Two Important Passing Concepts

One of the most important guard passing concepts is – Don’t pass where they want to be.

What do I mean by that? Let’s say your opponent wants to play half guard. For half guard to be effective you need to be on your knees. So instead of fighting from your knees, stand up and pass from your feet.

Problem solved. The same can concept can be applied to most guards.

You can make your passing even more effective when you combine it with another obvious but often overlooked concept – Pass from where you want to pass.

It’s so much easier to pass from a position you feel comfortable and have been in a thousand times, than passing from a different position every time. So every time your passing, work from the same position.

The Mendes brothers are probably one of the best examples of this. No matter what guard their opponents play they try to set up the leg drag and pass.

As an example of these concepts in action, check out the match below between Nicholas Meregali and Lucas Leite. Meregali does an amazing job of passing from where he wants and avoiding Leite’s guard.

Shuhari: The Stages Of Mastery

By Tom Barlow Leave a Comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of learning lately. More specifically, how I can improve my teaching and speed up my students learning the process.

I’ve come across a few tactics that seem to be working really well such as outlining key steps, preempting common mistakes, and setting everyone in the same orientation.

But that’s not what I want to talk to you about now. Instead, I want to share with you the concept of SHU-HA-RI.

I first came across this idea while reading an article about a guy who got his black belt in record time. In the article, he mentions Shuhari, and as I’d never heard of it before, I set about researching it.

It turns out it pretty well know in the learning space, lol.

Shuhari illustrates the stages of learning of you go through to mastery. There are many different translations for Shu-Ha-Ri, but the one I like best roughly means “learn, break, create”.

Shu (learn) is the beginning stage.

You follow the teachings of your instructor precisely. You concentrate on how to perform a technique, without worrying too much about the underlying theory.

If there are multiple variations on how to do the technique, you focus on just one way.

Ha (break) at this point, you begin to branch out.

With the basic techniques working, you learn the underlying principles and concepts behind the technique. You start to innovate, and learning variations then integrate them into your practice.

Ri (create) Now, you aren’t learning from an instructor, but from your own practice.

You create your own techniques and adapt what you’ve learned to your own style.

As it’s a traditional Japanese concept, I thought it important to include an explanation from a traditional source. Here is the explanation from Aikido master Endō Seishirō shihan stated:

“It is known that, when we learn or train in something, we pass through the stages of shu, ha, and ri. These stages are explained as follows.

In shu, we repeat the forms and discipline ourselves so that our bodies absorb the forms that our forebears created. We remain faithful to these forms with no deviation.

Next, in the stage of ha, once we have disciplined ourselves to acquire the forms and movements, we make innovations. In this process, the forms may be broken and discarded.

Finally, in ri, we completely depart from the forms, open the door to creative technique, and arrive in a place where we act in accordance with what our heart/mind desires, unhindered while not overstepping laws.”

Bascially, you start by learning concrete steps and imitating them, then focus on understanding principles, and finally into creating your style.

All this is of great relief to me. Shuhari backs up what I’ve been saying for a long time about the concepts vs. techniques argument.

Beginners should focus on techniques, while advanced students should focus on the concepts. Experts can do whatever the hell they like.

So how can you apply this to your training?

When you’re learning a new technique, first learn the key steps precisely. Then understand the concepts behind the technique and innovate ways to apply them. Finally, create your own techniques and style.

Unfortunately, it’s not a shortcut. But it is an interesting concept I recognise in my training and it’s the method the guy I mentioned earlier used to get his Black Belt super fast.

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The Egg Drill

By Tom Barlow 2 Comments

A Simple Way To Develop Water-Tight Defences

I remember when Alex started training Jiu Jitsu. He was athletic, good at scrambling, and had the heart of a lion. Because of these attributes, if he got on top, he would often catch his training partners in submissions or

However, the moment he got stuck on his back defending, he turned from a mat monster into something more like Bambi skating on ice. His arms and legs would be everywhere, and he’d try and bench press his partners off instead of using a solid technique.

Inevitably his opponents would pass his defences like butter and end up in a strong attacking position.

And at some point in your Jiu Jitsu journey, I’m sure you’ll have experienced this too. You got stuck on the bottom, and no matter how hard you fight your opponent breaches your defences and squash you like a bug.

Often the problem is not your ability to sweep or submit your opponent, instead, the problem is you are exposing your defences and making yourself vulnerable to attacks

A few years ago, I noticed this was a common problem in my beginner students. So set about creating a way to help teach them basic positional defence and guard recovery.

Enter The Egg Drill

After a little trial and error, the Egg was born (maybe laid is apter)

The fundamental principle behind the egg is to create a defensive shell. To do this you keep your elbows and knees tight to your body, and your chin tucked.

If you do this correctly, it becomes incredibly difficult for your partner to attack you regardless of the position they are in plus they will find it tough to stabilise any dominant position.

Now, before we go any further, this is just a drill or concept. It is not supposed to be specific technique, and if you’re sparring I would not advise you using this as your primary form of attack

However, if you are continually getting your guard passed or easily submitted, practising this drill will be of great benefit to you.

Essentially, there are three parts to this drill with each part building on the last. The drill starts by teaching you how to keep your defences tight, then progresses with how to recover guard, and finishes with how to you can use the concept in sparring situations.

Below you’ll find the thought process behind each part of the drill and video outline how to perform it.

Part 1: Understanding The Egg

The first part of the drill is simply getting used to keeping a tight defensive and demonstrate how easy it can be. To do this, you have to keep your elbows and knees tight to your body and keep your chin tucked in tight.

There should be no space for your partner to get inside of the frame and they shouldn’t be able to separate your limbs from your body.

When you can do this effectively, it becomes very hard for you opponent to set up any submission opportunities or stabilise a dominant position.

The video below shows how to perform part 1 of the Egg drill. The first time you do this, it’s a good idea to start slowly and gradually increase the pressure as your partner develops the defensive capabilities.

Part 2: Defending The Egg

Once you get comfortable with the defensive position, the next step is to stop them getting around your guard.

It is impossible for your opponent to be attacking both sides of your body at once. Consequently, you can use the side they’re not attacking to defend your opponents pass attempts or recover guard.

The second part of the drill is the start of integrating the Egg concept into sparring. Check out the video below to see exactly how to do part 2 of the drill.

Part 3: Opening The Egg

Obviously, keeping your hands connected to your shins and your legs tucked into your body isn’t an effective way to play Jiu Jitsu. Consequently, the final part of the drill is all about how you use the Egg concept within your Jiu Jitsu.

The video below shows how to perform part 3 of the Egg drill.

How To Become One With The Egg

Like almost technique or concept in Jiu Jitsu, you need to practice the Egg to make it instinctive and be able to use it when you need to.

However, this is relatively easy. Simply take some time before or after your regular Jiu Jitsu training and practice each of the drills in order.

A short training plan (less than 15 minutes) could look something like this.

The Egg Part 1: 2 x 1 min rounds (alternate attacker and defender)
The Egg Part 2: 2 x 1 min rounds (alternating)
The Egg Part 3: 2 x 1 min rounds (alternating)

Remember, gradually increase the intensity as your partner improves, and if your partner is struggling to take the intensity back a notch.

If you did this plan for a month I can guarantee your guard retention and defence would increase dramatically. This short training plan also at as a great warm up for any guard training or defensive work.

If you enjoyed this article or found it useful, leave a comment below and let me know. I always appreciate the feedback.

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Three Key Concepts To Defend Any Submission

By Tom Barlow Leave a Comment

Every Jiu Jitsu player knows the feeling a split second before they get caught in a submission. It’s the moment you realise you’ve made a mistake and there’s nothing you can do about it. Your only option is to tap and nurse your battered ego.

Don’t get me wrong, getting submitted in training is a good thing. It means your training in an environment that will help you improve and that you’re expanding your comfort zones.

When Should You Tap?

Before we go any further, I want to share my thoughts on when you should tap. I see a lot of people pointlessly get injured because they try to fight out of a submission that’s locked on.

Once a submission is locked in tight, completing it has little to do with technique. Finishing a submission is mostly just strength. Consequently, once a submission is locked in tight, there is little you can do about it except either tap or break.

Personally, I’d like to be able to train the next day, so I fight with everything I have until a submission is locked tight, as soon as that happens I tap. And I advise all my students do the same.

Timing Is Everything

Ok back to defending submissions. Regardless of whether you’re a seasoned world champion black belt or a brand new white belt, how you react in the moments before a submission is locked in tight will dictate whether you tap or not.

And as with any bad situation, prevention is always the best option. The longer you allow a bad situation to progress the worse it will become.

Where a lot of people go wrong is they react too late. They only start defending the submission once it’s locked in. That should be your last line of defence not your first.

If you think about it, there are several things your opponent has to do before they get the submission. They have to set the right grips. They have to create the right angle. They have to open your opponent’s defences. And they have to transition into the submission.

At any of these points, you can stop their submission attempt in its tracks and force them to change their attack. In this article, we’re going to look at three key concepts that will allow you to defend against any submission.

Concept #1: Killing the Angle

Most submission attacks require your opponent to create an angle on you.

Take the triangle, for example, if your opponent is square on to you then it will be much harder to finish the attack as the pressure on the neck will be wrong.

The same applies to goes for armbars, leg locks, chokes, and just about every other submission.

Consequently, if you can kill the angle before your opponent starts the submission attack, you’ll never need to defend it. The video below explains this further and covers a few examples.

Concept #2: Centre Line Control

Controlling the centre line is very closely linked to killing the angle. Anytime your arms cross the centre of your body or your opponents body; you’re putting yourself at risk of submission.

An excellent example of this is the arm bar from closed guard. To apply an armbar effectively, your arm must be in the centre of your opponents body. If you stop this, there is little risk of the submission.

If you can control the centre line, you’ll be in an excellent position to avoid countless submission attacks. Check out the video below to see exactly what I mean.

Concept #3: Lines of Defence.

The final submission defence concept I want to share with you is lines of defence.

When I think about defending submission, I look at it as though there are three different times to defend.

Firstly, you can defend before the submission ever happens (we talked about this earlier with killing the angle and centre line control)

Secondly, you can defend during the submission. That would be something like hiding your arm as your opponent tries to armbar you.

Your final line of defence is a split second before you’re forced to tap. This could be something like the hitch-hiker armbar escape or pulling the knee open during a knee bar. This video covers what I mean:

Be Safe Before You Escape

To close, I want to share one final thought about submission escapes.

Keep in mind whenever you’re defending a submission your primary objective is to escape the submission NOT to sweep or submit your opponent.

Sometimes your submission counter my result in a reversal or submission opportunity, but these should are by-products of your defence, not your goal.

Always remember, you have to be safe before you can escape.

You Gotta Keep ‘Em Flat

By Tom Barlow 2 Comments

“Position before submission” is a commonly used phrase in Jiu Jitsu. And in my experience when you understand how to control a position the submission becomes a lot easier.

One reason for this is your opponent has to use more energy and give more space to escape, which presents you with submission opportunities.

However, people often focus on the wrong things when trying to prevent their opponents escape.

The first step to preventing an escape has nothing to do with what your opponent is doing with their arms or legs, or how they’re grabbing your Gi. Preventing an escape starts with one simple concept…you have to stop your opponent being able to rotate.

Basically, you gotta keep ’em flat.

Think about it, almost every escape starts with your opponent rotating in some way. If you stop their rotation, you can prevent the escape before it starts.

This video covers some key concepts to controlling positions and keeping your opponent flat, plus how to practice it.

A great way to develop this type of control is to spend a month practicing nothing other than keeping your opponent flat. Make that your goal every time you roll. By the end of the month, your opponents will feel like they’ve got a small planet laying on them and submission opportunities will magically start to appear.

This is exactly what happened to me when Braulio told me to try this. I even got to the point where I could submit people just with my top pressure. Not bad considering the IBJJF think I weigh the same as a feather (about 65kg).

Key Takeaways:

– Almost every escape starts and ends with your partner rotating.
– Use your body weight to kill their rotation and your hands as a backup.
– Don’t rest on their defensive frame.
– Maintain good posture to avoid being rolled.

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Two Important Passing Concepts

Shuhari: The Stages Of Mastery

The Egg Drill