Concepts / moves in bjj that took longer for you to understand or learn ?

[cheachea]

For me opening the closed guard, passing the guard and even just guards in general has been challenging for to understand for some reason.
I don't know why.

Also, I understand heel hooks now, but for some reason it took me Forever to understand how they worked and the finishing mechanics of them.


So anyways, how about you guys ? What are some moves or concepts that has been challenging for you to understand / get ?

 

[Kforcer]

Armbars and triangles. For a while it was sort of joke to people I trained with that I was more competent than most with leglocks but couldn't finish an armbar or triangle.

 

[cheachea]

Armbars and triangles. For a while it was sort of joke to people I trained with that I was more competent than most with leglocks but couldn't finish an armbar or triangle.

With Armbars it seems like there is some mechanics that people don't really mention in instructional videos, like making sure that there isn't any slack in the arm and also where exactly on your leg you are putting their arm / squeezing your knees together etc.

 

[winterbike]

10 years in and closed guard still makes no sense to me. Whatever I try just doesn't work. I'll play all kinds of variations of half, butterfly, SLX, DLR, RDLR, ..., but closed just doesn't click ever. The weird part is I have long strong legs and I'm super mobile, so it should be a perfect fit. My coping mechanism is to say it's a garbage guard for garbage people.

 

[GoatArtemLobov]

I'm a blue belt and, as my instuctor says "when on bottom you feel almost like a brown belt whereas on top, you hardly feel like a 3rd stripe white belt".
Has a lot to do with my physique I think...
The thing I suck the most at is probably top side control

 

[judoka loca]

All sorts of triangles and arm triangles were confusing to me in the beginning. D'arce especially.

Finishing heel hooks as well

 

[TheMood]

North South choke is something I can never seem to get. I'm a tall and relatively thin person so I blame my puny arms and lack of muscles on my inability to complete this choke. I also cannot omoplata people really. I jokingly say I can't finish an omoplata even with a gun. It should be a good move for me since I have a decent triangle.

 

[ItsArun]

13+ years on the mat and i still dont feel confident with berimbolos

 

[cugnao]

For me opening the closed guard, passing the guard and even just guards in general has been challenging for to understand for some reason.
I don't know why.

Also, I understand heel hooks now, but for some reason it took me Forever to understand how they worked and the finishing mechanics of them.


So anyways, how about you guys ? What are some moves or concepts that has been challenging for you to understand / get ?

Guard passing, especially when you are trapped in the closed guard of someone far heavier and stronger than you

 

[mataleaos]

North South choke is something I can never seem to get. I'm a tall and relatively thin person so I blame my puny arms and lack of muscles on my inability to complete this choke. I also cannot omoplata people really. I jokingly say I can't finish an omoplata even with a gun. It should be a good move for me since I have a decent triangle.

North south choke seems to be the choke that gives everyone the most problems. The weird thing is that I have a similar build as you and it’s been my favorite sub for almost 10 years. Oddly I never struggled much with it.

 

[cheachea]

10 years in and closed guard still makes no sense to me. Whatever I try just doesn't work. I'll play all kinds of variations of half, butterfly, SLX, DLR, RDLR, ..., but closed just doesn't click ever. The weird part is I have long strong legs and I'm super mobile, so it should be a perfect fit. My coping mechanism is to say it's a garbage guard for garbage people.

LOL. I saw an interview with Masakazu Imanari where he was talking about not being very good at passing people's guards and that he didn't get it and so he would go for people's legs.

I guess I don't feel as bad if a guy like Masakazu Imanari didn't really get it either.

@ 8:20

 

[Bigboot]

I’ve always had a fairly easy time with guard passing except the leg lasso that one seems to be the hardest for me to deal with but I’ve been able to figure it out now after 13yrs.

 

[Daz2300]

Was a purple belt before i really had any clue how to apply pressure from top positions despite my A game up to then being built on takedown/pass/mount/arm triangle.

On a related note I've gotten to 3 stripe brown without being able to get that basic double-collar choke from the back to work consistently despite being shown it repeatedly by everyone from my own coaches through to guys like Roger Gracie, Paul Schreiner and Lucas Leite. I'm convinced its some sort of joke across the bjj community at my expense at this point!

 

[Daz2300]

North south choke seems to be the choke that gives everyone the most problems. The weird thing is that I have a similar build as you and it’s been my favorite sub for almost 10 years. Oddly I never struggled much with it.

Same for me, it just clicked right away after being shown at white belt when i could barely tie my belt never mind finish any other submissions.

I think it's one of those subs that is very much a 'feel' thing and there's no room for muscling it or it working when it's kind of right. The flip side of that @TheMood is when it does click for you it means you're guaranteed a finish if you can get there because you'll know exactly when you have it through some weird magical power flowing through you.

 

[judoka loca]

Same for me, it just clicked right away after being shown at white belt when i could barely tie my belt never mind finish any other submissions.

I think it's one of those subs that is very much a 'feel' thing and there's no room for muscling it or it working when it's kind of right. The flip side of that @TheMood is when it does click for you it means you're guaranteed a finish if you can get there because you'll know exactly when you have it through some weird magical power flowing through you.

I love the north south choke. Only implemented it into my game recently because I found myself in the position a lot, and it feels solid when done right

 

[EndlessCritic]

10 years in and closed guard still makes no sense to me. Whatever I try just doesn't work. I'll play all kinds of variations of half, butterfly, SLX, DLR, RDLR, ..., but closed just doesn't click ever. The weird part is I have long strong legs and I'm super mobile, so it should be a perfect fit. My coping mechanism is to say it's a garbage guard for garbage people.

When I started BJJ all I wanted was to be good at closed guard. The idea of armbarring or triangling somoene off my back was just magical to me. And now I'm pretty much an expert, so let me assist you.

The majority of attacks in closed guard follow a simple system: Break posture, obtain an upper body control, disconnect your hips, then attack something that has been isolated. There are many different types of upper body controls, and the attacks that are available to you will depend on the upper body control you have. One of the simplest and most powerful of these controls is the overhook. But when it comes to closed guard effectiveness, I would say nothing beats crossing their arm across your stomach. Watch the way Kron does it here against Kawajiri (timestamped):



It's a very subtle movement but Kron manages to trap Kawajiri's left arm across his stomach. I cannot tell you how powerful of an attack this is, and it really should be taught as the most fundamental closed guard attack.

And wouldn't you know, a guy named John Danaher agrees (timestamped):



And so does a guy named Roger Gracie:

 

[freakroor]

darce choke.

 

[EndlessCritic]

darce choke.

Funny enough when I attack d'arce from bottom side control it's super tight. When I do it from top half guard I can almost never get the tap.

 

[Calibur]

Funny enough when I attack d'arce from bottom side control it's super tight. When I do it from top half guard I can almost never get the tap.

Because from under side control your hips are free to adjust the angle. In top half you can't really do that so your opponent either needs to make the angle for you or you just have to crush their face.

 

[Quebec Nick]

North South choke is something I can never seem to get. I'm a tall and relatively thin person so I blame my puny arms and lack of muscles on my inability to complete this choke. I also cannot omoplata people really. I jokingly say I can't finish an omoplata even with a gun. It should be a good move for me since I have a decent triangle.

Looks like me, I do the north south choke all the time but never finish it, I don't even try that hard because I use it as a setup to get a kimura or to sit him up and get the back. But it would feel good to get it from time to time.

Omoplata is a sweep for me