Category: BJJ Blue Belt Requirements

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How To Do A Twisting Arm Control Submission

The twisting arm control submission is an excellent BJJ attack that draws on a fundamental principle of Jiu-Jitsu and uses an opponent’s energy against them.

Mount is an extremely effective and dominant position in BJJ, but you may find yourself unable to finish a submission from mount due to your opponent’s strength, excellent defense, or escape attempts. In those cases, the twisting arm control submission is a useful transition to the back and the rear naked choke. 

Twisting arm control is a frustrating position for the bottom player, and many BJJ fighters will fall into this trap just to move out of the position. In MMA or a fight, the position leaves one of the top fighter’s hands free for punches, forcing the bottom fighter to escape or be knocked out.

This technique by the great Rener Gracie for his Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy Youtube channel is part of the Gracie How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ guide.

Start: Mount

Step 1: Secure a cross-grip on one of opponent’s wrists and using your free hand to push their elbow, drag that wrist across their body to their opposite shoulder

Step 2: Lay your chest on the twisted arm and post your gripping hand into the mat to secure their arm in place

Step 3: Slide your free hand under opponent’s neck and grab their wrist, switching which hand has the grip

Step 4: Slide your back knee (the side that now has the grip on opponent’s wrist) up behind their shoulders and post front foot next to their stomach

Step 5: Pull opponent’s wrist towards you while pushing their elbow with your free hand, forcing them to turn away

Step 6: When opponent turtles (either out of frustration, to escape punches, or to avoid the discomfort of your heel digging into their stomach), abandon the twisting arm control and post both hands on the ground to get both hooks in and take the back.

Step 7: Slide one arm under opponent’s neck and through to other side, figure four your arms and reach free hand behind their head to finish a rear naked choke

Finish: Tap due to Twisting Arm Control Submission

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How To Do A Triangle Transition Straight Armbar From Guard

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been compared to chess. While nobody ever got choked out during a chess match, the similarities are striking (no striking allowed in either chess or Jiu-Jitsu). In both games, you could easily achieve your goal if the other player were not playing, or followed simple responses to all of your moves so that your far side arm bar from side control worked perfectly every time. But in both chess and BJJ, your opponent wants to beat you as badly as you want to beat them, so they will fight and do everything in their power to stop your strategy while furthering their own. While that’s what makes this sport fun, it can be frustrating to hit a move dead on in practice a hundred times only to have it easily countered while rolling. But there’s always a counter to a counter.

That’s why live rolling is so much more important to developing your BJJ game than just knowing techniques. Even an encyclopedic knowledge of BJJ submissions with no rolling isn’t as good as a shallow understanding with experience on the mat.  In that same vein, having two options for an attack is crucial to success. 

The first one of these two-for-one techniques that a BJJ fighter should learn is the triangle and arm bar from guard. The triangle from guard pairs perfectly with the arm bar. If your triangle attack is stopped, or you lose the trap you had on your opponent’s head, you still have control of their arm and the arm bar from guard is sitting waiting for you. The essential piece of this puzzle is called the diamond position, and you may recognize it as the step in the triangle from guard where you hang from your opponent’s neck like a scarf before you figure-four your legs. 

Furthermore, learning this combination proves what many BJJ coaches will tell you over and over as your journey progresses: position before submission. Once you have the diamond position, a step in the triangle setup, you can branch off into the arm bar if your triangle is defended.

Start: Diamond position (closed guard with one arm and head in, one arm out) with opponent posturing up to counter triangle

Step 1: Open guard and drop foot of non- choking leg (on side with opponent’s arm trapped) to their hip

Step 2: Kick off hip to swing that leg over opponent’s head

Step 3: Grab opponent’s trapped hand and drive hips forward into elbow

Finish: Submission via Triangle Transition Straight Armbar From Guard

This submission is an essential BJJ technique included in the How To Get a Blue Belt in BJJ Series.

This great video is by Connection Rio Jiu-Jitsu Academy on Youtube.

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How To Do A Closed Guard Elevator Sweep

The closed guard is an advantageous position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which may come as a surprise to many inexperienced fighters or wrestlers. By using the closed guard, the bottom fighter can control the top fighter’s hips, mitigating their ability to throw punches and keeping them from making any moves to better their position. 

While there are many attacks from the guard, in MMA or a street fight or against a larger, stronger opponent you might have trouble using the guard as an attacking position. For those situations, or if you just want to make your opponent have to deal with your weight on top of them to tire them out, sweeps are an essential tool in any BJJ fighter’s arsenal.

Sweeps are methods of moving from one position in BJJ to a better one by using body mechanics and balance rather than brute strength, so even a smaller opponent can sweep the largest fighter. If you look around your gym, you’ll regularly see small, average looking higher belts who look like they wouldn’t win a fight sweeping much larger and stronger white belts who don’t know what’s coming.

Sweeps are such an important part of any guard game that even though the Gracie family preaches the power of the guard, there are five different sweeps in the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt requirements. 

The elevator sweep is a powerful sweep that uses an opponent’s strength and momentum against them. When an opponent is in your guard and pushing you to the ground, you may feel helpless and frustrated because you aren’t able to attempt an arm bar from guard or a triangle from guard. But don’t despair, that forward push that is smashing you into the mat can be redirected to elevate (get it??) your opponent over you so that you land on top, ready to push your own agenda. Using an opponent’s plan against them is one of the joys of BJJ!

Start: Guard with opponent pushing down onto you with one leg posted

Step 1: Drop one foot onto opponent’s posted leg (this will be elevator side) and shrimp out to that side

Step 2: Swim elevator-side foot to underneath opponent’s thigh and flex toes to hook

Step 3: Underhook elevator-side arm

Step 4: Drop chopping-side foot to opponent’s knee and pull knee in towards you

Step 5: Punch elevator-side arm up and across

Step 6: Lift opponent with elevator foot and follow their body as it falls over you

End: Mount via elevator sweep

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How To Do The Anchor and Base Mount Control Technique

Maintaining the mount in BJJ is an important skill to have. There isn’t much in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that’s more frustrating than fighting with your opponent, knocking them back, passing their guard, passing their half guard, maintaining side control, and finally passing to mount only to have them use one of the many mount escapes to roll you onto your back or reclaim their guard. 

The mount escape game in BJJ has so many options that it’s almost as important to know how to maintain your mount when your opponent is desperately trying to escape. Having good mount retention allows you to stay mounted long enough to attempt one of the many submissions from mount.

The mount anchor and base drill will teach you essential mount retention techniques.

Start: Mount with arms posted over opponent’s shoulders to both sides of their head

Step 1: Bring your feet together underneath opponent’s knees

Step 2: Drive your hips into opponent’s hips and stomach

Step 3: When opponent pushes you to one side, that side’s knee and hand both splay out as the other side foot wraps around their leg and your arm scoops their head as the anchor

End: Mount

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How To Do a Fish Hook Elbow Escape From Mount in BJJ

Some say that the UFC and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu truly made it in the world when Friends did an episode about it. And in the opening to that episode “The One With The Ultimate Fighting Competition,” there was reference to a fish hook. 

Monica: “It’s sort of like wrestling, but without the costumes.”

Joey: “And it’s not fake. It’s totally brutal.”

Chandler: “Yeah, it’s two guys in the ring and the rules are THERE ARE NO RULES”

Monice: “You can, like, bite and pull people’s hair and stuff?”

Ross: “Anything goes except eye gouging and fish hooking.”

Monica: “What’s fish hooking?

Ross: “What’s fish h—”

*interrupted by Joey fish hooking him*

Ross: “thanks man that would have been really hard to describe”

So of course when the Gracie family wrote out their BJJ Blue Belt Test, they included fish hooking. The fish hook that is actually used in BJJ isn’t as dangerous or disgusting as the Friends fish hook, but they do share a name.

In actual BJJ the fish hook is a technique for escaping the mount when your opponent is wise to your standard elbow escape and hides their leg from you, and this sneaky ninja move will let you work around that.

Start: Mounted, opponent has tight legs securing you

Step 1: Bend your knee on the side you’d like to extract first until opponent’s foot pops up and over your knee

Step 2: Hook your other foot under opponent’s foot (this is your fish hook)

Step 3: Lift opponent’s foot up with your hand while you push down on their knee with your elbow to clear the path for your extraction leg (this is your fish hook

Step 4: Swim extraction side hand over opponent’s shoulder and then over their neck to grip opposite side shoulder

Step 5: Step extraction side foot over opponent’s leg from the outside to trap it

Step 6: Extract trapped leg by slicing knee inside of opponent’s knee and switching jips for more room

Finish: Closed guard via fish hook elbow escape from mount

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How To Do a Hook Removal Mount Escape in BJJ

In BJJ, MMA, and in street fights, being mounted is one of if not the worst position you can be in. When mounted, your opponent is using their weight to control all of your movements while leaving their hands and feet free to stop any escape attempts or mount their own attacks. Being mounted in BJJ only gets worse when someone grapevines you and hooks their heels under your legs, stretching you out until you can’t bridge or upa.

With no ability to post either of their feet, the grapevined BJJ fighter is stuck with no chance to create space between their body and the top player’s hips. To get back to a position they could upa from, the bottom fighter would need to leg curl with enough strength to overpower their opponent’s extension. Unless the bottom fighter is built like elastigirl, that’s a losing battle.

The BJJ hook removal mount escape is an essential Jiu-Jitsu mount escape, so critical that it is part of the Gracie BJJ Blue Belt test guide. 

Start: Mounted and grapevined

Step 1: Kick one leg out to the side to strip opponent’s grapevine and then circle inside

Step 2: Use free foot to peel opponent’s other grapevine off and kick the trapped leg straight

Step 3: Frame a hand on opponent’s knee to stop its movement

Step 4: Slide the frame-side knee through in front of opponent’s knee

Step 5: Step free foot over opponent’s leg to trap it and switch onto you opposite hip

Step 6: Frame against opponent’s other leg and slide that knee through

Finish: Guard via Hook Removal Mount Escape

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How To Do A Headlock Trap and Roll Escape

Being fully mounted in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an awful position. With no opportunities to attack your opponent, your only goal when mounted is to escape from the mount and recover your guard or switch to the top where you have a chance to break your opponent’s guard and pass to an advantageous position. In MMA or a street fight, the mount is an even worse position. That is why escaping from mount is a crucial tool to have in BJJ and is included in the How To Get A Blue Belt guide. 

A common position when the bottom fighter is strong or very active trying to escape is the cross-face or headlock, where the top fighter will reach their arm under the bottom fighter’s head and through so that their elbow is against the bottom person’s neck. This locks them down onto the bottom fighter and sets up attacks like the Ezekiel choke.

The headlock trap and roll escape in BJJ allows you to sweep your opponent off of their position mounted on top of you even when they have you in a headlock, an even worse position! The headlock that secures the mount can be used by the bottom fighter to trap the top fighter and turn their attack against them as they are swept to their back.

Start: Mounted with a headlock or cross-face

Step 1: Grab arm with headlock and make your head heavy to trap in place

Step 2: Step foot on same side as headlock over opponent’s foot to trap it

Step 3: Wrap other arm around opponent’s back in a body hug

Step 4: Bridge hips up

Step 5: Reach body hug arm across towards other side

Step 6: Switch hip to follow opponent over

Finish: Opponent’s guard via headlock trap and roll escape

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How To Do A Punch Block Trap and Roll Mount Escape in BJJ

The punch block trap and roll mount escape is a simple, basic, effective mount escape. This variation is based on the idea of blocking a punch, so it is definitely essential for a street fight or MMA, but it is so essential for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu that it is a part of the Gracie BJJ How To Get a Blue Belt guide.

This mount sweep relies on one of the fundamental ideas in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu when thinking about sweeping or escaping from your opponent: remove one of the legs of the table. Think of an opponent’s limbs as the legs of a table (since they have four of them and usually use all four to support themselves when they’re in a top position), and then think of what would happen if you were to take one of the legs away from a table (it would fall over, if not immediately then definitely if you bumped it towards the missing leg). This is a fundamental rule when escaping or sweeping an opponent. In the punch block trap and roll escape, you take away one of the table legs (the opponent’s arm) and then set up a block on their leg to stop them from changing from a normal table into a tripod. This allows you to simply visualize the trap and roll mount escape shown in the video below.

Start: Mounted with opponent posturing up to punch

Step 1: Sit up and hug opponent’s midsection to reduce space

Step 2: Bridge hips to push opponent forward and force them to post their hands on the floor

Step 3: Reach hands up and onto opponent’s shoulders from behind and climb up opponent’s body with legs
Step 4: Trap opponent’s arm on the rolling side with a whizzer-style over-elbow arm wrap

Step 5: Post rolling-side foot on the outside of opponent’s leg to trap it

Step 6: Bridge up and to rolling side and reach other-side arm up to roll opponent onto their back

Finish: Opponent’s guard via punch block trap and roll escape

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How To Do A Stage 1.5 Triangle Choke Variation

The triangle choke is an essential choke in BJJ. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as a martial art is focused on using body mechanics to submit an opponent even if they might be larger and stronger than you and the triangle from guard is a perfect example of that. Using the geometry of your legs and your opponent’s neck and arm, the triangle allows you to choke them without relying on strength.

The BJJ Stage 1.5 position is an open guard position that uses a push-pull on your opponent’s arm to secure them in a spot that prevents them from punching (in MMA or on the street), passing your guard, or backing out of the position. Stage 1.5 in Jiu-Jitsu is achieved by gripping your opponent’s wrist while pushing your knee into their elbow, blocking any movement forward or back.

The triangle choke stage 1.5 variation is a part of the How To Get A Blue Belt guide by Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.

Start: Stage 1.5 position, side with knee trapping opponent’s arm will be attacking side

Step 1: Push knee forward and then use the space created to slip foot up and over opponent’s shoulder, cross ankles

Step 2: Pull opponent’s trapped arm across your body to the attacking side

Step 3: Grab back of opponent’s head to pull them in and drop your non-attacking side leg to their hip, adjust your position so that opponent’s trapped arm is 90 degrees

Step 4: Bring attacking-side leg over opponent’s neck so that your hamstring is against their neck and figure four your non-attacking leg over your shin

Step 5: Push your knees together, pull opponent’s head down and push your hips up

End: Submission via stage 1.5 triangle choke

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How To Do a Giant Killer Triangle Choke Submission in BJJ

The triangle choke submission in BJJ is one of the defining submissions of the sport. Using the triangle choke a smaller or weaker person can use the mechanics of their legs to choke the neck of a larger, stronger opponent. The triangle perfectly illustrates the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu core belief that technique will beat strength. That belief is at the core of the name of this submission, the giant killer triangle choke. 

The giant killer triangle choke submission is a basic technique that is a part of the How To Get a BJJ Blue Belt guide for what the Gracie family expects every blue belt to know. 

The giant killer triangle submission is an option if your opponent is too large or too strong for you to secure the open guard 1.5 position and you are left without the push-pull necessary to fully control their upper body. 

Start: Closed guard with opponent hugging close to you

Step 1: Use legs to push opponent’s hips down and away from your head

Step 2: Use two hands to push opponent’s head to one side (this will be attacking side)

Step 3: Post non-attacking side foot on the ground and shrimp to that side

Step 4: Put both feet onto opponent’s hips and grab opponent’s non-attacking side arm with both hand

Step 5: Stretch opponent out with push-pull of hips and arm to create enough space for triangle setup

Step 6: Swim attacking side leg up and over opponent’s neck and lock ankles

Step 7: Push opponent’s trapped arm across their body

Step 8: Post non-attacking foot on opponent’s hip and rotate your body in line with their trapped arm

Step 9: Figure-four non-attacking side knee over attacking shin

Step 10: Pull down on opponent’s head and squeeze triangle choke 

Finish: Submission via giant killer triangle choke submission