This is the outline for a series of articles I want to create for Gracie Barra Tampa. The articles would each be relatively short and simple and contain many illustrative photos. They would be offered free on the website (in HTML and PDF format) and as a printed booklet to new students.
The purpose for these articles are to broadly teach the basic theories, concepts and strategies in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, define the common terms, and demonstrate the positions, techniques and submissions. The goal is to help white belts gain a better understanding of the fundamentals and aid them as they start training that is usually confusing when not properly explained.
The articles and their photos will be released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 license, so they can be used freely on Wikipedia and other sites. Bullshido will also be free to republish them.
=== Photos ===
Use Eduardo for all main demonstration photos. Use a blue and a white gi for contast; white and black rashguards. I need to get a high quality camera and a tripod, and the lighting in the gym needs to be improved somehow.
=== Curriculum ===
- Self defense
- Gi
- No-gi
- Vale tudo
Photos:
- Standing side headlock escape.
- Spider guard with gi grips.
- Knee-on-belly with no-gi.
- Striking from mount with NHB gloves.
=== Combat Theory ===
Basic combat strategy for BJJ:
- Close the distance → Clinch → Takedown → Ground fighting → Submission
Photos:
- Stepping in and defending a punch.
- Clinch.
- Hip throw.
- Side control.
- Take mount.
- Punch.
- They roll and you take the back.
- Rear naked choke.
=== Warm-ups ===
- Forward, backwards and sideways breakfalls
- Shrimping
- Bridging
Photos:
- Start, middle and finish of each breakfall.
- Start, middle and finish of a shrimp.
- A bridge.
=== Positions in BJJ ===
Basic positions of BJJ.
- Rear mount
- Mount
- Knee-on-belly
- Side control
- North-south
- Closed guard
- Open guard
- Half guard
- Turtle
Photos:
- Rear mount, face down.
- Rear mount, face up.
- Low mount with grapevines.
- Mount with hand posted and head hugged.
- Technical mount.
- Knee-on-belly.
- 100 kilos.
- Harness.
- North-south.
- Closed guard with under-overhooks.
- Butterfly guard with under-overhooks.
- Basic open guard with feet on hips and sleeve grips.
- Half guard with underhook.
- Turtle.
=== Positional Hierarchy ===
From the top:
Rear mount
Mount
Knee-on-belly
Side control
Half guard
Turtle
Guard
From the bottom:
Guard
Turtle
Half guard
Side control
Knee-on-belly
Mount
Rear mount
=== Position Before Submission ===
Fleshing out the positional hierarchy with an explanation of position before submission.
=== Basic Submissions ===
Photos will just be of the end position, not techical instruction of how to do the move.
- Americana from mount and side control.
- Kimura from guard and north-south.
- Guillotine from standing and guard.
- Rear naked choke.
- Rear collar choke.
- Armbar from guard and the top.
- Triangle from guard.
- Omoplata from guard.
- Collar chokes
** Palm up, palm up from guard.
** Paper cutter from side control.
** Palm up, palm down from knee-on-belly.
** Palm up, palm down from mount.
=== Defense → Control → Submission ===
The three stages of a single fight and your training as a whole.
Photos:
A single example from a single fight.
- Elbow escape from mount.
- Grips and knee across for scissors sweep.
- Action shot of the middle of the sweep.
- Mount.
- Armbar.
To illustrate how this concept applies to the whole of training.
- A white belt escaping side control.
- A blue belt sweeping from guard.
- A purple belt passing guard.
- A brown belt with knee-on-belly.
- A black belt with an armbar.
=== Passing the Guard ===
- Base, posture
- Opening the guard
- Passing under
- Over
- Around
Photos:
- Proper base and posture from kneeling.
- Proper base and posture from standing to open guard.
- Stacking and sprawling with under leg grips.
- Passed to 100 kilos.
- Pinning leg with knee/shin and locking in the upper body.
- Switching hips and passing to the other side.
- Backing out with leg control.
- Middle of bull fighter pass.
- To knee-on-belly.
=== Sweeps from Guard ===
- Scissors
- Hip bump
- Pendulum
- Kick sweep
- Take the back
=== Open Guard ===
- Butterfly guard
- Spider guard
- De la Riva guard
- Crab guard (for lack of a better name)
- X-guard
=== Competition Point System ===
Photo of two fighters (one with blue/yellow belt on) engaged with a ref standing over them.
== Supplimental ==
I also want to create a visual glossary of more positions and submissions that would not be appropriate in a basic guide, but which people often ask about or search for online once after gaining a basic understanding of BJJ.
=== Positions ===
- Kezure kesa gatame
- Reverse kesa
- Front headlock
- Sprawl
- Side ride
- Crucifix
- Reverse knee-on-belly
Should these go in earlier?
- Headlocks
- Kesa gatame
=== Submissions ===
==== Gi ====
- Arm triangles from side control and guard
- Clock choke
- Baseball bat choke
- Ezekiel
- Drop guillotine
- Reverse armbar from butterfly guard and knee-on-belly
- Figure-four straight armlock
- Casimirbar
- Python choke
- Cattle catch
- Timelock (americana with leg)
- Reverse omoplata
- Wristlock from side control
- Anklelock
==== No-gi ====
- Anaconda choke
- Brabo choke
- Darce choke
- Head-and-arm guillotine
- Ten finger guillotine
- No-gi baseball bat
- No-gi ezekiel
- Sgt. Slaughter
- Heelhook
- Kneebar
- Toehold
- Biceps slicer
- Calf slicer
- Twister