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This week, Renzo Gracie Online Academy goes back to examining the half-guard, emphasizing the position’s offensive aspects. Go to www.gallerr.com/rgoa to see Leandro Slaib teach five very efficient attacks, almost always wrapping with his arm one of the passer’s legs — a detail that keeps Slaib safe throughout the execution of sweeps or the progression to the back. Here’s an example:

In another case, besides the sweep option, Slaib considers the possibility of going to the back:

In your lifestyle lesson, Wellington Megaton teaches how to recharge your energy, unwind and go back to the mat hungry for more.

Don’t waste any more time. Go to www.gallerr.com/rgoa to get access to the entirety of the content of the Internet’s most sophisticated BJJ course. Become an RGOA student.

Oss!

Marcelinho Garcia in action at 2011 Worlds / Photo by John Lamonica

Every now and then, do you catch yourself thinking about that one technique you seem unable to get right, or that part of your game that looks like a dead end? Relax. Our team put together five submissions beyond all reproach, taught by champions of the highest caliber. Let us know which works best for your game, and enjoy your training!

1. Alexandre Ribeiro teaches a choke

2. Marcelo Garcia teaches to warm up and finish in laid-back spar

(Special attention to the armbar at minute 5)

3. Roger Gracie teaches a sweep from closed guard

4. Rubens Cobrinha teaches how to finish at 2008 Pan

5. Vitor Shaolin teaches a sweep from half-guard and pressure on neck to help

They say that you should fear not the man who knows ten thousand kicks, but rather the man who has practiced one kick a thousand times. Black-belt world champion Bernardo Faria is that guy who does half-guard — this is what he’s known for. And we know this because he does it to every single opponent. He does it every day in the gym.

What he calls his “blue-belt half-guard” is a game he started as a blue-belt and has continued to use until now, after being a black-belt for six years and earning a black belt world title. It works because he has spent many, many hours on it. It works against the toughest opponents, against guys who know how to defend deep half and guys who have the strongest base.

He recently released a highlight of him completing a half-guard sweep over and over again on some of the most accomplished athletes in this sport.

What he has to say about choosing a specific game is this:

“In my opinion, to know a lot of techniques is not the hardest part. Everyone can know a lot of techniques if you really study jiu-jitsu. But I think the hardest part is knowing a technique so well that you are able to use it in any situation at any time. Like Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book Outliers regarding the ten thousand hours needed to find success, the hardest part is to spend the ten thousand hours on something. As long as you spend a lot of time on one thing, then you can become an expert on that one thing. I think what many people do is they change a lot and they don’t focus on one game.

“So I think that’s what I’ve done. I have probably spent ten thousand hours doing half-guard. ”

In week 8 of Renzo Gracie Online Academy, André Monteiro teaches sweeps and finishes starting from the half-guard, a position many people only work on from a defensive point of view, doing transitions and recoveries. This is a strategic mistake, because the half-guard offers numerous support points, grips and levers for you to surprise passers with unstoppable attacks.

It’s worth noting that many competitors have risen to the top of the IBJJF World Championships with games based on attacks from the half-guard — as is the case of Roberto Gordo, Bernardo Faria and Celsinho Venicius. So get inspired by these great idols of the gentle art and take full advantage of this week-long training plan.

Week 8 of Renzo Gracie Online Academy is put together thusly:

• Five attack techniques starting from the half-guard.
• Kata guruma: Many think that the kata guruma requires power. But Garry St. Leger is here to show you that this mechanic is based on technical refinement and agility.
• Lifestyle: Hobbies can renew your energy and keep you motivated to train jiu-jitsu.

Day 1: Monday

Lesson 1: Sweep from the half-guard with the bridge mechanic

On top on half-guard, your opponent manages to hug your head and impose pressure. It’s an advantageous situation for them, as they can attempt a finish or move to side control. But with a subtle, surprising maneuver, you have a chance to invert the position and get on top.

Day 2: Tuesday

Lesson 2: Back-take from the pummel

Even if your opponent manages to foil the inversion attempt shown in the previous lesson, they will tend to open up space for you to apply the pummel and move to their back.

Day 3: Wednesday

Lesson 3: Use your lapel to go to your opponent’s back

When you’re working with your guard open, it’s recommended to use your flexed leg as a shield controlling the distance in relation to your opponent’s body. With this shield, you can push their torso in order to find space to pummel them and, with the help of the lapel, move to their back.

Lesson 4: Lifestyle – Hobbies

Relaxing activities can renew your energy and motivate you to train. Bruno Fernandes recommends hobbies that are completely unrelated to jiu-jitsu.

Day 4: Thursday

Lesson 5: Sweep when your opponent wraps your pummel with their arm

You pummel your opponent to try and move to their back, but they wrap your pummel with their arm, blocking the path. Understand how you can capitalize on this situation to unbalance them and land on top.

Day 5: Friday

Lesson 6: Choke from the half-guard

On top, your opponent gains the pummel with their right arm and tries to pass your half-guard by progressively spreading their weight. Learn a sneaky, efficient choke to surprise them along the way.

Lesson 7: Kata guruma

Many think that the kata guruma requires power. But Garry St. Leger is here to show you that this mechanic is based on technical refinement and agility.

Renzo Gracie Online Academy: Each week a new topic.

Plus: Takedowns, Self-Defense, Lifestyle tips, Documentaries, Interviews, etc.

Invest only 9.89 per month on your Jiu-Jitsu and get full access to all the knowledge that forged thousands of champions. Enroll now and join the planet’s most complete and modern online BJJ school.

Renzo Gracie Online Academy offers you a wide arsenal of moves to make your half-guard into a minefield. With lessons by Rafael Natal, a specialist, you will get access to a course with spectacular content.

Here’s how it goes:

• Basic half-guard concepts
• Basic sweep from half-guard
• A variation on the basic sweep from half-guard
• From deep half-guard to the back
• From half-guard to the back, pt. 2
• Sweep with arm control
• Sweep from half-guard with foot control
• A variation on the sweep with foot control
• Kimura from half-guard
• A variation on the kimura attack

The program instigates you to combine different moves from the half-guard, creating a wide net of double and triple attacks.

Sapo’s lessons enable you to easily transition between different types of half-guard, as you can see in this lesson on a variation of the attack with kimura:

Join Renzo Gracie Online Academy and revolutionize your training.

Go to www.gallerr.com/rgoa to find out more.

Oss!

Renzo Gracie Online Academy this week offers you a big opportunity to refine your attacks from the half-guard. With lessons by a true expert — UFC veteran Rafael Natal, — this program instigates you to combine moves, creating a wide net of double and triple attacks.

You will easily transition through different types of half-guard — from the traditional one to the deep half-guard. You will be able to employ moves in classical and no-gi BJJ alike – like, say, this progression to the back:

Sapo’s menu contains ten ways to attack an opponent using the half-guard’s adjustments.

• Easily transition through different types of half-guard, from the traditional one to the deep half-guard.
• Learn moves useful in classical and no-gi BJJ alike.
• Create a wide net of double and triple attacks.
• And get the best advice on what to avoid when playing half-guard.

Watch full program ->> half-guard, sweeps and submissions – Rafael “Sapo” Natal 

Join Renzo Gracie Online Academy and revolutionize your jiu-jitsu.

Go to www.gallerr.com/rgoa.

Oss!

In this week of Renzo Gracie Online Academy, you will continue studying the offensive half-guard. André Monteiro teaches a new repertory of attacks so that you can booby-trap the path of the passer. Check out infallible techniques for sweeping, finishing and also to go to your opponent’s back.

Week 9 of Renzo Gracie Online Academy is organized this way:

• Five techniques of attack starting from the half-guard.
• Lifestyle: The habit of giving yourself small rewards will keep you motivated in your training.

Day 1: Monday

Lesson 1: Double attack: choke + arm drag

If your opponent manages to foil your choke attack, then use an arm drag, ending up on their back.

Day 2: Tuesday

Lesson 2: Sweep controlling both legs

One of the recurring paths for an opponent to try to pass your half-guard is by shifting to the inverted half-guard. Check out a valuable technique to block this pass, capturing both of your opponent’s legs and applying a sweep.

Day 3: Wednesday

Lesson 3: Sweep controlling both legs and spinning to the other side

In BJJ, it is very important for you to have a plan B or a plan C in case your initial strategy fails in the middle of a match. It’s what André Monteiro teaches in this video, considering the possibility of his opponent neutralizing a sweep.

Day 4: Thursday

Lesson 4: Sweep with the lapel pulling the knee

Your opponent’s lapel can become an ally when you want to sweep and stabilize the position on top. See how André Monteiro wraps his opponent’s leg with the lapel, obtaining a great support point to unbalance him.

Day 5: Friday

Lesson 5: Sweep with the lapel when your opponent tries to pass by crossing the knee

If your opponent tries to pass your half-guard by crossing their knee, then use their lapel to surprise them. Wrap the passer’s leg with the cloth, break their posture by pulling them by the collar, and project them forward by pushing their body with your knee.

Lesson 6: Lifestyle/ Give yourself little rewards
Staying motivated to train in the long run — it’s one of the biggest challenges a BJJ fighter will come across. Bruno Fernandes offers a great tip to deal with this: give little rewards to yourself after you accomplish a goal, like going to the gym thrice a week for a whole month.

Renzo Gracie Online Academy: Each week a new topic.

Plus: Takedowns, Self-Defense, Lifestyle tips, Documentaries, Interviews, etc.

Invest only 9.89 per month in your Jiu-Jitsu and get full access to all the knowledge that forged thousands of champions. Enroll now and join the planet’s most complete and modern online BJJ school.

Roberto Satoshi sparing his left arm at the Tokyo Grand Slam. Ane Nunes/Gentle Art Media

A Brazilian black-belt raised in Japan, Roberto Satoshi moved his fans in June during the BJJ Worlds when he lost his final to Lucas Lepri without fighting. With a dislocated left shoulder and in tears, the lightweight had to abandon the contest and the dream of a first world title.

But in July 15 — just a month and ten days later –Satoshi triumphed at the Tokyo Grand Slam before his students. What lessons did he get out of such trajectory?, you might ask. Lucky for you, Graciemag talked to Satoshi to find out.

“I’m still feeling the shoulder,” said the Bonsai JJ representative, “but soon I’ll be recovered. The lesson that remains is that injury in high-performance sports is normal — it’s part of our life on the mats. I’ve trained BJJ since I was five, and often I’ve felt something. But I never let that shake me, much less thought about quitting training.”

He added: “In reality, in the long term the injuries have only helped me not have a limited game. Every time I got injured, I was forced to change up the technique or switch the side I was going to make a move on. Don’t forget: got a bad knee? Do a half-guard session. Got a bad left arm, like I had? Play guard to the right. What’s important is not to stay out of the gym too long, which will undermine body and mind.”

You can watch Satoshi’s final versus Tiago Bravo right here.

Black belt world champion Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro is our professor for the day.

Straight from his academy in New York City, he teaches us a sweep that starts in the half guard and ends in the opponent’s back.

Take some time and learn from the fifth-degree black belt that recently had a great showing at the 2016 WPJJC, finishing Daniel Moraes with a bow and arrow choke from the back.

Watch and add it to your game.

André Galvão’s favorite way to finish his opponents is to take the back and work on the choke.

In fact, it’s virtually impossible to find a black-belt that does that better than the leader of Atos JJ.

We have resurfaced this video from 2013 where he teaches how to kill the opponent’s half-guard game and end up on their back.

Black belt Erberth Santos was the man of the hour at the 2015 South American championship, this weekend, in Brazil.

He won double gold in the superheavy and the open class division.

Here’s an example of why Erberth is regarded as one of the greatest talents of his generation of black belts.

Take a look at the video and see how he goes from the opponent’s half guard straight to the back.

The key is to flatten your opponent back on the ground before you cartwheel and use th hook on the leg to bring the opponent with you and establish the back control.