How do you determine the areas to work in your Jiu Jitsu?
One of the best ways to do this is by analysing what’s working at the highest level. After all, if it’s good enough for a black belt world champion, it’s probably good enough for you.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to watch thousands of hours of footage (unless you want to). BJJ Heros, I’ve got your back.
Every year BJJ Heros crunch the numbers from the worlds and break down the results in an excellent article. You can check 2017 article at:
BJJ Heroes: Crunching The Numbers 3.0
Based on that data, there are several areas to focus your training.
Getting the submission should always be your goal… but the vast majority of matches were won by points or advantages. And that’s what we’re going to start looking at first.
Of all the point-scoring techniques, 90% came from three areas; Sweeps, Guard Passes, and the Back.
From those numbers, if you focused on developing a game around pulling guard, passing, and taking the back you’d be in a good position.
But let’s dig a little deeper and look at each of those a little deeper.
#1. Develop a strong sweeping game.
The vast majority of points scored during the worlds came from a sweep.
That’s not unsurprising, considering that 90% of your time in BJJ is spent in guard (either passing or playing)
What was a little more surprising is the guard that leads to the most sweeps. Almost a third of the sweeps came from the 50/50 guard.
So if you don’t have a 50/50 guard game, it would be a good idea to develop one. And it’d also be a good idea to develop a solid 50/50 passing game.
However, the 50/50 can be tricky to set up. If you combine 50/50 with another high percentage sweeping guard like the Collar and Sleeve or Single Leg X, you’re on to a winner.
#2. The Knee Slide Combinations
Passing the guard can be very hard. But if you find yourself in the top position, you have to try and pass.
Based on the BJJ Hero’s data the Knee Slide is the highest percentage pass.
Thankfully, the Knee Slide can be set up from most guard positions. Plus it’s pretty easy to use.
However, like any pass, the knee slide works best when used in combination with other passes. So if you combine the knee slide with the leg weave or long step, you’ll have a better chance of success.
#3. Get to the Back.
The Back has always been one of the most dominant positions in Jiu Jitsu.
Many BJJ practitioners prefer it to the mount as you’re opponent can’t use their strength or size against you.
On top of that, it’s much easier to attack for submissions from the back than many other positions.
This is illustrated by (at least) 17 of 52 recorded submissions coming from the back.
The highest percentage of these submissions from the back was the basic back choke you’re taught on your first BJJ lesson.
So there you have it if you’re looking for a game plan or areas to focus your training work
– Pulling guard and sweeping using 50/50 or open guard,
– Passing with knee slide combinations
– Taking the back and choking from there.
Talk soon,
– Tom