Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 6 First of all, the necessary arrangements are to be made and a proper playing environment has to be set up before the start of the play. Generally, the participants start Jiu Jitsu with the basic positions like guard, full mount, and side control. BJJ Basics is the home of professional Brazilian jiu jitsu training courses. Please take time to watch this brief introductory video which will give you more insight as to what BJJ Basics has to offer Introductory Video Explore our premium courses. An Introduction to Guard Passing Arms Race.
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- But almost every BJJ technique, whether basic or advanced, is deployed from one of six basic BJJ positions: the guard, sidemount, mount, kneemount, rearmount or turtle. And the best way to become familiar with those positions is to pick up the free Roadmap for BJJ mobile app.
- The basic objective of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is to use hands and legs to lock and immobilize the opponent. Different BJJ techniques like pull guard, close guard, scissor guard, full mount, joint locks, etc., are used to cramp the opponent, hence seizing his mobility. The intricacies of this game and its laws can be understood by reading this.
'That's gross and I'm never doing that.' That was my thought the first time I saw people training Brazilian jiu jitsu. The idea of rolling around with sweaty people, especially without a gi, seemed particularly unappealing. Little did I know in that moment how alluring a sport it was and how hooked I was about to get.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Basics
Getting started in Brazilian jiu jitsu can be daunting. Training martial arts is one of the most beneficial things I've ever done, mentally and physically, but getting over the beginner's hump was where a chunk of those benefits came from. Thankfully the Internet now allows us to learn more easily from those who came before us.
In Beginning BJJ: Solutions for First Year Problems, coach Sally Arsenault addressed the basics all new practitioners need to know: what is a gi, how to buy a gi, and how to tie the darn belt (which turns out to be surprisingly challenging). As Sally explained:
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I like using a flat, tidy knot for my gi belt. My suggestion is to use the super lock variation of the Hollywood variation demonstrated by Rener Gracie in his belt-tying instructional:
For the female BJJ players out there, dealing with your hair will also be a constant dilemma. Coach Sally has done the hard work of testing numerous styles:
For my first few months of training, I opted for the ponytail at the back of my head. I play off of my back a lot, though, so I found the ponytail uncomfortable. I decide to try braids on each side, but since my hair was layered, the braids wouldn’t stay braided. My solution was to tie my hair into pigtails and braid the pigtails. It was such a huge improvement that I’ve been wearing it that way ever since. Well, other than that one time I cut my hair short, which I immediately regretted. In BJJ, your hair either has to be short enough to not get in the way or long enough to tie back.
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Sally also interviewed veteran female athletes to find out what they did with their hair. For more detailed explanations of how to restrain your unruly locks, check out Sally's article How to Care for Your Hair While Training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
How to Be a Good Training Partner
Once you got your gear (and your hair) handled, then it's time to learn how to be a good teammate. The biggest part of being a good teammate is being a useful training partner.
In 4 Ways to Be a Good Training Partner: Getting Started in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, BJJ black belt Valerie Worthington suggests keeping the following four things in mind:
- Keep it light.
- Assume the best of everyone.
- Assume you know less than everyone.
- Don't lose your goal.
In addition to your mindset as a training partner, your physical presentation of yourself also plays a part. I mean, you are rolling around on the ground and in very close contact with each other, after all! In addition to removing any and all jewelry from your body and washing off your make-up, it's imporant to wear appropriate - and freshly washed - clothing. As Valerie explained:
One of the jokes in the grappling world is about 'Stinky-Gi Guy.' Every academy seems to have one. Stinky-Gi Guy is the student who sweats for hours in his gi, wads it up, leaves it in the trunk of his car for 2 days in 85-degree weather, and then shakes it out and puts it back on again, unwashed, the next time he trains. He smells like a barn full of zombies, and he is likely a walking, talking infection. Don’t be Stinky-Gi Guy. Nobody wants to train with that. Show up to class wearing clean, well-fitting, nice-smelling clothes.
For more tips on what Valerie refers to as 'threads, bling, gunk, and hygiene,' read her article How to Be a Good Training Partner, Part 2: What to Wear to Grapple.
How to Survive
So now you're good to go - you've got the gear and you know how to train in a way that won't get you smashed by your higher ranking teammates. Now comes the hard part - surviving for first few months and coming out the other end still loving jiu jitsu, and yourself. These can be the hardest months of BJJ and many people won't make it past this time period.
Valerie wrote a series of articles addressing all aspects of this period of time:
If you make it through these first few months, it's likely that BJJ will become a massive part of your life and all of your friends will think you've become an obsessed crazy person. That's okay. You'll be surrounded by equally obsessed people at your academy. But it's not okay when it messes up your other priorities in life. You know, friends, family, and careers - that 'real life' stuff. Valerie weighed in on this as well:
Integrity is (or should be, in my opinion) a central part of any martial art. And owning our actions and their consequences is a central part of integrity. It is very easy to get sucked into the vortex that is Brazilian jiu jitsu, but we have to understand and assume responsibility for the effects this may have on the rest of our lives.
Inspiration to Keep Training
And for those days when you get frustrated and think there's no moving forward, whether you're three months into your BJJ journey or three years, Sally Arsenault did us the favor of interviewing some high level athletes and finding out what it was like for them early on. To read the advice of Emily Kwok, Seymour Yang, Braulio Estima, the Miyao Brothers, Mackenzie Dern, and Alan Belcher, read Sally's articleAdvice for BJJ Beginners: From MMA and BJJ Pros.
To send you on your way to a successful start and long lifetime of BJJ, here's some sage wisdom from Seymour Yang:
It's easy to say with hindsight and a few years worth of experience and skill level, but my early years of sparring were quite frustrating. I am a very small and light chap, so when I rolled I was never going to be able to use strength as a way out. Unfortunately, as a white belt, I had nothing else to use so I tried real hard to fight strength with strength.
I would also forget the whole period where I became an obsessed nerdy technique hunter - I think everyone hits that period where they search for new techniques to satisfy their hunger for the next cool thing. I was doing this, obtaining hundreds of hours of instructionals, but I was neglecting the basics.
These days, I avoid pretty much all instructionals. I just don't have time for them. I also long ago stopped writing a training log. It was pointless and, when I read them back after a while, meaningless most of the time.
Having said that, I'm not one to look back and regret anything. BJJ has brought so many positives in my life ... and continues to do so. The bond I have with a person all the way across the world who trains the same as I do, man, that's an amazing experience.
Photos courtesy of David Brown Photography.
If you wish to learn the martial art of BJJ, then you got a long road ahead of you. It takes years of dedicated practice to master the BJJ fundamentals, and it can take a lot more than that to become well-versed in the more intricate parts of this martial art. That being said, there are certain basic Jiu Jitsu moves that all of the white belts need to know.
Basic jiu jitsu submissions
As a white belt, you shouldn’t focus too many submissions, especially those more technically demanding. There are certain basic jiu jitsu submissions that you should focus on first, before moving on more flashy techniques. These techniques are most common on white belt level and its good to be familiar with them, so it is gonna be easier to defend them.
Triangle choke
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The first basic jiu jitsu technique that we think is fundamental is the triangle. Depending on your constitution – specifically the shape, form, and strength of your legs – you will be able to do this move with variable success rates. The gist of it is that you will use both of your legs to put your opponent’s head in a choke point. The basic way in which you can perform this technique is from the bottom guard position – you need to put one of your opponent’s arms down and then jump up and place your calf over his neck. Then you should close the triangle off with your other leg so that you’ll create a choke with your thigh and your opponent’s other arm. It’s a fundamental move and it takes a lot of practice to master – it can also be performed from various positions while you roll.
Armbar
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The BJJ basics require you to also learn the armbar. This is a very old technique and it comes from other, older martial arts, and it’s one of the most powerful, most effective – yet most elusive of techniques to perform in BJJ. You’d be surprised at just how difficult it can be to perform an armbar in a rolling session. This will typically be your experience at first – but with time you will learn the basic mechanics of the move and the positions from which you can attack your opponent’s arm.
The armbar uses your legs to bind your opponent’s arm – then you should pull down on the arm and create a breaking point at the elbow – your opponent will have no choice but to tap out. Much like the triangle – the armbar can be performed from various positions, but the most basic armbar is made from the guard. Also the armbar is the third most common submission in UFC.
Rear naked choke
We recommend you to put a deep focus on learning the rear naked choke. This is a fundamental BJJ move that can win you a lot of matches if you know how to perform it right. This move can only be made from the back position on the ground or if you’re standing. You need to wrap one of your arms under your opponent’s throat, use the hand of this arm to grab your other arm at the elbow, and put the other arm behind your opponent’s head in order to be able to generate pressure. This is a devastating move when performed right and your opponent will soon go to sleep if he doesn’t tap out in time.
Kimura
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Then there are the classic armlocks. The first one of them is the kimura – a move that can tear up the shoulder of your opponent if you can perform it right. This move is usually done from bottom guard, bottom half-guard, or side-control. While in the bottom guard, you can grab your opponent’s wrist with your hand. Then you will need to “rise up” towards him and grab your wrist over your opponent’s arm. You now have a kimura lock set in place and all you will need to do is unlock the guard and rotate to the side where the captured arm is. Then just twist it until your opponent taps out.
Americana
The second armlock is the Americana – or the figure four lock. This basic Jiu Jitsu move is usually done from the side-control position and the mount position. It differs from the kimura in the sense that you will twist the arm in the opposite way. From side control or mount, you should work to isolate one of your opponent’s arms. Grab it by the wrist with one of your hands and slide your other arm underneath your opponent’s arm – grabbing your wrist in the process. Then continue to bend your opponent’s arm in the direction that it’s not supposed to go. You will soon get a tap out.
Basic jiu jitsu positions
And this composes the gist of the basic Jiu Jitsu moves. If there is a final advice that we can give you on this subject, then it’s to work hard on the various basic jiujitsu positions. The guard, the half-guard, the side-control, the mount, and taking the back should all be positions that you could perform while you’re asleep, so to speak. One of the basic tenets that all white belts should follow is that position comes before submission. So, if you put due diligence in all of the moves that we have mentioned above, then you will gain a large increase in the quality of your BJJ skills.