WWAARRNNIINNGGThe techniques presented in this book are dangerous. Before you begin

your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu training, you should consult a physician. You and your partner should always communi-cate with each other and stop when the other signals. All techniques should be practiced under the supervi-

sion of a qualified instructor. The author of this book shall not be held liable for the misuse of any informationcontained within.

BBJJJJ BBLLUUEE BBEELLTT RREEQQUUIIRREEMMEENNTTSS

INTRODUCTION

Requirements for Blue Belt vary from school to school, even within the same association. The pur-pose of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Basics is to provide readers with the most commonly required techniques forblue belt.

This E Book does not contain ALL of the techniques from BJJ Basics, nor does it outline each tech-nique in depth. This is the Cliffs Notes version, providing readers with an outline of commonly required tech-niques.

Before we start, I would like to provide you with a complete list of commonly required techniques forblue belt. Most teachers follow one of two approaches: 1. a smaller number of techniques form each positionat a very high level of proficiency. 2. a larger number of techniques as an overview, making sure the studenthas a general understanding. I find myself somewhere in the middle, but prefer the first method and myBasic Book reflects the highest percentage moves (moves you see working most of the time) within the art ofBrazilian Jiu-jitsu.

I have broken the following list down by position to make it easy to follow:

Commonly Required Blue Belt Techniques:

Escapes- Headlock Escape- Side Control Escape- Mount Escape (upa)- Mount Escape (elbow escape/escaping movement)- Ankle Lock Escape- Escape from Knee on Belly- Escape from Rear Choke

Hold DownsMust show ability to control from:- Mount- Side- Kesa Gatame- Knee On Belly- North South

Top Submissions- Kimura- Arm Lock (juji gatame)- Choke from Mount- Choke from Side- Choke from Knee on belly- Ankle Lock (sometimes from within guard)- Americana (key lock)

GuardMust be able to exhibit the ability to keep people from passing the guard easily.

Submissions- Guillotine- Armbar- Omoplata- Triangle- Collar Chokes (2)- Kimura- Must be able to combine at least 3 of the previous moves in a sequence

Sweeps- Scissors- Standing Sweeps (usually require 2)- Belly (Kimura) Sweep- Setting up sweep with Armbar- Setting up sweep with Triangle

Guard Passing- 2 - 3 Ways to Pass the Guard

Techniques from the Back- At least one way to take the back & control- Mata Leo Choke- Collar Choke

Standing Techniques

A variety of self defense movements are taught here, these are the ones that I feel are important:

Throws:- O Goshi- O Soto Gari- Ippon (usually for Rear Choke Escape)

Double Leg Takedown

Ukemi (how to fall)

Basic Self Defense Movements:- Bear Hug Defense- Head Lock Defense- Lapel Grab Defense- Basic Punch Defense- Basic Kick Defense- How to close the distance (clinch) on punches

Other Requirements:Different schools may have extra requirements. Some schools will force you to compete for each belt, somedon't compete at all. I have a set of basic disciplinary requirements, these are among them:- I won't give a Blue Belt to a smoker- Student must be helpful and respectful to classmates- Student must show respect for himself and others outside theschool- Children and teen age students must be passing at school (academically)- Student must show respect for their uniform and belt as well as hygiene

Some schools require you to know BJJ history, instructor's history, help around the school, etc … It all variesfrom school to school.

UNDERSTANDING THIS TEXT

I have included the Chapter outlines from Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Basics as this is an overview of the Blue Beltrequirements. The actual book contains text descriptions for each picture in an easy to read format. I haveincluded two pages as a sample of what you will see when you order the actual book.

119

O n c e I g r a b m y o p p o -n e n t ’s l e f t w r i s t , I w i l l s i t u p ,re a c h i n g o v e r h i s l e f t t r i c e p a ss h o w n t o t h e l e f t i n f i g u r e 2 .

I c o n t i n u e t o re a c h o v e rm y o p p o n e n t ’s l e f t a r m w i t h m yl e f t a r m u n t i l I re a c h m y o w nr i g h t w r i s t ( f i g u r e 3 ) . O n c e Ire a c h m y o w n w r i s t , I w i l l gr a b

i t a s s h o w n i n t h e c i rc u l a rp i c t u r e b e l o w . I w i l l

k e e p m y o p p o n e n t ’ sl e f t a r m b e n t a t a 9 0d e gre e a n g l e .

To f inish this lock on myopponent ’s shoulder, I must per-for m the fol lowing task s: -Turn my opponent’s left hand

toward the cei l ing.-Keep my r ight leg over his back.-Weave my left leg around his as

shown and kick out.

2

3

4

SAMPLE PAGE FROMBRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU

BASICS

119

Guillotine Choke from the Guard

S o m e t i m e s , I w i l l a t t e m p tt h e K i m u r a l o c k a n d m y o p p o -n e n t w i l l d e fe n d b y g r a b b i n gh i s o w n b e l t o r p a n t s a s s h o w nh e re t o t h e l e f t i n f i g u r e 1 .

I f t h i s h a p p e n s , I w i l lm o v e t o a n e w s u b m i s s i o n b yre l e a s i n g m y gr i p o n m y o p p o -n e n t ’s l e f t a r m a n d w r a p p i n gm y l e f t a r m a ro u n d m y o p p o -n e n t ’s n e c k u n t i l m y l e f t h a n di s u n d e r h i s c h i n ( f i g u r e 2 ) .

O n c e m y l e f t h a n d i su n d e r m y o p p o n e n t ’ s c h i n , Iw i l l c l a s p m y h a n d s t o ge t h e r a ss h o w n i n f i g u r e 3 .

At t h i s p o i n t , I m u s tre m e m b e r t o s q u e e z e h i s n e c kt i g h t l y w i t h m y a r m s , n o t a l l o w -i n g h i m t o p u l l h i s h e a d o u t a n de s c a p e . I k e e p m y g u a r dc l o s e d a r o u n d h i s w a i s t a n ds q u e e z e m y l e g s t o ge t h e r.

1

2

3

SSttaannddiinngg TTeecchhnniiqquueess CChhaapptteerr OOuuttlliinnee

Closing Distance Punch Defense Kick Defense

29

Grab Defenses Rear Choke Defense

BearHugDefense

Head LockDefense

31

Passing the Guard Chapter Outline

59

71

TTeecchhnniiqquueess ffrroomm tthhee TToopp PPoossiittiioonnCCoonnttrroolllliinngg ffrroomm tthhee TToopp

Hold-downs consist of aser ies of immobilization techniquesand body positions that will allow youto either restrain or submit youropponent from the top. Your legsshould be used as both counterweights and stabilizers to hold youropponent in a desired position. Mosthold-downs from the side aredesigned to keep your opponent'sshoulders pinned to the floor.

KKeessaa GGaattaammee

There are two var iations ofKesa Gatame: one in which your armis under the armpit of your oppo-nent's far arm and the other whereyour arm is around his neck instead.In the variation where your arm is notunder your opponent's armpit, youmust be sure to keep the shoulderclosest to you off the floor and main-tain an upward pull on that arm. Thisleverage will stop your opponent fromrolling on his side and escaping.

110000 KKiillooss

T h i s i s s i m p l y a h o l d d o w n f ro mt h e s i d e p o s i t i o n w h e re y o u a rec h e s t t o c h e s t w i t h y o u r o p p o -n e n t . T h e l e g o f y o u r o p p o n e n tt h a t i s c l o s e s t t o y o u s h o u l d b ec o n t r o l l e d s o t h a t h e c a n n o tre p l a c e h i s l e g u n d e r n e a t h y o u rb o d y a n d re ga i n h i s g u a rd p o s i -t i o n . Fo r t h i s p u r p o s e , y o u r h a n dw i l l u s u a l l y gr a b y o u r o p p o n e n t ' sp a n t s b y t h e h i p o r l e g .

S o m e t i m e s w h e n y o u r h a n di s re q u i re d fo r a f i n i s h i n g t e c h -n i q u e f ro m t h i s p o s i t i o n , t h e h a n di s re m o v e d f ro m t h e l e g a n d t h e( y o u r ) l e g c l o s e s t t o h i s l e g i sm o v e d i n t o b l o c k i t . T h e l e g o nt h e s i d e o f y o u r o p p o n e n t ' s h e a di s u s u a l l y k e p t i n a n e x t e n d e dp o s i t i o n fo r t w o p u r p o s e s :

11)) To assist in creat ing pressureby dr iv ing of f the bal l of y our foot .

22)) To p ro v i d e a c o u n t e r w e i g h t i nt h e e v e n t t h a t y o u r o p p o n e n ta t t e m p t s t o ro l l y o u .

Modified Kesa Gatame

Post your leg out for a base

The difference between KesaGatame and Modified KesaGatame is the arm under youropponent’s far armpit.

Pull up on your opponent’s close arm sohe cannot face you and get to his knees.

73

NNoorrtthh SSoouutthh

Known in Japanese terms as"kami shiho gatame" or "top four cor-ner hold", this position should be helpby keeping a wide base with your legs.If your legs are not posted out at a 45degree angle, your opponent will havea better chance of rolling you fromside to side. Your opponent's hipswill be controlled by the use of yourhands and sometimes your head in hislower abdominal region. Control ofthe hips will restr ict the lower extrem-ities full range of motion.

MMoouunntt

If you have achieved themount position, you will be 'sitting'on your opponent's chest with bothknees on the floor at either side ofhis body. This position is an excel-lent position from which to attackbecause your arms are not alwaysrequired to maintain the hold. Thefreedom of your arms will allow youto either str ike your opponent orapply submission holds.

KKnneeee oonn BBeellllyy

Like the mount position, yourhands are free to attack your oppo-nent with str ikes or submission holds.Many exper ts of j iu-jitsu prefer touse this position while f ighting onsur faces that may cause damage tothe knees. Here, a major ity of yourbody weight is rested on your oppo-nent's sternum, belly or lower chestwith your knee. Your other knee iskept at a 45 degree angle to youropponent's body for balance, count-er-weight, and mobility .

100 Kilos

You may grip your opponent’s pants sothat he cannot escape away or place hisleg under you to regain his guard.

You may choose to hold your oppo-

nent’s gi collar and apply pressure to

his face with your shoulder.

North South

Grab your opponent’s pantsso he cannot escape easily.

You may spread your legs outand drop your hips low to pre-vent being rolled.

Mount

You may flatten your stomach to his andgrapevine the legs for less maneuverabil-ity, but greater control.

Sit higher on your opponent’s chestfor more attacking options...

Knee on Belly

Your r ight hand may be used to con-trol his leg or set up chokes with theuse of the kimono.

Your lef thand may bemoved to dif-ferent posi-tions in orderto establishcontrol of setup submis-sions.

Hold your oppo-nent ’s collar andpant leg. Pull upand drive your kneeinto his chest/bellyfor tight control.

79

Finishing from the Top

Once you have established control of your opponent from the topposition, a variety of submissions that may be applied will present them-selves. The following submissions are basic joint locks and chokes whichevery student must know before passing on to the level of blue belt inBrazilian Jiu-jitsu.

CollarChokefromMount

Arm Barfrom Kneeon Belly

CollarChokefrom Side

AmericanafromMount

Arm BarfromMount

81

Kimura

Collar Chokefrom Knee onBelly

Techniques from the Back Position

RReeaarr MMoouunntt

Also called "taking the back", the rear mount or back mount position is atrademark position of the art of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. This is the most dominant ofall jiu-jitsu positions and will provide it's user with the most protection againstcounter attacks out of all the positions of jiu-jitsu. As a user of this position, youare controlling your opponent with your feet, called "hooks" over the top of hisupper (front) thighs. This will limit his ability to turn freely and face you or rollaway. Attacking from the back will limit your opponent's leverage to str ike or attackyour vital areas, while at the same time, providing you with the position in which tomount a series of highly effective attacks.

CollarChoke fromthe Back

Taking theBack fromNorth South

Takingthe Back

T h e r e a r e t w o b a s i ct y p e s o f g u a r d i n B r a z i l i a nJ i u - j i t s u : o p e n a n d c l o s e d .A n y t i m e y o u r a n k l e s a r ec r o s s e d b e h i n d y o u r o p p o -n e n t ’ s b a c k , y o u r g u a r d i sc l o s e d , w h e n t h e y a r eu n c ro s s e d , i t i s o p e n . M y s u g -ge s t i o n t o a l l s t u d e n t s o fB r a z i l i a n J i u - j i t s u i s t o p r a c -t i c e w i t h y o u r g u a rd o p e n a sm u ch a s p o s s i b l e .

O n c e y o u r g u a rd i s o p e n ,t h e re a re m a n y d i f fe re n t wa y st o p l a c e y o u r fe e t a n d c o n t ro ly o u r o p p o n e n t . E a ch d i f fe r -e n t p l a c e m e n t h a s a n a m e t h a tm o st s ch o o l s u s e t o d e s c r i b et h a t t y p e o f o p e n g u a rd , b u tt h i s i s a n a d va n c e d m a t t e r t h a t

w i l l b e c o v e re d i n gre a t e r d e p t hi n T h e M a st e r Tex t .

T h e i m p o r t a n t t h i n g t ore m e m b e r i s t o n o t a l l o w y o u ro p p o n e n t t o p a s s y o u r g u a rda n d a s s u m e c o n t r o l a t y o u rs i d e . To d o t h i s , y o u m a y u s ey o u r fe e t t o c o n t r o l y o u ro p p o n e n t ’ s a r m s , h i p s a n dl e g s . Yo u r h a n d s m a y a l s o b ei n c o r p o r a t e d t o a s s i s t i n s e t -t i n g u p s u b m i s s i o n s a n d t u r n -i n g y o u r o p p o n e n t o v e r.

Yo u r fe e t s h o u l d b e u s e d

l i ke h a n d s , a d d i n g t w o t o y o u rc o n t r o l l i n g l i m b s . Yo u r fe e tc a n b e u s e d t o b l o c k p u n c h e s ,o r s t o p y o u r o p p o n e n t f r o mm o v i n g t o y o u r s i d e ( p a s s i n gy o u r g u a rd ) . Fo r t h i s , y o u m a y

103

p l a c e y o u r fo o t i n y o u r o p p o -n e n t ’s b i c e p . I f y o u r o p p o n e n ti s m o v i n g t o y o u r l e f t , y o us h o u l d p l a c e y o u r fo o t i n h i sl e f t b i c e p . Yo u m a y a l s o p lacey o u r fo o t u n d e r y o u r o p p o -n e n t ’ s l e f t a r m p i t a n d ‘ h o o k ’y our foot behind h is lef t ar m.As y ou do th is , y ou must con-trol h is col lar so he does notatt ack your ank le as I w i l l i l lus-t r a t e i n t h e s e c t i o n o n l e glock s . This type of guard usei s c o m m o n l y c a l l e d “ s p i d e r

guard” and is a h igh l y ef fect iveposit ion f rom which t o set upm a n y c o m m o n s u b m i s s i o n sin vol v ing y our legs . Your feetm a y a l s o b e u s e d t o c o n t ro ly our opponent ’s legs by ‘hook-ing ’ under or behind them. Thiswi l l prevent y our opponent f rom

m o v i n g b a c k o r t o t h e s i d e .L e t ’ s s a y y o u r o p p o n e n twished t o move t o h is lef t ; int h a t c a s e , y o u w o u l d s i m p l yplace y our lef t foot behind h isr ight leg , prevent ing h im f rommoving that way .

Your feet may be placedin y our opponent ’s h ips as wel l .This act ion wi l l he lp control thedist ance between y ou and y ouropponent . Remember that y ourl e g s a r e l o n ge r a n d fa r m o r epower ful than y our opponent ’sar ms. This w i l l a l low y ou t okeep an opponent who wishesto str ike y ou at a safe dist ance.Control of the h ips is a lso ver yim por t ant against a much heav-ier opponent who is tr y ing toim pose h is weight upon y ou.

Through the combinat ionof these foot p lacements, y ouwi l l begin t o control and of f-balance y our opponent . Thisof f-balancing wi l l present y ouw i t h n e w o p p o r t u n i t i e s t os w e e p a n d / o r s u b m i t y o u ropponent with great ease fromt h e b o t t o m p o s i t i o n .

The feet may beused like handsto control youropponent’s arms.

Use your hands to control your opponent’sarms, legs or neck (collar) to stop him fromcoming to your side (passing you legs) andset up submissions or sweeps (turnovers).

105

Submissions from the guard

The f irst three submissions: 1. ar m bar 2. tr iangle choke 3. omoplata(shoulder lock with the legs) in this section are the pi l lars of submission fromthe guard position. The reason for this is as fol lows: f irst, al l three of thesemovements connect to each other equally . In other words, you wil l be able toaccess either one of these submissions if the f irst doesn't work or in the eventthat your opponent is making an escape attempt. The second reason for theimpor tance placed on these movements is that they are al l achieved throughleverage created by your ar ms and legs together. This makes them very easy toapply with l itt le use of strength. The f inal reason for the impor tance of thesemovements from the guard position is that they can al l be per for med without theuse of the kimono, making them applicable in any situation. In the next fewpages, I wi l l i l lustrate the dif ferences between these three moves when thekimono is not involved. The techniques without the kimono are straight fromthe Master Text and wil l give you a tiny sample of what is to come.

Armbar

Triangle

CollarChoke

Kimura

Guillotine

107

Omoplata

UsingArmbar

to Set upSweep

UsingTriangle

to Set upSweep

StandingSweep 1

StandingSweep 2

ScissorsSweep

123

Kimura Sweep

MountEscape

KesaGatameEscape

SideControlEscape

BackHold

Escape

LLeegg LLoocckkss

For reasons of safety and other phi losophical complexit ies, leg locktechniques in Brazi l ian Jiu- j itsu are usual ly a secondary method of attack . Itis , however impor tant to lear n and understand them. You wi l l probably f indthat responsible instr uctors wi l l not al low you to per for m these techniques asa beginner dur ing regular free spar r ing practice. There are two fundamentalreasons for this: the f irst is because accidents do happen in every spor t. Ifyou are al lowed to per for m leg lock s at ful l speed and resistance, it isinevitable that you or your par tner wi l l eventual ly make a mistake and in jurethat area. If an in jury to the leg occurs, unl ike an in jury to the ar m, the recipi-ent wi l l be extremely disabled and may not be able to attend work or otherimpor tant l ife cal l ings and typical duties. The second reason is that thenature of the ner vous system in the are of the foot is such that the recipientof the lock wi l l of ten t imes not feel pain before damage to the l igamentsoccurs. A student wi l l eventual ly gain the exper ience and level of matur itythat wi l l tr igger a wi l l ingness to submit to this type of lock , but in the beginningof your Jiu- j itsu practice, you wi l l not yet have this foresight.

Ankle Lock

Escape

Knee Bar