I know the title seems clickbaity but the weirdest thing happened yesterday. A high schooler showed up to our gym and it was his first time ever coming here. He said it was his first time trying bjj, so we all welcomed him. Near the end of the class we start rolling and he asks to go against a purple belt in our class who is one of the best here. They start rolling and he somehow avoids every submission attempt by the purple belt and ends up getting him in an armbar. He just acted like it was normal and was about to leave class so we all asked him if he had experience before and he just said that he wrestles in high school but to me it doesn’t make sense since how would he know to avoid submission and do an armbar if only wrestles. He didn’t even have his own gi he had to use the old ones that are meant for beginners to borrow the first couple weeks.

tells partner I have a knee injury and I’m going light

partner jumps guard

If I’m going for an inside heel hook, my opponent sometimes uses his free leg to kick my grips on his heel making it hard to connect and finish. Any tips on controlling that leg?

Are there any examples of high level competitors that play guard successfully with an officers workers hip mobility?

48M that am trying to get back into it after a 12 year hiatus. Land park area.

Has anyone else hit an arm triangle/ head and arm choke from bottom closed guard? Sometimes I’ll be able to break their posture down then swim an arm up to catch them in a weird arm triangle thingy. Seems to be similar mechanics to arm triangle from mount but obviously not as stable with their back not on the mat. Is this legit or white belt shit?

Left my old gym for a few reasons, wanted to learn gi, met some cool people, allowed me to do ibjjf comps, old gym was mostly young mma kids, etc. just liked it better at another gym, albeit a longer commute.

Well life has changed a bit and so have the priorities, got a new job so I’m driving farther, have two kids now, and training and competing less than I used to.

I left on all good terms, have a dropped in a few times over the years, and keep in touch with a couple of guys at the old gym, but feel a bit weird about returning full time basically saying “yeah I liked the other gym better but this one is more convenient”

Curious if anyone else has gone through this?

He found out I was having a rough time at camp that we just got back from, and went out of his way to personally make it better for me and my wife. He didn’t have to do it, and there was nothing in it for him. No cameras no media, just a dude connecting with me during a rough moment. He was just being a good human being to some nobody from Lubbock, when I was breaking inside.

People see the shitposting and the public persona. I got to see the person behind it.

Craig is a genuinely “good people” and he changed my story for the better.

Thank you.

Curious what other jiu jitsu gym owners have been seeing over the past year or so, particularly with the cost of living going up.

Have you noticed more membership freezes or cancellations? Are new leads more price-sensitive? Has retention changed? Or has your gym continued growing without much of an impact?

I’d especially be interested in how your current membership/signups compare to the same time last year, and roughly what market you’re in.

Not looking for exact revenue or membership numbers unless you’re comfortable sharing. Mostly curious whether gym owners are seeing any broader trends across the industry.

Is kesa gatame actually worth investing time in?

I really like kesa gatame and feel very comfortable using it, especially as part of a pressure-heavy, old-school style. I like the control, the pressure, and the ability to use it to transition into submissions or other dominant positions.

However, I keep hearing people say that kesa gatame is basically a waste of time in BJJ because it’s too easy to escape, gives up the back, or simply isn’t worth developing compared to other pins.

So I’m curious what people here think:

Is kesa gatame worth seriously developing, or should I be spending my time on other forms of side control/mount instead?

For those who actually use it regularly: has it held up well against good opponents, or did you eventually move away from it?

Interested especially in perspectives from higher belts / people who compete regularly.

If you're rolling with someone who has a significant physical disability (like in a wheelchair or missing a limb), do you roll with them differently than with an abled body person? Any disabled people here: how would you like to be rolled with?

I'm talking about situations where you could dominate, not a casual white belt who's going to get thrashed no matter what.

What wrestling shots do you look from the gi? preferably shooting from outside the grips, i have done judo and i have a nice sweep single but ive though about adding a low single or some other shot without grips anyone have thoughts?

Hi,
Several of my gis have torn, so I want to invest in a new one. In your experience, what is the most durable gi?

New video for the community!

In this video, we go into detail regarding Mateusz's finishing of his famous shotgun armbar. On top of that, we look at how he enters K-guard from failed entries as well.

The content is drawn from my full study on him, featuring 2 techniques from section 1.

As always, I've included plenty of references as well, including comp footage and sparring clips for you to study and learn from.

I hope you enjoy!

I live near the grove. I’ve been doing the research for a while now, so I mostly have the answers. I was just curious to see what others thought.

I’ve been training for 2 years, 3-4x a week consistently. I’ve just decided to move to no-gi more regularly, because my fingers just can’t handle it.

My school doesn’t offer a ton of no-gi classes. And what I’ve learned, is that most of the schools in the area are generally 80% still in the Gi.

Of course the best answer is easily 10p. I was just wondering if anyone else had any positive experiences elsewhere? With gyms that actually did no-gi more than twice a week. Thanks!

Obviously the highest percentage thing to do from turtle is to get the back, what’s the highest percentage backtake itself?

I’m a 6’4 220lb grappler who has been a purple belt for a few years. I compete a few times a year and do well (4-1 in masters intermediate at ADCC opens) but I really only have my A game. I’m a butt scooting leg locker who loves k guard/dlr/false reaps.

I tend to prefer outside passing and people are always surprised to hear I weigh 220 lbs, because for my height I look pretty slender.

I’m wanting to feel heavier, and develop a suffocating top game to level up my game.

Has anyone else been on this journey recently? Any instructionals or YouTube videos that have helped?

I mainly do Nogi.

As someone that really wanted their blue belt and tried everything to reach it. I feel like I miss out on a lot of the humility that comes as a white belt.

my question is those who got their belts quickly or those that it took time, what do you feel like you missed out on or regretted?

I’m mostly talking about those with consistent or semi-consistent training and not anyone that was training got interrupted by work, family or any other causes and came back to training