Hi guys! Its Kevin posting here and today i'm going to share about various basic techniques of BJJ. These techniques are used to defend the user and manipulate a strong and aggressive opponent. Learning Jiu Jitsu basics and adding in submissions can allow you to make your opponent give up without even throwing a single kick or punch.
The first guard everyone learns is the Closed guard. This is when the legs are wrapped around the waist of the opponent with the feet locked. The position of the hands can be a grip on the sleeve, collar, or a combination of both.
Half guard focuses on wrapping one of the legs of the opponent with both of yours; this position is maintained by staying on the side and not flat on the back as in the closed guard. This guard is not as strong as a full guard because you are only using half of the body, where a full guard uses all the limbs.
The Hook guard (Butterfly guard) uses the foot as a hook and locks into the inner part of the opponent’s thigh to off balance by lifting and pulling. The Hook guard can be played with one or two hooks depending on how the opponent moves or if they stand or stay on their knees.
There are a lot of Jiu Jitsu basics that can be applied with the Open guard. This provides the opportunity to transition into other guards with good leg and hip movement. Starting with both feet on the hips lets you keep the opponent from driving in and closing the space.
Passing Guard is no easy task and is considered to be one of the harder positions to learn when first starting out. Getting by the legs and hips and controlling the opponent for at least 3 seconds requires good balance and posture. Focus on using all the proper angles and combining your passes will help you to work your way around or threw your opponents legs.
Once you have passed the guard, you will most likely end up in Side Control. Focus on staying tight and allowing no space while controlling the position first then going for a submission Jiu Jitsu technique or transitioning to another position.
The Mount position is when you are on top of the opponent with your knees pinched on the waist and your hands are free to be used as a base or to grip for attacks. This is considered a dominant position because the individual escaping has to carry your weight no matter which way they move.
Back control is considered another position of dominance and is an effective way to wear down your opponent and set up some of the best choke submissions. The focus of this position is to keep your chest tightly glued to the opponents back and keep your hooks (feet) connected to the inner thighs.
Escapes – At first it will seem like you are in survival mode, but as a better understanding is gained from each of the positions your escapes improve. The main focus should be to keep your arms by your sides and use hip movement to create space to replace guard or go to your knees.
Submissions are what you should be striving for but not at first. Just like positional training, you will have to put some time in drilling technique and rolling to improve the setup and timing to execute the move. The four basic submissions are: Arm lock, Choke, Triangle, and Omoplata.
Source adapted from: http://massbaybjj.com/bjj/jiu-jitsu-basics/
That's all for today! I hope you guys learned more about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, stay tuned for my next post on competition rules!
