Think about that question for a moment because there is room for debate. Right this minute, you can look around and you’ll find many different examples of how the position should be played. Like with almost everything in Jiu-jitsu, half guard is an expression of a person’s own unique insight and focus. So often there are variances in the technique or different concepts that are focused on.

One example I saw recently was a hour and half long instructional on Youtube. It focused on the importance of preventing the crossface, and the method for doing that was bear paw grips on the bicep of the opponent’s far arm. Almost all of the techniques and concepts focused on either preventing the crossface or using it to pass on top.

That’s where the emphasis was placed.

Now how my own half guard has developed has been totally different. I’ve never emphasized preventing the crossface because it naturally happens as a result of how I attack from the position. The question is what concepts are really essential in order to effectively develop the position.

What I Saw

Let’s go back to the Functional Half Guard instructional by Indrek Reiland and Jorgen Matsi.

We’ve already discussed the emphasis that was placed on the crossface, but there was also a lack of emphasis directed towards the underhook. When you look at the video, you’ll notice that there are many times when the underhook demonstrated is quite shallow. That’s a hole that can be exploited.

Also in the demonstrations about how the bear paw can be used, his back hit the mat several times or he gave up the underhook in order to go double paw grip. To me, that’s fundamental concepts being broken, but that’s only because my perspective is different.

I value the underhook over the crossface.

What I Think The True Basics Are

At a basic level, there is one of two ways to attack from half guard. Either you dive deep and get under your opponent’s base then attack from there, or you dominate one side of their body and then initiate your offense.

That’s the goal, but there’s also a general to-do checklist.

• Fight to get to your side and stay there.

• Always fight for the underhook.

• Off balance your opponent whenever possible and don’t let them settle.

All of those are things to keep in mind while you’re playing that underhook half game. Now I’m going to explain some alternative ways to prevent the crossface that aligns with those that checklist.

First of all, in order to be effectively crossfaced, a condition has to be met. Your back or your shoulder has to be on the mat. So if you use the elbow or hand of your free arm to post, it’ll make it easier for you to stay on your side and harder for you to be crossfaced. It’s also easier to shoot the underhook deep and use it to off balance your opponent. To be crossfaced, that post will have to be pulled out from under you first, and you can prevent that by hiding the elbow under you.

Secondly, how you control the underhook matters. Where you place your hand on their hand, what you grab, whether pull or push, all of those things matter. The underhook is an active tool. Use it to upset your opponent’s base and leverage. It makes it harder for them to effectively crossface if you push their upper away from you or force their torso to rotate.

The Point of All This

The intent wasn’t to criticize someone’s perspective on how the half guard functions. Instead, I wanted to give you a clear example of how methods can change while the goal remains the same.

The post What Are The True Basics of the Half Guard? appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

The double guard pull is a relatively development. Its use has been expanding with the popularity of berimbolo and 50/50. It’s becoming a game unto itself. Those who play it have become extremely adept at it. It almost seems ritualized when you watch the transition from the pull into their attacks.

If you play that game, you can probably appreciate the variance of grips and the speed of transitions. Otherwise, it’s hard not to be bored. That problem isn’t restricted to just double guard pull matches though. There is much in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu that only becomes fascinating when you have a basic level of understanding about what occurred.

It’s one of the issues with expanding the popularity of the art and sport.

That’s the reason why I’ve never had a problem with double pull matches. I know that I would enjoy them more if I focused some attention on really understanding all the techniques and concepts involved in that game. But I recently saw a video that Saulo Ribeiro put out about the double pull game, and it made me think.

In that video, he focused on the question of why. What use is that game outside of competition? Does that path of development align with the essence and tradition of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu?

I think that’s a interesting line of inquiry. It should be discussed, but you also have to focus on why the double pull game has developed.

The simple reason is that it works. There are many examples of individuals who achieved high levels of success using that game, and that number is growing now in the lower belts. At Worlds, I saw so many blue belts playing like that.

As long as it’s effective, it’s not going anywhere. There is only one way to deal with it without rule changes. The overall level of guard passing proficiency has to increase to the point that most feel confident in their ability to pass high level open guards.

The post My Thoughts on the Double Guard Pull Game appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

This is a very loose translation of an article I found on a Brazilian website. It will be the first of many, and it’s a part of a specific project that I’m working on.

Oh, and If you’re interested in checking out the original version, head over to Aprenda Jiu-jitsu.

Organic Translation

If you play half guard, you’ll eventually run into opponents that like to back step into inverted half guard in order to pass the guard. The sweep that Wagner Galeto demonstrates below is geared towards that situation.

How the Indiana Jones Half Guard Works

To initiate this attack, a certain grip is required. If you’ve ever seen Cyborg’s first instructional set, he calls it the dental floss grip. Check out the video if you want to see what it looks like because I really don’t want to explain it.

One other note is that the grip has to be established before the back step.  Then as your opponent transitioned into inverted half guard, you will switch the dental floss grip from one hand to the other while moving the hand that previously held the grip around to the opponent’s back. Use that hand to then grasp their belt and keep them from jumping back to the original position.

To finish the sweep, create a hook under the opponent’s near ankle. Use that hook to elevate their leg as you use your grip to push their leg which will give you the space to come up to your knees. And complete the sweep.

Details of the Position

If your opponent decides not to back step into inverted half, you can invert and pursue additional options from there or use other techniques to sweep.

This technique can also be performed using the opponent’s belt as the control grip, but there is a lower probability of success. So always look for the dental floss grip when possible.

Watch the Instructional

The post The Indiana Jones Half Guard Sweep appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

I’m going to start a new project here. For some time, I’ve been trying to teach myself Brazilian Portuguese, and I’m a fan of killing many birds with one stone.

So I’m going to go out there and find interesting articles that are written about Brazilian JIu-jitsu in Portuguese and I’m going to translate them here, but I will take liberties with the translations.

No attempt will be made to translate one for one. Instead I’m going to focus on putting the core message into my own words. Hopefully, you’ll learn something interesting from this method I’ve chosen for learning.

The post Organic Translations of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Articles appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

Recently, something significant happened in my life that will require me to make certain adjustments. It was unexpected and undesired, but I’ve been able to take a step back and really analyze the situation.

I realized that there were specific choices that I made that heavily influenced the outcome. So I’ve decided to take the reminder of that lesson and apply it to other areas.

One application, of course, will focus on Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

That’s the intent of this post.  I would like you to think about a simple question. What seeds are you planting every time you step onto the mats?

Ripple Effects

I’m going to take you back in time with me to my years as a white belt. Back then, I had training partners that destroyed me in the gym. It forced me to focus on small victories.

One of those early successes was just getting to half guard and being able to hold people there for significant periods of time.  It was far harder to get to closed guard, and my open guard was nonexistent.

I now look at that as a seed that was planted unconsciously because as I had success I wanted to build on it. It led to me developing a decent level of proficiency with the half guard. That’s just one example though.

Focus on the Seeds

At Evolve Academy, there’s a motto that’s emphasized:  Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes habit.  

Everything contributes to that process. The things that you do and say every day are habits that are forming, and they can be beneficial or detrimental.

If you recognize that fact, it becomes easier to focus on the seeds that will lead to the harvest that you desire whatever it may be.

Often in the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, it’s that shiny medal at the biggest tournament or that new belt that serves as acknowledgement of your growth. Both of those end results are worthless if you don’t put in the work though. It’s the effort that led to the accomplishment that matters most of all.

So focus on the work that you do day in and day out to improve.

The post Focus on the Seeds that You Plant appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

Right out the gate, let me give you a warning. A lot of time will be spent focusing on the travel portion of the story. Consider yourself warned.

Let’s begin.

I booked my flight two weeks before the Montreal trials, and at that late date, the options were quite slim. So I ended up picking a one-way flight that had three connections, and I also bought a train ticket for the return trip. Ideally, it would have gotten me there in time for the weigh-ins and also given me plenty of time to work on things on the way back.

It was a simple plan.

The Original Plan

I woke up at 4 AM Friday morning to catch my first flight at 6:45. It went from Baltimore to Charlotte. Then the next flight went from there to Raleigh.

During the layover in Raleigh, I received a message from US Airways that my flight to Montreal was canceled. So I talked to someone at the service desk, and they put me on a later flight.

After that, I got on the flight to Philadelphia. Everything seemed like it was smooth sailing from that point on. Then I arrived in Philly and relaxed, only to be interrupted by another message from US Airways about the second cancellation due to weather conditions.

So again I walked to the service desk, but this time there was a line, and it was barely moving at all.

During the wait, we were all given a number to call for assistance with re-booking the flight. I called right away but the only flight that I could get wasn’t until Sunday. The other option I had was to request a “trip in vain” and get sent back to Baltimore, but that couldn’t be done over the phone.

Thirty minutes passed, then an hour passed, and still the line was barely moving. The whole time I was weighing options in my mind because I simply didn’t want to let the chance to go back to Abu Dhabi slip out of my grasp without exerting every effort.

Shift in Gears

I looked up bus tickets and train tickets, but it seemed that only the train was still running. The problem was that even by that method, I wouldn’t get there until Saturday night. I weighed that option and considered a possibility. What if I could still compete even if I didn’t make it until then? That was the question.

The circumstances of my division (5-man ultra heavy brown/black) and the structure of the tournament made it a viable option. So I contacted Fabio and outlined the situation, and then I asked him if it would be possible and he gave the go-ahead.

It was like a ray of hope.

Now there was a path forward, but I still had to get my “trip in vain” so I waited in that line for another two hours. Then I had to rush to another terminal to catch my flight back to Baltimore, and it was close.

The Uncertain Journey

Once I arrived in Baltimore, I caught a shuttle over Amtrak because I wanted to verify that the train would run to Montreal.  The lady at the counter told me that it would only run to New York and no further. She also said that I should check back later because that might change.

So once again, the trip was in doubt. I went home and relaxed for a bit, and then I called Amtrak customer service to check on the train. This time, I actually got confirmation that the train would run, so I bought a ticket right away. It was a 15 hour trip, and it started at 3:38 AM so I stayed up.

I got to the train station at 3, and the monitors at the station didn’t list the train to New York. Also the service area closed at 10:45, so I was standing outside alone for a good 25 minutes, freezing. That whole time, I was wondering if the train was even going to come.

Shortly after that, more people started to show up so that boosted my confidence. In the end though, the train was 20 minutes late. At least now, I was on the way.

The train arrived in New York on time, but I wasn’t sure where to go to catch the second one.  So I went up to one of the ticket counters and asked about the train to Montreal. This was an interesting experience because the man I spoke was like the perfect personification of the New Yorker stereotype.

He gave me so much attitude when he was telling me that there was no way in hell that I was getting to Montreal. He said that the only thing that he could do was get me half way. It was shocking, but I repeated the question, and apparently he thought I was talking about some place other than Montreal. He then pointed me in the right direction.

So alright, crisis averted. Onward we go.

I found the waiting area for Amtrak, took a seat, and relaxed. Shortly afterward, there was a announcement about the train to Montreal. It was delayed because of weather conditions.

After that, it seemed like there was a announcement every 15 minutes just restating that the train was delayed for an indefinite period of time. It continued until finally 3 hours later they started boarding.

I got in line, and it was moving at a brisk pace. So it wasn’t long until it was my turn to show the attendant my boarding pass. There was just one little issue. Apparently, I was supposed to do a check-in for Canada, I didn’t know, and she wouldn’t let me through. So I went to the service desk to get a check-in, but the woman at the desk wouldn’t do it because she said that she couldn’t leave her post.

After that, I went back to the attendant and explained the situation, and she left me on. So I went down the elevator and got on the train. Not long after that, it took off.

From there, it was actually smooth sailing. I arrived in Montreal, got to my hotel, and actually slept after more than 30 hours of travel.

The Trials

In the morning, I woke up and went to the venue. I felt alright in my matches. It didn’t seem that all the travel had much effect on my body, and it definitely had no effect on my mind.

I won my first match and lost the second. Instead of trying to explain what happened, I’ll just include the videos below, but I’ll say this.

I have no regrets.

I truly desire to go back to Abu Dhabi because I believe that I can learn even more from the experience now than I did two years ago. Montreal was an opportunity to achieve that goal, and I pursued it to the best of my ability.

The post Abu Dhabi World Pro 2013 Trials – Second Attempt appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

I recently read a book called Start with Why by Simon Sinek. It made me think about why I love BJJ, and the answer I came up with surprised me because the reason has existed before I even knew what BJJ was.

Through the Wormhole

Before I just spell it out, let’s go back in time. When I was really young, I received my first computer. It was a 386 or a 486. I forget which, but suffice to say that it was a dinosaur. I remember going out and getting games. Then I would try to load them, and often they wouldn’t work right away.

The reason for that lies in the fact that back in the stone ages memory was split into categories like conventional memory, extended memory, and expanded memory. Different games required different amounts of memory in the different layers.

That’s where applications like memmaker came into the picture. It allowed you to play with the distribution of memory across the different catagories.

So to play games I often had to engage in a little problem solving first. Sometimes, it got quite tricky too, but I enjoyed the process almost as much as the reward.

I simply love to figure things out, and I’m realizing now that it started back then.

Innovative Engineering

Another example of this happened recently. In fact, it was only a few weeks ago.

I went down to Virginia to support some teammates at their MMA fights. Down there, I spent most of my time in the back with the team.

Now between the fights there were significant periods of time, and during that wait my coach, Mike Moses, challenged us to figure out how his knife works.

It was a switchblade but it had a concealed mechanism for bringing the blade out. Even when he demonstrated, it wasn’t clear what was being pressed.

Everyone tried to figure it out. Most tried for a few minutes then decided to focus on something else. Even I took a little break after trying for like ten minutes.

I walked away and got something to eat, but then I came back and picked up the knife again. I looked at it from every angle that I could think of, but I still couldn’t figure it out.

That process continued throughout the night. I would walk away and then come back and pick up the knife. Every time, I was in the room, my thoughts tended to drift toward figuring out the solution, and I was actually disappointed when it was revealed.

How it all Relates to Brazilian Jiu-jitsu

So from those two examples, hopefully you now understand one of my underlying passions. My focus on coming up with unique solutions to common problems and understanding how things work and how to make them work better both stem from the desire to figure things out.

What Brazilian Jiu-jitsu gave me was the perfect outlet. It’s an ever-changing puzzle with so many different pieces. It forces you to bring everything you have to bear. You have to use your mind, body and spirit to excel at this art, and all are strengthened in the process.

It’s simply problem solving in its finest form.

Every concept and movement is a piece of the puzzle, but learning the individual pieces simply isn’t enough. You have to learn how the pieces interact with each other.

What makes it challenging and fascinating is that the puzzle isn’t two-dimensional. There is no one true solution. Each piece doesn’t have a clearly defined space that it must fit into.

Instead, the puzzle is multidimensional and ever-changing.

For example, one concept can be linked to many different movements to create a diverse range of techniques. The same can be said about linking movements to concepts.

Then on the next level, there is how techniques interact with each other. You have to figure out how to use them in combination to form effective attack sequences and loops.

You can’t forget to add resistance to the equation either. So there are counters, re-counters, reversals, and escapes.

It can all get quite complex, but there is a certain simplicity to it as well.

There should be no question about one thing though. Piecing it all together is a lifelong pursuit. I embrace it. Even now at brown belt, I believe that there is still so much to learn. I’ve only figured out bits and pieces so far.

It’s a good thing that I love the process.

(I had changed my mind about showing this publicly, but it just feels appropriate here.)

(This video inspired me to buy the book.)

The post Why I Love Brazilian Jiu-jitsu appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

One of my ongoing projects is related to half guard, and today I want to look at one of the questions that I’ve received as a result of that project.  The question was:

My Half Guard question is about the cross face. I have gotten very comfortable with being able to control the bicep of the person on top, when it is coming straight for my chin and being able to rest in this position. However when my opponent skips the cross face and stops looking to scoop my head and squish my chin, and instead puts his elbow over my head, and then I get trapped between his elbow and his free leg. Any answers on how I can regulate this? I manage half guard pretty well til this happens and then they pass. Thanks

Some time has passed since this question was asked but even now I find it interesting. Intuitively, I feel that the transition to deep half is really easy once they pull you in with their elbow, but someone else is perceiving a problem in that same situation.

I wonder why that’s so, and I don’t want to assume that it’s because of a skill difference. I look at the question again, and I wonder what details aren’t included. For example, what form of half guard is being played? Who has the underhook on the far side?

Those are just simple questions, but there are all kinds of variables that could be in play that aren’t being highlighted. So what we have is a situation that isn’t completely defined.

Let’s assume that I won’t be able to get more information about the situation from the person who asked me the question initially. What would be best way to find a resolution?

Now generally prevention is often the best policy, but in this case, I’m not sure if we want to prevent it.  So the first step would be to answer that question. Is this a situation that should be prevented?

The only way to answer that is to test. Small variances within the situation have to be tested until you find a situation that is very disadvantageous for the person on the bottom. If it can’t be found, it means that there is no need to prevent the elbow coming over.

One day, I did a quick video after class to test two simple variances and prove that they weren’t threats.  You can see it below:

Those were just two possibilities. More exist, and I want to test them. Also help would be appreciated. If you had issues in any situation like this, let me know why.

The post Troubleshooting the Half Guard I appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

Are you a 3%er or a 97%er? Which side would you prefer to claim? What if I told you that there was information that you might not be aware of?

Many who have chosen a side in this little false dispute have no idea what the concept actually means. I want to clear that up because it is better to make a decision with the information than without it.

First of all, don’t think of the percents as statistics. It’s a concept, and there is an easy way to explain it.

To join the 3% is to strive to not neglect doing the easy things that you could do to achieve the goals you want to achieve.

It’s that simple. It’s not about who you are, it’s about what you do.

It’s as easy to join the group as it is to leave it. That’s why it’s so important to be around people that have the same mindset. When you’re around people that are focused and dedicated on doing all the little things they could do to achieve the things they want, it’s easier to stay focused yourself.

For that reason, the concept is heavily promoted within Team Lloyd Irvin, but it didn’t originate from that source.

Personally, I’ve also heard it from Jim Rohn. He presents the choice as being as easy as getting a library card. Why? It’s because getting a library card is something that’s easy to do and it gives you access to massive amounts of information that may be relevant to your interests and goals, but most people neglect to do it.

They are the 97 percent.

Every person has the power to stay in that group or walk away from it. It’s a choice, and it’s one that has to be made every day.

What will your choice be?

The post Walk Away from the 97 Percent (The Truth about the Concept) appeared first on BJJ Canvas.

Updated: April 07, 2013

There are affiliate links on the site.

It’s mentioned elsewhere, but I’ve realized that I can’t expect everyone to see those pages. So I’m going to highlight the fact and offer a choice in the matter.

First of all, let’s do a quick overview of what affiliation is. Basically if you click a affiliate link to a product and you decide to make a purchase, I receive a commission. This is one of the means that I’m using to try to fund the dream of taking Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as far as I can take it.

That’s the goal, but means matter. I consider everything on this site to be a reflection of me, and I only want to recommend products that I believe have value on their own merits. That’s the reason why I took Adsense off the site.

Right now, every product I link is one that I would be willing to recommend with or without the possibility of a commission. This post is about demonstrating that by giving you all the links without any affiliation tags. So that you can make the decision.

You can find them all below.

Books That I’ve Read

• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
• Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
• Meaningful Marketing by Doug Hall
• Talent Is Overrated by Geoff Colvin
• The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss
• Training the Samurai Mind (translated) by Thomas Cleary
• Drill to Win by Andre Galvao
• Code of the Samurai (translated) by Thomas Cleary
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• The Unexpected Champion by Dan Faggella
• The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
• The Fighter’s Mind by Sam Sheridan
• The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

• Discourses on Livy by Niccolo Machiavelli
• The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin
• The Theory That Would Not Die by Sharon Bertsch Mcgrayne
• The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
• Einstein by Walter Issacson
• Rebounders by Rick Newman
• Slow Down, Sell Faster by Kevin Davis
• Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
• Masters of Command by Barry Strauss
• As We Speak by Peter Meyers and Shann Nix
  
• Mastery by George Leonard
• The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
• Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
• The Art of Strategy by Avinash Dixit and Barry Nalebuff
• Mastery by Robert Greene
• Start with Why by Simon Sinek
• Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu

Book That I’m Reading

• Four Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss

Books That I Will Read

• Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
• Success Principles by Jack Canfield
• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
• Strategy by Liddell Hart
• Expert Performance in Sports by Anders Ericsson
• Motivation and Personality by Abraham Maslow
• On Writing by Steven King
• Mindset by Carol Dweck
• Extraordinary Minds by Howard Gardner
• The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity by Catherine Ponder
• The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

Videos That I’ve Watched

• Competition Tested Techniques by Royler Gracie
• Secrets of Our Success by Paragon
• 111 Half Guard Techniques by Caio Terra
• Lost Techiniques of the Half Guard by Vince Quitigua

The post Just to be Absolutely Clear about Affiliates appeared first on BJJ Canvas.