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Tom Barlow Online

Always Be Learning

The Tightest choke From The Back

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There are numerous ways to choke your opponent from the back. However, arguably the highest percentage option you have is the Double Lapel choke.

If you don’t believe me watch any high-level Gi Jiu Jitsu competition. You’ll see the double lapel choke use successfully probably more than any other choke from the back.

Unlike other chokes from the back, the double lapel choke has two important things going for it.

Firstly, when setting up this choke you maintain your upper body positioning. Basically, the grips form a modified seat belt, which means you have great control throughout the submission.

Secondly, when you set the double lapel choke up correctly, you can use your whole body to apply the choking pressure.

So now you’re super excited about the double lapel choke, the video below best ways to attack this choke plus some key details that will help you finish the choke consistently. Check it out below:

There are actually 7 tips give in the video. While they’re focused on the double lapel choke, these 7 tips apply to any choke from the back. Here’s each of the tips with a little more detail:

Tip #1.Start with good positional control – use good head position, a tight seat belt, and pinch with your legs.

Tip #2. Pick a side – this limits your opponents escaping options, and can help you set up your attack more easily.

Tip #3. Make good grips – not all grips need to be super deep, sometimes a low grip is less threatening and will allow you to apply the choke more easily.

Tip #4. Use a bio-mechanically efficient position – when you apply a choke you want to be able to use the maximum amount of force available. This can only be done if your body is correctly aligned.

Tip #5. Eliminate escape routes – if you can shut down your opponents escape routes before you start your attack, your chance of finishing a submission drastically increases.

Tip #6. Use your whole body to finish the choke – your arms can create a lot of force, but its nowhere near as much as you can apply with your legs and back. If possible use your whole body when applying any submission.

Tip #7. Give the choke a chance to work – this is the most important tip of all. Too often students let go of a perfectly good choke before it’s had time to take effect. Instead, slowly count to 10 and gradually increase your pressure. If you hit 10 and they’re not tapping it’s time to readjust.

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10 Tips To Instantly Improve Your Side Control

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If you develop good control from side control, all your subsequent positions will be much tighter as you’ll have already weakened many of your opponent’s defences.

This video covers 10 key details that will instantly improve your side control dominance and help you feel solid as a rock on top.

Here are all the tips covered in case you don’t have time to watch the video.

  1. Control your partner’s rotation
  2. Stop lateral movement
  3. Crush their hand with your neck
  4. Toes on the mat
  5. Knees wide
  6. Hide your feet
  7. Don’t give up your balance
  8. Fill the gaps
  9. Use other parts of your body to reinforce your grips
  10. Anticipate your opponents escape.

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Guard Retention 101

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How To Develop An Impassable Guard

Click the links below to jump straight to a section…

Go to Video 1: 5 Essential Guard Retention Concepts
Go to Video 2: The Squashing Drill
Go to Video 3: The Stepping Drill
Go to Video 4: Real World Retention Example

If you develop an impassible guard, you’ll never have to worry about escaping bad positions. I know that’s a bold statement, but let me explain further and hopefully, you’ll understand what I mean.

Firstly, let’s start by defining what I mean by a bad position. I’m not talking about these fancy leg entanglements that have become common, although the concepts covered later will help defend them too. What I’m talking about are the traditional positions you’d hate to find yourself in if you were fighting a 300-pound gorilla (i.e. side control, mount, and back).

Guard retention in action

If you think about how you end up in those positions, there are only a few circumstances you will end up in a bad position. You’ll end up with a bad position if your opponent passes, if you get swept or taken down, and from a failed submission.

In any of those situations, an impassable guard will stop your opponent progressing.

It’s pretty obvious why an impassible guard would stop your opponents passing, but in either a takedown, sweep, or failed submission, you can usually to scramble back to your guard.

If you look at you’re training from this standpoint, it makes far more sense to focus your training on guard playing or guard passing. After all, the top or bottom of guard is where you’ll spend 90% of your time.

So now we’ve established why you absolutely, positively want to develop an impassible guard, it’s time to look at how you can develop one.

5 Essential Guard Retention Concepts

During your Jiu Jitsu career, you’ll encounter hundreds of different guard passing situations. You’ll meet speed passers, pressure passers, passers who jump, and everything inbetween.

However, regardless of how your opponent is trying to pass, there are a few essential guard retention concepts that apply to all passes. The video below outlines five of the most important.

Just to recap, here are the five concepts:

  1. Hide the hip to armpit space – become the egg!
  2. Keep your guard wide.
  3. Get your opponent on your feet.
  4. Square your hips.
  5. Create layers of guard.

To help you develop these concepts, I want to share with you two drills we regularly use in our academy. These drills are simple, effective, and can be done very quickly, which makes them ideal to be used as a warm-up anytime you’re working your guard.

The Squashing Drill

The Squashing Drill is a great way to develop your ability to hide the hip/armpit space and keep your feet facing your opponent. The nice thing about this drill is you can also use it as a way to improve guard retention flexibility and core strength.

The Stepping Drill

The second guard retention drill is the Stepping Drill. As with the squashing drill, this drill reinforces hiding the hip/armpit space but also teaches you to square your hips and keep your guard wide.

Try doing 2 – 3 one minute rounds of these drills anytime you plan to work your guard build from there.

Real World Retention Example

Talking about concepts and drills is great, but I wanted to give you an example of how you apply these ideas in the real world.

For our guard retention example, I choose one of the highest percentages passes in Jiu Jitsu; the Knee Slide. Whether you’ve been training 6 months or 6 years, you’ve probably encountered this killer pass.

Check out how you can apply these concepts to counter the knee slide in the video below:

Putting It All Together

Hopefully, this article has given you some idea of why developing killer guard retention is so beneficial, and some of the most essential concepts, but how should you start improving your guard retention?

The answer to that is simple; practice your guard retention every time you train.

Rather than playing your A-game next time you roll, sit to your butt the moment you slap hands and fist bump. Don’t worry about having grips or even being in a specific guard, and try to prevent your opponent from passing by using the ideas we discussed here.

Also, don’t worry about sweeping or submitting your opponent, that can be added later and will be much easier once you have developed your guard retention skills.

The first few times you do this, your training partner will probably pass your guard easily, but over time you’ll have more and more success retaining your guard.

Once you feel confident in your retention abilities against most people (regardless of age or skill level), start connecting your retention to guards, then sweeps and submissions.

This whole process could take several months or even a year, but you have time. Your goal should is to be a world class black belt, not a champion white belt, and guard retention is vital for that.

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Four Solo Drills To Help Improve Your Guard

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One of your greatest weapons in developing a killer guard is flexibility. The more flexible you are, the easier you’ll be able to transition in and out of attacks, and the less your opponent will be able to force you into positions you aren’t comfortable in and exploit the gaps in your guard.

The nice thing about flexibility and mobility is you don’t need a training partner to develop it. You can develop your guard anytime, anywhere through a little solo drilling.

To help you get started here are four of my favourite solo drills to help improve your guard. These drills have been incredibly beneficial in my own training, hopefully, they can do the same for you.

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Filming Jiu Jitsu Videos Can Be Dangerous!

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You might not believe it, but filming a Jiu Jitsu instructional can be a dangerous business. I certainly didn’t believe it.

A few days ago, I was recording some additional content for the Lapel Guard Passing Course with one of my students Ash. During one of the demonstrations, I accidentally put Ash to sleep!

This was completely unexpected as I was demonstrating a pass, not a choke. Apparently, my shoulder pressure is just that powerful.

Ash completely recovered within a second or two of me realising the pressure, but as it’s pretty funny I thought I’d share the clip with you.

Do you hate getting tangled up in lapel guards?

You might want to check out the Lapel Guard Passing Course. It covers everything you need to know to dismantle and pass the most common lapel guards.

For a limited time, you can get the Lapel Guard Passing Course at a massive discount. To learn more and get instant access, click the button below:

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