Category: BJJ Blue Belt Requirements

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How To Do a Kimura From Guard in BJJ – Forced Variation

The Kimura is one of the first submissions you will learn as a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter. The reason you’ll learn the Kimura so soon in BJJ, usually right alongside the arm bar from guard and triangle from guard, is because you will often find yourself in guard as a new BJJ fighter (after you’ve recovered from mount or side control that is) and the Kimura is a simple yet very effective BJJ technique. The Kimura uses a simple two-on-one arm attack to twist the opponent’s arm until they can’t take it anymore and submit and it also uses the human body and simple geometry to do all that rather than strength.

This video by Ryron and Rener Gracie shows the Kimura Forced Variation, which is a part of the Gracie How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.

Start: Closed guard

Step 1: Use one hand (on attacking side) to push their head to one side and slide the other arm around, trapping their head with your armpit and tricep

Step 2: Post with your opposite-side foot and get onto your same-side hip

Step 3: Shoot opposite-side arm over opponent’s arm, trapping it at the tricep

Step 4: Grip opponent’s wrist with your same-side hand

Step 5: Grip your own same-side wrist with your opposite-side hand

Step 6: Drive with both feet, elevate your hips, and drive your shoulders back, collapsing opponent

Step 7: Post your same-side foot inside opponent’s legs, trapping their leg, walk your shoulders and hips so that you are onto your opposite-side shoulder and hip

Step 8: Keep opponent’s arm bent at a 90 degree angle and push their wrist back and up towards their head

Finish: Submission by Kimura from Guard

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How To Do An Americana in BJJ

The Americana is an incredibly simple (you twist someone’s arm until their shoulder reaches its limit) but incredibly versatile (it can be used from just about any position) submission in BJJ. The Americana submission is so common that it is a part of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu How To Get a BJJ Blue Belt curriculum.

The Americana in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is typically executed from mount or side control, though it is also common from half guard and since it is a simple twisting of the arm it is applicable from just about any position and a useful tool to always have in your arsenal.

Start: Mount

Step 1: Pin opponent’s wrist to mat above their head with opposite side hand with their arm bent at 90 degrees, as if they were throwing a football

Step 2: Slide same-side hand underneath opponent’s upper arm at the bicep and tricep

Step 3: Grip your opposite side hand with your same-side hand, using a C grip or monkey grip. At the same time, hook your opposite-side foot inside opponent’s leg to prevent being swept or bumped off of mount

Step 4: Drag opponent’s wrist down towards their feet, keeping it pinned to the mat like a paint brush

End: Submission by Americana

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How To Do A Neck Hug Americana Armlock Submission

The Americana armlock submission is a versatile sub in BJJ. The Americana submission is available from mount, side control, half guard, guard, and even back.  Basically anywhere you have control of your opponent’s hips, you can complete an Americana armlock and put enough force on their shoulder to make them tap. 

The Americana submission is so common in BJJ that it is one of the essential techniques included in the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt Test.

Start: Mount

Step 1: Get scoop neck hug under opponent’s neck

Step 2: With free hand, grab opponent’s wrist and pin to mat

Step 3: Feed opponent’s hand to your hand behind their head

Step 4: Post out with your knee on the same side as the attack while wrapping opponent’s leg with the other

Step 5: Slide free hand under opponent’s arm and grip your own wrist with an overhand c-grip

Step 6: Slide your elbow behind and around opponent’s head, creating the space to complete the Americana and stopping their head from blocking

Step 7: Suck elbows in towards the attack and paint opponent’s wrist down the mat towards their hips

Finish: Submission via Neck Hug Americana Armlock Submission

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How To Do an Armbar From Closed Guard

The armbar from closed guard is one of the basic and most essential submissions in Brazilian jiu jitsu. The arm bar from guard is popular because even at the highest levels of grappling, it is effective because of how simple and quick it is. No matter how many tricks are up your opponent’s sleeve, you are still applying the immense force of your hips to the relatively weak power of their elbow. Even a very tough opponent will have a hard time bicep curling your entire body.

This attack particularly lends itself to street fighting and MMA since it is when, to an untrained eye or with an untrained person on bottom, the fighter on the ground is in the most danger. The reason the armbar has become an essential BJJ submission is that it allows a smaller fighter or one in a bad position to turn the tide of the fight and go from being on bottom and getting punched to breaking the other person’s arm. This submission is so essential to BJJ that it is part of the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt Test.

Start: Closed guard

Step 1: Get a two-on-one grip on opponent’s arm

Step 2: Get wrist grip with same-side arm and reach over to get cross grip behind opponent’s tricep

Step 3: On side of opponent’s trapped foot, step your foot onto their hip and squeeze knee into opponent’s shoulder, giving up tricep grip

Step 4: Reach free hand across to opponent’s opposite shoulder

Step 5: Lift free leg up towards opponent’s head and pivot your hips and head to that side

Step 6: Drop free leg down to break down opponent’s posture 

Step 7: Pass bottom-side leg over opponent’s head

Step 8: Ensure that opponent’s thumb is pointed up towards sky and pinkie is pointed down to your body and bridge your hips up toward sky

End: Submission via armbar

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How To Do An Americana From Side Control in BJJ

The Americana is a very effective submission that every Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter should know. It can be seen used effectively at all levels of BJJ, as well as in other grappling sports, MMA, and is very effective in practical use like street fights. Because it is such a useful technique in BJJ, the Americana has become one of the staples of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and is even a part of the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt test. This is also one of the submissions that works the same way in no go BJJ as it does in go BJJ, like the rear naked choke.

The Americana (sometimes called the keylock, figure-four armlock, or paintbrush) is executed by bending your opponent’s arm at 90 degrees like they are celebrating a touchdown, then bending the wrist backwards to put immense pressure on their shoulder, resulting in a tap. 

This video shows how to attain the americana from side control, a position many BJJ fighters find themselves in often. René A. Dreifuss shows the details of this technique and breaks the submission down to three steps you should focus on: accordion, motorcycle, down.

Start: Side control

Step 1: Separate opponent’s far-side arm from opponent’s body, using your head if they pus against it with that arm

Step 2: Grip opponent’s wrist with your top-side hand, keeping fingers and thumb on the same side of the grip

Step 3: Slide your bottom-side arm underneath opponent’s and grip your own wrist in same monkey grip, keeping your arm parallel with his forearm

Step 4: Pull opponent’s arm in towards you like an accordion

Step 5: Twist your wrists down toward the mat like you’re decelerating on a motorcycle

Step 6: Push opponent’s hand down towards their feet

End: Submission via Americana

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How To Do A Rear Naked Choke (RNC) in BJJ

The rear naked choke or RNC is one of the most simple and effective chokes in BJJ. It’s also a natural, intuitive technique, unlike many in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Despite the intuitive nature and the fact that most people off the street understand the basic mechanics of the technique, there are details to the position that can mean the difference between straining your strength against your opponent’s skeleton and sinking in the RNC and getting the submission quickly.

Bas Rutten is one of the original stars of mixed martial arts and famously brought technique together with real world effectiveness to create a functional but effective style that can translate well to any situation.

Start: Back

Step1: With your hand flat, slide it under opponent’s chin, starting at the back

Step 2: Slide hand through opponent’s neck until it reaches behind opponent’s other trap 

Step 3: With your flat, underside hand, grab your topside bicep, push opponent’s head forward with topside hand

Step 4: squeeze arm together and pull shoulders back

Finish: Submission via RNC 

The rear naked choke is an essential BJJ submission and this technique is featured in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.

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How To Do an Elbow Escape From Mount in BJJ

Being mounted in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu stinks. You’re stuck on the floor with someone who might be bigger, stronger, better at BJJ, or just lucky sitting on your stomach making every breath you take feel like it’s underwater. And then they start attacking you with submissions! The mount in BJJ is bad, but in MMA or a street fight, it is a very bad place to be.

That’s why having a good, reliable escape from mount is a basic self defense staple and essential to progress in Jiu Jitsu. The elbow escape is a standard escape from mount that anyone practicing BJJ should know and one that you can see used in the highest levels of grappling because it is effective at all levels of grappling. This technique is part of the requirements for how to get a blue belt in BJJ through the Gracie system.

Start: Mounted

Step 1: Frame one forearm against opponent’s hip and one against their thigh with one palm on opponent’s hip and the other on the back of that hand with arms at a 90 degree angle

Step 2: Turn 45 degrees to the side of your frame, maintaining the frame

Step 3: Keeping your leg flat to the mat, slide frame-side leg under his leg towards the outside, pushing on his thigh to help create space if necessary

End: Half-guard

This video also includes good method for removing your opponent’s hooks when they are mounted on you and a good transition from half-guard to full guard, which is one of the most powerful positions in BJJ.

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How to Do a Baseball Slide Pass in BJJ

Passing someone’s open guard is one of the essential parts of your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu game. If you can’t pass someone’s open guard, your best case scenario is to land in their closed guard, at which point you’d better have a good arm bar and triangle defense or a foolproof closed guard pass or you’ll be in big trouble. 

The baseball slide guard pass, sometimes called the knee slice guard pass or knee slide guard pass, is a tricky pass because if you make a mistake you run the risk of giving your back to your opponent. But if executed well, this pass can have a very high success rate. This is why it’s a part of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt test curriculum.

This video breakdown of the baseball bat slide includes the legendary Xande Ribiero, who is featured heavily in his brother Saulo Ribiero’s famous Jiu Jitsu University book (which should be in every BJJ practitioner’s library).  Xande’s video includes two different grip variations and a bunch of little details that will help you execute this guard pass perfectly

Start: Standing, opponent on back playing open guard

Step 1: Step one leg in between opponent’s a deep as possible

Step 2: Get cross-collar grip as deep as possible

Step 3: Post free hand as high and far from opponent’s head as possible

Step 4: Slice knee over opponent’s hip between their elbow and knee while stepping free leg outside

Step 5: Move outside posting hand to opponent’s sleeve and use both hands to push-oull opponent’s arm, straightening it and preventing him from using it to slow your pass

Step 6: Slide knee through until foot is past opponent’s hip and proceed to side control

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How To Execute a Trap and Roll Mount Escape in BJJ

In BJJ, the worst position to be in is fully mounted by your opponent. When fully mounted, your opponent has a full array of options to submit you while you are forced to carry their weight. It’s an unpleasant place to be, but there is a very simple escape from mount that will land you in your opponent’s guard. Being in someone’s guard is not ideal, they are still in control, but it is much better than being mounted.

In a fist fight or an MMA match, being fully mounted is even worse, and escaping is even more essential. In fact, in a fist fight this escape is more of a game changer. Unless your opponent is an MMA fighter or skilled in BJJ, being inside someone’s guard is a good place to be in a fist fight (because then you can create space easily, make them carry your weight, and have more of a chance to run away!)  

This is a simple BJJ mount escape that can save you when you find yourself mounted and is a part of the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt Requirements. 

This is a great video from Gracie NEPA that shows the simple escape and then goes into extensive detail of the nuances of the trap and roll escape.

Start: Full mount on bottom

Step 1: Grip opponent’s right wrist with your right hand 

Step 2: Grip opponent’s right elbow with your left hand

Step 3: Step both feet together to outside of opponent’s right leg

Step 4: Bridge up and turn into opponent

End: Inside Opponent’s full guard

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How To Get a BJJ Blue Belt – The Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt Requirements

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), getting a blue belt is one of the first major milestone accomplishments in your grappling career. It’s a sign that you have really learned BJJ to the point that you’re not a beginner anymore. Of course, your road is still very long, but it is a great accomplishment and one that most white belts are focused on in their grappling training.

A major problem for white belts is a lack of information on what you need to know to get your blue belt. Luckily, Gracie University Jiu Jitsu has published the basic requirements needed to be eligible for a BJJ Blue Belt in their system. This isn’t a checklist that guarantees you a blue belt (if you’re that desperate, you can always just buy a blue belt but that’s not really the point) but it is a list of the basic knowledge expectations for someone looking to get a BJJ blue belt.

Mount Techniques

There are four sections to the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt test: Mount Techniques, Guard Techniques, Side Mount Techniques, and Standing Techniques.