Take the Back - Guard
Against a trained opponent, you can expect them sit back and establish posture from within your guard; but against an untrained opponent, you can expect the exact opposite. When a person drives all their weight forward from within your guard, they unknowingly create a perfect opportunity for you to take their back, especially when they are attacking your neck or face with one of their hands. In this lesson, you will learn how to Take the Back from the guard, but in order to simplify the process of learning all the steps, we’re going to break everything down into three slices.
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Standing Headlock Defense
Once you establish the clinch on your opponent, there is a good chance that they will get desperate and try to catch you in a headlock. Without the proper escape strategy, the Standing Headlock can be a very painful and demoralizing experience, but with the proper technique you can turn the tables and use their hold to your advantage.
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Positional Control - Side Mount
Your objective in a ground fight should be to neutralize the threat and subdue your opponent with the lowest level of force necessary. To achieve this, you’ll want to rely on one of many fundamental ground control positions, not the least of which is Side Mount. This position gives you unparalleled control of your opponent with the lowest energy expenditure due to the inherently strong base in provides the top person and the rate at which it depletes the bottom person. In this lesson you will start by learning how to counter the most common escape attempts that a larger opponent is likely to use, and then you’ll learn how to transition to the mount position once they have exhausted all their energy.
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Double Leg Takedown (Aggressive Opponent)
The advantage of establishing an upper body clinch is that once you take your opponent down you end up in the very dominant mount position, and you can disengage from the clinch if necessary (e.g., in a multiple attacker situation). If you anticipate difficulty in establishing the clinch, however, the Double Leg Takedown is a great alternative. In this lesson you will learn the basic mechanics of the Double Leg Takedown, and then you will learn how to apply it against opponents of varying levels of aggression.
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Elbow Escape - Side Mount
If your opponent is able to achieve the side mount, chances are they will be so eager to punch you that they will create space for you to execute the Shrimp Escape (Lesson 24). If they are able to prevent the Shrimp Escape, the best thing to do is conserve energy and wait until the opponent transitions from side mount to full mount so that you can use the Elbow Escape to recompose the guard. In this lesson you will learn two variations of the Elbow Escape from the side mount.
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Pull Guard
In an ideal situation, you would be able to close the distance, establish the clinch, execute a takedown, achieve the mount and win the fight. Sometimes however, your opponent is expecting the clinch and is very resistant when you try to establish control of them. If you get into a clinch and you are unable to take your partner down because they are too strong or you lose control of their hips, you have two options: let go and try again or Pull Guard. If you let go, you risk getting knocked out when you try to reestablish the clinch. If you pull the opponent in your guard, you can neutralize the punches, exhaust their energy, and eventually win the fight in a variety of ways.
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Headlock Counters - Mount
The goal in a fight is to achieve the mount where you can control and exhaust your opponent with relative ease. Once you accomplish this, your opponent will panic and desperately attempt to escape. One of the most common escape strategies used by unskilled individuals is to establish a headlock and throw you off of them. The Headlock Counters from the mount will keep you from getting rolled off of a larger opponent, and prepare you to take advantage of the submission opportunities that will inevitably arise. First, you will learn how to prevent the escape attempts, and then you will learn how to finish the fight in two different ways.
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Standing Headlock Defense
Once you establish the clinch on your opponent, there is a good chance that they will get desperate and try to catch you in a headlock. Without the proper escape strategy, the Standing Headlock can be a very painful and demoralizing experience, but with the proper technique you can turn the tables and use their hold to your advantage.
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Twisting Arm Control - Mount
The beauty of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is that it enables you to defeat virtually anyone while controlling the amount of damage you inflict. The Twisting Arm Control is premium example of this because you can use it to set up a choke, straight armlock, or simply control your opponent until they surrender. In this lesson, you will first learn how to set up and maintain the Twisting Arm Control, and then you will learn two reliable finishing options.
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Rear Takedown
When you establish the clinch, your opponent’s arm may end up over your head. In some cases it happens inadvertently, in other cases it’s a deliberate attempt to catch you in a Guillotine Choke. Either way, any time your head ends up under your opponent’s arm, you can use it to transition into the Rear Clinch control position, from where you can set up the Rear Takedown. In this lesson you will learn how to transition from front to back of your opponent as well as how to take them down once you get there.
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Headlock Escape 1 - Side Mount
Besides punches, headlocks are the single most common form of aggression used by untrained individuals on the streets. Although they aren’t as effective as a true submission hold, getting caught in a headlock by a stronger opponent can be a very painful and demoralizing experience. The Frame Escape is the first of two headlock escape strategies that we recommend you perfect for use against larger adversaries in a ground fight. In this lesson, you will start by learning the Standard Frame Escape, and then you will see what to do if it doesn’t work.
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Standing Armbar
Although we normally recommend you take the fight to the ground, sometimes your opponent will give you an opportunity to end the fight while standing. Many confrontations begin with an opponent pushing your chest with one or both hands unknowingly creating the perfect opportunity for you to apply the Standing Armlock. First, you will learn the Basic Application, then you will see how to use it in a more dynamic situation.
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Double Underhook Pass - Guard
In sport jiu-jitsu practice, passing the guard is of the utmost importance. But as you know, preparing for a street fight and preparing for a recreational jiu-jitsu tournament are two different things. In a street fight, there is a 99% chance that your opponent will know nothing about jiu-jitsu and, as a result, they will not know how to use the closed guard to their advantage. As a result, you will be able to pass their guard by simply trapping their hips and stepping over their legs as you learned in lesson 1. In the unlikely event that you find yourself in your opponent’s closed guard during a street fight, you can use the Double Underhook Guard Pass to break their guard and get to a more powerful position of control. First, you will learn the Open Guard Variation that will work on 99% of people, and then you’ll learn the Closed Guard Variation that can be used in a fight against someone slightly more versed in the grappling arts.
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Double Leg Takedown (Conservative Opponent)
The advantage of establishing an upper body clinch is that once you take your opponent down you end up in the very dominant mount position, and you can disengage from the clinch if necessary (e.g., in a multiple attacker situation). If you anticipate difficulty in establishing the clinch, however, the Double Leg Takedown is a great alternative. In this lesson you will learn the basic mechanics of the Double Leg Takedown, and then you will learn how to apply it against opponents of varying levels of aggression.
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Armbar - Guard
The most common type of attack you will encounter from an opponent who is trapped inside your guard is a punch to the face. Once they realize that they can’t effectively punch you they will try to get access to your neck or face by any means necessary. Whenever someone attacks your neck or face from within your guard, they are giving you the opportunity to catch them in a Straight Armlock. In this lesson you will learn two variations of the Straight Armlock as well as what to do if the opponent escapes by pulling their arm out.
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Clinch (Aggressive Opponent)
Most martial arts rely heavily on the use of strikes to defeat the opponent. This strategy may work against a smaller opponent, but is very risky against a larger, more athletic opponent who could potentially knock you out each time you put yourself in range to strike them. The best strategy is to establish a clinch and take the fight to the ground where you can conserve energy, neutralize strikes, and win the fight with ease. The key to establishing a clinch on an aggressive opponent is to understand that there are two safe distances in a fight: all the way out, or all the way in.
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Reflex Development - Freestyle Focus Class Preview

In this class we'll bring together control, escape, and submission details from various positions you are familiar with and add some extra details, bonus slices, and scripted fight simulation drills that will help prepare you for your transition into Master Cycle!

Gracie Combatives Test - Drill 5: Freestyle Fight Simulation
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Reflex Development - Freestyle Focus Class Preview

In this class we'll bring together control, escape, and submission details from various positions you are familiar with and add some extra details, bonus slices, and scripted fight simulation drills that will help prepare you for your transition into Master Cycle!

Gracie Combatives Test - Drill 5: Freestyle Fight Simulation
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Positional Control (Mount)
The mount is the most dominant position in a fight because it enables you to win the fight in a variety of ways while depleting your opponent’s energy. You must understand, however, that as soon as you achieve the mount, your opponent will do everything in his power to get you off of them. In this lesson you will learn how to control and exhaust a larger stronger opponent from the mount. First, you will learn how to apply effective hip pressure, and then you will see how to neutralize the most common escape attempts you can expect from an untrained opponent in a real fight.
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Body Fold Takedown
Instead of exchanging punches with a larger opponent, we recommend that you establish the clinch and take them to the ground where you can exhaust and submit them. Once you establish the clinch, there is a good chance that they will get desperate and try to hit you in the face. In doing so, they will lean back and unknowingly create the perfect opportunity for the Body Fold Takedown.
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