A grappler’s skills evolve, and how they understand a technique can change over time. These techniques are at the core of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and evolve depending on how a practitioner interprets them.
There are hundreds of BJJ techniques, and they are constantly evolving. Because of this, numerous variations emerge depending on how a BJJ move is applied, creating new positions and methods. Additionally, BJJ tournaments and organizations can influence fighters’ approaches by adjusting the rules and guidelines and shaping how techniques are used.
You may have specialized in a few techniques and focused much of your training on those areas, but now is the perfect time to review and expand your skills. In this piece, we’ll share some of our favorite techniques; there are tons! We’ve organized them by category to make learning and familiarization easier!
Importance of the Learning the Fundamental Techniques?
Whether you’re just starting your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) journey or are well on your way, the techniques you learn—from basic to advanced—form the core of your BJJ game. If you’re curious about how many techniques exist, there isn’t a set number. BJJ is a fluid and ever-evolving martial art, with new techniques constantly being developed as the system adapts and grows.
If you were to ask BJJ schools to list all their techniques, you’d find thousands—each one vital for learning the fundamentals. Here’s why focusing on core techniques is key:
- Tailored Training: By focusing on the basics, you can identify the BJJ program that best suits your goals, whether you’re training for competition, self-defense, or fitness. Mastering the fundamentals will guide you toward the right style or methodology.
- Building Blocks for Complexity: Core techniques form the foundation for more advanced moves, including guard positions, transitions, escapes, and submissions.
- Smooth Transition to Advanced Techniques: A solid grasp of the basics ensures that you can transition seamlessly to high-level grappling techniques and applications.
- Self-Defense Mastery: Developing proficiency in these techniques greatly enhances your self-defense skills, making them more effective in real-life situations.
- Becoming a Versatile Grappler: Continually refining the basics—from guard retention to sweeps and submissions—will make you a more well-rounded and adaptable practitioner.
By honing these fundamental techniques, you’ll be prepared to handle both the physical and strategic demands of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at any level.
Different Categories of Techniques Beginners Must Know
While it’s impossible to pinpoint an exact number of BJJ techniques, we can group them into key categories. Whether you’re an advanced practitioner or a competitive fighter, revisiting and refining these techniques will elevate your game and keep your skills sharp.
For beginners, we’ve organized these techniques into fundamental categories—submissions, sweeps, locks, and chokes—alongside essential positions that every grappler must master. Building a strong foundation in these areas is crucial for success in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Positions
A BJJ practitioner should be familiar with at least three fundamental positions. Mastering proper positioning and combinations, along with a well-thought-out game plan, enhances your ability to control the fight and improve both offense and defense. By securing the right position, you can protect yourself, set up your next move, and stay prepared for any situation that arises.
- Guard: The guard position can seriously and effectively limit your opponent’s ability to counter and attack. This is one of the first techniques introduced to a BJJ student. It develops your ability to control and manage framing, which adds versatility to your ground game and enhances your guard skills.
- Mount: The mount is considered the ultimate position in BJJ, often called the “King of Jiu-Jitsu.” Though complex, it’s highly effective and worth points in BJJ competitions. There are three main variations: low mount, technical mount, and high mount.
- Control (Side/Back): This dominant position offers balanced opportunities but can be technically challenging. It forces your opponent into a tight chest-to-chest engagement, limiting their movement. With the right setup and strategy, you can smoothly transition to side control, back control, or execute a back take from side control, maintaining control and advancing your position.
Escapes
Escape techniques in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu typically focus on movement, leverage, and positioning rather than punching or kicking, as BJJ is a grappling-based martial art. When the fight centers around control and submission, escaping a submission relies on using proper technique to break free from your opponent’s hold, rather than striking. Escapes are about creating space, improving your position, and avoiding being caught in a vulnerable spot.
- Bridge: As you arch back from the ground, the bridge is a grappling technique you can use to move your opponent away from you if they have trapped or locked you during a ground fight. This removes the opponent when they pin you on the ground, and it looks like you cannot escape.
- Shrimping: Shrimping is another tiny detail in your BJJ flow of movements, where you elevate your footwork skills, especially when faced with a tricky opponent. Three common sub-variants of shrimping include backward shrimping, forward (or reverse), and lateral.
- Back Escape: The back escape technique teaches build precise frames and execute escapes. This emphasizes the importance of combining multiple tricks to create a gap between your back and the opponent and create a certain distance to escape.
Passes
Passing techniques aim to establish a dominant position by maneuvering around the opponent’s legs and waist. The type of pass you choose depends on various factors, including the direction of the pass and the specific position of the opponent’s body, such as their guard (e.g., closed guard, open guard). Each passing technique is tailored to the specific guard you are facing, and understanding these nuances is crucial for effective passing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
- Knee Slice Pass: Also called the knee cut pass, this is an open-guard passing technique in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in which the passer positions a leg across the guard player’s waist, whether upright or in a dominant stance, cutting through the opponent’s guard to advance their position.
- Over-Under Pass: Considered the most significant or ultimate pressure pass, this is usually used to pass a butterfly guard, allowing you to transition to a dominant position while maintaining control. This emphasizes body mechanics and leverage.
- X-Pass: This is the simplest way to pass an open guard, which follows the one-in-one-out principle. One foot is in, cutting across your opponent’s leg, and the other one is out.
Transitions
Transitions are various techniques where a grappler can smoothly change positions to another, from a submission hold to another grappling position. In Bjj, among the favorite of grapplers, three would be on our list.
- Mount-to-back control: Moving from mount-to-back control includes pinning an opponent’s arm to execute a subtle Americana setup. This transition showcases the skill required to dominate your opponent.
- Side control to mount: Transitioning from side control to mount begins with clinching and pinning the opponent’s arm to your side. As you trap their arm and bring your knee to the mat, this flow of movement secures a dominant position.
- Guard recovery: Guard recovery is often overlooked, but it’s essential for regaining control after a guard pass. A strong guard player must maintain leg control and use small movements to create frames, allowing them to recover their guard effectively. Practicing guard recovery drills is vital for solid tournament competitors.
Sweeps
A sweep in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a technique that allows you to transition from a defensive or neutral position, typically from the guard, to a dominant or more advantageous position, often by reversing or unbalancing your opponent.
- Scissor Sweep: The scissor sweep is a simple sweep used to move from the guard position to the mount or side control position. The BJJ practitioner must use their legs to sweep the opponent off them and assume a dominant position.
- Hip Bump Sweep: Hip bump sweep aims to knock your opponent off-balance using your hips before sweeping them onto their back. You may do this from both the top and bottom positions.
- Butterfly Sweep: The butterfly sweep is one of the grapplers’ favorite moves, and thanks to the butterfly hook, a range of attacks and transitions go with it—Marcelo Garcia has popularized this.
Submissions
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu submissions are where an opponent is forced to tap out when the BJJ fighter successfully applies the submission hold by pinning the arms, choking the neck, or applying pressure to joints. There are around 30 to 60 known submission techniques in BJJ, but here are three of the most widely used / tournament favorites:
- Rear Naked Choke: This powerful submission is often executed from the back mount position and targets the neck. This move can seriously weaken the opponent, causing them to tap out due to the cutting off of blood flow to the brain.
- Armbar: One of the most common and effective submissions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the armbar hyperextends the elbow joint by applying pressure in the opposite direction, making it a go-to move for many practitioners.
- Triangle Choke: The triangle choke is a choke performed from when you are on the bottom of the guard position. The triangle uses the legs and a trapped arm to perform the choke. It is a strong submission that is hard to escape when performed properly. It works well in combination with the armbar, and with sweeps.
- Kimura and Americana: These two shoulder locks can be performed from multiple positions (guard, mount, side mount) and are an important part of a beginner’s arsenal of submissions. Both locks are executed similarly, they differ from in which way the arm is bent when the submission is performed.
Takedowns/Throws
Throws and takedowns are essential methods for beginners to learn in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, where you bring the fight to the ground and end the match. These techniques vary in complexity, but here are three common ones:
- Double Leg Takedown: This is a fundamental and widely used takedown that involves shooting in on both your opponent’s legs and driving them to the ground. It’s effective in both Gi and No-Gi settings.
- Single Leg Takedown: This versatile method involves grabbing the opponent’s legs and lifting them. It is useful when the opponent loses balance, and with timing, you can successfully drive them down on the mat.
- Hip Toss: The hip toss is a classic move that is especially effective in Gi matches, where grips can aid the execution. Its roots are in Judo. The hips are used as a fulcrum to throw the opponent onto the ground.
Conclusion
BJJ techniques should be practiced with a deep understanding to truly elevate your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game. Mastery of these moves allows you to seamlessly blend attacks, making your style unpredictable and your defense harder to break. This adaptability opens the door for devastating submissions like the rear naked choke and precise takedowns. As you continue to train and expand your arsenal, controlling and finishing opponents will become second nature, whether in practice or competition.
