TEACHING AND COACHING BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU: AN INSTRUCTIONAL

MANUAL

A PROJECT REPORT

Presented to the Department of Kinesiology

California State University, Long Beach

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Science in Kinesiology

Committee Members:

Will Wu, Ph.D. (Chair)

Michelle Alencar, Ph.D.
Mikiko Nakajima, Ed.D.

College Designee:

Jan Schroeder, Ph.D.

By Edwin Peng

B.A., 2010, University of California, Los Angeles

August 2017




ProQuest Number: 10605142




All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.






ProQuest 10605142

Published by ProQuest LLC (2017 ). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.


All rights reserved.
This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.


ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106 - 1346
 ABSTRACT

TEACHING AND COACHING BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU: AN INSTRUCTIONAL

MANUAL

By

Edwin Peng

August 2017

Brazilian Jiujitsu is a martial art practiced by millions of people. It is a grappling art in

which students are taught to win against opponents through the use of leverage, technique and

tactics. Like many martial arts, coaches are seldom well-suited to impart crucial knowledge to

their students. Many coaches are in the position due to high level competition success which

does not translate into good teaching ability. Coaches often teach in a way that they themselves

have been taught, instead of relying on scientific knowledge of correct biomechanics, motor

learning, and physiology. This manual will provide a scientific background in biomechanics,

motor learning, and physiology to instructors to improve their training protocols.

ii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my committee members for their encouragement and support.

Finding faculty members with a background in Brazilian Jiujitsu allowed me to expand my ideas

on the how-tos and whys of training.

Thank you to my mother for giving me a place to live, my dog for being my constant

companion, and my best friend and partner through this master’s experience, Asia Yates.

iii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iii

LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................................v

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... vi

1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1

2. METHODS ..........................................................................................................................3

3. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................5

APPENDIX: TEACHING AND COACHING BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU: AN

INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL ....................................................................................6

REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................46

iv
 LIST OF TABLES

1. Strength and Conditioning Program ..................................................................................41

2. Training Protocols for Different Energy System ...............................................................43

3. Sample 16 Week Program .................................................................................................44

4. Sample 90 Minute Class ....................................................................................................45

5. Sample Warm Up ...............................................................................................................45

v
 LIST OF FIGURES

1. A closed guard .....................................................................................................................8

2. An open guard ......................................................................................................................9

3. Biomechanics is the study of mechanical function of the body.........................................14

4. A visual representation of bad and good form ...................................................................16

5. Length-tension relationship ...............................................................................................20

6. The body’s center of gravity will change based on limb position and posture..................22

7. Army combatives demonstration of the scissor sweep ......................................................24

8. A will be knocked off balance while B will remain balanced due to the
direction of the base of support ....................................................................................25

9. Tim Peterson demonstrating a stable mount ......................................................................26

vi
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) is a martial art practiced by millions of people. It is a grappling art

in which students are taught to submit their opponents through the use of leverage, technique and

tactics. Participants of the martial art choose to participate for numerous reasons such as self-

defense, competition, or even for social reasons. Practitioners learn valuable life skills such as

respect for others, perseverance, self-confidence, and healthy habits (Chinkov & Holt, 2016). By

participating in a martial art, people are able to elicit health-related changes such as improved

cardiovascular fitness, muscle endurance, and lean body mass increase (Schwartz, Takito, Del

Vecchio, Antonietti, & Franchini, 2015). Brazilian Jiujitsu is a valid modality for exercise for

individuals who may want a more dynamic approach to moving their bodies. Through the use of

BJJ students can learn the proper ways to organize their movements and move around their

environment.

The role of a coach in BJJ is multifaceted. Although the coach’s main responsibility may

be to teach techniques and strategies specifically for BJJ, they will be asked by students about

general health and movement such as strength and conditioning and stretching. Like many

martial arts, coaches are seldom well-suited to impart crucial knowledge to their students. Many

coaches are in the position due to high level competition success which does not necessarily

translate into good teaching ability. Many coaches will teach techniques using nebulous terms

such as “posture” and “base.” When asked for further details of such terms ambiguous answers

are often given. The attached appendix gives a scientific background to biomechanics in order to

help coaches explain these concepts with better precision and accuracy. When asked how to

improve their BJJ game, students are often told to “do more jiujitsu.” This answer does not

1
provide sufficient information for students to make concentrated efforts to improve their games.

By providing necessary background in exercise science, the appendix will allow coaches to

create better training environments in which students will rapidly improve their BJJ.

The work in the appendix translates scientific principles of the main disciplines in

exercise science in order to help instructors create lesson plans and teach BJJ in a way that

provides a conceptual framework for students that will carry them throughout their BJJ career.

2
 CHAPTER 2

METHODS

The author approached the work in order to fill a missing component in the BJJ world.

After a decade of training, the author had seen thousands of hours of instruction both in class and

on video. The author believed that coaching methods were lacking in most BJJ academies. While

YouTube is filled with thousands of videos analyzing specific matches and teaching techniques,

there is little information on how to teach techniques or how to train in order to learn a

technique. Many instructors expect the jump between declarative knowledge and procedural

knowledge to be a natural one, failing to understand that procedural knowledge must be created

and drilled. The author consulted with committee members and faculty in order to discover what

pertinent information is left out when coaching and decided on creating an instructional manual

for coaches in order to teach effectively. The author attended sports conferences and special

interest group meetings for combat science in order to expand his scope of knowledge on martial

arts. The author also attended BJJ classes in several academies in order to see the coaching

strategies and lesson plans of different schools, and to see which components worked well, were

detrimental, or could be added.

The author compiled relevant data and information from every class taken throughout the

master’s program in order to convert it into useful information for teaching BJJ. Through

conversations with professors about training protocols and correct avenues of instruction a

ground base for creating this manual was created. Articles were pulled from scholarly websites

such as PubMed, Ovid, and databases such as the California State University, Long Beach

(CSULB) library. However, the supply of scholarly research on BJJ in general was lacking.

Many biomechanics textbooks were referenced, however it took effort to translate the science

3
into terms suitable to be taught to students in an applicable way. The author coached classes and

instructed individuals privately in order to test different coaching strategies and tools. The

strength and conditioning portion of the appendix was created by consulting several National

Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists

(CSCS) faculty members, as well as using both the American College of Sports Medicine

(ACSM) and NSCA exercise books.

4
 CHAPTER 3

CONCLUSION

Traditional martial arts are often taught with an air of mysticism, with gurus passing on

knowledge in the same way that they received the knowledge. This approach to martial arts is

unscientific and does not lead to efficient improvement of students or the evolution of the art.

Brazilian Jiujitsu is a modern martial art that is on the world stage, and as such should not be

constrained to the traditional coaching methods of other martial arts. By presenting a scientific

understanding to the martial art, the sport can be evolved and taught at a greater efficiency. This

manual will provide a scientific background in biomechanics, motor learning, and physiology to

instructors to improve their training methods.

5
 APPENDIX

TEACHING AND COACHING BRAZILIAN JIUJITSU: AN INSTRUCTIONAL

MANUAL

6
 Chapter 1: Intro

It is the purpose of this book to help the performer and teacher understand the fundamental
concepts of exercise science in order to maximize learning and performance in the realm of
Brazilian Jiujitsu.

“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the art of controlling and submitting your opponent - in that
order - utilising the least amount of athletic attributes, strength, explosiveness,
size and youth, and the maximum amount of leverage. technique, knowledge,
cunningness and guile.

The sport is how do I control and submit my opponent within the manmade rules
of the game using the maximum amount of leverage, technique, knowledge,
cunningness, guile and the most amount of athletic attributes, strength,
explosiveness, size, and youth.”
Chris Haueter, 6th degree black belt under rigan machado

Grappling

Grappling is fighting without strikes and consists of using your body in order gain control
of your opponent. All forms of grappling share this characteristic, however large differences
between grappling styles exist based on the written and unwritten rules of the sport. Rules such
as how to score points, when matches end, and what attire is worn have great effects on the
evolution of a grappling art.
The most popular wrestling styles (freestyle and Greco-Roman) do not allow gripping of
clothing, points are rewarded for taking down and/or pinning an opponent. Freestyle and Greco-
Roman differ in that the former allows attacks to the lower body while the latter only allows for
attacks to the upper body. In Judo, a kimono is worn and practitioners take advantage of the
kimono to create grips and lever points, and one can win by executing a throw or pinning the
opponent. In all these grappling styles a practitioner can win by having more points after the
allotted time has run out. Because of these differences in rulesets, grappling styles look
completely foreign to each other.
Brazilian Jiujitsu (BJJ) is the broadest and most modern of the grappling arts - it has
both a ruleset that uses a kimono “gi,” and a ruleset that does not allow the use of a kimono “no
gi”. The only way to win a match is either by submission - having your opponent yield by tapping
out, or to win by points after the allotted time runs out. Unlike many of the other grappling styles,
there is no win by takedown or by pin - the fight runs to its logical end with one player yielding
defeat or being incapacitated by joint locks or chokes/strangles. While the other grappling styles
mentioned have a significant amount of each match fought from a standing position with small
periods of ground fighting, BJJ matches are fought mainly with at least one fighter in a ground
position with small periods of stand up grappling.

7
 Brief History of BJJ

The Brazilian in BJJ is due to the sport originating from Brazil in the early 1900s. BJJ
evolved from Judo, which was introduced to Brazil in by Mitsuyo Maeda. Maeda taught judo to
many Brazilian citizens, most notably the renowned Gracie family. Over time, the judo taught
evolved into a martial system heavily favoring “the guard” which uses mechanical advantages,
such as levers and wedges, in order to allow a smaller individual to defeat a larger individual.
This mechanical advantage neutralizes the physicality of a larger and stronger individual.

FIGURE 1. A closed guard.

One of the most important aspects of judo that became integral to BJJ is the “randori” - a
non-cooperative free sparring practice in which both practitioners are trying to enforce their will.
In BJJ this is referred to as “rolling.” The inclusion of rolling allows an individual to test their skill
competency in a realistic combat situation. This differs from many traditional martial arts in
which individuals are taught sequences of attack, but practices on a person with no agency one
who assists with completing techniques.
The efficacy of BJJ was confined mainly to Brazil for much of its beginning. In the early
1990s BJJ was catapulted onto the world stage during the first Ultimate Fighting Championship,
an event that pitted different styles of martial arts against each other. Royce Gracie was chosen
to represent BJJ in this tournament due to his smaller frame and lack of athleticism. Royce went
on to win the tournament and cemented BJJ as a fundamental aspect of mixed martial arts.
With the introduction of BJJ to the United States came a rapid evolution of the sport.
Many of the first generation of Americans training BJJ attest to the fact that training was
primarily confined to garages, blue belts were a rare commodity, and according to Chris Haueter
(one of the first American black belts) there were literally only 16 techniques in BJJ. The BJJ
performed by Royce Gracie in UFC 1 is far less technically proficient and strategically diverse
as the BJJ performed in today’s UFC. This rapid evolution came from the transition from a self-
defense centered martial art into a combat sport. With this transition came the opening of the
guard and a change to sport specific techniques that develop without consideration on a self-
defense aspect. Instead of keeping a closed guard and strong underhooks to shield against

8
strikes from an opponent as one might encounter during a brawl, sport players opened their
guards and developed techniques that were to take advantage of the rules of competition.

FIGURE 2. An open guard.

The opening up of the guard led to a cambrian explosion of positions and techniques.
Guards with many silly names came to existence such as butterfly, spider, knee shield, deep
half, rubber, X and half-X, and worm. Each guard invented to take advantage of the user’s
anthropometrics, and possessing their own multitudes of techniques. However, regardless of
the guard or techniques employed, the basic objectives of BJJ has stayed the same since its
inception.

Basic Objectives and Rules of BJJ

There are many different federations and organizations that set up competitions. Due to
this, there is no standardized rule set for BJJ. The largest organization, known as the
International Brazilian Jiujitsu Federation (IBJJF) utilizes a ruleset with timed matches (time
based on competitors’ age and skill level), which awards points in case no submission is
obtained before time expires. There are also smaller tournaments which are “submission only”
where a competitor can only win by obtained a submission. A subtle change such as whether or
not a kimono is worn “gi” or minimal clothing is worn and grips are not allowed to be made “no
gi” radically changes how matches are played out, and the required attributes one would need
to succeed. Rules and interpretations change from year to year; it is beyond the scope of this

9
book to explain the specific rules of each organization. However, training sessions should take
into account the ruleset of the competition that is being trained for.
Regardless of ruleset, most people agree that the ultimate objective in BJJ is to obtain a
submission. A submission can be obtained by putting your opponent in a choke or strangle
(both referred to as a choke colloquially), joint lock, or a painful hold. Both chokes and strangles
are constriction attacks on an opponent’s neck in order to deprive the brain of oxygen in order to
put the opponent in an unconscious state. A joint lock is any attack on one of the joints of the
body - commonly the shoulder, elbow, wrist, knees, ankles, and sometimes spinal. The joint
attacks attempt to force a joint outside of normal ranges of motion to damage that joint and
prevent further use. A pain hold is any other position in which an opponent must yield due to
overwhelming pain, this is rarely seen in a tournament setting. Of course, all submissions (and
the danger associated with them) can be stopped immediately by tapping - yielding defeat.
Other grappling sports end when a pin is obtained; in a BJJ match gaining positional
control over your opponent is only half the battle. This aspect greatly adds to the appreciation of
the sport by many practitioners and enthusiasts, as a victory can be obtained at any time,
regardless of point differential, by obtaining a submission.
Each match (or roll) begins from a neutral position where neither competitor possesses a
positional advantage. Each competitor attempts to put their opponent in increasingly
disadvantageous positions while advancing into increasingly advantageous positions
themselves in order to obtain a submission. In general, top positions are offensive and
advantageous and bottom positions are defensive and disadvantageous. However, bottom
guard positions can greatly benefit the guard player by allowing for submissions or sweeps.
From an offensive position, the player will try to obtain a submission or try to advance to
an even more favorable position. The positional hierarchy for offensive positions are from
smallest to greatest advantage; guard, half-guard, side-control, mount, and finally back.
From a defensive position, the player will try to obtain a submission (which is only
realistically possible in one of the guard positions, closed or open) or try to retreat into a better
defensive position, or sweep to an offensive position. The positional hierarchy for defensive
positions from worst to best position to be in is as follows; back, mount, side-control, half-guard,
full guard/open guard.
The guard is a unique component to BJJ and is a core component in BJJ competency.
The guard is undeveloped in most grappling sports due to the ability to win by pin - if a
competitor can force their opponent's shoulders on the mat for a specific period of time they can
win, making the guard a losing position. Since this rule does not exist in BJJ, the guard was
quickly adopted as it is a relatively safe position to be in while being on the ground. The
closeness of the closed guard allows for deflection of strikes for self defense, and allows a great
amount of control for the guard player - allowing for setups to sweeps (reversal of positions,
from bottom to top and top to bottom) and submissions. As mentioned previously, now there are
a multitude of guards, however all guards retain the same objectives; submit or sweep your
opponent. All guards take advantage of basic biomechanical concepts in order to achieve these
outcomes.

10
 Belt System

Like many martial arts, BJJ has a belt system in order to differentiate practitioners by
experience level. For adults the belts start and progress from white, blue, purple, brown, and
black. While the belt system is a good indicator of the wearer’s skill level, this is not always the
case. Instructors award belts based on subjective evaluations of practitioners. A hobbyist black
belt may have great difficulty rolling with a competitive blue belt.

Terminology

Base: The contact area under a person that serves as a supporting structure to distribute their
weight.

Drill: Practicing a technique or techniques in isolation in order to hone skills

Choke: Referring to both chokes and strangles, any technique that attempts to gain a tap by
constricting air/blood at the neck.

Gi: The BJJ uniform, sometimes referred to as a ‘kimono’

Grappling: A style of hand to hand combat in which striking is not permitted. Competitors use
their bodies in order to gain a physical advantage over their opponent.

Joint lock: Any of the various attacks in which a joint is pushed outside of normal ranges of
motion in order to obtain a tap or damage the joint.

Posture: A body configuration which allows you to complete a movement or technique. Most
gyms refer to posture as the most efficient and strongest body configuration.

Roll: a non-cooperative free sparring practice in which both practitioners are trying to enforce
their will. Commonly referred to as a randori in Judo.

Scramble: When neither competitor has a stable position and rush to be the first in a secure
position.Commonly experienced while transitioning between positions.

Submission: A technique used in order win a match, commonly a choke or joint lock.

Sweep: From the bottom position: Using your legs in order to reverse positions, ending on top.
Commonly awarded in competition.

Tap: Tapping on an opponent in order to yield defeat. Can also be verbally said or the floor
could be tapped on.

11
Reversal: From the bottom position: using your upper body in order to reverse positions, ending
on top. Commonly not rewarded in competition.

12
 Chapter 2: Biomechanics

Biomechanics of BJJ

Biomechanics is the study of the mechanical structure and function of a human body
which give rise to movement - how and why the body moves. The human body is confined to
the rules of physics. By examining the body through the lens of physics we can understand how
the body operates and what constraints it must operate in. The benefits of such knowledge
should be readily apparent. Proper understanding of how the body works will allow a coach to
communicate knowledge in a clear way and will be instrumental in the success of their students.
In turn, proper understanding of the conceptual basis for movement will allow students to
understand techniques instead of simply parroting the techniques.
All humans navigate the world using the musculoskeletal system - an organ system that
allows for shape, protection, posture, and movement. This system that allows for movement is
made of a skeleton that acts as a rigid structure, muscles that act as motors to provide internal
force, and joints that act as levers. If the muscle provides enough internal force to overcome the
external forces, the body can move.
For the most part, everybody has the same basic body structure - a head connected to a
torso, and four limbs extending from the torso. Each of these body parts will allow for movement
in the same general way; knees and elbows flex and extend in one plane of motion, hips and
shoulder move relatively freely, and spines can bend in many directions. Each of these joints
move independently, allowing for almost infinite configurations, shapes, and postures the body
is capable of. It is imperative for students to understand how to properly use their body and its
parts in order to be strong and efficient.
BJJ can be seen as a complex game in which two bodies attempt to move the other into
a position that yields a submission. In order to be successful in BJJ a student must:

1) Use their body to maintain stability

2) Use their body to cause instability in their opponent

3) Take advantage of the opponent’s instability

4) Produce and control force in order to maximize the results as efficiently as possible

This chapter will explain the basic principles that must be followed for efficient and
effective movements to occur. It should be noted that idiosyncrasies will always result due to
differences between people, but the underlying principles behind techniques remain the same.

13
FIGURE 3. Biomechanics is the study of mechanical function of the body.

Anthropometry dictates specialization in BJJ

Although most humans have the same basic shape, the variations of measurements
such as mass, length, and girth for each body segment of both competitors will dictate the most
effective techniques that can be used. For example, long and lanky individuals will be more
likely to achieve submissions such as triangles and play open guards such as dela riva or spider
guard (Ryan Hall, Keenan Cornelius). Short stocky individuals will find more success in closer
positions such as butterfly and will be able to succeed with submissions such as armbars due to
the ability to get closer to their opponents (Marcelo Garcia, Gary Tonin). More flexible
individuals may find success in Eddie Bravo’s 10th planet system which requires pretzel levels
of flexibility. As an instructor, you should direct your students to a game that their body will be
suited for.

14
 Form

There is no platonic ideal for good form. Good form is simply the performance of a
movement in which the action goal is accomplished with minimal energy expenditure and strain
placed on the body. That is not to say that energy expenditure and strain should be avoided, but
that there will always be an optimal amount to be endured. Performing a hip-bump to escape a
heavier opponent’s mount will involve great effort, energy expenditure, and will stress and strain
the body, however by using the optimal amount of effort, one can accomplish the task while
minimizing energy expenditure and strain placed on the body.
It is imperative for a long-lasting BJJ career that proper form is maintained during rolls.
While maintaining good form may be difficult and prevent a student from being dominant at first,
it will pay off as training time increases. It is important to note that many practitioners will utilize
bad form but still have success in spite of bad mechanics due to compensation by using more
energy and more muscular effort. This compensation combined with bad form will lead to
injuries over time. It is also important to note that there is not a singular correct way to
accomplish a task, but many correct ways. As a coach, you should help a student figure out the
optimal way to adapt a movement that is suitable for their anthropometry while reducing risks of
injury. You must acknowledge that there is no one correct way to perform a movement.
It is also true that certain high-level competitors will purposely choose to use dangerous
biomechanical positions in order to achieve certain maneuvers. However, this should not
encourage you to teach the same positions as this would be dangerous for your student’s
longevity. Many high-level competitors end up with chronic pain due to abusing their bodies
throughout their competitive careers. Rickson Gracie, known to many as one of the greatest BJJ
athletes has eight herniated discs. Ricardo Liborio, the founder of American Top Team, has
seven herniated discs. Rodolfo Vieira, one of the top competitors of the current era, had to take
a sabbatical from competition and training due to a herniated disc. Bodily sacrifices must be
made at the highest levels of competition, however, during training form should be focused on
and pain should not be endured in order to “win”. Most students are training in order to improve
their quality of life, and should train in a way to decrease their risk of injury.
In general, good form requires a strong posture, keeping a strong rigid core and a
braced spine. Muscles of the core from the glutes, hips, abdominals, and back extensors must
be continually active to prevent the collapse of the postural structure. Students should be
instructed to keep an erect spine in order to prevent stooping or hunched posture. Stooped and
hunched posture require greater muscular effort to sustain and place more load on the spinal
discs (Nordin and Frankel, 2001). Strong posture must be maintained during all positions. While
attempting standing guard passes the practitioner should keep their spine braced, otherwise
their position will be broken down by the bottom player. While in an offensive side-mount, a
strong posture will allow the practitioner to efficiently transfer the force from driving off the
ground.
It should be noted that posture can fatigue. During drilling of certain positions such as
spider guard, the rounds should be kept short in order to prevent the collapse of posture during
training in order to reduce injury risks. Exercises should also be introduced to training in order to

15
develop postural endurance - such exercises will be introduced in the strength and conditioning
chapter.

FIGURE 4. A visual representation of bad and good form.

Basic Mechanical Principles

Motion

The three laws of motion, as taught by Newton, are as follows:

The Law of Inertia: The property of matter that makes an object continue its current state of
motion until acted upon by an outside force.

The Law of Acceleration: The amount of force needed to accelerate an object is directly
proportional to how much mass that object has, and the faster you want to accelerate an object
the more force you have to utilize.

The Law of Reaction: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

These laws can be taken advantage of in BJJ by understanding a few key principles.

1) The amount of force needed to change a body’s motion depends on both the mass and
speed of the body. A heavier person will be harder to move than a lighter person, and a

16
 faster person will be harder to stop than a slower person. Inertia is the reason weight
classes are required in competition, a heavier person will always have a mechanical
advantage over a lighter person.

2) A person who is moving will require a lot of force to stop their movement, however, it
takes far less force in order to continue their movement. Some techniques in BJJ require
using an opponent’s momentum to your advantage. Students should be taught to take
advantage of their opponent’s momentum by pushing their partner along a path that they
have already started on. This will overextend their opponent and allow for the student to
take advantage of the overextension. Students should also be taught not to overextend
themselves by forcefully moving with speed or they can be taken advantaged of. This
can easily be seen in the elbow push side-mount escape, or the sacrifice throw in Judo.

3) It takes a lot of force to start a person’s movement. Many sweeps take advantage of an
opponent’s momentum. If an opponent is knowledgeable in BJJ techniques, they will be
difficult or impossible to sweep or submit from a static position. Attacks must be set up
by destabilizing an opponent in the direction opposite of the sweep. The forceful
movement the opponent uses to return to their original position can be taken advantage
of by providing the momentum needed to complete the sweep.

Force

In the most basic sense, forces are simply the push or pull exerted onto an object or
person - forces are any action or influence that moves an object. This could be the pull on a
sleeve or lapel, or pushing on an opponent. This could also be the push or pull exerted on the
ground. Forces can be split into two categories: internal and external forces. Internal forces are
forces that are generated within one’s own body, and consists of muscular contractions,
ligament restraint, and skeletal structure. External forces are the forces that act upon the body
from outside of the body - these include gravity, friction, and an opponent’s body (Winter, 2009).
By teaching students to take advantage of all the forces available to them, both internal
and external, they will be able to successfully and efficiently control both their own body and
their opponent’s bodies. There are three ways to recruit force:

1) By using muscular force to push or pull directly on the opponent

2) By pushing off the floor, one can drive into their opponent

3) By using the force of gravity to apply weight on the opponent

The first two methods are available to both the top and bottom position, but since the
force of gravity is always pulling downwards - only the person on top can take advantage of
gravity. Students should be taught to drive off the ground to keep their base and to drive into an
opponent. Keeping a strong posture while driving off the ground will allow for a stronger and
more efficient transfer of force. The easiest production of force to teach students to utilize is the

17
use of their own muscular force since most people already have an understanding of pushing
and pulling on their opponent.

When instructing students to use force during a technique, they should be taught to take
into consideration the following aspects:

1) Magnitude of force
Students should be taught how much force will be needed for a particular
technique. Students should not use any more force than necessary in order to
reduce energy expenditure and strain placed on the body. One consideration
before attempting to use force is the understanding that to move a large amount
of mass, a large amount of force will be needed. A larger opponent will always
require more force to move than a smaller opponent.

2) Direction of application
Regardless of how much force a student can recruit, they will be unable to
accomplish their movement goal if the direction of the force is incorrect. For
example, many beginning students will bridge strongly with much effort in order
to escape mount. However, if the direction of force is applied incorrectly, such as
straight up towards the ceiling instead of over the practitioners shoulder, the
bridge will serve no purpose except for expending energy.

3) Point of application
The point of contact when force is used will determine which movement will
follow. If force is applied at an opponent’s center of mass then the movement
created will be linear. However, the further away from the opponent’s center of
mass the more torque will be created. If a technique’s purpose is to move the
opponent directly forward or backward then the point of application should be at
the opponent’s center of mass. If the technique’s purpose is to turn the opponent,
the force should be applied further from the center of mass.

4) Distance and time of application

More force can be applied over a longer period of time and distance. This
concept is important during top positions such as mount. The longer amount of
time a student is mounted on their opponent; the more force they can exert on
their opponent in order to sap their opponent’s stamina. The distance of
application can be seen during the bridge defense against mount - the longer the
distance of the bridge (the height of the bridge) the more force will be generated.
Sometimes a large powerful movement through a short amount of time will be
desired, but in some cases force over a long period of time will be more useful.

18
 Leverage and Torque

An understanding of leverage and moment arms will be crucial for students to

understand how and why certain techniques work. The human body is composed of a system of
levers: bones act as rigid bars, joints act as fulcrums, and muscles provide the effort. By
manipulating the shape of your body you can influence how much force you can produce and
how much load you can withstand. Leverage is what allows a smaller person to control a larger
person. While an in-depth discussion of levers are beyond the scope of this manual, the most
important aspect of a lever is that the further away force is applied on the lever the stronger the
force will be on the other side of the lever. Thus, by attacking at the end of the lever students
will be able to control their opponent much more efficiently.
Another useful aspect of attacking the end of the lever is the use of torque. While some
techniques will require pushing or pulling linearly against the opponent, many times a
practitioner will be required to move the opponent’s limbs out of the way. This is accomplished
through the use of torque in order to turn the opponent’s body and limbs. Again, the most
important aspect that can be relayed to students is that by pushing or pulling further away from
the joint the more torque is produced. The length between the fulcrum and where force is
applied is called the moment arm, the longer the moment arm the more force will be applied at
the joint. This can be demonstrated easily with a door - by pushing on the door on the opposite
side of the hinges we can easily open the door, however if we push on the side closest to the
hinges it will take significantly more force to open the door.
This understanding can also be applied throughout all positions during training. A
cardinal rule of BJJ is to keep the arms close to the body, students are often told to keep their
elbows glued to their ribs or to make T-Rex arms. This is to prevent both the arm from extending
out and also to prevent the arms from crossing the midline of the body. These positions are
considered weak due to the mechanics of the arm. When the objective is to move an opponent’s
arm one can muscle through the movement in order to achieve the objective, expending more
energy than required and producing more strain on the body. However, if one understands how
leverage works they will be able to move the arm by pressing on the end of the arm - thus
saving energy and creating a mechanical advantage.
When the arm is extended straight in front of the body its center of mass is far from the
origin of the arm, thus possessing a larger moment arm that can be used to generate torque.
This extended position can easily be disrupted by applying torque at the end of the arm,
knocking it out of position.
A powerful example of leverage is the use of underhooks. Since underhooks are
established under the armpits they allow for torque to be created about the opponent’s center of
gravity. Underhooks allow for manipulation of the opponent’s body through the use of leverage.

Muscular Force

One of the easiest ways to improve students’ muscular force output is by increasing the
cross-sectional area of their muscles - making them bigger. This very basic physiological
change is the simplest fool-proof method of increasing strength. This method is expanded upon
in the strength and conditioning chapter. Since the size of the muscle is the main-contributing

19
factor to how much force can be generated, students should first learn how to use the strongest
muscles to perform a required task. For instance, many new students will try to execute a cross-
choke using their biceps instead of pulling with their large back muscles - by teaching new
students to activate the largest and strongest muscles available to them, they will be more
successful accomplishing their actions.
On a cellular basis, muscles produce force by forming cross-bridges between two
muscle filaments, myosin and actin. Myosin pulls on actin, shortening the muscle fiber and
producing a contraction. The amount of force produced is directly related to the magnitude of
overlap between the actin and myosin filaments. The usefulness of this is that in general, a joint
that is fully extended or fully flexed will be weaker than when the joint is at 90 degrees. Students
should be taught to take advantage of this weakness.

FIGURE 5. Length-tension relationship.

Many students will be too tense and use much more muscular force than needed to
complete movements, commonly referred to as “spazzing”. This will cause the new student to
fatigue quickly during training and increase the likelihood for injury for both the new student and
their training partner. One of the paradoxes of this increase of muscle firing is that movements
produced will actually be weaker, due to antagonistic muscles detracting from the total force
output. The activation of the antagonistic muscles will only serve to provide unnecessary stress
and strain on the student’s body, producing jerky movements. New students should be taught to
relax and not waste energy - this can be achieved by having students learn the right activation
patterns of techniques and movements before trying to implement the techniques during live
training sessions.

20
 Gravity

Gravity is one of the fundamental forces of the universe: gravity’s force pulls all objects
with mass together. The Earth’s force pulls you onto the planet and pulls galaxies together.
Gravity is always acting upon objects which have mass; since your body is made of mass,
gravity is always acting upon you. This action of gravity is what gives you weight.
Gravity is one of the most important concepts in BJJ due to the nature of the sport.
Students should be taught how to use gravity to their advantage, and that in most cases one
person will benefit from the force of gravity while the other will be disadvantaged by gravity. In
general, the force of gravity is the main component in making positions either favorable or
unfavorable. The person in the top position can exert the force of their weight on the person on
the bottom position without relying on muscular force. The person on the bottom position will be
forced to endure the weight of their opponent and will be forced to exert muscular force in order
to move the weight of their opponent. BJJ legend Demian Maia succinctly explains the proper
way to use gravity in the following quote - “Your opponent should be carrying your bodyweight
while you are resting. When I rest, I should put him to work so I don’t work and he works and he
gets tired!” Another way of thinking of this is that gravity is free energy, and students should be
taught to exploit that free energy.

Center of Gravity

The center of gravity is an important concept that students should understand to make
sense of many sweeps and positions that they will encounter during training. Gravity acts upon
all objects in a way where the overall pull is concentrated on a singular point, where the average
mass of the object lies - the center of gravity (COG). The force of gravity constantly pulls a
body’s COG in a straight line towards the center of the earth.
The human body, with its almost unlimited postures and positions allows for a shifting
center of gravity - even at times outside of the body itself. During a normal standing posture with
arms hanging by the side, the body’s center of gravity is approximately around the navel, and it
can be generally assumed that a person’s center of gravity will lie around the hips in most
postures.
By configuring their own body, a person can change their COG in order to resist sweeps
or prevent themselves from falling over. In general, a lower COG will allow for greater stability,
squatting will lower the COG and provide more stability. Students should be taught to control
their COG to prevent being swept, and to control their opponent’s COG in order to set them up
to be swept.

21
FIGURE 6. The body’s center of gravity will change based on limb position and posture.

Gymnasts and divers can change their position in the air by changing the position of
their COG by extending or flexing their limbs. The position of the COG can change substantially
based on where each individual body segment is, and each individual body segment’s influence
is proportional to its weight and distance from the COG. Due to this, an outstretched arm or leg
can shift the COG further than one can expect. Students should be taught to use their COG
dynamically, to become heavier and lighter in certain positions to prevent sweeps.
Another aspect regarding COG that should be taught is that by having a student get their
COG close to their opponent’s COG, they will retain better control over them because they can
treat their two masses as one.

Base

Base is a term that is frequently heard on the mats, students are often told to keep a
strong base or to stand up in base. This term is rarely expounded upon by instructors and the
concept remains nebulous to many students when they first learn BJJ. What many coaches
mean is that a student should be “strong” in a stance and hard to move. This definition is clumsy
and does not provide enough conceptual knowledge for students to implement into their game.
By explaining the concept in biomechanical terms, students will be able to intuitively understand
how to use their base.
In biomechanical terms, a base of support for any structure is the area beneath the
structure that includes every point of contact that the structure makes with the supporting

22
surface. The wider your base is, the more stability you will have. While standing, your base of
support are all the points of contact that your feet or shoes make with the ground and the area
between; when you widen your stance you increase your base of support. In the push-up
position the base of support would be the area under the hands making contact with the ground
and the balls of the feet and the area between. While laying on your side, the base of support
would include all points in which your body makes contact with the ground. These points of
contact are commonly referred to as “posts” within the BJJ community.
Students should be taught that their base of support is dynamic and will constantly
change as they move. Students should always be aware of where their base of support is in
order to prevent sweeps and become more stable. It is important to note that the practitioner in
the top position can use the bottom practitioner’s body as a base of support. Students should
also be taught to exert force off their posts. For instance, while on top side-mount a student
should be taught to push off their base of support at their toes in order to exert force (“drive”) on
their opponent. This allows the base to become a platform for receiving force from and exerting
force on the opponent. As mentioned previously the wider the BOS is, the more stability will be
gained - as a person becomes more flexible they will be able to recruit a wider/larger BOS.

Balance: Stability v. Mobility

BJJ matches are dynamic battles between stability and mobility for both the fighter on
the bottom and top positions. Practitioners must be able to take advantage of both stability and
mobility in order to advance and secure positions. Stability and mobility are two sides of a
spectrum; the more stability one has the less mobility they will have and vice versa. Balance
must be carefully controlled by being both stable and mobile.
A mechanical understanding of balance will enable you to convey the principles behind
sweeps to your students and will in turn allow them to better understand sweeps conceptually
and increase their performance. Practitioners must become intimately connected with their
balance in order to become better at BJJ. Every sweep and technique requires the ability to
manipulate both the student’s and the opponent’s balance. A body is balanced when its center
of gravity is above its base of support. If the COG falls outside of the base of support, the body
will fall until a new base is created; in order to sweep an opponent, their center of gravity must
be moved outside their base of support (Broer, 1973).

23
FIGURE 7. Army combatives demonstration of the scissor sweep. The bottom player is
pushing the top player’s center of gravity outside his base of support in order to obtain the
sweep.

There are two factors that influence a person’s stability - the height of their center of
gravity and the size of their base of support. A lower center of gravity will be more stable, and a
higher center of gravity will be more likely to be perturbed by force due to greater torque. This
can be demonstrated to students using a scissor sweep, when the opponent is kneeling tall they
will be easily swept and when the opponent is low they will be much harder to sweep. The larger
somebody’s base of support the more stability they will possess due to greater possibility of
movement of the center of gravity.
In order to avoid being swept, you must either maximize stability in order to be kept from
knocking off balance, or you must become mobile and create a new post in order to stop the
sweep. Most practitioners in the early phases of learning will find it easier to maximize stability
instead of creating new posts due to a lack of knowledge of how their bodies will land from a
sweep. Students should be taught how to maximize stability by:

1) Lowering their center of gravity

By lowering their center of gravity, the practitioner will reduce the amount of
torque the opponent can create. A lower center of gravity will make it much more
difficult to be swept or moved by an outside force.

2) Increasing their base of support toward the opposing force

A large base of support will have more stability but only in the the direction of the
force. When being pushed by a large force, a wide base of support will only be
helpful if it is towards the direction of the force. In the following figure, even if A
had a much larger base of support than B, they will be knocked off balance due
to their base being perpendicular to the incoming force. B will resist force with
greater ease due to the direction of the base of support.

24
FIGURE 8. A will be knocked off balance while B will remain balanced due to the direction
of the base of support.

3) Leaning toward intended opposing force

By leaning towards the opposing force the center of gravity will be shifted
towards the force, making it harder for the center of gravity to be pushed out of
the base of support and easier to resist the force. Students should take care to
be mindful of how much they are leaning towards the opposing force or their
momentum may be taken advantage of.

These general guidelines will not only help to prevent being swept but will also help
students learn how to secure dominant positions. By keeping a low center of gravity, increasing
their base and leaning towards an opposing force a student will also be able to keep from being
bridged off mount. Stability is important when finishing submissions as well, most submissions
require the attacking player to completely eliminate the defender’s mobility in order to prevent
any escapes.

25
FIGURE 9. Tim Peterson demonstrating a stable mount. Note the large base of support
and low center of gravity.

One aspect of stability that should be acknowledged is that having more mass
contributes to more stability during a static position, a heavyweight will be much more stable
than a featherweight due to inherent differences in mass and inertia. A lighter practitioner will
have great difficulty sweeping a larger opponent, and will most likely have to resort to moving
around a heavier opponent. In this case, mobility is more important than stability.
While maximizing stability is crucial for some aspects of BJJ, students must also be
taught how to use dynamic balance while being mobile. Many techniques require control of
balance while maximizing mobility. When an opponent is insistent on keeping their stability high,
the student should focus on being mobile around their opponent. While stability requires a large
base of support and a low center of gravity, mobility relies on a small base of support and higher
center of gravity.

Positions

The following positions are ordered from the best possible location to be in to the worst
possible position to be in. It should be recognized that the best positions are good because they
allow one to take advantage of gravity and provide the option of being mobile or stable. Bad
positions are disadvantaged by gravity and one must expend energy in order to gain mobility.
Note that the neutral positions can be advantageous for either the top or bottom player based
on the amount of mobility and stability each has.

Best
Top rear-mount
Top mount
Top side-mount

26
Top half-guard

These positions are advantageous because they allow the elimination of an opponent’s
mobility. By putting more mass on the opponent’s body parts they become more stable and less
mobile so they will be unable to escape or reverse the position.

Neutral
Open guard
Closed guard

The objective for the player in the top position is to pass the guard, while the player in
the bottom position must either sweep or submit the other person. Some guards (closed guard,
spider guard, traditional half-guard) are used to lock down the opponent’s movements, taking
away their mobility. Other guards such as butterfly, de la riva, x-guard, and deep-half maximize
take advantage of creating an unstable opponent in order to gain sweeps. The top player can
pass by eliminating the bottom player’s mobility or by using their own mobility in order to pass
the guard.

Worst
Bottom half-guard
Bottom side-mounted
Bottom mounted
Bottom rear-mounted

These positions require the practitioner to carry the weight of the top player. The bottom
player will be forced to expend energy in order to prevent the top players advancement and
submissions while at the same time trying to escape to a more favorable position, most likely a
guard position.

Strategy

Due to all the reasons stated in this chapter it should be obvious that the person on top
has a clear advantage in all mechanical aspects. The top player will be able to utilize their mass
using gravity, can choose to be mobile or stable depending on their objective, and can limit their
energy expenditure. The bottom player must endure the weight of their opponent and at the
same time expend much energy in order to find a favorable position.
Each match (or roll) begins from a neutral position where neither competitor possesses a
mechanical advantage. It is the prerogative of the competitor to put the opponent in a defensive
position while obtaining an offensive position for him/herself. In general, top positions are
offensive and bottom positions are defensive, with the exception of bottom guard positions
which can be used offensively.
The positional hierarchy for offensive positions are from smallest to greatest advantage;
bottom guard, top side-mount, top mount, and finally rear-mount. From an offensive position, the
player will try to obtain a submission or try to advance to an even more favorable position. The

27
goal of the player should be constant harassment of the opponent. The player should keep the
opponent off balance by destroying the opponent’s base in order to prevent the opponent from
obtaining a post to apply force from. The advantage of gravity should be taken by being
offensive in every possible way. Obtaining and maintaining the offensive position requires skill,
balance, foresight, and strength. The offensive position allows you to search for openings for
submissions or position advancements without the pressure of your opponent’s body mass and
allows for one to exert a lot of force with less energy.

Rules for the offensive position:

Don’t let your opponent control your hands
Let your opponent carry your weight as much as possible
Don’t let your opponent establish underhooks
Constantly exert pressure to destroy/prevent your opponent from establishing a base
Maintain control of either your opponent's shoulders or hips in order to stabilize a
position
Constantly be floating to shift your weight to block your opponent’s moves
Constantly drive into your opponent
Do not let your weight become established unevenly on your opponent.
Separate your opponent’s elbows from their ribs in order to gain advantage

The positional hierarchy for defensive positions from worst to best position to be in is as
follows; rear-mount, mount, side-mount, half-guard, full guard/open-guard. From a defensive
position, the player will try to retreat to a better defensive position with the goal of obtaining a
guard position. From the guard position the player will attempt to submit the opponent or sweep
to a top position.
The defensive position is disadvantageous due to the physical and psychological
punishment of the position and carrying the weight of the opponent. While in this position, you
must spend considerable energy to become free from the position. Techniques for retreating to
a less disadvantageous position must be learned. In a defensive position it is important to
establish and maintain underhooks in order to establish a control point and prevent the
opponent to establish their underhooks. Gaps should be created and sought in order to
reposition and retreat. The defender must learn to use the weight and momentum of the top
fighter for personal advantage in order to obtain a reversal or sweep.

Rules for defensive position

You must constantly retreat to a better defensive position
When you are in the best defensive position (a guard) you must attempt to submit to end
the match or sweep to get into a better position
Establish and maintain underhooks as soon as possible
Great effort must be expended in order to retreat
Keep your elbows tight to prevent submissions

28
 Chapter 3: Motor Control

Motor control is the process in which humans learn to coordinate their muscles and
bodies in order to create a movement. Motor control lays the coordination foundations for
movement. Motor learning is the process of learning the actual coordination of specific motor
skills.
The question is this: when do you consider a skill learned? As an instructor you will
notice many students will be able to execute a technique during practice with varying degrees of
resistance, but will notice that they won't be able to execute the same technique during live rolls.
After hundreds of repetitions of a technique they still will not be able to execute a technique.
Why? Is this a problem with drilling or a problem with learning? In this chapter I will present a
class structure and learning techniques to optimize student performance.

BJJ Complexity

BJJ is one of the most difficult martial arts to learn due to the complexity of movements
and strategies involved. During live rolling sessions, two practitioners must try to move and
reach their movement goals while their opponent is actively trying to stifle their advancement
and achieve their own movement goals (in motion regulatory conditions). Each practitioner must
try to time their movements to take advantage of their opponent’s balance, and to find stability
as their opponent tries to destabilize them (active body transport). Every roll is unique due to the
varying anthropometrics of each practitioner (mass, height, limb length) and the near infinite
strategies one may adopt for each roll (intertrial variability). Each practitioner must try to control
their opponent by gripping their gi or limbs (object manipulation).
It is often difficult for new practitioners to learn because most people do not have much
experience moving around on the floor after they learned to walk. Many martial arts are much
easier to pick up since the basic posture is upright and standing, while the postures for BJJ
mostly consists of lying on the ground with their back against the floor or with their front against
their opponent. Moving from these positions and postures is extraordinarily difficult for most new
practitioners, and you’ll find that many times a beginner will not be able to complete the warm-
up section of class - particularly shrimping and crawling sequences. Learning these basic
movements will enable a practitioner to quickly improve their BJJ. Once a new practitioner is
comfortable with basic movements, they will quickly discover that those basic movements only
provide a starting point for more complex movements and actions. The level of complexity in
movements quickly increases from basic movements to such movements as inversions and
basic gymnastics.
The other reason BJJ is one of the more difficult martial arts is due to the complexity of
the strategy involved in each roll. Every position has many different available movements and
maneuvers, and each maneuver will chain off into different maneuvers. Every technique has a
counter-technique, and every counter-technique has a counter-counter-technique. All of these
strategic choices must be made in real-time while under pressure of an opponent who is actively
trying to achieve their own goals.
No sport consist of a singular skill, but many different skills that are put together to
create a game. In team sports such as basketball or football each player is given a position in
which they have to learn a set of skills to accomplish the goals of the position. In BJJ however,
each player must learn the skillsets required for every position. Each student must learn the
every position of the sport.

29
 Skill Learning

BJJ beginners will often find it difficult to learn the motor skills in BJJ, such as sprawling,
hip bumping, and break falls. Learning submissions and sweeps may seem incredibly difficult,
and executing these moves during rolling may seem impossible. However, as training time
increases executing skills during drilling will become easier, and executing these moves during
sparring will become second nature.
A common belief among coaches is that the only way to improve is “mat time,” with
many believe in the myth of expertise being obtained after 10,000 hours of mat time. While it is
true that students will become better at BJJ as time spent drilling and rolling increases, the total
amount of time poorly correlates with skill improvement. As an instructor, you will find that there
will be dedicated practitioners who will stay as a white belt for many years despite hundreds of
hours of mat time accumulated. You will also find the rare individual who will start their BJJ
career able to roll competitively with higher belts. This discrepancy between skill level and mat
time exists due to the inherent abilities that are possessed by people. If someone has wrestled
before they will have a lot of well-developed skills that overlap with BJJ. If someone decides to
do BJJ after a lifetime of sedentary behavior, they will have to develop skills from the ground up.
Learning BJJ is hard for everyone, but it will be harder for some than others. However,
approaching training and drilling sessions with a scientific approach will allow us to optimize skill
learning. Many students are on a limited time schedule and must sacrifice time with their family
or performing important job functions in order to attend BJJ classes. It is imperative that classes
are structured in a way to optimize skill learning and increasing performance of a student. The
goal of an instructor should be to maximize the student’s learning of BJJ. Every warm-up and
drill should be structured in order to maximize the learning process of a student. Any part of
class that is not catered in a way to help a student progress should be critically evaluated.

Stages of Learning

In order to teach a beginner BJJ, you must understand how a beginner learns. While
some BJJ practitioners may try to show a multitude of techniques in a session thinking they are
teaching their students, this only serves to overload a beginner. As an instructor, you must take
great care in order to take into consideration the behavior and thought process of a beginner
student in order to tailor the instruction, feedback, and practice conditions to suit the student.
The skill level of different belt colors varies dramatically, with some blue belts being able
to compete at a similar level as some black belts. This is due to differences in starting abilities of
practitioners and promotions based on mat time. However, in general there are clear distinctions
between lower and higher belts. For the purposes of this manual, a lower belt is a white or blue
belt and a higher belt is purple and up. A higher belt is more consistent in their performance.
While a lower belts’ performance can fluctuate dramatically day to day, a higher belt will have
learned enough to perform similarly well every training session. A higher belt will have more
stability, with internal and external perturbations affecting him or her less. A higher belt has
more persistent skills, being able to be away from training for months or years and still being
able to perform relatively well during training. A higher belt will also have more adaptability,
being able to adapt their maneuvers and movements against new opponents and new contexts,
and able to improvise techniques. A higher belt will also need to pay less attention to their motor
commands and will be able to use more attention on strategizing.
The transition from a lower belt to a higher belt is very slow, with vast improvements in skills and
abilities during the early stages of training. The rate of improvement is logarithmic, with the most
greatest increase in skill occurring at the earlier years. A huge amount of learning occurs during
the beginning few months of a person’s BJJ career. According to crossman study, most of the
improvements to a single motor skill occurs within the first two years of performance.

30
 In many gyms students are placed within the already occurring curriculum and are
expected to learn along with students who are already learning. This is not optimal for new
students as they lack a basis for understanding why techniques or movements are used. The
new student will not understand what they are supposed to do or why they are supposed to do
something when instructed to do so. In order to jump start a new student’s development,
beginners should be informed of the following:

● What the objectives are

● What is allowed to meet the objective

● How to move their bodies in order to meet the objective

The new student will have to engage in cognitive activity in order to process this
information during each roll - the student must consciously think about what to do and how to do
it. During this stage the student will make a lot of mistakes, which is perfectly natural and should
be expected by both the instructor and the student. The student will also not be able to fix their
mistakes, so the instructor will need to tell them what they’re doing wrong and how to do it right.
During this stage of development of a student, instructors must give lots of attention and
instruction in order to grow the student into a blue belt.
As the white belt transitions to a blue belt, they will understand the basic objectives of
BJJ, and will know a handful of moves to attempt to complete their objectives. When a white belt
is transitioning into a blue belt she will be able to associate specific cues with movements
required to achieve their goal, whether the goal is to pass guard, sweep, or submit. These
specific cues will be instilled through many repetitions and classes.
The blue belt will be able to perform with fewer and smaller errors due to acquiring basic
fundamentals and mechanics of a skill, although they will still have much to improve upon. As
the student improves through purple, brown, and black they will be faster at associating cues
with movements and able to perform automatically. It will only be after years of training that a
practitioner will be able to engage in autonomic execution of maneuvers.
When a beginner is learning how to attack with a triangle choke they might only be able
to complete the motion of setting up the choke during drills against a non-resisting partner. The
triangle set-up will be formulaic and robotic due to the student only able to consciously following
instruction. The beginner will not be able to use the triangle choke during rolling sessions
because they have not begun to associate the movement of the opponent with valid entries for
the triangle. As the beginner drills and rolls more they beginner will be able to associate cues of
the opponent, such as one arm in and one arm out, with entries to the triangle. After many
years of practice, the student will be able to non-consciously understand when they can use a
triangle and non-consciously attack since the skill has become automatic.
In order to progress through these stages of development, a student requires many
repetitions of movement to find best way of solving each positional motor problem given the
infinite number of external conditions one might encounter due to the fact that movements are
never reproduced exactly. The student must drill positions and techniques with as many
different body types and levels of resistance as possible. These drills must be changed in ways
in order to not present themselves the same way twice, as a large component of learning is
“The student must also attempt to use the techniques and maneuvers drilled during live rolling
sessions in order to experience as many modifications of the skills as possible.
As an instructor, you must take great care in order to take into consideration the
behavior and thought process of a beginner student in order to tailor the instruction, feedback,
and practice conditions to suit the student. The instruction portion of class should also be
structured in a way to maximize the student’s learning while minimizing the amount of time.

31
 Instruction: Demonstration and Instruction

Many gyms structure their instructional portion in the following way: There will be a 30-
60 minute block of instruction in which the coach will explain a technique and then have the
student practice the technique for a set amount of reps or time, followed by another technique
and another length of practice. Oftentimes, the amount of talking is greater than the time of
physical practice.
The main way a coach should impart knowledge to their students is through
demonstration of a technique. A coach should demonstrate the technique numerous times
before starting their verbal instructions, making sure to show students several angles.
Techniques should be demonstrated in real time so students can see how the technique will
actually be performed. Techniques should then be demonstrated at slower speeds so students
can see specific important aspects of said technique.
Most beginners rely on the instruction portion of BJJ class as their primary mode of
learning. This is due to their lack of knowledge of objectives and techniques, and must have
these aspects verbally and visually explained to them. Because of this, most BJJ instructors rely
on demonstrations of technique and verbal instructions as the primary method of teaching a
skill. One area of instruction that is over emphasized is the verbal instructions. Many instructors
will spend a significant amount of time explaining the movement related to a technique, as much
time or more than is spent actually drilling or practicing the technique. For example, a viewing
of any BJJ instructional video will show the instructor verbally describing their movements as
they perform the movements. While this may seem like a good way to impart knowledge of a
technique to a student due to the belief that more information is better, one can perform expertly
without being able to explain the details of a technique, and one can understand the details of a
technique perfectly and still be unable to perform the technique during a live roll. Many
instructors will spend the majority of valuable class time explaining a technique. While students
may pick up information during these instructional portions, a student will not develop and
reinforce the correct motor programs without physically performing the technique and
movements. Students should spend the majority of time in class performing and reinforcing
movements as opposed to lengthy sections of the instructor speaking.
Coaches should not verbally instruct portions of a technique that can be readily
observed by a student, such as gross movements and placement of limbs. Verbal instructions
on where to grip can be readily observed and do not need to be restated. It is the coach’s duty
to say the least amount while conveying the most information. Verbal instructions should point
out things that are hard to observe or cannot be observed visually at all - such as where weight
is distributed, where center of gravity lies, or what base of support is being pushed off of. Verbal
instruction should also be used in order to reinforce the most important aspects of a technique -
for example while using smash passes one must control the hips, during demonstration of a
smash pass the instructor should reinforce the idea of controlling the hips through verbal
instructions. In order to develop a strong side control one must have control over the opponent’s
shoulders, so instructors should make it a point to reinforce the idea of controlling the shoulders
verbally. Verbal instructions can also be used to emphasize the parameters of the action - how
fast or how much force should be applied. Instructors should also present techniques from
different angles in order for students to achieve a full visual inspection of techniques. Students
should be encouraged to constantly walk around during instruction in order to view the
technique at as many angles as possible.
The amount of techniques and maneuvers presented to students during each training
session should also be limited as to not overload students’ with information. While it may be
tempting to teach students ten moves in a day in order to prove you have a wealth of

32
knowledge, it is better to introduce three to five techniques and concepts during each session in
order to present a manageable amount of information. The instructor should be careful in
structuring the techniques presented in order to have all techniques reinforce a concept or have
all techniques relate to each other in sequence.
Verbal instructions should refer to the movement effects as opposed to the movements
themselves. For example, when teaching the elbow push escape from side-control, verbal
instructions should focus on pushing the opponent’s arm across, rather than focusing on the
extension of the learner’s arm - “push your opponent’s arm across his body” as opposed to
“extend your arm as far as possible”.
The instruction portion should act as a supplement to practice. A common complaint
among instructors is that students try to accumulate techniques by watching videos online, but
fail to implement the techniques into their games due to a lack of physical practice.

Physical Practice

Practice will refer to the physical practice a student will engage in during class. This
includes practicing during instruction, drilling, or live rolling. No matter what kind of practice, the
goal is to have a student be able to perform better in the future. As the instructor, your most
powerful tool to improving your students’ performance in the future is through the design and
implementation of physical practice. It should be noted that no matter how you structure your
students’ practice, the most important aspect for their learning is their own volition and desire to
learn. Many students approach training as a workout, however it should be instilled in them that
training is a practice. They should be instructed to treat practice with the intent, purpose, and
focus of improving their skills and to understand that a harder workout will not necessarily
improve their BJJ (Ericcson et al 2000).
Physical practice during instruction: When practicing a new technique, it is best to
implement a part-practice method due to the complexity of skills and the variability of a moving
opponent. When showcasing a technique, you should demonstrate the technique as a whole
several times, and then break the technique down into several component parts. The student
will then engage in physical practice by practicing the component parts until the parts have been
sufficiently learned. This process would involve the students executing the first part of the move,
followed by the second part of the move, and so on until the entire move is completed. This also
allows for the coach to check on each member of the class during all phases of a technique.
Many BJJ maneuvers can be executed in different ways, however every maneuver possesses
certain basic principles that need to be met. By practicing moves in this way, a student will be
able to learn the proper execution of basic principles and improve the chance for success in live
situations.

Drilling

Drilling is an important aspect of learning for a new student. The purpose of drills is to
have an athlete create an automatic response to moves and setups commonly seen during live
rolls or competitions. Due to a beginner’s lack of experience and ability to control the pace and
positions during a roll, a beginner will rarely be able to implement techniques they have learned
during the rolling portion of class. Drilling is an easy way to to increase the amount of physical
practice of techniques and maneuvers, and thus learning. The following are important factors to
consider when introducing drills to a class:

1. Drills should be practical and relevant to the real situation

2. Drills should possess variability

33
 3. Start with simpler techniques before advancing to the “real thing”

4. Techniques in drills should be sequential in nature to help develop the concept of flowing

5. Drills can be used for conditioning as well as learning techniques

The first point of practicality and relevance may seem intuitive, but many instructors fail
to implement this. All drills should be within the realms of practicality and relevance to the real
situation. Some instructors may use drills that seemingly help improve some aspect of BJJ but
may actually be detrimental to the student’s learning. For example, some instructors may use a
game such as shooting single leg takedowns where the goal is to just touch the training
partner’s knees. While this is an easy drill, it does not allow the student to develop a deep shot
which will impair the student. All drills should try to replicate the technique or maneuver is a
realistic scenario. Practicing a drill on a partner that provides no resistance will not allow the
student to learn how to perform the technique on someone who is resisting.
To maximize the learning a student receives during during drilling, variability must be
introduced to their training. The simplest way to add variability is by having students perform
several different techniques during a drilling session, such as drilling armbars, triangles, and
omoplatas. Variability can also be introduced by changing the starting position for a single
technique - for example if you are drilling armbars, you can add variability by drilling armbars
from three different positions: mount, guard, or side control. Variability can also be added by
changing the tempo of techniques, the training partner’s body size, or the amount of resistance
a training partner provides. By increasing the amount of variability encountered during drilling,
the student will increase their performance in the long term. One thing to look out for is that
students may make more mistakes during a drilling session with increased variability, but these
mistakes are important in that students will learn from the performance errors. It is important to
understand that there is a difference between performing well during drilling and having better
performance during live rolls. High variability may make students perform worse during drills,
but will have them perform better during live training. Performance errors allow students to learn
from their mistakes (Edwards, R.V., Lee, A. M., 1985).
Many beginners will have great difficulty performing a technique during drills. In order to
rectify this, we can drill simpler component techniques and advance until the student can
perform the real technique. For instance, one of the first techniques a student will learn will be to
escape from mount with a hip bump. This technique is simple, yet very difficult for beginning
students to perform properly. We can break this technique down in the following way:

1. Practice the basic movement by alone: practicing hip thrusts/bridges.

2. Practice the technique with partner who is not resisting: the opponent is only placing
their body weight on the practitioner when they bridge.

3. Practice the technique with a resisting partner: the partner is actively resisting the
student’s technique by shifting their body weight
a. Note that the resistance provided by the partner can change in intensity from a
very low amount of resistance to a very high amount

4. Practice the technique with a partner who is trying to accomplish their own goal: have
the student attempt to escape while the partner is resisting and attacking.

34
 Another important aspect of drilling is to connect different techniques in a sequential
manner so that the student can move from one technique to another immediately. Instead of
having a student drill one technique repeatedly, we can have the student drill a series of
techniques. This can be as simple as having our student perform the hip bump escape from
mount, followed immediately by a guard pass, and then to a mount. By drilling sequentially we
will have the student advance positions and chain techniques. Another way we can chain
techniques in this manner is to have several techniques link together. For example, if we are
teaching a guard pass we can teach three different techniques for passing guard and have the
student shuffle between the three techniques while the training partner is actively preventing the
guard pass. The student will first try to implement the first pass and when it is prevented they
can shift to their second pass and then to their third pass when that is prevented. This type of
drilling will emphasize the continuity of BJJ.
Drills can be used for conditioning as well as learning techniques. While the main
purpose of drills should be to help students increase their learning of techniques, drills are also
useful as a conditioning device. This concept will be elaborate in the strength and conditioning
portion of this handbook.

Feedback

Feedback is another common and important tool to help students learn. Many instructors
use feedback during class portions on a daily basis. Belt stripes and colors are also given as a
form of feedback as well, once you find one person has advanced their skill level sufficiently you
award them stripes.
Feedback should be provided to increase a student’s intrinsic awareness of their own
movements. A new student will probably lack the kinesthetic awareness to move their bodies in
the correct way and since they will not be able to visually inspect their movements, you will have
to provide feedback in order to correct their movements. Since a beginner lacks awareness,
feedback given to them must inform them of their error pattern and also must provide
information about what to do on future attempts. Beginning students must be told “what to do”
and “how to do it” in order to improve. For more advanced students, you will only need to
provide information about the movement error because they will be able to self-
correct. Feedback should be given to increase the student’s subjective analysis of their
movement.
Two qualities of feedback that matter - quality and quantity. Feedback can be
detrimental if the instructor gives incorrect feedback such as providing the wrong movement fix
or telling the student they did a technique correctly when they did it incorrectly, or if the
feedback requires the student to focus on their body. Feedback is best when it is focused on
movement effects instead of movements themselves (Push off the floor explosively vs explode
through your hips). Feedback can be detrimental if it is provided too often because students can
become over reliant on it.
Assessing learning

BJJ is a unique martial art due to the testing of abilities being an inherent part of the
martial art. Tests occur every training session during live rolling. Love rolling serves as both a
form of practice and also as a skill retention test. Many students will also take part in
tournaments where they will test their abilities against opponents of similar skill level (belt color).
The student’s knowledge of a technique can be tested by their execution of the
technique on a passive partner, then during a live rolling situation, and then finally with
execution of the technique during a competition setting. The skill level of an individual can be
easily assessed by their performance in these setting. However, sometimes it will be useful for
you to test a student on a specific technique.

35
 A retention test is a test used to assess how much learning a student has for a very
specific situation. While a student may be able to perform a scissor sweep during practice after
being shown the technique, it will be harder for the student to perform the same sweep after a
period of no instruction. A instructor can test how well a student has retained a technique by
asking them to perform the same technique after a period without instruction. One way to do this
is to teach a new technique every day and have students drill the technique during the day.
Then after a week or several weeks, test the student by having them perform said technique
without prior instruction. A student who can perform the technique after a long period of not
using the technique will have “learned” the technique.
A retention test can be used to assess the learning of a single maneuver. While this is
useful for lower belts, the utility of this type of test is limited and fails to provide valuable insight
for more experienced practitioners. The reason should be obvious - a retention test is limited to
a single maneuver done at a single time. BJJ is a dynamic sport in which both practitioners
possess agency. The sport is controlled chaos, and a practitioner will never be in the perfect
position to execute a technique unless they force the position. This leads us to the use of a
transfer test:
Transfer test is a test used to assess how well a learned technique can be applied in
different situations. The most basic transfer test we can use is having the practitioner perform
the technique against different opponents. We can test a skill during different levels of
aggression of the opponent. For instance, while trying to perform a scissor sweep, we can have
the opponent resist the sweep only, or resist the sweep and try to pass. The ultimate transfer
test for our advanced practitioner is to have them try to perform a technique during live training.

36
 Chapter 4: Injury Prevention
Injury analysis

By participating in sports one must acknowledge that injuries are always a risk. National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports average an injury rate of 14.5 per 1,000 athletic
exposures (AEs) across 15 sports, ranging from a low of 1.9 injuries per 1,000 AEs (men’s
baseball) to a high of 35.9 injuries per 1,000 AEs (football) (Hootman et al.). BJJ in contrast has
an injury rate ranging from 9.2 per 1000 AEs (Scroggin et al, 2014) to 24.9 per 1000 AEs
(Kreiswirth et al, 2014). These data would indicate that BJJ is no more prone of injury than other
sports routinely played at the college level. Among the various competitive martial arts, BJJ has
a lower rate of injury per AE than judo, tae kwon do, wrestling, and MMA. This is mainly due to
the ruleset of BJJ disallowing strikes, reducing the risk of lacerations and head trauma. Since
BJJ is primarily focused on ground combat, it also has a lower injury rate than other grappling
sports due to the decreased rate of being thrown. The risk for injury is also lower due to the
ability of a competitor to “tap out” surrendering the match and stopping
However, injuries do occur in BJJ tournaments. The most common injuries that occur
during competition are musculoskeletal, such as by rib injuries, lacerations, and cervical strain.
The most common musculoskeletal injuries were elbow injuries due to attacks on the arm such
as armbars and kimuras which cause powerful hyperextension force to the elbow and kimuras
which create excess internal rotation of the shoulder. These attacks cause radial collateral
ligament (RCL) and ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) sprains, elbow dislocation, tenderness, and
anterior sprains. Knee injuries also occurred due to direct pressure, overexertion during guard
passing and sweeping, and impacts during takedowns. These injuries consist of medial
collateral ligament (MCL), lateral collateral ligament (LCL) , anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)
sprains, and meniscus tears.
Although the incidences of injury during tournament competition is low, athletes spend a
small fraction of their athletic life performing in competition, and will spend hundreds of hours in
training practice per tournament. Due to this, 79% of injuries occur during training (Del Vicchio
et al 2016). The accumulated hours of training can result in chronic injuries such as low back
pain and tendinitis. Some injuries are “freak accidents” caused by unforeseen circumstances.
These injuries are considered non preventable injuries due to the inability to protect against
them. Some of these injuries are due to the inherent techniques that are purposely used to
attack joints and create overexertion and strain of joints during movements (Scoggin et al 2014).
Some injuries that occur in BJJ develop over time due to the style adopted by the athlete,
whether the athlete adopts a guard passing or guard playing style. By adopting a certain style
and repeatedly performing the same movements with less variation, an athlete may develop
muscular imbalances and joint injuries due to stress. Guard players often load their knees and
hips in order to withstand an opponent’s movements during guard passing, placing much stress
and strain on their lower body joints. Guard passing players experience greater stress on their
shoulders and elbows due to the greater chances of being caught in armbars and other
submissions (DelVicchio et al 2016).

37
 Mitigating risks

There are many ways a coach can mitigate injury risk during training sessions. By
emphasizing the proper use of techniques and skills, injury risks can be minimized. However,
some gyms have a main emphasis only on performance, with strenuous training that eventually
lead to accumulated stress and injuries (Wojtys 2010).
The BJJ athlete him/herself serves as the first level of injury prevention. The athlete
should be able to recognize when he or she is at risk of injury and be willing to tap out before
injury occurs. During training students should be taught to tap early and tap often in order to
save their joints. Students should be taught not to outmuscle or endure submissions to prevent
an opponent from “winning.” While some coaches will tell students to endure a guillotine or
triangle until the opponent fatigues, the damage to the vertebrae and discs are long lasting and
heals slowly (ref?). Students should be taught not to try to endure submissions and just allow
their opponents to “win” during training sessions.
Another way a coach can help mitigate injuries is by enforcing the use of weight classes
during training classes. Students have a higher likelihood of getting injured when rolling with a
heavier opponent. This is due to overexertion of muscles and joints, and due to supporting an
opponent’s weight. When students must be paired with heavier opponents, the lighter
practitioner should keep in a top position in order to reduce stress and strain.
Lastly, the athlete should develop a high level of physical fitness and understanding or
strategy and techniques before participating in hard rolls. Practitioners must often perform
maneuvers that require motor coordination, strength, and flexibility simultaneously while under
load and in an unstable position. By incorporating a strength and conditioning program, risk of
injury can be mitigated during training and competition. By increasing the athlete’s flexibility,
strength, and endurance we can increase the body’s resilience to injury. Injury prevention
should be a part of every practitioner’s training program.

Strength and conditioning

Students must train their strength, joint flexibility, stability, power, and endurance. By
enhancing their muscular strength, students will make the muscles around their joints stronger
to provide stabilization for joint, eliminating unwanted movement. Strength training will also
increase bone strength and reduce incidence of bone stress fractures. Strength training will also
increase the strength of the tendons and ligaments. By increasing their full range of motion and
joint flexibility students will decrease their susceptibility to injury. Stability training can be
incorporated into a warm up routine in order to reduce the injury risk. By training power,
students will be able to withstand the strain caused by explosive movements. Endurance
training will reduce injury risk by preventing fatigue related injuries. All these attributes can be
trained with a proper strength and conditioning routine.

38
 Chapter 5: Strength and Conditioning

Goals of S&C

The right strength and conditioning program must be tailored specifically around the
individual practitioner. Many variables will influence the design of an athlete’s strength and
conditioning program. A coach must consider how long has the athlete been training for, what’s
the athlete’s history of training, and does the athlete want to compete? A competitor’s strength
and conditioning program will greatly vary from a hobbyist. The level of competition in today's
BJJ scene is drastically different than in the nascent days of the sport. There is no longer
debate over whether technique is more important than strength. A good BJJ competitor will
possess both technique and strength. All top level competitors must incorporate a strength and
conditioning program to their daily training. A hobbyist will not need an intensive strength and
conditioning program as a competitor will, as their requirements are drastically lower. However,
even hobbyists need a strength and conditioning program in order to decrease injury and
increase their BJJ longevity.
The strength and conditioning training athletes should be subjected to should directly
improve their BJJ. Since many practitioners will be working full-time jobs time must be used as
efficiently as possible. Because BJJ is a skill based sport, athletes must spend the majority of
their time in order to accumulate hours in technical tactical training. Due to this, the strength and
conditioning of a practitioner must be fast and efficient. The major parts of the practitioners
physicality that should be addressed is strength, balance, power, endurance, and joint flexibility.
New practitioners should follow a periodization protocol with hypertrophy, strength, and
power. To be the most time efficient, students should make compound multi-joint exercises as
their fundamental base exercise. Isolative movements should be disregarded as they will lead to
muscle imbalances and do not reflect the way muscles are used in a realistic way. It is important
to note that our students are not looking to compete as weightlifters or bodybuilders, the
strength and conditioning training is a means to an end - becoming better at BJJ. There should
be a focus on function and movement over specific muscle groups Another consideration is that
BJJ is a weight class sport, so hypertrophy can be detrimental to practitioners. Load intensity
should be prioritized over total volume in order to decrease hypertrophy and increase strength.
Along with strength training, competitors must improve their energy systems, colloquially
referred to as their “cardio”. While most coaches have a general understanding of energy
systems, often suggesting to students to run long distances in order to increase their “cardio”, it
is important to train all three energy systems, the ATP-Pcr, glycolytic, and oxidative
phosphorylation system. Since a BJJ match can range from 5-10 minutes, athletes must have
good anaerobic and aerobic endurance in order to perform well throughout a single match and
on subsequent matches.
Another consideration is that the training paradigm a BJJ athlete will differ from the
traditional annual planning template due to the lack of a competition season in BJJ. There are
only a few large BJJ tournaments that occur throughout the year, with many smaller local
tournaments occurring consistently throughout the year. The paradigm of training for a

39
competition season does not work within the sport of BJJ. Athletes must maintain a base level
of athleticism throughout the year.
Protocols should be implemented to test a student’s starting level and to track
improvement throughout their training. Shoulder flexibility can be tested by using a standard
shoulder reach test. Hip flexibility can be tested through a standard Thomas test. Upper body
strength can be tested by maximum number of pushups in a row. Lower body strength will be
tested using a wall sit and maximum number of body weight squats in a row. Isometric core
strength tested by maximum time in a plank.

Strength

Strength is an essential part of BJJ. Strength is required to advance positions, stabilize

positions, and execute maneuvers. Many difficulties found in performance may be due to lack of
strength. An athlete may know the correct mechanics of a movement, but if they lack strength,
no amount of discussion will allow them to complete the movement. Practitioners require both
concentric and isometric strength. BJJ requires concentric force in order to push and pull
opponents and isometric strength is required in order to hold positions and resist opponent’s
force. A good BJJ strength program will incorporate both concentric and isometric strength.
Strength can be increased through strength training. By utilizing the SAID (specific adaptation to
imposed demands) principle, we can progressively and gradually increase the stress placed on
muscles to increase strength gains. The strength and conditioning session can be structured
through the amount of sets and reps in order to achieve increases in strength, power, or
endurance. The basic exercises that should be incorporated into an athlete’s exercise program
are:

1) Push (lower and upper body): Practitioners must push their opponents away with
both their upper body and lower limbs.
a) Upper body: Pushups, bench press, overhead press
b) Lower body: Squats, bridges, lunges

2) Pull (lower and upper body): Practitioners must pull their opponents towards
them with both their upper and lower limbs.
a) Upper body: Pull-ups, back rows
b) Lower body: Deadlifts

3) Core: Practitioners must have a strong core in order to withstand the push and
pull of the opponent. The ability to retain a rigid posture is important in many
situations in BJJ. If posture is broken, the athlete will be at the mercy of their
opponent’s attacks.
a) Planks, side plank
4) Plyometrics: Plyometrics must be incorporated in order to give students explosive
strength. This will help the student utilize takedowns and escapes from positions.
Plyometric exercises will also help with balance and power.

40
 a) Squat jump, split jumps, box jumps, medicine ball slams, medicine ball
throws

We can combine all the previous movements in order to create a strength and
conditioning program that can target all the needs of the athlete. The following tables are
example templates of three programs that can be used to target the athlete’s endurance,
strength, and power. Since the athlete should spend their time doing technical tactical training in
class, the strength and conditioning template only consists of two days per week.

TABLE 1. Strength and Conditioning Program

Strength and conditioning program

Endurance (60 seconds rest between sets)
Day 1 Day 2
Exercise Sets x Reps Intensity Exercise Sets x Reps Intensity
Lower body push 5 x 12 65% Lower body pull 5 x 12 65%
Upper body pull 5 x 12 65% Upper body push 5 x 12 65%
Core 60 second holds Core 60 second holds
Plyometrics 5 x 20 Plyometrics 5 x 20

Strength and conditioning program

Strength (<90 seconds rest between sets)
Day 1 Day 2
Exercise Sets x Reps Intensity Exercise Sets x Reps Intensity
Lower body push 5x5 85% Lower body pull 5x5 85%
Upper body pull 5x5 85% Upper body push 5x5 85%
Core 60 second holds Core 60 second holds
Plyometrics 3 x 20 Plyometrics 3 x 20

Strength and conditioning program

Power (120 seconds rest between sets)
Day 1 Day 2
Exercise Sets x Reps Intensity Exercise Sets x Reps Intensity
Lower body push 3x2 >90% Lower body pull 3x2 >90%
Upper body pull 3x2 >90% Upper body push 3x2 >90%
Core 60 second holds Core 60 second holds
Plyometrics 3 x 10 Plyometrics 3 x 10

41
 Energy Systems

Many instructors have difficulty understanding or have no regard for energy systems.
This section is structured to provide a general overview of the subject matter to help gain a
better grasp on the subject and help improve the efficiency of workouts.
The three energy systems are phosphagen, glycolytic, and oxidative. All three systems
provide their own unique benefits and can be trained. All three energy systems will be used at
any one time, however the dominant energy system used is based on the duration and intensity
of the activity.

1) The phosphagen system runs on creatine phosphate (PCr) and is the NOW energy
system. It provides fuel for short (~10 seconds) high intensity movements - such as an
explosive double leg or an all out scramble. This fuel is stored in your muscles and
constantly refueled. However, the amount of stored PCr is small and takes a period of
inactivity to refuel, hence the short time periods. This system has a work rest period of
1:10, for every one second of use ten seconds are required for recovery.

2) The glycolytic energy system is a medium length energy system that runs on muscle
glycogen - stored sugars. This system provides energy for anaerobic activity and can
supply around 60 seconds of energy before the next energy system is required to
provide the bulk of the energy.

3) The oxidative energy system is a long term energy system that provides energy for
aerobic activities. This system is used during rest and low-intensity exercises and can be
used almost indefinitely.

These energy systems should be carefully managed and trained in order to train for
longer durations and to ensure energy supply is not a limiting factor during training and
competition. Each energy supply can be trained to allow for bigger supplies and faster
processing.
All sports will have their own unique needs of the different energy systems; a power lifter
will rely almost solely on phosphagen and a marathoner will rely almost solely on oxidation.
Brazilian Jiujitsu matches rely on a blend of all three energy systems.
Analysis of BJJ competition matches show that matches contain short periods of
standing grappling with the majority of the round doing groundwork. Ranking dictates the length
of match, ranging from 5-minutes for white belts to 10-minutes for black belts. Matches have
been shown to possess a 6-10:1 work to rest ratio. While the athlete will have to work almost
continuously for most of the match, matches also possess “down-time” where an athlete may
stall while in an advantageous position to strategize - thus matches are discontinuous in nature.
Most movements are slow, methodical, and much time is spent in isometric contractions.
Matches have few high-intensity explosive movements, but such movements occur at critical
junctions during a match and such movements will often dictate the winner of the match.
Many maneuvers performed during matches last approximately 10-15 seconds;
takedowns, escapes, sweeps, submissions, and reversals are achieved within that timespan.

42
Some may take less or more time, but nearly all possess brief moments of rest before a second
effort is taken. During training sessions, most rolls are 5-6 minutes in duration - meaning that
while training in the gym, the anaerobic energy system is the most used. During competition,
rest periods between matches are equal or shorter to match length, providing a 1:1 rest work
ratio.
The following table presents training protocols for training the different energy systems.
Each system should be trained on separate days. Since BJJ matches rely heavily on the
glycolytic system, it should be trained more often. However, every system should be trained.

TABLE 2. Training Protocols for Different Energy Systems

Work/rest
Energy System Exercise Time ratio Training Protocol
Choose one
technique and
complete the
technique at
maximum power for
Phosphagen 5-10 seconds 1:10 a 10 second sprint

Choose one
technique and
complete repetitions
of the technique for
Glycolytic 1-3 minutes 1:3-1:5 two minutes
Standard roll. Or
choose a series of
techniques and
Oxidative >3 minutes 1:1-1:3 repeat for 5 minutes

43
 Chapter 6: Sample Curriculum

TABLE 3. Sample 16 Week Program

44
TABLE 4. Sample 90 Minute Class

TABLE 5. Sample Warm Up

45
REFERENCES

46
 REFERENCES

Arakchiyski, Z., & Stanchev, N. (2016). Biomechanical model of wrestling bridge. Activities in
Physical Education & Sport, 6(1), 86-89.

Broer, M. R. (1973). Efficiency of human movement. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Limited.

Chinkov, A. E., & Holt, N. L. (2016). Implicit transfer of life skills through participation in
Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 28(2), 139-153.

Cvetkovic, C., Maric, J., & Marelic, N. (2005). Technical efficiency of wrestlers in relation to
some anthropometric and motor variables. Kinesiology, 37(1), 74-83.

Del Vecchio, F. B., Gondim, D. F., & Arruda, A. C. P. (2016). Functional movement screening
performance of Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes from Brazil: Differences considering practice
time and combat style. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 30(8), 2341-
2347.

Hootman, J. M., Dick, R., & Agel, J. (2007). Epidemiology of collegiate injuries for 15 sports:
Summary and recommendations for injury prevention initiatives. Journal of Athletic
Training, 42(2), 311–319.

Jang, T. R., Chang, C. F., Chen, S. C., Fu, Y. C., & Lu, T. W. (2009). Biomechanics and
potential injury mechanisms of wrestling. Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis
and Communications, 21(3), 215-222.

Kreiswirth, E. M., Myer, G. D., & Rauh, M. J. (2014). Incidence of injury among male Brazilian
jiujitsu fighters at the World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship 2009. Journal of Athletic
Training, 49(1), 89–94. http://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-49.1.11.

Kubo, K., Ikebukuro, T., Yata, H., Tsunoda, N., & Kanehisa, H. (2010). Time course of
changes in muscle and tendon properties during strength training and detraining. Journal
of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(2), 322-331.

Nordin, M., & Frankel, V. H. (Eds.). (2001). Basic biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system.
Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Schwartz, J., Takito, M. Y., Del Vecchio, F. B., Antonietti, L. S., & Franchini, E. (2015).
Health-related physical fitness in martial arts and combat sports practitioners. Sport
Sciences for Health, 11(2), 171-180.

Scoggin, J. F., Brusovanik, G., Izuka, B. H., Zandee van Rilland, E., Geling, O., & Tokumura, S.
(2014). Assessment of injuries during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition. Orthopaedic
Journal of Sports Medicine, 2(2), 2325967114522184.

47
Swartz, E. E., Floyd, R. T., & Cendoma, M. (2005). Cervical spine functional anatomy and the
biomechanics of injury due to compressive loading. Journal of Athletic Training, 40(3),
155-161.

Willardson, J. M. (2007) Core stability training: Applications to sports conditioning programs.

The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 21(3), 979-985.

Winter, D. A. (2009). Biomechanics and motor control of human movement. Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley & Sons.

48