Author: admin

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated BJJ gym in Singapore.

Experienced practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) often describe it as a journey—an extended adventure with peaks, valleys, triumphs, and defeats. This is both an accurate description and a reminder to students that BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint. After all, it is often said that a black belt is simply a white belt who never quit. To understand what does each BJJ belt mean, we will first list down the BJJ belt ranking system:Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Belt Ranking System

• White Belt
• Blue Belt
• Purple Belt
• Brown Belt
• Black Belt

What Do These Belts Signify?

The BJJ belt system means different things to different people. Some students are unconcerned about belt rank, while others place a high degree of importance on it. In addition, instructors often disagree on what students should focus on at each belt level. That being said, there are several broad, general principles that can be safely attributed to each belt level.

White Belt – Building a foundation

The white belt is in many ways the most exciting belt. For the beginning student, every movement, technique, and concept are brand new. Every class brings new revelations, and it isn’t uncommon for new students to become quickly enamored with the art of BJJ. That being said, white belt can best be described as a period in which new students build a foundation for future learning. At white belt, students are introduced to fundamental movements that they will use throughout their BJJ careers, including:

• The bridge
• The hip escape
• Break falls

In addition, white belt is a time for students to develop a general feel for BJJ. This is not necessarily something that can be taught but can only be gained through drilling and rolling.

Physical attributes that are developed by new students are strength, balance, and endurance. And while students at the white belt level are taught a number of basic BJJ techniques, they generally aren’t refined and perfected until later belts.

Blue Belt – Technical proficiency

By blue belt, students should have a good grasp of BJJ’s fundamental movements and will have achieved an adequate overall level of physical fitness.

It is at this stage that students should begin to expand their technical repertoires. Blue belt is a time for practitioners to begin building upon the foundation they established at white belt. And while students will learn a number of submission techniques during their time at the blue belt level, emphasis should be placed on defense and escapes. Because as new blue belts will have discovered during their time as white belts, it’s difficult to mount an offense without a solid defense!

So, while basic submissions such as the triangle choke and guillotine should be drilled and practiced, students at the blue belt level should spend a majority of their time learning and drilling escapes and defensive postures, as these will be of the most utility during live sparring with higher ranking students.

However, as students accumulate time at the blue belt level, their improved defense should result in more opportunities to successfully apply submissions in sparring.

Purple Belt – Game development, submissions, and experimentation

Purple belt is the stage at which one’s game really begins to come together. Possessing a solid knowledge of escapes, basic submissions, and proper defensive postures, purple belt students often begin to develop their own personal styles of BJJ.

Purple belt is a good time to do this, as the average student by this time understands which submissions and strategies best compliment his or her body type, athletic ability, age, and other personal attributes.

In addition, after having focused extensively on defense at the blue belt level, purple belts should begin spending time developing their offensive options. And this isn’t just limited to single submissions—purple belt is a great time to begin chaining submissions together, i.e., having a series of submission options available for those times in which an initial attack is successfully defended.

An example of this is the armbar-omoplata-triangle sequence from closed guard. Finally, armed with a solid foundation and understanding of BJJ, students at the purple belt level should feel free to begin experimenting more with interesting techniques and positions such as the berimbolo, X-guard, and deep half guard.

Brown Belt – Setting traps, thinking conceptually, and strengthening weaknesses

By the time a student reaches the brown belt level, he should be an expert on basic BJJ techniques and concepts, have a deep understanding of the art, and have an established game in place.

In addition, due to experimentation at the purple belt level, the brown belt should be familiar with some of the more esoteric techniques and positions of BJJ. At this point in the BJJ journey, it is time for the student to begin focusing on the mental aspect of the art.

While submissions at the white, blue, and purple belt levels are typically a result of forcing one’s will upon his or her opponent, the brown belt’s submission attempts should often come as a result of setting traps. In other words, the brown belt should begin honing the art of guiding opponents into progressively weaker positions until submission is achieved.

A part of becoming adept at this skill is a commitment to conceptual thinking. The brown belt, rather than focusing on specific techniques, should begin approaching BJJ from a conceptual standpoint. Concepts are the foundations upon which techniques are built.

For example, a standard closed guard hip bump sweep, which requires the trapping of an opponent’s arm, is a technique. The concept underlying this technique, however, is that an opponent’s ability to post his hand on the mat must be removed in order to sweep him. It is through conceptual thinking that the brown belt begins to understand the art of BJJ at a deep level.

In addition, students who reach the brown belt level should begin strengthening their weak points in order to ensure competency in all areas prior to achieving the rank of black belt.

Black Belt – Starting anew, teaching, and reflection

Upon reaching the black belt level, practitioners possess a high degree of technical, conceptual, and philosophical BJJ knowledge. Therefore, it’s understandable that some people would view the attainment of one’s black belt as the last stop on the BJJ journey. This isn’t the case, however. As many high-level BJJ practitioners have noted, the attainment of one’s black belt is not the end of the BJJ journey, but a new beginning.

The black belt is the level at which the practitioner should re-evaluate his entire BJJ game, fine-tuning both fundamental and advanced techniques in a quest for deeper understanding and greater efficiency.

An excellent way to engage in this kind of deep reflection is through teaching. A BJJ black belt, even if not an official instructor, should be eager to share his hard-earned knowledge with less experienced students.

Finally, black belts should apply the lessons and concepts learned in the martial arts to their daily lives, setting a good example for other practitioners and representing BJJ with dignity and respect.

While belts are a great way to measure your progress, don’t become so focused on your rank that you lose focus of what’s important in BJJ: learning, getting in shape, and having fun! Remember, if you stick with BJJ long enough, the promotions will come. Until then—enjoy the journey!

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated BJJ gym in Singapore.

Experienced practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) often describe it as a journey—an extended adventure with peaks, valleys, triumphs, and defeats. This is both an accurate description and a reminder to students that BJJ is a marathon, not a sprint. After all, it is often said that a black belt is simply a white belt who never quit. To understand what does each BJJ belt mean, we will first list down the BJJ belt ranking system:Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Belt Ranking System

• White Belt
• Blue Belt
• Purple Belt
• Brown Belt
• Black Belt

What Do These Belts Signify?

The BJJ belt system means different things to different people. Some students are unconcerned about belt rank, while others place a high degree of importance on it. In addition, instructors often disagree on what students should focus on at each belt level. That being said, there are several broad, general principles that can be safely attributed to each belt level.

White Belt – Building a foundation

The white belt is in many ways the most exciting belt. For the beginning student, every movement, technique, and concept are brand new. Every class brings new revelations, and it isn’t uncommon for new students to become quickly enamored with the art of BJJ. That being said, white belt can best be described as a period in which new students build a foundation for future learning. At white belt, students are introduced to fundamental movements that they will use throughout their BJJ careers, including:

• The bridge
• The hip escape
• Break falls

In addition, white belt is a time for students to develop a general feel for BJJ. This is not necessarily something that can be taught but can only be gained through drilling and rolling.

Physical attributes that are developed by new students are strength, balance, and endurance. And while students at the white belt level are taught a number of basic BJJ techniques, they generally aren’t refined and perfected until later belts.

Blue Belt – Technical proficiency

By blue belt, students should have a good grasp of BJJ’s fundamental movements and will have achieved an adequate overall level of physical fitness.

It is at this stage that students should begin to expand their technical repertoires. Blue belt is a time for practitioners to begin building upon the foundation they established at white belt. And while students will learn a number of submission techniques during their time at the blue belt level, emphasis should be placed on defense and escapes. Because as new blue belts will have discovered during their time as white belts, it’s difficult to mount an offense without a solid defense!

So, while basic submissions such as the triangle choke and guillotine should be drilled and practiced, students at the blue belt level should spend a majority of their time learning and drilling escapes and defensive postures, as these will be of the most utility during live sparring with higher ranking students.

However, as students accumulate time at the blue belt level, their improved defense should result in more opportunities to successfully apply submissions in sparring.

Purple Belt – Game development, submissions, and experimentation

Purple belt is the stage at which one’s game really begins to come together. Possessing a solid knowledge of escapes, basic submissions, and proper defensive postures, purple belt students often begin to develop their own personal styles of BJJ.

Purple belt is a good time to do this, as the average student by this time understands which submissions and strategies best compliment his or her body type, athletic ability, age, and other personal attributes.

In addition, after having focused extensively on defense at the blue belt level, purple belts should begin spending time developing their offensive options. And this isn’t just limited to single submissions—purple belt is a great time to begin chaining submissions together, i.e., having a series of submission options available for those times in which an initial attack is successfully defended.

An example of this is the armbar-omoplata-triangle sequence from closed guard. Finally, armed with a solid foundation and understanding of BJJ, students at the purple belt level should feel free to begin experimenting more with interesting techniques and positions such as the berimbolo, X-guard, and deep half guard.

Brown Belt – Setting traps, thinking conceptually, and strengthening weaknesses

By the time a student reaches the brown belt level, he should be an expert on basic BJJ techniques and concepts, have a deep understanding of the art, and have an established game in place.

In addition, due to experimentation at the purple belt level, the brown belt should be familiar with some of the more esoteric techniques and positions of BJJ. At this point in the BJJ journey, it is time for the student to begin focusing on the mental aspect of the art.

While submissions at the white, blue, and purple belt levels are typically a result of forcing one’s will upon his or her opponent, the brown belt’s submission attempts should often come as a result of setting traps. In other words, the brown belt should begin honing the art of guiding opponents into progressively weaker positions until submission is achieved.

A part of becoming adept at this skill is a commitment to conceptual thinking. The brown belt, rather than focusing on specific techniques, should begin approaching BJJ from a conceptual standpoint. Concepts are the foundations upon which techniques are built.

For example, a standard closed guard hip bump sweep, which requires the trapping of an opponent’s arm, is a technique. The concept underlying this technique, however, is that an opponent’s ability to post his hand on the mat must be removed in order to sweep him. It is through conceptual thinking that the brown belt begins to understand the art of BJJ at a deep level.

In addition, students who reach the brown belt level should begin strengthening their weak points in order to ensure competency in all areas prior to achieving the rank of black belt.

Black Belt – Starting anew, teaching, and reflection

Upon reaching the black belt level, practitioners possess a high degree of technical, conceptual, and philosophical BJJ knowledge. Therefore, it’s understandable that some people would view the attainment of one’s black belt as the last stop on the BJJ journey. This isn’t the case, however. As many high-level BJJ practitioners have noted, the attainment of one’s black belt is not the end of the BJJ journey, but a new beginning.

The black belt is the level at which the practitioner should re-evaluate his entire BJJ game, fine-tuning both fundamental and advanced techniques in a quest for deeper understanding and greater efficiency.

An excellent way to engage in this kind of deep reflection is through teaching. A BJJ black belt, even if not an official instructor, should be eager to share his hard-earned knowledge with less experienced students.

Finally, black belts should apply the lessons and concepts learned in the martial arts to their daily lives, setting a good example for other practitioners and representing BJJ with dignity and respect.

While belts are a great way to measure your progress, don’t become so focused on your rank that you lose focus of what’s important in BJJ: learning, getting in shape, and having fun! Remember, if you stick with BJJ long enough, the promotions will come. Until then—enjoy the journey!

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated BJJ gym in Singapore.

Although BJJ competitions are a lot of fun, many of the techniques that modern BJJ practitioners use in competitions aren’t useful for the street. For example, the berimbolo and other inverted techniques could get you seriously hurt in a self-defense situation. Some old-school BJJ practitioners, such as the legendary Royce Gracie, have publicly voiced their disapproval of modern BJJ’s preoccupation with sport-based techniques.

When the Gracie family originally developed BJJ, it was intended to be a self-defense system—not a way to win point-based competitions. In fact, BJJ was originally devised as a way for a small, weak person to defeat a big, strong opponent. However, this doesn’t mean that BJJ students shouldn’t compete or focus on sport-oriented BJJ techniques. Competition and sport-oriented techniques are part of what makes BJJ such a fun martial art! What it does mean, however, is that all BJJ students should dedicate at least a portion of their training to the practice of street self-defense techniques. In this article, we examine 8 must-know BJJ techniques for the street. 

1. Technical Standup

Although it isn’t very flashy or exciting, knowing how to efficiently get up off the ground is an important self-defense skill. This is why all BJJ students should master the technical standup. The technical standup is a technique used to move from a seated position to a standing position in a manner that protects from strikes. Often, people who are knocked to the ground in a fight have no safe way to get back up. The technical standup solves this problem, giving the person on the ground the option of either retreating or attacking. Either way, understanding how to get back up once you’ve been knocked down is key to surviving a self-defense situation. 

2. Takedowns

Sitting directly down to the mat, or “pulling guard,” is allowed in BJJ competitions, so many practitioners rarely, if ever, practice takedowns. Although some takedowns are better than others for the street, we simply want to emphasize the importance of incorporating takedowns into your training to prepare you for self-defense situations. If you are ever involved in a one-on-one self-defense situation, most of your BJJ will be useless unless you can safely take your opponent to the ground. Whether you practice wrestling takedowns, such as the double-leg takedown, or judo throws, such as the hip toss, isn’t super important. What is important, however, is that you learn to put your opponent on the ground. 

3. The Mount (Top And Bottom)

If you take your opponent down in a self-defense situation, you need to make sure you can maintain top position. And if your opponent takes you down and ends up sitting on your chest, you need a reliable way to get him or her off of you. Therefore, to ensure that you are prepared for the street, you need to practice maintaining and escaping the mount. 

Maintaining The Mount

Here are a few tips for maintaining the mount in a self-defense situation: 

• Focus on staying balanced.
• If necessary, use your hands to post on the ground when your opponent attempts to buck you off.
• Tuck your feet under the opponent’s sides. 
• Sink your hips low. 

4. Escaping The Mount

Understanding how to escape the mount is just as important as knowing how to maintain the mount. If you end up with someone on top of you in a street fight, you must know how to escape. One of the first mount escapes BJJ students learn is the bridge and roll escape. This escape allows the bottom person to sweep his or her opponent and end up in the top position. 

5. Back Control

Back control is the strongest position in BJJ. When you secure back control, you can see your opponent, but your opponent can’t see you. This puts you in a great position to apply chokes and submissions. In addition, taking an opponent’s back allows you to stay safe until help arrives. 

6. Rear Naked Choke

The rear naked choke is an excellent technique for the street. In fact, chokes are widely considered to be more effective in self-defense situations than joint locks. For example, if you successfully apply an armbar to an attacker on the street, he or she may still be able to attack you, especially if he or she is intoxicated and unable to feel pain. However, if you apply a choke to the point of completion, the attacker will lose consciousness, providing you with an opportunity to escape to safety. 

7. Guillotine Choke

Another excellent choke for the street is the guillotine choke. The great thing about this choke is that it can be performed from a standing position. Thus, if you cannot take your attacker down to the ground or don’t want to take your opponent to the ground, the guillotine is a great option to end the fight quickly.

8. The Clinch

Studies have shown that most real fights result in a clinch. The clinch is a standing position in which two people have grabbed ahold of each other. Therefore, if you study BJJ for self-defense purposes, it’s important to have a good understanding of the clinch. Not only can the clinch allow you to take down an attacker on the street, but it also protects you from punches and kicks. By tying your opponent up and controlling him or her in the clinch, it becomes much easier to launch your attacks while remaining safe. 

Stay Safe

Fortunately, most people who practice BJJ will never have to use it on the street. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t incorporate self-defense techniques into your training. By incorporating these self-defense techniques into your BJJ training, you’ll be well prepared for anything that comes your way. Remember, when it comes to self-defense, preparation is everything. So, even if you mainly focus on sport-oriented BJJ, you should never forget the reason BJJ was developed in the first place—to keep you safe on the street. 

Guest post by Evolve MMA, Asia’s premier championship brand for martial arts. It has the most number of World Champions on the planet. Named as the #1 ranked martial arts organization in Asia by CNN, Yahoo! Sports, FOX Sports, Evolve MMA is the top rated Muay Thai gym in Singapore.

Everyone should have the ability to defend themselves. In the event an altercation turns physical, having trained in some form of self-defense can be a lifesaver. Most altercation starts from a standing position, hence it’s important for you to know how to properly defend yourself using techniques from two of the most effective striking arts; boxing and Muay Thai.

Boxing 

When most people think of a street fight, images of fists flying come to mind. There is a good reason for that. A punch is one of the most common types of attacks thrown once an altercation turns physical. Training boxing techniques can help end altercations quickly and avoid further injury to all parties involved. 

A) Stance 

Boxing as a southpaw can give you an advantage in the ring and that advantage remains in a real-life altercation. Even if your attacker has previously trained themselves, the odds of them knowing how to effectively deal with a skilled southpaw are next to none. This is due to the overwhelming number of orthodox (right-handed) fighters compared to southpaws. The other reason is due to you and your attacker being in an open stance instead of the usual closed stance formed by two orthodox fighters.

B) Jab

The jab is the most important punch in boxing, and it may be the most important in a street fight too. It is the punch that exposes the least amount of your body and head for a counter, as well as being your weapon with the most range. Your jab is performed with your lead hand and should be sharp and snappy. When starting out, don’t focus on adding power to your punch, the power will naturally increase as your form develops. 

C) Footwork

Quick footwork compliments an educated jab and exponentially increases its effectiveness. Two techniques that can translate to a self-defense setting are the gazelle and pendulum steps. The gazelle step involves you loading your weight onto your lead leg, stepping up with your rear leg, then explosively shuffling forwards. This technique can cover massive distances and adds tremendous amounts of power when used in conjunction with a punch. 

D) Parry

Parrying is a boxing technique that is essential for self-defense. It can be done on both your lead and rear side, and in general works best for defending against straight punches. When your opponent throws a punch, you parry on the same side. Catch their fist like a baseball and pat it slightly downwards. This will give you the opportunity to either land your own punch or run. 

Muay Thai

The art of eight limbs has much to offer when it comes to self-defense. 

A) Teep (Push Kick)

The first Muay Thai technique for self-defense is the teep, or push kick. It is often called the foot jab, and just like the jab in boxing, the teep is one of, if not the most important kick in Muay Thai. Muay Thai legend Samart Payakaroon breaks down the proper form of a teep above. 

The teep, although usually performed by the front leg, can also be done with the rear leg for a powerful kick that will stop your opponent’s momentum. You can aim the teep at various targets on your opponent’s body. Some of the most effective are the knees, the hips, the solar plexus, and the navel. Although head kicks are possible, they are best avoided in a self-defense situation. It is generally not worth the risk of being thrown on the concrete, even if there is an opening. Self-defense situations do not have the rules that a ring does and impact with the concrete floor is a dangerous variable. 

B) Up Elbow

Another powerful weapon that Muay Thai can offer is the elbow strike. Your elbows are the densest bones in your body and exponentially multiply force due to the small surface area that you strike with. Since they have an extremely limited range, they are best used when you or your attacker are in range to grab each other. 

The up elbow is effective because it blocks your opponent’s punch as they run into your elbow strike. To perform an up elbow, place your lead palm on the side of your forehead while you step in towards your attacker. Drive the point of your elbow into their shoulder or bicep to jam their punch, or aim for the chin or nose to stun them. 

C) Horizontal Elbow

The horizontal elbow can be used anytime you are in clinch range and should be aimed at the chin, temple, or ear of your opponent for the best chances to knockout your attacker. To perform a horizontal elbow, lift your elbow and smash it into your attacker’s chin while bridging the back of your hand to touch the opposite side shoulder. 

D) Spinning Back Elbow

The spinning back elbow may look flashy, but it has many practical applications as well. An altercation outside of the gym may involve multiple people who attack from all sides. Most techniques used in boxing and Muay Thai are effective under the premise that the fight is a fair one. The spinning back elbow is one of the few techniques that can address the threat of multiple attackers. Although every technique has its place, spinning during a fight is generally a poor choice. That is unless it is done with specific intent. Training the spinning back elbow lets you strike opponents that are behind you directly after defending or countering the attack of someone in front of you. In addition, you can even shoulder bump an opponent’s punch so they lose balance and fall into your elbow, which would most likely result in a knockout. 

There Is More

These techniques are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to self-defense. However, they can give you the edge to defend yourself should the need arise. Remember that self-defense is not about flashy knockouts or highlight-reel submissions, it’s a fight to live another day. If you are looking to learn self-defense from martial arts World Champions, sign up for a complimentary trial class today!