BJJ Study Guide Fundamentals (White – Yellow Belts)

Guard Curriculum Guard Series

 Stage 1: We are on our back. Our opponent is between our legs. Our heels are hooked high up on their back. Our arms are wrapped up over their shoulder, and our head is curled up next to theirs. They have no space to pull back for a punch.  Stage 2: From stage one, our opponent pulls their arms out, but we hook their triceps and pull with our monkey paws. Our knees fill the space and push on their biceps. This counter pressure prevents punching.  Stage 3: Our opponent pulls his arms out of stage two and leans into us. We will lift our hips and be in a straight line from our knees to our shoulders. This frame on their chest prevents punching.  Stage 4: Our opponent stands from stage 3. We will drop our hips and connect our heels to their hips. Toes facing out and giving constant pressure with knees still bent for some give. Their circling should pull you with them. Posture Breaking (No Gi)

 Split: Our partner is in our guard. They are keeping their posture up with hands framing on our hips. We will break their posture by monkey pawing same side wrists, pulling out, and simultaneously pulling with our legs. As we sit up to our partner, we will wrap up stage 1.  Swim: Our partner is in our guard. They are keeping their posture up with hands framing on our sternum. We will break their posture by lifting our hips and, as we drop them, swimming our hands under and around their posts. Our legs pull htme into us to end in stage 1.  Push: Our opponent has one hand/fist in our sternum, their other hand is trying to force our guard open. We will scoop wrists and elbow trying to open the guard while lifting our hips and using a clamp to push the hand at our sternum across our body, pulling with our legs to break posture  Punch Evasion: Anytime our opponent has posture while in our guard, we should have our hands clamped on their wrists. As they pull back for a punch, that same side hand will pull back to defend our head. As the punch comes down, we will open our guard, curl our head away from the punch, and reach for stage one as they come down into us. Bump Sweep

 From Stage 1: Our partner sits up, pulling us with them. Sitting up in their lap, we will release our grip and reach one arm across our partners cross side shoulder. Opening our guard, we will twist our hips towards the said that our arm is controlling. We will extend our hips as we hold onto our opponent’s arm. Follow your partner into mount. Elevator Sweep

 From Stage 1: We know to use our elevator sweep when our opponent lifts a leg while they are in our guard. When their leg lifts, we will hip out towards it, egg beater our same side leg under their knee that is up, and swim our same side arm under theirs. Extending our top leg and pulling our bottom leg back, we will extend our arm as well to sweep our opponent over into mount. Sweep Sequence

 Scissor Sweep: We will control our opponent’s same side sleeve while our other arm controls the cross side collar. Hipping away from the side we control, we will slide our knee across their hips. Keep a tight elbow on top, and get your bottom elbow under you with their sleeve. When solid, we will pull our opponent into us, kick our top leg out and sweep our partner over our bottom leg. Be sure to follow your partner into mount while maintaining grips.  Push Sweep: From a scissor sweep failure. Our opponent is leaning back and we cannot pull them onto us. Our bottom leg will pull back, and that foot will to their same side knee. Pushing this post out from under them, while pulling the arm under us, we will kick them over and follow to mount.

Forearm Choke Counters

 Back Transition: Our opponent is in stage one and gets an arm across our throat. Releasing stage 1, we will push the arm across our body and wrap our stage one back up with this arm pinned between the two of you. Wiggling our hips toward the trapped arm side, we will lay our cross side leg flat and cut it under their knee. From here we will wiggle to the back and focus on getting both hooks on the inside of their thighs while establishing a harness grip. Roll and control!  Elevator Transition: While doing our back transition, we begin to wiggle out to the side, but our opponent pushes into us with their shoulder and is able to stay on top. Our leg that is between theirs will move to an elevator hook and we will elevator sweep our opponent towards the side of the arm that we have trapped.  From a Headlock: Using our head-locked side arm we will push our opponent’s head away from their head-locking shoulder. With the space, our other hand will blade on their neck. We will use our blade and our legs to hold our opponent’s weight back. Our head-locked side hand will push their headlock off as we release their weight and hip out to the side. As their arm comes across, we end with head and arm control.  Body Fold: When we drive our opponent’s elbow across, they drop it tight to the mat next to our head and begin to circle around our body. This can be a painful folding way for our opponent to pass. It is important that we open our guard and lift our hips. Turning the side of our body that they are trying to pass very rigid. As they continue to try, we will wiggle out and take the back as usual. Arm Bar

 Wrist Control Set up: We will break our opponent’s posture holding the head with one arm, and their wrist with your other hand. We will open our guard, push off their hip with one leg, and bite their back with your other leg. Switch your hand grips. Wrap your leg around the head to finish.  Belly-Down Finish: If our opponent stacks during the arm bar, we will slip out either under them, or turn out and away. Ending belly down, on our knees to finish.  Triangle Transition: If our opponent is pulling their arm out, we will let it out and wrap up the triangle.

Kimura

 We are in stage one. We know to use a Kimura when our opponent’s hand is on the ground. We will crunch towards it and grab that wrist with our same side hand. Our other arm will reach up and over their arm and grab our wrist. Opening our guard, we will lay our back on the mat and push with our legs to pull their arm up off the mat. From here, we will regain our guard, hip towards the arm we have locked, and slowly crunch it towards their shoulder to finish. Triangle Choke

 Basic Application: From stage 1.5, we will push the arm out and wrap our leg over our opponent’s shoulder. Locking our legs around them, we will keep their posture broken with heavy hips. We will pull the arm that is still in our guard across our body and pin it to our thigh with our cross side arm. From here, we will use our free arm to hold their head down, hip away from them, and lock our leg over our own ankle. Lift hips and pinch knees to finish. Lapel Chokes

 Basic Application: One hand will enter the cross side collar, palm up. The other will either shoot under with another palm up grip, or it will go over thumb in to the cross side collar. Our head goes towards the hand on top, pull opponent close, activate wrists, and pull elbows to hips. Guard Passing

 Guard Break: We will keep posture by keeping elbows and hands in tight. Scoot one knee between your opponent’s hips. Keeping their hips pinned to the mat with our hands, we will kick stand our other knee out and curl our spine back. Our pressure should be consistent, not explosive. Our inside knee should shoot up immediately.  Basic Pass: We are in our opponent’s open guard. We will use our hand to push one knee down. We will use our same side knee to drive across the pinned thigh. Using our ankle to keep the thigh pinned, the hand will release and go to a headlock. Our other hand will pin its respective knee and use the same technique to pin with the ankle. From here, we will egg beater our legs around to a full mount.

 Double under-hook Pass: We need to open our opponent’s guard. Once their guard is open we swim our hands under and drop our chest down low. Putting our weight forward to stack our partner, we will come up to our toes and begin to walk around the legs. Shucking them over our head, we will end in side control. Triangle Defense

 Set-Up Prevention: Our opponent has us in their stage 1.5 control. We will begin by clamping our controlled arm down on their thigh. Our other arm will come to rest across their waist. We will then relax our arm. When they shoot for the triangle set up, we will shoot our free arm out of the guard for a two handed shot. Finish with a double under hook pass.  Triangle Guard Escape: First, prevent your arm from being pulled across your body. Next, gain posture. Use your outside hand to peel their thigh off your neck, slip that arm in, and grab your trapped arm to safely get it out with a two handed shot. Arm Bar Defense

 Figure 4 Defense: As our opponent shoots for the arm bar, we will slide our arm that is not being attacked under the attacked arm. Grabbing our own bicep, our safe arm will clamp down on the underside of our opponent’s thigh before it can clamp down on our neck. We will stack, jiggle, and pull our arm out once it clears their hips. Finish with a double under hook pass.  “L” Drop: We will still get our attacked arm hooked onto our bicep, but we cannot get our monkey paw to the underside of their thigh. Instead, we will hook the top of their thigh and stack. From here, we will open our back knee, and lay our opponent’s knees down on the mat. Straighten our arm, and make sure our thumb is pointed towards them. We can push their legs down and step over to side control. Kimura Defense

 Shoulder Punch: As our opponent reaches up for the Kimura, we will reach for their wrist grabbing tricep. We will push our attacked shoulder forward and immediately sit back to gain posture.  Hip Hug: If they wrap our shoulder, we will not be able to pull it out. We will wrap our hands together behind our opponent and drive our attack shoulder into them. When they relax back, we will sit back for posture.

 Thigh Anchor: If our opponent establishes double wrist control, we will stack with our cross side leg, reach our attacked hand under our same side thigh and monkey paw anchor our hand deep. Straighten the attacked arm and wrap your un- attacked arm over our opponent’s same side leg to prevent the elevator sweep. Stage Five

 Following: We are on our backs, legs up, our opponent is out of the reach of our feet. Opponent circles, we follow with our same side leg (if the circle to our right, our right leg turns us) our other leg stays up in the air.  Maintain: Our opponent pulls our leg, we switch our hips and put our foot sideways on their hips. Other foot comes onto hips as well to end in stage four. Double Ankle Sweep

 Opponent is in stage four; their feet are in reach of our hands. Our hands hook either over their heels, and either our heels or our knees push into them. Opponent breakfalls. If we use our knees, we follow to mount, but if we use our heels, we stand in base, because they will most likely be too far away. Hook Sweep

 Our opponent starts in stage four, but only one foot is in reach. We hook that foot with our hand, and our same side heel goes to their front hip. The other foot hooks behind the opponent’s for knee. We push with the foot on their hip and pull with our hand, stand in base after.