61 techniques documented
TECHNIQUES
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Bible technique library. Each entry covers mechanics, key points, common mistakes, and drills with references to the practitioners who mastered the technique.
ARMBAR FROM CLOSED GUARD
Armlock da Guarda Fechada
The armbar from closed guard is the canonical submission of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu — the first weapon a white belt is handed and the technique that, even decades i…
TRIANGLE FROM CLOSED GUARD
Triângulo da Guarda Fechada
The triangle choke from closed guard is jiu jitsu's most recognizable strangle and one of its most lethal. Inherited from the judo sankaku-jime, it took its mod…
KIMURA FROM CLOSED GUARD
Kimura da Guarda Fechada
The kimura is a shoulder lock executed via a figure-four grip on the opponent's wrist, named after the great Japanese judoka Masahiko Kimura, who broke Helio Gr…
HIP BUMP SWEEP
Raspagem de Quadril
The hip bump sweep is the simplest reversal in the closed-guard playbook and one of the most consequential, because nearly every other closed-guard sweep and su…
PENDULUM SWEEP
Raspagem de Pêndulo
The pendulum sweep, known in Portuguese as raspagem da flor, is the closed guard's answer to an opponent who plants their hands on the mat or on the hips to bas…
SCISSOR SWEEP
Raspagem de Tesoura
The scissor sweep is the highest-percentage gi sweep at white and blue belt and a technique that survives unchanged into the black-belt game because it solves a…
KNEE CUT PASS
Passagem de Joelho Cortado
The knee cut pass is the single most-used guard pass at every level of modern competitive jiu jitsu. It works in the gi and no-gi, it functions against beginner…
TORREANDO PASS
Passagem Toreador
The torreando, or bullfighter pass, is the speed-and-angle answer to open guard. Named for the matador's pass-and-step around the bull's horns, the technique us…
HIP ESCAPE (SHRIMP)
Fuga de Quadril
The hip escape, known in Portuguese as fuga de quadril, is the most fundamental movement in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the first thing a competent instructor teach…
TECHNICAL STAND-UP
Levantada Técnica
The technical stand-up is the safest way to return to feet from any seated or supine position in jiu jitsu, and it is the defining self-defense movement of the …
OMOPLATA
Omoplata
The omoplata is a shoulder lock executed by isolating one of the opponent's arms with the legs, swinging the same-side leg over the opponent's back, and finishi…
AMERICANA
Americana
The americana is a shoulder lock executed via a figure-four grip on the opponent's wrist with the elbow bent at 90 degrees, the wrist driven toward the mat, and…
EZEKIEL CHOKE
Estrangulamento Ezequiel
The ezekiel choke, known in Japanese as sode guruma jime (sleeve wheel choke), is a gi-based strangulation that uses the attacker's own sleeve as the anchor of …
CROSS-COLLAR CHOKE FROM MOUNT
Estrangulamento Cruzado de Gola da Montada
The cross-collar choke from mount is the canonical mount submission of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the first technique taught in nearly every Gracie self-defense cu…
BERIMBOLO
Berimbolo
The berimbolo is the inverted back-take technique that defined a generation of competitive jiu jitsu. Developed inside the Mendes brothers' academy in São Paulo…
SINGLE-LEG TAKEDOWN
Queda de Uma Perna
The single-leg takedown is the most-used wrestling-derived takedown in modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the takedown that defines the standing exchange in both gi…
DOUBLE-LEG TAKEDOWN
Queda de Duas Pernas
The double-leg takedown is the highest-percentage takedown in collegiate wrestling and a foundational standing technique in modern jiu jitsu. Where the single-l…
UPA ESCAPE (BRIDGE AND ROLL)
Upa (Fuga da Montada)
The upa, called bridge-and-roll in English, is the first escape every white belt learns and one of the two universal answers to being mounted (the other being t…
BUTTERFLY SWEEP
Raspagem da Borboleta
The butterfly sweep is the canonical reversal from butterfly guard and the technique that defines the seated open-guard game in modern no-gi competition. By hoo…
OLD-SCHOOL SWEEP
Raspagem Old-School
The old-school sweep is the signature reversal from half guard and the technique most responsible for converting half guard from a defeated position into one of…
SPIDER SWEEP
Raspagem da Aranha
The spider sweep is the canonical reversal from spider guard and one of the most-used sweeps in IBJJF gi competition. Using sleeve grips and the soles of the fe…
LASSO SWEEP
Raspagem do Lasso
The lasso sweep is the reversal from lasso guard — the open-guard variant in which one of the bottom player's legs is threaded through the opponent's same-side …
DE LA RIVA SWEEP
Raspagem De La Riva
The classical De La Riva sweep is the foundational reversal from De La Riva guard and the technique that established the position as a legitimate offensive base…
LEG DRAG PASS
Passagem Leg Drag
The leg drag is one of the three pillars of modern competitive guard passing, alongside the knee cut and the torreando. Refined by Rafael Mendes and the Atos te…
OVER-UNDER PASS
Passagem Over-Under
The over-under pass is the foundational pressure-passing technique in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and one of the few passes that scales upward against larger opponents …
STACK PASS
Passagem Empilhada
The stack pass is the canonical closed-guard pass taught at white belt and the first answer most practitioners learn to the problem of being inside a closed gua…
GRANBY ROLL
Rolamento Granby
The granby roll is the inversion-based guard-recovery movement that allows a practitioner to spin under and around the top player's passing pressure, re-emergin…
TRIANGLE FROM MOUNT
Triângulo da Montada
The mounted triangle is one of the most punishing finishes in modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and one of the few submissions where the position itself — high mount —…
ELBOW-KNEE ESCAPE FROM MOUNT
Fuga Cotovelo-Joelho da Montada
The elbow-knee escape is the second universal mount escape every white belt learns, paired with the upa (bridge-and-roll) as the two foundational answers to bei…
BACK ESCAPE (PEEK-OUT)
Fuga das Costas
The peek-out is the canonical escape from back control and the technique every practitioner must master to have a functional back-defense game. Because back con…
ARM DRAG
Arrasto de Braço
The arm drag is a wrestling-derived control technique that captures one of the opponent's arms and pulls it across their body, opening the back-take angle as th…
TOMOE NAGE
Tomoe Nage
Tomoe nage is the sacrifice throw inherited directly from Kodokan judo in which the attacker falls backward to the mat while planting one foot in the opponent's…
DOUBLE UNDER PASS
Passagem com Duas por Baixo
The double under pass is the pressure-passing technique in which the passer threads both arms under the opponent's thighs from inside the guard, grips the oppon…
HEADQUARTERS PASS (HQ)
Passagem HQ
The Headquarters pass — typically abbreviated HQ — is a hybrid passing technique in which the passer establishes a knee-on-the-floor position next to the bottom…
LONG STEP PASS
Passagem com Passo Longo
The long step pass is the guard-pass technique in which the passer steps the inside leg across and over the bottom player's thigh in a single committed motion, …
ARMBAR FROM MOUNT
Armlock da Montada
The armbar from mount is one of the canonical mount submissions and the natural follow-up to a defended cross-collar choke. Where the closed-guard armbar requir…
REVERSE TRIANGLE
Triângulo Invertido
The reverse triangle is the figure-four leg strangulation executed from a side-on angle, with the attacker's legs closing around the opponent's head and one tra…
CALF SLICER
Compressão de Panturrilha
The calf slicer is the compression lock that traps the opponent's calf muscle between the attacker's shinbone and the back of the opponent's own thigh, applying…
UNDERHOOK ESCAPE FROM SIDE CONTROL
Fuga do Cento por Cento com Underhook
The underhook escape is the canonical recovery from side control and the technique every practitioner relies on when the bridge-and-shrimp combination has faile…
CROSS-COLLAR CHOKE FROM GUARD
Estrangulamento Cruzado da Guarda
The cross-collar choke from closed guard is the gi strangulation executed from the bottom position using two opposite collar grips that cross at the wrist to co…
COLLAR DRAG
Arrasto de Gola
The collar drag is the gi equivalent of the arm drag — a control technique that uses a deep cross-collar grip to pull the opponent's upper body across and forwa…
SMASH PASS
Passagem de Esmagamento
The smash pass is the pressure-passing technique in which the passer drops their hip and shoulder onto the bottom player's trapped leg, crushing it across the b…
FOLDING PASS
Passagem de Dobramento
The folding pass is the modern pressure-passing technique in which the passer body-locks the opponent's hips and folds them up by walking the legs above the sho…
STANDING GUARD BREAK
Abertura de Guarda em Pé
The standing guard break is the fundamental method of opening a closed guard before any passing attempt. Where kneeling guard breaks attempt to pry the bottom p…
COMBAT BASE
Base de Combate
Combat base is the defensive guard-top posture in which the passer kneels on one knee with the other leg posted forward at a 45-degree angle, presenting a trian…
SINGLE-UNDERHOOK PASS
Passagem com Um Underhook
The single-underhook pass is the half-guard top technique in which the passer threads one arm under the bottom player's thigh and grips the lapel or belt with t…
NORTH-SOUTH KIMURA
Kimura Norte-Sul
The north-south kimura is the figure-four shoulder lock executed from the north-south top position, attacking the opponent's arm from a perpendicular angle rath…
KNEE SHIELD TO BACK TAKE
Knee Shield para Tomada de Costas
The knee shield to back take is the half-guard transitional technique in which the bottom player uses the knee-shield framing to off-balance the top player forw…
SIT-UP GUARD
Guarda Sentada
Sit-up guard is the seated open-guard position in which the bottom player remains upright with both feet planted on the floor or one foot framing on the opponen…
INVERTED GUARD RECOVERY
Recuperação por Guarda Invertida
The inverted guard recovery is the technique in which the bottom player rolls onto their shoulders and inverts their hips upward, sliding the body underneath th…
GRANBY TO BACK TAKE
Granby para Tomada de Costas
The granby to back take is the offensive application of the granby roll in which the bottom player, rather than re-emerging in open guard, continues the inversi…
BACKSTEP PASS
Passagem com Passo Atrás
The backstep pass is the guard-pass technique in which the passer steps the trailing leg backward over the bottom player's leg, then drops chest pressure forwar…
CARTWHEEL PASS
Passagem Cambalhota
The cartwheel pass is the dynamic guard-pass technique in which the passer rotates their body through a half-cartwheel motion over the bottom player's legs, lan…
RUSSIAN TIE (TWO-ON-ONE)
Pegada Russa
The Russian tie, also called the two-on-one, is the wrestling-derived control technique in which the attacker controls one of the opponent's arms with both of t…
HEADLOCK ESCAPE
Fuga de Chave de Cabeça
The headlock escape is the foundational defensive technique against the kesa-gatame (scarf hold) pin and the broader category of side-control variations where t…
ARMBAR FROM KNEE ON BELLY
Armlock do Joelho na Barriga
The armbar from knee on belly is the canonical submission off the knee-on-belly position and the most common reason for the position's tactical use. When the bo…
MOUNT TO BACK TAKE
Transição Montada para Costas
The mount to back take is the transitional sequence in which the attacker rides the bottom player's defensive roll to recover the back rather than losing mount.…
BOW-AND-ARROW SETUP
Setup do Arco e Flecha
The bow-and-arrow setup is the technique sequence that establishes the position and grips for the bow-and-arrow choke — the gi-only canonical back-control finis…
HIP SWITCH
Troca de Quadril
The hip switch is the side-control top transitional technique in which the attacker reorients their body 180 degrees relative to the bottom player, sliding the …
KNEEBAR FROM DE LA RIVA
Kneebar da De La Riva
The kneebar from De La Riva is the leg-attack variation in which the bottom player uses the De La Riva hook as the entry point to a kneebar on the opponent's ho…
TOREANDO HOP
Hop da Toreando
The toreando hop is the variation of the toreando pass in which the passer hops rather than walks around the bottom player's legs, using short explosive jumps t…