professor Jodi Walshe says, "After trying new self-defense techniques and being exposed to the concepts, the ladies in our class often express feelings of empowerment and confidence."

What is the difference between self-defense techniques and the sport Jiu-Jitsu techniques taught in many BJJ  schools?

Professor Dawn Korsen says, "The power of the self-defense techniques is uniquely different from sport Jiu-Jitsu because of the key component of distance management. In the sport Jiu-Jitsu, the key is to stay engaged with your opponent and to maintain or regain control of the match. In self-defense, the distance management looks quite different in that the goal is to escape safely."

Professor Jodi Walshe says that the students in her Gracie Barra women's self-defense classes tell her, "The techniques today were simple yet effective, and I can definitely see myself being more prepared and confident if a situation arises."

Knowing what to do in a bad situation 

"When a woman learns self-defense techniques, it begins to build a set of tools she can use in the event she needs them," says Professor Dawn. "Techniques are often combined with mindset training to teach women that they are stronger than they think and to not willingly accept the role of 'victim.'"

Check out the Top 5 Self-Defense Techniques for Women on GB Online

Self-defense for women begins with building self-confidence and not presenting oneself as an easy target.

Projecting a confident mindset immediately makes a woman less likely to be seen as an easy target for potential trouble. Equipping a woman with practical self-defense techniques provides her with a sense of preparedness in the event of a bad situation.

"Our number one theme is always about the mindset behind being in a position to use the techniques. Beyond physical skills, we emphasize the importance of mental preparedness and assertiveness," says Professor Jodi.

Professor Jodi sums it up best: "We've heard feedback such as "now I will feel more equipped living my daily life, watching my surroundings and really observing people & my environment."

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If you levelled up just one aspect of your game, which position would have the biggest impact on improving your Jiu-Jitsu?

GB Online has introduced Bjj instructional video playlists assembled from the hundreds of Bjj instructional videos on GB Online - for the most important positions for your Jiu-Jitsu game.

What do you need to work on?

This is an important question for all intermediate level Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu students to ask!

If you really improved your guard retention skills, would that missing piece take your overall game to a higher level? How about your takedown game? It's a notorious weakness for many Jiu-Jitsu students. Or maybe you don't feel particularly confident in your pressure passing skills.

Strengthening a specific hole in your game is one of the best ways better your overall rolling performance. We encounter the same problems again and again until we find a technical solution to the problem. A period of a month or more of focus on a specific area of your Jiu-Jitsu game will lift your entire game.

Watching BJJ instructional videos is a great and convenient way to obtain ideas and techniques to improve a specific area.

GB Online has created curated, position focused technique video playlists to help Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu students identify areas of interest and provide you with Gracie Barra video techniques to inject some fresh thinking and give you techniques that will make a difference.

GB Online Curated Playlists 

Pulling Guard 101
Scissor Sweeps - Basics And Beyond
Knee Slice Guard Pass
Taking The Back From The Guard
How To Escape Side Control
Dominate The Side Mount
Armbar Mastery
The Kimura
Triangle Choke
The Arm Triangle Choke
The Outside Hook Guard Game
Tripping Point - The Inside Trip

So again we pose the question - If you levelled up just one aspect of your game, which position would have have the biggest impact on improving your Jiu-Jitsu?

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The Principles of Jiu-Jitsu Behind The Techniques with Professor Braulio' Estima

"Remember that every technique is a specific way to make a certain principle of Jiu-Jitsu work."
Professor Braulio Estima

As a student of Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu, you probably have a comprehensive collection of your favorite BJJ techniques for every position on the ground. But have you ever considered the underlying principles behind your favorite techniques? The "why" they work behind any individual move?

Professor Braulio Estima, a multiple times World and ADCC champion, says that if we understand the universal principles that make those techniques work on bigger, stronger opponents, we can look to apply them to all areas of our Jiu-Jitsu games. This is one of the differences between how a Blue belt and a high-level Black belt use the same technique.

GB Online has released two new video series by Professor Braulio on Side Control Pressure and the Armbar from the Guard, where he illustrates the principles that he applies to techniques that you likely already know...but are not yet executing at the level of a World Champion black belt.

Professor Braulio introduces two main Jiu-Jitsu principles in each of the seminars: The Head of the Snake (which you might remember from his GB3 No-Gi curriculum), and the Replacement Principle.

The Importance of Principles 
In the new GB Online video release - No-Gi Side Mount Seminar: Control Your Opponent With Pressure by Braulio Estima at GB Ocotillo, Professor Braulio likens Jiu-Jitsu to learning a language. If we learn the underlying principles (rules of grammar and vocabulary) of Jiu-Jitsu, we can make our own systems (form complete sentences and conversations) for our individual games.

Guard Armbar Concepts in GB Scottsdale
Professor Braulio focuses on the "language to fight Jiu-Jitsu." How to look at Jiu-Jitsu through principles and concepts. Instead of approaching Jiu-Jitsu through ready-made systems - such as a specific sweep for Half-Guard bottom. Professor Braulio believes that when we understand the underlying Jiu-Jitsu language, the student can create any kind of system according to their individual body type and position.

Professor Braulio uses the Armbar from the guard technique as the basis for this seminar and illustrates how the Jiu-Jitsu principles are applied in performing the specific submission.

By studying the Armbar, students will understand how to apply the underlying principles to ANY technique in their game.

In the opening message of the seminar - Armbar Principles, Professor Braulio asks the students if they know the main principles behind the Armbar. "What makes the person tap?"

Professor Braulio explains that the mechanics behind the Armbar are physics - pressure on the opponent's elbow while controlling the opponent's hand and shoulder. The head or neck is NOT the focus.

Professor Braulio demonstrates the Armbar from the guard with the opponent stacking to defend.

Head of the Snake Principle - To control any of the opponent's limbs, if you can control the end of the limb - the hand or foot - you can control the entire limb. Professor Braulio says. "Wherever my head goes...my body follows." The same applies to the hand and foot.

The Head Of The Snake
This principle of Jiu-Jitsu holds that by controlling the end of the limb - this applies to the hand, the foot, and the opponent's head - you gain control over the entire limb or upper body. Professor Braulio illustrates the principle with several examples of controlling the opponent's movements in the seminar video.

"Every big problem never began as a big problem." Professor Braulio uses the metaphor of a fire. A big fire started as a small fire. The idea is that if Professor Braulio can stop the opponent's escape by using this principle to control the end of the limb, he will prevent the situation from getting worse and totally control the opponent's ability to escape.

Replacement Principle
The Replacement Principle is about exchanging grips, wedges, blocks, and other forms of control on the opponent's limbs as you move through the steps of a technique and progress your position. Professor Braulio reminds us that you can not release the control as you progress, as the opponent will seize the opportunity to escape. Maintain control at all times as you adjust your position by replacing one form of control with another.

In applying the Replacement principle to the Side Mount. Professor Braulio explains how he progresses the position by increments. To progress the position, Professor Braulio, step by step, nullifies the opponent's leverage and eliminates their ability to escape.

Pay attention in the video to how Professor Braulio illustrates the specific details of the most efficient leverage to dominate and control the opponent's limbs.

In the Armbar videos, Professor Braulio pushes the opponent's head away and then uses his Replacement Principle to move his leg over the opponent's head to maintain the distance. The Replacement Principle is about exchanging controls as you progress your transition. Do not allow problems to start with the opponent removing their elbow from the control.

Professor Braulio corrects the left hand, pushing the opponent's neck instead of the opponent's head. A bow and arrow-like push/pull action is used to straighten the opponent's arm.

Important detail: Replacement Principle of switching the straight arm pushing the opponent's head away with his leg over the opponent's head. This prevents the opponent's stacking defense.

In these two seminar series videos, Professor Braulio also shows several other general concepts and how they are applied to Pressure Side Mount and the Armlock from the guard.

The big takeaway is that as Gracie Barra Jiu-Jitsu students understand the principles, they can look at how they perform ALL of their favorite techniques, more deeply understand why they work, and increase their effectiveness.

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Professor Braulio Estima on Heelhook Safety

If you only attend the gi classes at your Jiu-Jitsu school, you likely have not had a lot of instruction in the Heelhook submission. The Heelhook is known to be one of the most dangerous leg locks due to the serious nature of a knee injury should it go wrong. And thus, it is prohibited in many GB classes.

Yet the sport of No-Gi submission grappling is exploding in popularity worldwide, and the game of leg locks and, more specifically - Heelhooks is near the top as far as winning strategies go. If you want to win in No-Gi competition, you are going to need to know the Heelhook game.

If the Heelhook game is so dangerous, how do we train the Heelhook safely so we can develop our knowledge in the leg lock game?

Top GB instructor Professor Braulio Estima tackles this very topic in his recent video instructional series on GB Online - Heel Hook Safety By Braulio Estima. Professor Braulio shows the mechanics of the Outside and Inside Heelhooks, how to safely attack the Heelhook on your training partners in a way that minimizes the possibility of injury, and, as importantly, how to react and defend when you are being attacked with a Heelhook submission. How to develop your leg lock game while being safe.

Attacking and escaping the Heelhook 

The video series covers two main areas of training Heelhooks: How to safely apply the Heelhook and keep your training partners safe and how to defend the Heelhook and know when to tap and avoid injuries.

How to apply a Heelhook without injuring your training partners

Professor Braulio teaches the principle of the "Zero point." He says first to bring the joint that you are attacking to the zero point or the end of the natural range of motion, then gradually apply the force for the actual submission.

Professor Braulio illustrates this concept of controlling the joint with the straight Armbar in one of the videos. Instead of ballistically reaping on the opponent's arm, Professor Braulio looks to slowly and completely extend the joint to the zero point and only then apply pressure for the lock. This approach is all about full control of the opponent's joint and preventing their escape movement. The submission is a secondary, more efficient application of additional pressure once the joint is at the zero point. 

In the video series, Professor Braulio goes into depth on the proper mechanics of the Inside Heelhook and Outside Heelhook and shows many advanced technical details.

When should I tap to a Heelhook?

How do we know when we should tap or continue to fight? Professor Braulio believes that what makes the Heelhook the most dangerous technique - if we do not accept our own physical limits - and continue to resist when the opponent has our limb at the zero point.

Professor Braulio says that our training partners have a responsibility to take care of their opponents; we also have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. Do not leave the opponent to choose for you - when the Heelhook has reached the zero point. We must recognize that we are caught and choose to tap to concede the submission and avoid potential damage.

"You need to understand when it is time to give up. During our training, we always have a second chance. Forever. With this movement (taps the mat), you are going to have a second chance." says Professor Braulio.

Professor Braulio reminds us of the fact that when you have arrived at the zero point of the opponent's joint lock, you are under their control. The control is key. If you can not even move to start to escape and are under complete control of the position - the zero point - you are at risk of getting injured if you don't tap.

"So if I want to be safe, and I'm not very confident about dealing with the Heelhook when I get to the zero point, and I have no motion - in this case, the knee can not move - is the time to tap," says Professor Braulio

Professor Braulio stresses thinking to recognize when we are caught, and any movement to escape is not possible, to simply tap and start again with another chance to train.

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