Category: BJJ Techniques

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How To Do A Double Under Pass in BJJ

Passing the guard can be frustrating for white belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Most rolls start on the knees and most experienced BJJ fighters will sit back and play an open guard, leaving the white belt stuck trying to get past their legs. Charging into an opponent’s open guard without a plan usually leads to sweeps that put you on the bottom in a bad situation. 

The double under guard pass in BJJ is a simple pass that drives your opponent back onto their shoulders and off their hips, taking away their power and giving you a path around their legs and into side control. 

The great Keenan Cornelius shows this double under guard pass that is simple enough for a white belt to learn but powerful enough to still be a part of his game at the highest level of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Start: Opponent’s open guard

Step 1: Push one of opponent’s knees to the ground

Step 2: Underhook opponent’s free leg and get their knee over your shoulder

Step 3: Give up pin and underhook that leg

Step 4: Reach your top side arm (with the knee on your shoulder) across opponent’s body to secure control of that leg

Step 5: Get cross-collar grip with top side hand

Step 6: Drive into opponent, forcing them off their hips and onto their shoulder (keep your head down to prevent opponent from untying the pass)

Step 7: Switch hips into opponent and shrug past their top side leg, letting it fall

Finish: Side Control

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How To Escape The Half Guard Lockdown in BJJ – 3 Lockdown Escapes

The lockdown position in half guard is a very powerful way to secure your opponent when you are in half guard bottom. Getting the lockdown from half guard bottom opens up sweeps, submissions, and prevents your opponent from passing to mount or side control. Getting stuck in the lockdown can be frustrating and like many positions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, spazzing and trying to muscle your way out of lockdown can lead to injuries.

These are three great ways to use Jiu-Jitsu to escape the half guard lockdown safely.

Half Guard Lockdown Escape 1: Lift Off

Start: Half guard top, opponent has lockdown

Step 1: Shift weight as low onto opponent’s hips as possible

Step 2: Switch hips and face towards your trapped leg, posting free foot at an angle and pinching free knee in to trap opponent’s free leg

Step 3: Lift trapped heel up and towards your butt

Step 4: Post formerly trapped foot out away from opponent’s legs to prevent them from restoring lockdown

Finish: Half guard top

Half Guard Lockdown Escape 2: Knee Cut

Start Half guard top, opponent has lockdown

Step 1: Get arm underhook on lockdown side and overhook on other side

Step 2: Switch head to free side of opponent’s head and sprawl out, flattening yourself onto mat

Step 3: Use free foot to pry opponent’s inside leg down and away from lockdown

Step 4: Pull trapped knee forward past opponent’s knee into knee cut pass

Step 5: Slide knee over opponent’s thigh and past their half guard

Finish: Side control top

Half Guard Lockdown Escape 3: Donkey Kick

Start: Half guard top, opponent has lockdown

Step 1: Shift weight as low onto opponent’s hips as possible

Step 2: Tilt to free side and shoot free-side hand through underneath opponent’s thighs

Step 3: Grips hands together and pinch opponent’s knees together

Step 4: Move hips back and sprawl free leg out

Step 5: Sprawl or kick trapped leg back

Finish: Scramble

Curious about the lockdown? Check out How To Do the Half Guard Lockdown in BJJ, How To Do a Half Guard Lockdown Arm Triangle Choke in BJJ, and How To Do a Half Guard Lockdown Calf Slicer in BJJ.

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How To Do a Half Guard Lockdown Calf Slicer in BJJ

The half guard lockdown is a great BJJ position that secures half guard, preventing your opponent from passing while allowing you to work on submissions and sweeps. By simply wrapping your feet around your opponent’s shin, you can prevent their movement and they have to work on passing your lockdown before they can think about passing your half guard. That extra step gives you a chance to work on submissions from half guard lockdown. 

If you’re unsure of how to get the lockdown position in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, check out our writeup How To Do the Half Guard Lockdown in BJJ.

A calf slicer is a brutally painful submission in BJJ that put the shin of your leg into the calf muscle of your opponent, causing immense pressure. This move is illegal to use in gi BJJ competitions but is legal in nogi BJJ and MMA, but this submission can do serious damage so be careful training it in your gym.

Start: Halfguard with lockdown

Step 1: Dive inside hand under opponent’s opposite armpit and sit up so that they are on all fours and your top half is clear of their body on the side of their trapped leg

Step 2: Grab opponent’s trapped shin with your inside hand

Step 3: Abandon the lockdown and figure four your legs with the outside foot on your inside knee

Step 4: With both hands, pull opponent’s foot towards you

Finish: Submission via half guard lockdown calf slicer

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How To Do a Half Guard Lockdown Arm Triangle Choke in BJJ

The half guard lockdown position in BJJ is a strong option to turn what can be overlooked as a transition position into a brutal attack position. With the half guard lockdown, your feet wrap around your opponent’s leg at the shin and prevent them from passing your guard while also limiting their movement so they are unable to prevent your attacks. (check out our writeup on How To Do the Halfguard Lockdown in BJJ here).

The arm triangle choke is a simple yet effective choke that involves wrapping your opponent up and pitting the geometry and strength of both of your arms against the strength of one of their arms (just like the halfguard lockdown).

Start: Half guard bottom with lockdown, opponent has an arm under your head to control your movement

Step 1: Wrap your arm on opposite side of opponent’s controlling arm around opponent’s head

Step 2: Gable grip your hands together

Step 3: Figure four arms with your wrapped hand in the elbow of free arm

Step 4: Grip opponent’s forehead with free hand

Step 5: Squeeze

Finish: Submission via arm triangle from halfguard lockdown

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How To Do the Half Guard Lockdown in BJJ

Half guard is a powerful position in BJJ. Because your legs are intertwined with your opponent’s, half guard opens up a lot of options for sweeps and submissions. On the other hand, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu half guard doesn’t provide the same ability to control your opponent’s hips as the full guard or mount does, so it can be a tougher position to work from than those and is easier for your opponent to escape from.

The half guard lockdown in BJJ offers an option to stop your opponent from moving their trapped leg while in your half guard, stopping them from escaping. The lockdown wraps both of your feet around your opponent’s leg, preventing them from moving anywhere without dragging you with them in exactly the same position (and just tiring themselves out in the process).

Start: Half guard

Step 1: Step outside foot over opponent’s leg to inside their legs

Step 2: Lace outside foot under inside calf

Step 3: Weave inside foot under opponent’s shin

Step 4: Extend outside leg to inside ankle and press into opponent’s shin

Finish: Half guard lockdown

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How To Do An Omoplata From Mount

The omoplata is a fantastic BJJ submission. It pits the strength of your hips against your opponent’s shoulder, which is super effective. The omoplata also involves twisting around so that you’re attacking your opponent from behind and from the side, reducing their options for defenses. 

While the omoplata submission is most often attempted from the closed guard in BJJ where that is an advantageous position, in MMA or a street fight the guard can be a dangerous place to be. The omoplata from mount is a BJJ technique that you can use even when strikes are an option but you still want to end the fight using jiu-jitsu. 

Start: Mount

Step 1: Trap one of opponent’s arms over your hip, this will be the arm you attack

Step 1: Kick your attacking leg forward underneath opponent’s arm

Step 3: Bend opponent’s arm down over your attacking leg

Step 4: Pivot towards your attacking leg, dropping to that knee

Step 5: Drop attacking side shoulder to the mat and step free leg over opponent’s head to attacking side

Step 6: Roll over attacking shoulder

Step 7: Scoot away from opponent’s body

Step 8: Pendulum your attacking leg and drive opponent towards the mat

Step 9: Lean into opponent and push his hand forward

Finish: Submission via omoplata from mount

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How To Do An Omoplata From Side Control

The omoplata is a simple Jiu-Jitsu submission that uses your hips to twist your opponent’s shoulder. Once the omoplata position has been reached it is very quick and easy to complete the submission. Using a strong part of your body against a relatively weak body part, you are able to create a very painful amount of force with relatively little effort with the BJJ omoplata. 

The other reason the omoplata is a great submission is that it looks very cool. The typical omoplata from guard looks pretty cool, but setting up the omoplata from side control involves spinning around on top of your opponent so that you are facing the same way as them and the finish involves sitting over the other person while they are smashed face first into the ground. 

The omoplata from side control is one of those great BJJ submissions that makes you feel like a ninja. 

Start: Side Control

Step 1: Switch to reverse kesa gatame position facing opponent’s feet

Step 2: Hop your butt back and sit on opponent’s shoulder

Step 3: Step your outside leg back, spreading your legs so that you can grab opponent’s arm and trap it between your legs

Step 4: Drive into opponent and drag their arm with you so that you can slide your inside foot below their shoulder

Step 5: Post inside hand on mat next to opponent’s hip and grab your inside shin with your outside hand

Step 6: Continue spinning in that direction around opponent’s head, dragging them onto their stomach with their arm trapped in the omoplata

Finish: Submission via omoplata from side control

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How To Do An Americana From Guard

The americana is a very popular submission in BJJ. The americana armlock in BJJ is a simple submission that involves bending someone’s arm backwards in a way that puts an immense amount of pressure on their elbow and shoulder, and can cause serious damage if they don’t tap. That simplicity along with the pain and damage the americana armlock can cause makes it a very popular submission in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, MMA, and in a real street fight. 

The americana is a popular submission from mount, side control, and half guard, but can also work from the full guard position. The americana from guard doesn’t look exactly like the typical americana submissions, but it does put the same stress on the arm joints and is a useful addition to your guard game.

This is also a great addition to your usual transition between arm bar and triangle and offer another option to get the submission that your opponent may not be looking to defend automatically. It can even be added to your arm bar triangle omoplata drill to keep it in your mind while rolling.

Start: Guard

Step 1: Bring one leg up to just under opponent’s armpit and turn it 90 degrees across their body, dragging their shoulder down the same as an armbar from guard setup

Step 2: Bring other up onto opponent’s shoulder and cross feet to secure position

Step 3: When opponent fights arm bar by pivoting towards your lower leg, grip their wrist on the higher leg side pushing out and into your higher leg, keeping their thumb up

Step 4: bridge your hips into your opponent

Finish: Submission via americana from guard

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How To Do A Crucifix Choke From Turtle In BJJ

The turtle position can be one of the most frustrating defensive positions in BJJ. A good Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter can sit in turtle for what seems like forever, wasting your time and making you feel like your advantageous position is a complete waste. Just like a turtle in its shell.

When you’re frustrated by someone who is good at turtling, all you want to do is obliterate them and use their defensive position as a jumping off point for your attacks. One of the greatest attacks for absolutely destroying your opponent from turtle and leaving them completely exposed and vulnerable like a turtle on its back is the crucifix choke which splays your opponent out, arms spread like Jesus on the cross.

Start: Turtle

Step 1: Drive your knee between opponent’s elbow and knee

Step 2: With free leg, hook your foot over opponent’s arm

Step 3: Reach over opponent’s body and secure their free arm by snaking your bottom-side hand underneath their armpit and grabbing their hand

Step 4: Look towards top of opponent’s body and roll over your trapping shoulder, landing on your back with opponent in crucifix position

Step 5: Reach free arm across opponent’s neck and get cross-collar grip and bridge into choke

Finish: Submission via crucifix choke

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How To Do A Ten Finger Guillotine In BJJ

The guillotine is one of the safest submission to attempt in all of BJJ. Going to a guillotine submission in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu doesn’t sacrifice your position or run the risk of leaving you in a weak position if your opponent is able to escape like the triangle from guard or other common submissions. Instead, a missed guillotine leaves you face to face with your opponent, almost exactly the same position you were in when you started. For that reason, the guillotine can be an easy submission to attempt even if you’re unsure of your ability with it.

The ten finger guillotine is one of the variations of the guillotine choke. The ten finger guillotine has the advantage of not requiring one of your opponent’s arms to be trapped, which also means that your opponent can’t use the trapped arm to escape if they’re strong or crafty.

Start: Front headlock position 

Step 1: Grip under opponent’s chin and secure your chest over their head

Step 2: Grip free hand underneath choking hand like a cup and saucer (props to Still Rolling for that delightfully southern way of describing it)

Step 3: Rotate both hands towards your body and into opponent’s neck so that the base of your choking hand thumb pushes up and towards opponent’s chin, keeping your chest and shoulder over opponent’s head

Finish: Submission via ten finger guillotine