Demian teaches the minutiae of his specialty: controlling opponents’ backs. Once he reaches that position, the student under Fabio Gurgel rarely ever loses control over his foe. Even when that foe manages to rid himself of one hook, Demian finds room to move without expending energy, make some adjustments and — with impressive calm — regain control of the back.

Note that what Demian teaches here is extremely simple and to the point. None of it hinges on gi grips. You can use it all in classical BJJ as well as in no-gi matches, MMA bouts and self-defense scenarios.

“Control of the back is based on an essential concept,” he explains. “The fighter who is attacking needs to keep an alignment between their own hips and their opponent’s hips. If this alignment is undone and the opponent manages to slip the back and touch it to the ground, it gets much harder for there to be control. It’s at this time that the attacker must move in the way I show in the video, and redo the control.”

It was based on this logic that Demian clung to the back of tough opponents like Carlos Condit, Matt Brown and Neil Magny, proceeding to achieving spectacular submissions in the Octagon.

It’s worth your while to practice what is taught here, honing the way you handle back control. After doing so, give it a shot in sparring sessions, and later in tournaments. Even if at first you lose the position and fail to reach the finish, keep it up. That is, after all, how you evolve in BJJ. “I like using basketball as an example,” Maia says. “Even in the NBA, at the highest level, every day the players practice the layup, right? In BJJ it has to be the same way. Constant repetition of the techniques — even the simple, basic techniques — is key to shaping and maintaining the great players.”

There are two main aspects that distinguish the Jiu-Jitsu fighter from other martial arts practitioners: the guard and the attack of the back.

So if you want to be a complete fighter, you need to dominate back control, one area that the opponent can hardly hide.

Today, professor Lucas Lepri from Alliance shows exclusively to GRACIEMAG.com how to take the back and submit.

How about having it for your arsenal of submissions? Did you enjoy it? Leave us a comment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9jDb7VQluk

What to do when the opponent plays the turtle guard?

We asked GMA member and black belt Bruno Paulista about that and he came up with this awesome technique.

Watch the video filmed at Paulista’s Ralph Gracie OC academy, in Anaheim, and add another move to your Jiu-Jitsu game.

Alexander Trans (CheckMat) in Jiu-Jitsu action / GRACIEMAG archive photo

Double gold winner at the big tournaments in 2011 as a brown belt, Alexandre Trans is now spreading terror in the black belt division.

NECK FINISH FROM BACK CONTROL

Against the seasoned Thiago Gaia in the ultraheavyweight final, the Dane defended handily, moved to back control and finished with a choke. Check it out and learn how to get back control and keep the pressure on till finishing. Then let us know: what did you learn from the match?

Paulo Miyao on his way to gold at 2012 IBJJF European Open / Photo: Kuba Sawicki/MANTO

In Jiu-Jitsu, winning’s great. But what really makes the effort worthwhile is putting on a great show, giving it your best shot, and etching your style into the spectators’ memories.

Slide to back and choke

That’s what young purple belt Paulo Miyao taught us at the  IBJJF European Jiu-Jitsu Championship, winning the light featherweight division with his fantastic guard, and drawing applause from the Lisbon crowd.

Despite the title of the video, the athlete featured is Paulo Miyao, not his talented brother João. Watch and learn:

Bernardo Faria against Lucio Lagarto in superheavyweight final at European Championship / Photo por Raphael Nogueira

Numa final sem espaços no superpesado, o faixa-preta da Alliance Bernardo Faria tentou passar a guardinha carne-de-pescoço de Lucio Lagarto. Como não teve êxito, buscou uma alternativa e se deu bem, ao grampear e pegar as costas.

Foram quatro pontos que definiram o sanhaço, e a técnica você confere agora:

Bruno Frazatto attacking from back control in sport Jiu-Jitsu / Photo de Ivan Trindade

Another European Jiu-Jitsu Championship comes to a close, and yet again the most oft-used finishes were chokes from back mount, as basic as they are effective.

If you’re into mixing it up in competition, it’s worth keeping in mind that getting back mount is worth four points in sport Jiu-Jitsu—that is, when an athlete puts both hooks in at the opponent’s thights after gaining back control.

The basic escape for this recurring technique is well known. You have to protect your neck, bridge backwards and remove one of the hooks, slipping your hip out to the side where the hook was removed.

What about when it goes wrong?

GRACIEMAG.com took the back of three wizards of the gi, who were swift in intercepting the attack, and they asserted: nothing is more vital than to defend the neck with care.

Check out how they go about doing that:

1. SIMULTANEOUS MOVES ARE A SALVATION IN JIU-JITSU

“My pointer for you,” Vinicius Cruz (Carlson Gracie) begins, “is to move your arm, the arm of the hand on the side of the hand holding your collar for the choke, to the other side of the neck. At the same time, you need to remove the hook with your other hand, keeping in mind that you have to bare the weight of your hip down on the opponent’s leg, and creep your back out to the side.”

2. EVEN WHEN DEFENDING, MAKE YOUR OPPONENT UNCOMFORTABLE

“The important thing is to cause your opponent discomfort by baring your weight back on him, never letting him feel at ease. And defend your neck the whole time. Then it’s all about getting one of the hooks out and trying to flounder out,” recommends Thiago Maia (SAS-Ceará).

3. DON’T TURN YOUR NECK IN AGAINST THE LAPEL

To wrap up, Abraão Amorim (Evolution) put together a video showing how he escapes back control. He recommends never turning your neck towards the lapel pressing against it, and shows a hip move often used by Kron Gracie.