Signing up for the e-course gets you a free e-book, A Roadmap for Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. After reading it, my first thought was “I wish I’d had this when I started.” It’s a superb starting reference, presenting the right lessons and concepts for a beginner. The e-mails that come with the e-course are the same great quality all of Stephan’s work is.

If you run a gym, this would be a perfect to give to new students. I’m thinking of printing out a copy and bring it into the gym and telling the beginners to check it out. It presents the right mindset for learning and improving as a beginner.

Check out www.beginningbjj.com.

That idea stuck with me. As a beginner at the time it struck me, “How many ways can you think about a position? When is mount not just mount? When is guard not guard?” Those questions have become a kind of mind-clearing Zen koan. It opened me up to thinking about a lot of things in new ways and a lot of good has come from it.

What happens when I think of mount as “guard from the top?” I get omoplatas.

What happens if I think of leglocks as a part of open guard? I use them as sweeps and don’t sacrifice position to get them.

What if I look for the harness grip and not just rear mount and two hooks? I can attack the back from everywhere.

What if I see how long I can hold on to an armbar or triangle position without finishing the submission? I see how people will try to escape while learning how to control them and transition to other moves.

It is true about Nino, even if I got the Rickson quote wrong (or made it up in a fever dream). You see this in his DVD. Nino isn’t content to simply use the omoplata as a sweep or submission like the rest of us. He camps out there. He meets the locals and takes in the sights. He can maintain it and control them despite their efforts to escape. He’s got a array of alternative ways to finish them. Sometimes he treats it like the crucifix and attacks the neck. Other times he attacks the far arm, simply using omoplata as his basecamp to launch attacks. Hanging off them with his leg tangled around an arm is a desirable and perfectly normal spot for him.

Look at other innovators and you’ll see something similar. They found a position (or a few) that they liked. It could have been part of something we already know, something they invented, or something they stole from wrestling. It worked for them and so they kept at it and figured out the elements that made it tick. They reduced these down to concepts and principles (or at least absorbed an understanding of these into their head somewhere). They learned the control points, where to grip, how to adjust, the leverage, timing, momentum, etc. They found how to get to it from other positions and fit it into their game. And maybe this new positions leads them to more new ones and further innovation.

My personal pet project has been the reverse omoplata (seen here).

People complain that it’s too complicated and hard and has too many steps, that it only works no-gi (or gi, depending on who you ask), that you couldn’t get it on someone experienced, that it doesn’t work on someone bigger or stronger, that you have to rely on speed and surprise… Et cetera.

They’re all wrong.

But they are a little less wrong if they don’t really take the time to get good at it and learn how to deal with those potential issues, which is like saying the secret to success is success, but let me explain.

I learned the reverse omoplata on my first no-gi class ever. That was about 4 weeks into training. My instructor gave a little talk after people huffed and shook their heads while he was demonstrating it. “I know you’re all looking at this and thinking it’d never work,” he said. “But ask any of the brown belts and they’ll tell you I get this on them all the time.”

Being the naive and pure-hearted white belt I was, I took it on good faith and drilled it like any other technique. It wasn’t any more confusing than anything else at the time since I was still trying to wrap my head around the upa escape and scissors sweep. It was just another technique to learn and drill and try out.

While doing so, I ran into all of the complaints people had about it.

Is it really too hard? Well, each step makes sense by itself so it also makes sense that they stay good when you string them together.

It is complicated and has a lot of steps. How will I remember them all? If each step makes sense and I drill it enough to have them down smooth, it’s not an issue.

Does it work on a bigger, stronger guy? Yes, you just need to make sure you are doing everything right and know a few ways to deal with their attempts to power out.

Can they slip out no-gi? Yes, they’re always slippier no-gi, but there are ways to keep it tight.

Can they use the gi to defend it? Yes, but you can still deal with that.

Does it rely on speed? Can I do it slowly? Yes, I can break down each part of the technique, each moment in the roll, and pause there and know what to grip and how to control them. In fact, doing it slower is often the better way to do it, since you have more control and can force it on a big guy.

Can I keep getting someone with it even after they’ve seen it a few times and been taught how to avoid it? Yes, if my timing, position, strategy and technique are good.

Can I get it on experienced guys? After all that work, I’ve gotten it on people of every skill level that I’ve gone with. In fact, I often get it on experienced guys who know to defend the standard positions and submissions but don’t know how to deal with me somersaulting around one of their arms instead of taking their back.

What I did wasn’t any special process. I just drilled and trained and thought about it a lot. I went for it in sparring and experimented with good training partners who wanted to learn it too. I went to my instructor for advice and to ask questions when I had problems. I checked out how other people do it and tried to figure out why they changed parts. I looked for the concepts and principles that make it work. I simplified how I think and talk about it till I could teach it to a white belt and have him doing it in a minute or two.

And now it’s one of my best moves.

The morals here are nothing earth-shattering, but they’re good ones:

Look at old things in new ways. Look at novel things and see how they make sense.

If the crucifix is underused, then the reverse (or inverted) omoplata is almost unknown or at least considered an exotic novelty. Hopefully, this instruction will help change that.

A possible reason for this is that one of the hardest parts of the reverse omoplata is simply having faith in it. When most people are taught it, they blow it off as some impossible technique without even giving it a chance.

You have to be willing to take a “leap of faith” when you first start trying it. Once you get it a couple times, you’ll find that it’s not as wild as you thought, though it does require confidence in your movements, which will come with drilling.

While showing this move once, Eduard told the class, “You’re all looking at this and thinking ‘Oh, that’ll never work—that’s crazy.’ But ask any of the brown belts in the room, and they’ll tell you I get them with this all the time.”

So have faith and practice, and it’ll come to you!

You have side ride on a turtled opponent, similar to how you set up the clock choke. Your chest is across his back, and you’ve got a one-on-one (one hand grabbing one wrist) on his far arm. Your outside leg is posted away from him for base.

To take the crucifix, you need to expose his near arm. Do this by driving your knee under his armpit and pushing his arm out.

Step over his arm with your outside leg and drag it back, trapping it between your kness. If he is trying to hide his arm, you might have to dig some with your foot to get your heel to catch it.

All of the normal rules of the crucifix apply. Keep your knees pinched tight and your hips close to his shoulder so he doesn’t have room to pull his arm out. Your free hand posts on the mat in front of him to keep base if he starts trying to take you down.

At this point, you could roll to the traditional crucifix like we did before, but we’re going to take another route.

Pay special attention to the next two steps. They are tricky to get even with live instruction, and even harder to show in still photos. You’ll need to experiment with this part to get a feel for the footwork.

Cross your right knee over your left leg, bringing his arm back. Your goal is to pass his arm from one leg to the other. Your left heel will need to trap his arm so you can uncross your legs without his arm coming back.

When you uncross your legs, his arm should remain pointing back, stuck behind your left leg. Opponents will often hug this leg and try to take you down, not knowing what’s in store.

When people see this for the first time, they almost always ask “What’s stopping him from just uncrossing his arm?”, since it looks like it would be really easy to do.

Luckily, it’s not.

All you have to do is keep your left leg bent, and your heel will block his arm from returning to the other side. He can never straighten his arm (which is what he needs to do to free it) further than you can bend your leg to block it.

With his arm crossed back in the right trigger position¹, let go of your one-on-one and bring your entire upper body to his right side. You’re going to dive your left hand underneath his near shoulder as you roll over your left shoulder.

As you start rolling, reach back with your left hand and grab his knee, and triangle your legs to secure his arm.

Contine rolling, still holding his knee and triangling your legs.

He’s probably already feeling the pressure on his shoulder, and if you do it fast enough, it’s possible to submit him from here. But because we don’t feel ballistically ripping your training partner’s shoulder off, we’ll continue the move with control.

Walk your shoulders towards his knee as you pull it to your head and hug it. This is to help you control three possible situations:

1. He rolls to escape the pressure on his shoulder.
2. You want to roll him to finish him on his back.

A mix of both.

It’s easier to finish him on his back if he’s too strong or flexible to finish upside down, or if he’s defending by holding his belt or grasping his hands together.

The easiest and most direct way is to keep rolling until you can sit up, lifting his knee and cranking his arm with your shoulder. He’ll often go right along with this to relieve the pressure and avoid the submission.

If you’re having trouble rolling a heavy guy, you can untriangle your legs and swing your right leg out like you’re doing a pendulum sweep, while rocking up and lifting his knee. This adds more momentum to the roll and can tip the balance.

If he resists rolling by posturing up, you can often take it the other way by sitting back into him and knocking him backwards instead of forwards.

He might also try stepping over you, in which case you can roll belly down and sweep him like a normal omoplata sweep.

Whatever happens, just get him on his back without losing control or letting his arm slip out.

While drilling, just stick to rolling him forward.

One way or another, you’ve now rolled him on to his back.

Keep holding his knee to maintain control and stop him from rolling out, and keep your hips tight to his body so he doesn’t get the space to pull his arm out.

Reach across his body and put your left hand in his far armpit. Lay across his upper body to pin and block him from sitting up. This position will feel natural if you’re familiar with reverse scarf hold.

Before you start trying to crank his arm, scoot your hips back to take the slack out of his shoulder—you won’t have the leverage to finish otherwise. This will also break any defensive grip he has such as holding his hands or belt.

Finish by posting with your outside leg and bringing your inside leg back like you’re doing a technical stand-up (your leg going under your hips).

¹ A trigger position is when your opponent has some part of his body in a position that prompts you to do a particular move, such as someone pushing on your chest from under mount being a “trigger” for an armbar.

Ford: Back to Truck/Twister

Chevy: Back to Truck/Twister

Half Guard Dogfight: DeSouza: Banana Split

Fishnet: Snatch

Check out his youtube channel for more.

But I got to wondering, what would I want out of a forum? A lot of message boards tend to be for the “bored at work” crowd, which can be fun, but doesn’t always lead to the greatest serious discussions. Sometimes you get good answers to technical questions, but you’re more likely to get the billionth “BJJ vs Judo vs Wrestling vs Baguazhang” thread and gi vs no-gi arguments with a healthy dash of Eddie Bravo love/hate, and zero belts asking “how do armbar?” That gets old.

So what would I really want?

• Interesting and thoughtful discussions
• Original content, tutorials and videos
• Low drama, no politics
• No trolling, no gimmick posters

Now if I didn’t think there was a forum that already had those things, then I’d consider starting one. But Jason Scully took care of that for me. He runs The Grapplers Guide. He’s been building up a community of grapplers who are interested in improving. He’s also put a lot of work into creating videos, drills, gameplans, worksheets and all kinds of tools to help you get better.

You’ve got to buy a premium membership to get access to the best stuff, but it’s cheaper than a book or DVD if you compare the cost to how many techniques you get and how much potential it has to give you personalized instruction and advice. Some of my favorite drills come from Scully’s videos.

Check out The Grapplers Guide and let me know what you think.

Edit: I just noticed that lifetime memberships are 50% off this week only. That’s only $67. You’ve probably paid twice that for an instructional DVD box set that’s now gathering dust.

The two main arguments are that “train smart” and “have fun” are more important than “train hard”. And there is truth to that, but it also depends on how you look at it.

If you don’t enjoy training, you’re not likely going to stick to it, but you have to be careful about how you define “fun” and how much priority you give “fun” things. When I see people who are too intent on “having fun”, they’re more prone to indulging in things like this:

• Going with white belts they can toy with.
• Not working on their weaknesses.
• Ducking people who will make them work or give them a hard time.
• Only doing enough reps to “get the idea”.
• Stopping training to discuss something that happened.
• Complaining about going with bigger or stronger guys.
• Quitting when they get tired.

On the other end, there are a lot of things that aren’t fun but are necessary. To name a few:

• High rep drilling.
• Pushing your conditioning and endurance.
• Sparring even when you’re exhausted.
• Having competitive matches with guys who give you a lot of trouble.
• Getting put in really bad positions and having to fight out.
• Learning to deal with being smothered and crushed.
• Dealing with that spazzy white belt or that tireless wrestler or heavier opponent.

Those aren’t “fun” to most people (congratulations if they are to you). I know people who purposely avoid some of those things. Now it’s perfectly within your rights to disdain things you don’t find fun or not do something that you think will get you injured. But I know my personality and know I’m prone to avoiding hard work, don’t like being competitive, don’t like discomfort (who does?) so unless I really keep my discipline in and train hard, I’ll do too much of the stuff in the first list and not enough in the second.

jandaim on The Grapplers Guide forum posted this:

I think what some people are missing is that you can still have fun, enjoy yourself, and train hard.

As an example – I train for and compete in marathons. Let me tell you, to get to the point where you can run 26 miles takes a ton of hard work. If I took every training mile like a “flow roll” there is no way I would ever reach my goal. Does that mean I don’t have any fun training? Of course not. Does that mean that every run is at 100%? Nope, I take days off and run some runs at a very easy pace just to get the blood flowing. But the majority of the time, I am working hard.

To be honest, it’s the hard work that I put in that makes it fun and the rewards are more than just a good time – there is so much more to be gained than just that.

Many people prefer “train smart” because they think “train hard” means “get injured” and I’ve got a story about that.

Recently I took about 2 months off. When I came back, I was a little out of shape and I didn’t want stress myself out or get injured. So I rolled light, played a relaxed game, let stuff happen, didn’t go with big guys, called it a night when I got exhausted, etc. Just tried to train smart and have fun.

Yet in two weeks of doing that, I sprained my ankle, hurt my knee, hurt my back, popped my elbow and injured my neck/shoulder. I never even knew how it happened. I thought I was going light and not pushing myself too hard and then I’d end the night with a new injury.

So much for training smart and having fun.

When I talked to Leo about it, he said something funny. “If you’re going to get injured, you might as well go hard and beat people while you’re at it.”

So I started rolling with a focus on imposing my game, really working, not resting, not “taking it easy”, doing matches even when I was beat, not turning down anyone. Grabbing the bigger guys and fighting them when I would have avoided them before.

Here’s the interesting part: I’m not getting injured any more. And I’ve found myself having more real fun based on real performance.

You’ll all have your own experiences and personalities and semantics to deal with on this issue, but for me training smart means to train hard. The fun is in the performance and seeing myself improve.

What takes the most importance to you—smart, hard or fun? Can you have them all? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

1. Train hard.
2. Eat right.
3. Sleep well.

That’s it.

Let’s assume you have quality instruction already. (If you don’t, you’ve got other issues). You can fuss over the details: what and how to study, gi or no-gi, drilling versus sparring, top game or bottom first, basic versus advanced and so on into infinity. But whatever combination of those you choose, you can’t get away from needing to put in serious, focused time on the mat and racking up training hours. That’s a no-brainer, yet people still miss it while searching for the secret easy path to success.

Diet is always important but especially when you’re an athlete (and that’s what you’ve become if you’re training hard). Nutrition is well researched and there’s a wealth of information out there. I’ll leave it to you to find what’s right for your body.

The importance of sleep is easy to overlook (which is why I asked if you’re getting enough). Your body needs time to rest and recover after working out. But there’s also a mental aspect that you may not be aware of but that scientists are learning more about. The superb radio program Radiolab (iTunes) did a show on sleep that you should listen to. It explains the topic better than I can. Scientific American Mind also has good articles and podcasts on sleep and its effects on learning:

• Sleep on It: How Snoozing Makes You Smarter
• Slumber Reruns: As We Sleep, Our Brains Rehash the Day
• Multiple Studies Confirm Importance of Good Sleep
• Rest Assured: The Brain Practices the Day’s Lessons as We Sleep

If you want to discuss the details of “the secret easy path to success”, or if you have any more good sources on nutrition and sleep, leave a comment or send me a message.

First is the radio program This American Life (iTunes), which ran a show called Global Pool of Money that explains the chain of events that lead mortgages and banks to where they are today. Their most recent show, Another Frightening Show About the Economy, continues to tell the story.

Second is NPR’s blog and podcast Planet Money (iTunes) that is focused on explaining the developments day by day. You can start with the most recent episode or go back and listen through to hear how things happened.

Just wanted to pass those along. Hope you find them informative.

My instructor Eduardo emphasizes the first two guard returns because they develop skills he considers among the most important for a good open guard: creating space by shrimping, creating space extending your body, and circling the hooks back in. You’ll see him use these over and over again every time he fights.

(Also available on Youtube and Revver.)

Extra Details

Shrimping hook return: You can grab your foot and pull it in front of their face if you need to. Keep your hand near your foot as you bring your butterfly hook in and it’ll give you a little safe path to get the underhook too.

Bridging hook return: You can see this movement—crunch then explode—in a lot of situations and from a lot of grips and guards. “Bridging” may be the wrong word to describe it though; you’re not just lifting your hips, but also extending your body to push them with your knees.

Shrimp to crucifix: I failed to mention that you don’t just want to push their head to the side but also down to the ground so they can’t posture up and turn towards you.

Please let me know what you think through the comments here or on any of the video sites (Revver, Vimeo, Youtube) or through my contact form.

Jeff Rockwell and Ricardo de la Riva.

How did you get into BJJ?

I got into the martial arts the same way a lot of people my age did: I saw Bruce Lee and I wanted to be just like him. My parents never really wanted me to get into martial arts as a kid, though, as they thought it would encourage me to fight. So I just watched movies, read books, and dreamed of defeating a room full of thugs with my nunchucku. Once I finally left home for college, I decided to find a place to start training. Luckily for me, there was a Jeet Kune Do club right on campus, so I jumped right in and joined up. Working with them led me to an actual school in Maryland, where I trained for several years. It was great, we trained a bit of everything – boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing, Jun Fan, kali, silat, sambo, shootwrestling, and jiu-jitsu. So I got exposed to a lot of ideas and styles. There was very little sparring or live rolling, however, so while I learned a lot, the timing under pressure just wasn’t there.

I gravitated towards jiu-jitsu and thai-boxing, and I started training at another gym as well. This gym was a Rigan Machado affiliate, and it was there I really got baptized in the jiu-jitsu fires… I quickly learned that all the leglocks and neck cranks in the world don’t help you if you can’t escape the side control of a seasoned jiu-jitsu practitioner. It was really tough…I got pretty discouraged at one point and actually gave it up for a few months. But the love of jiu-jitsu I had developed was deeper than the frustration, and when I went back, I found some very encouraging training partners who helped me through that period. Since then I have moved around the country a good bit and been at many different gyms, and I’m happy to say that I’ve never had to take more than a week or two off from training.

How have the demands on you changed since you started teaching at your gym?

Teaching full time is very demanding! In the mornings, I usually teach a private BJJ session for our MMA fighters, then I teach a lunchtime public BJJ class, then I lead a two-hour MMA team practice for our fighters, then I teach another public BJJ class in the evenings. On some days I squeeze in a private lesson for one of my students in there as well. I take four or five showers a day sometimes! I don’t have much down time these days, but I can’t complain, I love what I do.

Do you have any trouble balancing your personal development with teaching and running classes?

It is definitely a challenge to balance my personal development and that of my fighters and students. With the schedule I currently have, it’s pretty hard to find extra time for extra cardio, weightlifting, technical drilling, and other things I need to do to stay in competition shape. Plus, it is hard to keep up this pace and stay injury free. I am not that old (about to turn 33), but I feel like I am jumping from one injury to another these days. Nothing that keeps me off the mat completely, thank goodness, but enough to keep me from feeling I can train as hard as I would like to consistently. So that is annoying, but I just keep doing as much as I can, trying to get enough rest, and trying to find the perfect formula. I have really only been doing this job at this pace for a few months, and I am still figuring things out. I am optimistic that I’ll be able to find a good balance so I can continue to personally grow and compete at a high level, as well as teach others at this pace.

What’s the current makeup of your gym experience-wise?

We are still a fairly young gym, and we are primarily made up of white and blue belts at this point. A few of our blues are getting very close to purple belt level. In addition, our gym is really fortunate to have some of the best wrestlers in the country! It is not uncommon for us to have 5 or 6 Div. I All-Americans or even National Champions in our room at any given time, training BJJ, MMA, Boxing, or Thai boxing right alongside everyone else. They are incredible athletes with incredible work ethics, and they are a pleasure to train with. I learn just as much from them as they do from me, and everyone helps one another improve and evolve.

With all those wrestlers, have you seen any interesting examples of wrestling and BJJ, MMA, etc. blending together?

Absolutely! Off the top of my head, I have seen variations of the “anaconda” or “gator roll” choke come VERY naturally to the wrestlers I’ve worked with, along with the “Peruvian Necktie”… basically, anything with a front headlock. The wrestlers all wanted to choke people with those grips for years, so now that they are allowed to…it only takes a few sessions for them to start having fun with them.

What’s cool is that they are at such a high level that they will start making stuff up on their own. They understand how the body works and how to manipulate it, so I show them one move, and they end up figuring out 2 or 3 more positions to use it from, and I end up learning from them. Sometimes they make moves work in places that “BJJ Law” says that it shouldn’t!

It’s very interesting, as they all have different styles… some have speed and movement, some have crushing upper body holds, some even have the rare “heavy hips”… I am trying to get them to blend all of these together, while keeping in their different body types and personalities in mind.

What are the traits you look for in a good training partner or a good student?

Someone who is hungry to learn; someone who is willing to work very hard in training, but still laugh and have a good time; someone who is willing to drill the basics, over and over; someone who can easily adjust the “volume dial” of their training intensity up or down depending on who they are working with; someone who wants to teach others because they love jiu-jitsu, not because they want to feel superior.

What role has competition had in your training? Do you encourage your students to compete?

Competition has, and continues to, provide focus for my training. It’s easy to get caught up in the endless fancy variations of BJJ against the guys in your gym, but competition forces you to strip your game down to the bare bones and look at what you can make work against almost everyone, almost every time. It forces you to address your weaknesses and build a game plan around your strengths. Competition is the test at the end of the training semester to let you know how much you know and if you can apply what you’ve learned. Some people can get learn a lot in school never taking tests, but they are rare and very self motivated. Most people can benefit from having the type of focus that a competition brings. I never force my students to compete, but I definitely encourage it.

Which of your fighters should we be keeping an eye on? Who has matches coming up?

In the long run, everybody! We have such tough guys. In the near future, Paul Bradley and Phil Davis. Paul has made fantastic strides in his striking game recently, and has become a nightmare: a fantastic wrestler who wants to stay on his feet and knock you out. And he can, with either hand! He is extremely hard to take down, and extremely hard to submit. His jiu-jitsu game has taken some great leaps recently as well. In some ways, Paul takes his fighting more seriously than anyone.

Phil Davis has endless potential, and is a strange combination of showmanship and humility. It’s hard to believe he’s really only been training for about 6 months. Many things come very naturally to him… others he has to really put a lot of reps in before he feels he’s got it. I have seen this very thing discourage a lot of people who are so called “natural athletes”; they can’t stand to not be a master of everything on the first try. But not Phil, he digs in and stays after practice to do 50 more reps of whatever is bugging him that day. He comes early and stays late. He doesn’t want it to be “good enough”, he wants it to be “right”. He doesn’t just want to win, he wants to win with technique that will make people take notice. He knows how good he is already, and he knows how good he can be… but he also knows that it will take him a lot of hard work to really get there, and he is willing to eagerly listen to anyone who can help him become a better fighter. He has torn through amateur competition so far, and is getting ready to make waves in the pros. I don’t see a limit to how far he can go.

EVERYBODY at Lionheart has matches coming up! Our fighters don’t stay inactive for too long. Paul Bradley is fighting this weekend in Cleveland, and all of our fighters have fights lined up in the next few months.

What kind of loyalty do you expect from your students and what should they expect from you?

I always encourage my students to go train with other people and other gyms; as long as they promise to come back and show me any new tricks or positions they learned there! I always want my students to be exposed to as many different styles, philosophies, and techniques as possible, so they can see what is best for them. I try to show them as much as I can, even things I don’t personally use very much or prefer, but you can never know everything or even show all that you know, really. So it is best for them to be exposed to as many different points of view as they can. I am never worried about them leaving me for another gym. If that ever happens, whether for logistical or philosophical reasons, there are never any hard feelings. I always want people to feel like they are at home and getting the best training they can, in the best environment possible.

Techniques by Jeff:

• No-gi Chokes
• Half Guard Sweeps
• Brabo Choke Counter
• Arm Triangle from Butterfly Guard
• Taking the Back from Mount
• The Shinplata