Let’s Get You Started in Jiu-Jitsu… the RIGHT Way!

  • GETTING STARTED

In this section we get started by conducting a broad overview of the basics.

  1. Introduction to Jiu Jitsu
    1. We will jump right into the bare necessities and movements to help you gain familiarity as swiftly and effectively as possible.
    2. From there we will work through the primary positions available to us, followed by submissions and escapes.
    3. Then we will explore the art and culture that surrounds Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
    4. Finally we will provide you some tips and advice as you get started to help make your Jiu Jitsu journey as smooth as possible.
    5. Welcome to Flow State Jiu Jitsu Introduction Course!
  2. Always, Always, Always Face Your Opponent
    1. Why do people fight off their backs in Jiu Jitsu?
    2. Fighting off your back is the best defensive position that we have available to us after we are no longer able to stand as it keeps all of our “tools” (limbs) between us and our opponent.
    3. Giving your back to your opponent opens you up to significant injury without the ability to defend yourself. This is why we NEVER turn away from the threat, and we ALWAYS face our opponents.
    4. Most martial arts will tell you not to fight off your back, however this is one of the things that Jiu Jitsu utilizes heavily. Fighting from your back, and keeping all of your tools between yourself and your opponent is called your “guard”.
  3. Introduction to the Tactical Standup
    1. You are in an altercation and are knocked down, now how do you stand up?
    2. You face your opponent, create space and protect your head by executing a Tactical Standup.
    3. The Tactical Standup allows you to create distance from your opponent while regaining a fighting position on your feet.
    4. As emphasized in the video, the objective is to continue facing your opponent (at all times), to keep all of your tools between yourself and your opponent, and to make space between yourself and your opponent.
  4. Tactical Standup in Greater Depth
    1. Tactical Standup Key Take Always:
      1. – Push your opponent back with your feet.
      2. – Reach back with on arm while keeping the other arm up and between you and your opponent.
      3. – Push back with your legs and pull with your backward arm until you are up on your knee, this entire movement is backwards.
      4. NOTE: The position of your head must always move back and away from your opponent, never towards them.
      5. – While continuing to back up, stand to your feet.
    2. If they close the distance on you and you are unable to stand up, you are positioned to fall back into your guard as you have continued to face your opponent and have ensured that all of your tools are between you and your opponent.
    3. If in a self defense position executing a Tactical Standup successfully is likely an opportunity that you can use to create space and escape the situation.
  5. Introduction to Guard
    1. Our Guard is whenever our legs are between our opponent and ourselves.
    2. There are many types of guards that you can utilize.
    3. To name just a few there is the:
      1. – Closed Guard
      2. – Open Guard
      3. – Butterfly Guard
      4. – Half Guard
    4. Each guard has benefits and limitations that allow you different means of protecting yourself when fighting from your back.
  6. Introduction to Side Control
    1. Side Control is an excellent dominant position that places you past your opponents legs in a manner that places you in a strong control position while also presenting multiple opportunities for you to further improve your fighting position.
  7. Side Control to Mount
    1. Transitioning from Side Control to Mount is a natural transition as you work to progress your position. However, take note of the details explained in the process.
  8. Introduction to Mount
    1. The Mount position is when you are on top of your opponent, sitting on their belly with your legs straddling them and putting your opponent in a terrifying position.
    2. The Mount is an excellent offensive position because it provides us control over our opponents hips and allows us to utilize our weight to attack with our arms AND legs.
    3. Their legs are generally out of the picture, forcing them to fight back with only their arms, with their back pinned against the ground.
    4. This allows all movement from you to be extremely advantageous.
  9. Introduction to Knee on Belly
    1. Knee on Belly is when you have all of your weight driving through your knee into your opponent’s belly.
    2. It is a helpful tool when working to transition from Side Control to Mount, or to maintain control as work toward a different progression.
    3. Knee on Belly makes it difficult for your opponent to move and it forces them to either endure the suffering or open themselves up in order to escape this advantageous position.
    4. A very convenient aspect of Knee on Belly is the extreme availability of mobility, while still being in a very dominant position (Most dominant positions rely on closing space and cutting off opportunity for mobility.).
  10. Introduction to Back Control
    1. Back Control (also known as Back Take) is when we have our feet (called hooks) past your opponents hips and in their inner thighs.
    2. When in the Back Control position we want to have one arm over our opponents shoulder and one arm under their opposite shoulder.
    3. When your arms are under their shoulders they give you maximal control, and your arms over the shoulders provides a better route to attack.
    4. Opting for a 50/50 split here allows you the best of both worlds as a baseline consideration when holding the Back Control position.
    5. Note: We want to avoid crossing our legs in this position as it opens us up to having our feet attacked (think broken ankles, ouch!).
  11. Primary Positions Recap
    1. Let’s take a moment to review the positions that we have covered this far.
  12. Position BEFORE Submission
    1. Now that we have covered quite a bit on the basic positions in Jiu Jitsu, there is one aspect that is imperative for us to stress and consider consistently.
    2. This important consideration is “Position Over Submission”.
    3. Consider getting this magnificent phrase as your first Jiu Jitsu inspired tattoo, and discipline your focus on Position Over Submission. If you find the tattoo idea to be a bit much, then please just remember that focusing on improving your position will serve you much better than hunting submissions.
    4. Focus on your foundational positions and work to establish strong positions that allow you higher control and more safety as you continue to fight. Then, and only then, should you begin to hunt submissions.
  • PRIMARY POSITIONS AND TRANSITIONS

In this section we will take a more thorough look at the primary positions and how you can transition from one position to the next.

  1. Positional Work Introduction
    1. We will now begin to focus on each of the positions that we have covered in greater depth.
    2. Reminder: This will not be an end all be all for Jiu Jitsu, however the intent of this course is to help provide us a common language to speak as we gain an understanding of the basic positions and principles to be successful as we continue our Jiu Jitsu journey.
  2. Breaking Closed Guard
    1. When in your opponent’s Closed Guard, your main goal is to break their Guard and fight to a stronger position.
    2. Remember that YOU are in the defensive position here even though you are on top.
    3. Remember: Resist the impulse to fight your opponents arms and focus on their hips and legs when working to break and pass their Closed Guard.
  3. Breaking and Passing Closed Guard
    1. In this lesson you will learn a way to break open your opponents Closed Guard, create space, and pass their Guard.
  4. Breaking and Passing Closed Guard Continued
    1. In this lesson we learn a transition that will work to allow you to break and pass your opponents Guard.
    2. The important thing to remember is that there are thousands of ways to do this, however you now understand the fundamental concepts that will help you to successfully break and pass your opponents Closed Guard.
  5. Passing Open Guard
    1. In this lesson we dive into one way with which you can confidently work to pass your opponents Open Guard.
  6. Passing the Guard: Overview
    1. When passing your opponent’s guard it is helpful to separate their body into three sections:
      1. – The Hips (Leg Control)
      2. – The Shoulders (Torso Control)
      3. – The Neck (Head Control)
    2. The goal is to keep these three elements out of alignment by focusing on working past, and controlling these three sections sequentially (The Hips > The Shoulders > The Neck).
    3. Meaning hips twisted in a different plane from the shoulders and head twisted in a different pane from shoulders.
  7. Side Control
    1. In this lesson we work through the concepts to consider and the items to keep in mind when fighting from Side Control.
  8. Side Control Recap
    1. In this lesson we review the basics of a good Side Control.
  9. Transition to Mount
    1. In this lesson we progress from Side Control to Mount.
    2. We do not want to give our opponent our leg when transitioning from Side Control to Mount, rather we want to progress to Mount without them capturing our leg.
    3. One way to do this is to scrape your knee up until you have Knee on Belly (while maintaining downward shoulder pressure). Then you continue to scrape your knee across their belly and up into their underarm. In this way you maximize your ability to transition to Mount from Side Control.
  10. Mount
    1. In this lesson we review the basics of a good Mount position.
    2. The most common Mount is when our knees are squeezing our opponent and our arms are above our opponents shoulders allowing us to control them while also providing the ability to swap hands as necessary to maintain balance.
    3. There are many types of Mounts to include:
      1. – Standard Mount
      2. – High Mount
      3. – Grapevine Mount
      4. – S-Mount
      5. And many more.
    4. The key takeaway is that you must secure a sturdy mount, and only then should you begin hunting for submissions.
  11. Back Control
    1. In this lesson we study Back Control (also known as Back Take/Back Mount, etc).
    2. The most common Back Control is when both of your hooks (feet) are in-between their legs and one arm is over the shoulder and one arm under the armpit of your opponent.
  12. Transition to Back Control
    1. In this lesson we cover transitioning to Back Control from Side Control.
  13. Closed Guard Sweeps
    1. In this lesson we discuss the Closed Guard Sweep.
    2. The first Sweep we cover is the Hip Bump Sweep.
    3. After covering this Sweep we evaluate Sweeps in greater detail and explain the “Table Theory” of Sweeps.
  14. Standing Sweeps
    1. In this lesson we demonstrate Standing Sweeps.
  15. Sweep Recap
    1. In this lesson we recap Sweeps.
    2. *REMEMBER: Position Before Submission (have you had it tattooed yet?). If you are fighting from your back you want to earn your way to Side Control or Mount. As this will allow you to break away from the conflict or secure points or victory depending on the venue of your fight.
  • SUBMISSIONS

In this section we review some essential submissions and their fundamentals.

  1. Submission Basics: Chokes
    1. In this lesson we begin exploring Submissions.
    2. The first concept of submissions that we explore is the dynamics that make up successful Chokes.
    3. Chokes in Jiu Jitsu are focused on restricting blood flow and NOT air flow!
  2. Submission Basics: Armbars
    1. In this lesson we review the basic dynamics of Arm Bars.
    2. These concepts apply to breaking joints that only move in 2-Dimensions.
  3. Submission Basics: Should Locks
    1. In this lesson we explore the dynamics of Shoulder Locks.
    2. These concepts apply to breaking joints that are able to move in 3-Dimensions.
  4. Submission Basics Recap
    1. In this lesson we review the Submission basics that we have covered this far.
    2. When we go for Submissions we are typically going for:
      1. – Strangulation
      2. – Joint Manipulation
      3. – Tendon Strain
    3. Most Submissions are nested within the above 3 categories.
  5. Submissions: Americanas
    1. Now we begin chaining movements together.
    2. In this lesson we first explore chaining movements together, we start doing this through the Americana submission.
  6. Submissions: Rear-Naked Choke (RNC)
    1. In this lesson we demonstrate the Rear-Naked Choke (RNC).
  7. Chaining: Putting it all Together
    1. Now we will discuss the foundation that allows you to move from a disadvantaged position to a good position and then through to submission.
    2. This knowledge allows you to chain together movements until you are in a dominant position that allows you to hunt for and execute submissions.
  8. Submissions: Introduction to the Triangle
    1. In this lesson we introduce the Triangle.
  9. Submissions: Triangle Walk-Through
    1. In this lesson we walk through the Triangle progression.
  10. Submissions: Triangle Recap
    1. In this lesson we recap the Triangle.
  • ESCAPES

In this section we cover how to recover from poor positioning where you are more susceptible to danger, to a stronger position to fight back from.

  1. Escaping Side Control
    1. In this lesson we begin exploring escapes.
    2. The first escape we explore is how to escape from Side Control.
  2. Escaping Mount
    1. In this lesson we discuss escaping from Mount.
  3. Shrimps!
    1. In this lesson we discuss escaping by utilizing a movement commonly known as “Shrimping”.
    2. As you can see from previous lessons, shrimping is a movement that you utilize to escape from both Side Control and Mount.
    3. This movement is also helpful in a myriad of other positions as well.
  4. Escaping Back Control
    1. In this lesson we demonstrate one common back escape. Note that this is a very basic, reliable back escape and demonstrates one of many means that you can break free when someone has taken your back.
  5. Summary Review of Positions and Movements
    1. In this lesson we are simply covering all the positions and movements we have covered so far.
    2. We know it doesn’t seem like much now, but what you have now in your tool-belt is incredible. These foundational skills are a launchpad that will accelerate your Jiu Jitsu journey. The rapid shift of your game and deliberate advancement in your movements will also be noticed by your instructors and teammates.
    3. We are so excited you have decided to join!
  • THE ART & CULTURE OF BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU

In this section we explore a brief overview of the art and culture of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

  1. Talking Points
    1. It is time we sit down and have a chat about “Jiu Jitsu behind the scenes.”
    2. It is easy to see the movements and physical aspects of Jiu Jitsu. Now let’s cover Jiu Jitsu on a deeper level and list out some of the things I wish I knew when I got started in this Martial Art.
  2. Verbal Jiu Jitsu
    1. Here we explore Jiu Jitsu as a concept applied to conversation.
    2. AVOID THE FIGHT
  3. The Gentle Art
    1. In this lesson we discuss why Jiu Jitsu is known as the “Gentle Art.”
  4. Focus on Technique
    1. In this lesson we focus on the importance of technique.
  5. Sport Jiu Jitsu
    1. In this lesson we discuss Jiu Jitsu as a sport.
  6. Pick a “Go-To” Move
    1. In this lesson we discuss the value of having a “go-to move.”
  7. A Unique Form of Chess
    1. In this lesson we discuss how Jiu Jitsu is a unique form of chess and how you have the freedom to make it your own.
  8. Introduction to Jiu Jitsu Etiquette
    1. In this lesson we begin exploring some helpful Jiu Jitsu Etiquette.
  9. Jiu Jitsu Etiquette: Bowing
    1. In this lesson we begin discussing the tradition and etiquette of bowing on and off the mats.
  10. Jiu Jitsu Etiquette: Bowing Continued
    1. In this lesson we continue discussing the tradition of bowing, this time focusing on how to address the Jiu Jitsu hierarchy.
  11. Jiu Jitsu Etiquette: Fixing your Gi
    1. In this lesson we discuss the proper way to fix your Gi when training.
    2. In short, turn away from the highest ranking person and/or turn away from the masters on the wall.
  12. Jiu Jitsu Etiquette: Volunteer to Clean
    1. In this lesson we explore some helpful Jiu Jitsu Etiquette. In this case, help clean the gym.
  13. Jiu Jitsu Etiquette: Hygiene
    1. In this lesson we explore some helpful Jiu Jitsu Etiquette. In this case, self-care and hygiene.
  14. Jiu Jitsu Etiquette: Respect
    1. In this lesson we explore some helpful Jiu Jitsu Etiquette. In this case, respect.
  15. What to Wear on your First Class
    1. In this lesson we discuss what you should wear when you show up to your first Gi or No Gi class.
  16. What to Expect on Day 1
    1. In this video we demonstrate some of the things you can expect the first time you go to a gym.
  • HELPFUL ADVICE AND TIPS

In this section we will provide advice and tips that will help you succeed as you begin your Jiu Jitsu journey.

  1. Ask Questions!
    1. In this lesson we discuss the importance of questions, and how they are critical to helping you learn.
  2. Turning Down Rolls
    1. In this lesson we discuss how every person has the right to turn down any roll at any time.
  3. Focus on Technique
    1. In this lesson we discuss the importance of focusing on technique over strength, speed, or athleticism.
    2. The key point of advice?
      1. If you are big, or strong, or both: TAKE IT EASY as you start!
      2. If you are fast: SLOW DOWN as you start!
      3. If you are an athlete: RELAX as you start!
    3. Flow State Jiu Jitsu is all about FEELING the roll before you worry about WINNING the roll.
  4. You ARE Getting Better
    1. In this lesson we discuss the fact that if you are showing up consistently and applying yourself. Then you are getting better. Even if it does not feel like it.
    2. So keep training!
  • SEEING IT ALL IN ACTION

In this section we have compiled a video of all the moves you have now learned, being applied in high level competition.

  1. Battle-Tested in High-Level Competition
    1. Take a few minutes to watch some of these moves captured in competition.
    2. We want you to have the confidence that what you have learned WILL work! From the streets, all the way up to high-level competition.
    3. If they work at high level competition against experienced folks who know what they are doing, then it will definitely work on a spazz who doesn’t know anything.
    4. You can also see that it looks quite different with a resisting opponent. This is where creativity of setups will apply, and with it, the true essence of being a Martial Artist.
    5. Understanding when and where to apply what you know!
    6. “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”

-Bruce Lee-

  1. Continue to train the fundamentals vigorously throughout your Jiu Jitsu career. They will RARELY fail you!
  • CONCLUSION

You have made it to the end! Congratulations on jumpstarting your Jiu Jitsu journey.

  1. Final Thoughts

    1. You’ve Made It! 

    2. Once again, thank you so much for completing this course!
    3. We value your time and input as we are working hard to create value and provide instruction for you.
    4. Please take a minute to provide us with your constructive observations to help us improve this course.
    5. Also please let us know if there is anything that you would like to see a future course on.
    6. Thank you, and good luck on your own Jiu Jitsu Journey!
  • CONTINUE LEARNING FLOW STATE W/ Chad the Dad

If you enjoyed learning from Chad the Dad, there are options to continue with his Flow State instructionals!

  1. Where to Now?
    1. Want to keep learning with Chad the Dad?
    2. Good news! We are building an online Community!
    3. Here’s the gist! This community asks questions about Jiu Jitsu techniques and then Chad the Dad makes video instructionals answering those questions.
    4. Joining the community gets you access to the entire archive of videos!!
    5. This is a fantastic way to improve your game quickly! Make sure to check it out!
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